Sharpe’s
Challenge writer: Russell Lewis |
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"It
was particularly exciting, not to say a little emotional,
morning when cast and crew gathered together to read through
the script." |
Ten
years ago Russell Lewis was asked to write the television
adaptation of Sharpe’s Battle. It was such a good
experience he was happy to be involved in Sharpe’s
return. He explains: “It had always been Malcolm Craddocks’
dream to film Sharpe’s Tiger, but because the story
was essentially a prequel to the Peninsular adventures,
which culminated in Waterloo, rank was very much an issue.
At the end of Waterloo, Sharpe is a Lt.Colonel, however,
in Tiger he’s still a Private, which obviously colours
a lot of the adventure – his place in the military
pecking order, how he was able to speak to higher ranks
and how much independence he could credibly exhibit.
“So, we resolved
to construct a new adventure based in part on Bernard
Cornwell’s Indian novels, but set after Waterloo,
and which would fit in with Bernard’s guideline
for “an adventure in the high hills.” I did
some digging and found a somewhat overlooked campaign
– the 2nd Maratha War 1817-1818 – which by
employing a certain amount of the fog of war we could
press into service. This was a very different prospect
to Sharpe’s Battle, not least because of the present
geo-political situation, and felt, creatively, a bit like
walking a tightrope over a minefield. The scripts were
written against the backdrop of the Iraq war and so the
central antagonist of Sharpe’s Tiger, the Tippoo,
or Tipu Sultan – a proud Muslim warrior-king with
a just grievance – was redrawn as the young and
idealistic Hindu princeling Khande Rao.”
“The role of villain-in-chief
fell to William Dodd – a renengade East India Company
officer – who features in “Triumph”
and “Fortress”. It felt right to shift the
emphasis across to Dodd, who, when all’s said and
done, was after exactly the same thing as the East India
Company – riches and power. In his machinations,
Dodd was assisted and encouraged by the former courtesan
Madhuvanthi, another character I was able to crib from
history (albeit her name has been changed). As for our
hero, I felt the story had to acknowledge to some degree
the time that had passed for Sharpe since we left him
on the hill at Mont St.Jean. So, we find him a little
older, a little wiser, and initially reluctant to be drawn
back into wars in far off places – even if the request
does come from Wellington. He has become a farmer in France
and hoped to have put the killing behind him. Of course,
with Sharpe being Sharpe it was never going to be that
easy.
“Sharpe decides
to go to India from his sense of duty to his greatest
friend – Patrick Harper. Certainly, there’s
a theme of friendship running through the piece, and,
even so far as the French, Sharpe’s historical enemies,
are concerned, I’ve tried to underline the notion
that sooner or later even old enemies have to make peace
and embrace one another.
“Being
involved in bringing Sharpe back to televisual life was
a true ‘consumation devoutly to be wished.’
I’m a huge fan of Bernard’s books, so to get
to play with his hero and be a part of it all was ‘high
cotton.’ It was particularly exciting, not to say
a little emotional, morning when cast and crew gathered
together to read through the script. Sean was in fantastic
form – looking and sounding better than ever. So
it was eyes down for a full house, Scene One, page one,
and with a cry of “Rifles! To me!” we were
off on Sharpe’s Challenge!”
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