Phoebe Dyenevor is back in for her first feature film, The Colour Room! The actor won our hearts in her star role as Daphne (aka The Duchess of Hastings) in Netflix period drama Bridgerton last Christmas and we’ve been dying to know her next move ever since it was confirmed that her character would be absent from the upcoming second season of the show.
In The Colour Room, Phoebe will be taking centre stage once again. Though this time, she’s playing pioneering feminist icon and ceramicist, Clarice Cliff.
The film, which was announced earlier this year with first look images dropping in April 2021, is created by a stellar all-female team, with The Luminaries’ Claire McCarthy as director and newcomer Claire Peate as screenwriter. It’s one of two new films starring Dyenevor, who has also been cast in the upcoming TV adaption of Women’s Prize-nominated book, Exciting Times.
So while we patiently wait for more details on that, here’s everything you need to know about The Colour Room ahead of it’s release next month (yes, you read that correctly!), including the plot and the new trailer…
What is The Colour Room about?
The film will focus on the prolific Clarice Cliff, who became a household name in the 1920s for her Art-Deco ceramics and pioneering feminism. It follows Cliff’s life starting from her teenage years, when her family sent her to work in a factory aged 13, right through to her becoming one of the most famous Art Decor designers in the world.
Ambitious and creative, Cliff was unafraid of using her voice and putting forward her ideas young factory working in the industrial midlands despite constantly being met with resistance, at times tot he dismay of her widowed mother Ann, and sister, Dot. However, she ultimately gains the attention of quirky factory owner Colley Shorter, who is impressed by her endless ideas and apprentices her to renowned art designer Fred Ridgeway before sending her to the Royal College of Art and finally helping her establish her own studio. Cliff then helps design the Art Deco Bizarre range with the support of Colley and the other women in the factory. Her hard work and success helps the factory survive in the midst of The Great Depression and Cliff is recognised as an icon
Till this day, Cliff’s designs feature in the permanent collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Who is in the cast of The Colour Room?
As well as Phoebe Dynevor, who will portray Clarice Cliff, the film features Kerry Fox, who plays her mother and Darci Shaw who plays her sister. Meanwhile, actor Matthew Goode plays factory owner Colley Shorter and David Morrissey portrays designer Fred Ridgeway.
Speaking on her role, Dynevor told Vogue: “Clarice Cliff is such a brilliant character to play in so many ways. She was a real working class woman, who had to fight so many obstacles to get to where she is. People now know her name all over the world and collect her pieces everywhere. Being able to make a film about the person behind all of these amazing designs was such a privilege.”
Is there a trailer for The Colour Room?
There is indeed a trailer and it looks incredible!
As you can see, it shows Dynevor as Cliff, an assertive young woman with short curly locks who is ready to shake up the status quo. Already, it feels like the most natural casting thanks to the phenomenal costuming and Dynevor knack for effortlessly portraying strong, female characters. Hence, our excitement!
When will The Colour Room be released?
Luckily, we don’t have much of a wait for this one as the film hits cinemas, Sky Cinema and the Now TV on 12 November. Let the countdown begin!