Sparkle

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The directing/writing team of Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger (Lawless Heart) have crafted another thrilling ensemble drama with this emotionally rich tragicomedy. Shaun Evans plays Liverpool chancer Sam, who moves to London with his aspiring chanteuse mum (Lesley Manville) and begins an affair with a PR boss (Stockard Channing). But problems arise when he falls for her estranged daughter (Amanda Ryan), too. Hunter and Hunsinger adopted Mike Leigh's improvisational approach to create the story, and their sureness of touch dovetails neatly with an acute understanding of human frailty. The inclusion of Leigh favourite Manville (who sings gloriously) in the terrific cast adds to the beguilingly truthful tone. Crackling with wry wit and bittersweet wisdom, this could have become broad farce under less stringent supervision, but instead builds to a searing, honest and hugely affecting payoff.