“The Iron Lady” and “Mamma Mia!” director Phyllida Lloyd is teaming up with Sharon Horgan’s production company, Merman, for her next project. Lloyd will helm “Herself,” a female-driven, Dublin-set drama tackling domestic abuse and the housing crisis. Merman will produce with Element Pictures (“The Favourite”). Deadline broke the news.
“Herself” follows Sandra, a young mother “who escapes her abusive boyfriend and fights back against a broken housing system,” the source details. “She sets out to build her own home and in the process rebuilds her life and re-discovers herself.”
Theater actress Clare Dunne will play Sandra, marking her first lead role in a feature. She also wrote the script with Malcolm Campbell (“What Richard Did”).
“The script is very fresh and full of heart and integrity,” said Element’s Ed Guiney. “Clare wrote it for herself to star in and she’s an excellent actress. The combination of producers and creatives was an exciting one for us and it’s great to be involved in a project with strong new talent. The film’s subject will really resonate in the UK, Ireland, and the U.S.”
“Herself” is scheduled to begin filming at the end of April. Screen Ireland and BBC Films are financing.
Lloyd previously directed Dunne in an all-women production of “Henry IV.” Dunne portrayed Prince Hal. Her other stage credits include “The Playboy of the Western World,” “Julius Caesar,” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Lloyd’s latest project is directing Tina Turner stage musical “Tina.” It’s playing at London’s West End theater through December. It will make its Broadway debut this fall.
Eighties-set Sarah Kendall comedy series “Frayed” and an untitled self-help comedy project for Amazon are among Horgan and Merman’s upcoming projects. Horgan is set to make her feature directorial debut with “The New World,” a sci-fi-esque story about a married couple separated by the husband’s death.
Merman-produced series “Catastrophe” returns for its fourth and final season March 15 on Amazon Prime. Horgan co-stars and co-writes the comedy about marriage and parenthood.
