The Thin Blue Line actor David Haig is adapting his World War II thriller play Pressure into a film. Here are the details.
While David Haig is perhaps best known for his role as Inspector Grimm in Ben Elton’s The Thin Blue Line, he also an acclaimed dramatic actor, delivering the astonishingly dark Playing Sandwiches monologue in Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads series.
Haig is also a prolific playwright, however. He penned the 2004 play My Boy Jack, about Rudyard Kipling’s son fighting in the first World War. He adapted into a television film in 2007, in which he also starred alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Kim Cattrall.
Pressure premiered in 2018. Haig wrote and also starred in the production, which chronicled the story of the decision makers behind the D-Day landings, the tiny window of opportunity they were afforded in choosing between June 5th or June 6th 1944 and the pressure cooker environment in which they worked, hence the title.
The official description of the play, published by Nick Hern Books, reads as follows:
June 1944. One man’s decision is about to change the course of history.
Everything is in place for the biggest invasion ever known in Europe – D-Day. One last crucial question remains: will the weather be right on the day?
Problematically there are two opposing forecasts. American celebrity weatherman Colonel Krick predicts sunshine, while Scot Dr James Stagg, Chief Meteorological Officer for the Allied Forces, forecasts a storm. As the world watches and waits, General Eisenhower, Allied Supreme Commander, must decide which of these bitter antagonists to trust. The decision will not only seal the fates of thousands of men, but could win or lose the entire war.
An extraordinary and little-known true story, David Haig’s play thrillingly explores the responsibilities of leadership, the challenges of prophecy and the personal toll of taking a stand.
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Studiocanal and Working Title are producing the film according to Deadline. Anthony Maras will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Haig.
This week marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings, and events are happening in England and France to mark the occasion. The BBC is also broadcasting several programmes about the landings, you can find out more details here.
