EXCLUSIVE: Period drama from director Thomas Clay and the producer of the well-received Couple In A Hole.

Maxine Peake Charles Dance Freddie Fox

Shooting has wrapped on Fanny Lye Deliver’d, a period drama starring Maxine Peake (The Theory of Everything), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and Freddie Fox (The Riot Club). The cast also includes Tanya Reynolds in her first feature film role and Peter McDonald (The Stag).

Shot over ten weeks on location in Shropshire, England, the film is written and directed by Thomas Clay and produced by Zorana Piggott (Couple In A Hole), Rob Cannan (The Lovers and the Despot) and Philippe Bober. The late Joseph Lang, Clay’s long-time producer, receives a posthumous producing credit.   

Set in 1657 on an isolated farm in Shropshire, the story follows Fanny Lye (Peake) as she learns to transcend her oppressive marriage and discovers a new world of possibility.

Living a life of puritan stricture with husband John Lye (Dance) and young son Arthur, Fanny Lye’s world is shaken by the unexpected arrival of two strangers in need - a young couple (Fox, Reynolds) closely pursued by a ruthless sheriff (McDonald) and his deputy.

Fanny Lye Deliver’d is a unique and compelling historical drama, closer in spirit to a western, or a modern thriller, than a traditional English period piece”, said producer Piggott.

“First and foremost it is a gripping story, a simple, exciting narrative brought to life with incredibly powerful and compelling performances and Thomas’ unique vision.”

It marks Clay’s third feature film. His debut, The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael, screened at Cannes’ Critics’ Week in 2005 while his follow-up, Soi Cowboy, shot on location in Thailand, premiered at Cannes in Un Certain Regard in 2008.

A Pull Back Camera production in co-production with Essential Filmproduktion (Germany), Fanny Lye Deliver’d is funded by the BFI, Creative England, Head Gear Films and the West Midlands Production Fund with support from Filmstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg and ZDF.

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