CYSWLLT (LIFELINES) (2020)
A unique response to the Covid-19 Lockdown
The first Lockdown drama to be broadcast in the UK.
Written and directed by PIP BROUGHTON, the cast includes MARK LEWIS JONES, HANNAH DANIEL, ANEIRIN HUGHES, CATHERINE AYERS, SUZANNE PACKER and CATRIN STEWART.
CYSWLLT (LIFELINES), commissioned by S4C and produced by VOX PICTURES. Directed by PIP BROUGHTON and produced by LLYR MORUS and Executive Producers ADRIAN BATE and GWENLLIAN GRAVELLE.
The series aired weekly on S4C during Lockdown.
In strange and unprecedented times, where plans are cancelled and technology has become our only means of contact with the outside world, an exciting new lockdown drama is born.
Cyswllt (Lifelines) is an intimate drama that gives a snapshot of life during a pandemic, showing the effect of lockdown on individuals and families. In a pioneering move, it uses only laptops and phones to film the entire three-part series.
““It gradually unfolds into something approximating a thriller, yet one that touches on the related lockdown issues of mental health, loneliness and domestic abuse. Boosted further by a phenomenal cast, this is both seat-of-your-pants film-making and edge-of-your-seat television””
““There’s been numerous attempts to capture the strangeness of lockdown on TV but my fave so far is Cyswllt (Lifelines). It feels utterly real and profound”
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“BAFTA Cymru Recommends Cyswllt (Lifelines) on @BBCiPlayer - a new drama series reflecting the world we live in at the moment under lockdown, by the team behind hit series Keeping Faith.”
Cyswllt was nominated for a Celtic Media Award in the Short Drama category in 2021.
In production, Cyswllt used the very same technology that kept us all in touch with each other during lockdown to reflect the changes happening in our lives, as it happened.
Laptops and iPhones were delivered to the actors along with costumes and props, while Broughton directed over video-conferencing service Zoom.
“It’s been an incredibly steep learning curve, but what we’ve achieved is an intimacy because it’s like we’re a fly on the wall at both ends of the conversations.”
“That sense of intimacy and authenticity is important. It feels very real that…we’re listening in on the conversation.”
- Pip Broughton, Writer/Director
The scripts changed as Broughton’s feelings about the lockdown evolved, week by week:
“As I felt differently, I had to write differently for it to be current. It’s been very fast but very freeing at the same time, because you’re not worrying about the mistakes and the imperfections.”