The leading ladies for BBC’s adaption of Zadie Smith’s 2012 novel “NW” have been revealed. Deadline announced that Nikki Amuka-Bird (“Luther,” “Jupiter Ascending”) and Phoebe Fox (“Eye in the Sky”) will star in the feature-length film. Saul Dibb (“The Duchess”) will direct a script penned by Rachel Bennette (“Bel Ami”).
The Orange Prize-winning author’s book is set in London and follows a group of friends who, Deadline summarizes, “grew up together on an estate. Central to the story are Natalie and Leah, whose lives have taken them in different directions. Natalie’s wealth and ambition have set her apart from the friends and family she grew up with — and she finds herself asking not only who she really is, but where she belongs. In an area where wealth and poverty are only streets apart, life is fragile, as Natalie and Leah are about to find out.”
Smith’s “White Teeth,” named by Time magazine as one of the 100 best novels from 1923–2005, received a small-screen adaptation from Britain’s Channel 4 in 2002. You can listen to Smith’s thoughts about writing, female characters, and feminism in a conversation with “Americanah” author Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche over at MAKERS.
“NW” is set to air on BBC Two this fall.
