Josh Finan to play lead role in BBC drama Waiting For The Out
Josh Finan will lead the cast of the BBC drama 'Waiting For The Out', which has been adapted from Andy West's memoir about teaching philosophy in prisons by 'Matilda the Musical' scribe Dennis Kelly.
Josh Finan is to lead the cast of the BBC drama 'Waiting For The Out'.
'The Responder' star will play the central role in the new six-part series that has been adapted from Andy West's acclaimed memoir 'The Life Inside' – about his experiences teaching philosophy in prisons – by 'Matilda the Musical' writer Dennis Kelly.
Finan is joined in the cast by an ensemble that includes Gerard Kearns, Samantha Spiro, Phil Daniels and Stephen Wight.
The drama, which will be broadcast on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, centres on Dan, a philosopher who begins teaching a class of men in prison.
Each week, Dan (Finan) leads discussions on dominance, freedom, luck and other topics that have troubled philosophers through the ages – topics that gain a new perspective when viewed through the prisoners' eyes – both igniting passions and creating tension.
Dan starts to dig deeper into his own past as a result of his work – as he grew up with a violent father (Kearns) who ended up in prison along with his brother Lee (Wight) and uncle Frank (Daniels).
Dan went down a different path, but his time working in a jail begins to make him obsessively worry that he belongs behind bars. As his personal crisis deepens, his actions start to threaten both his future and that of his family.
'Waiting For The Out' is produced by the award-winning company SISTER (behind shows such as 'This Is Going to Hurt' and 'Chernobyl') and filming has started in and around Liverpool.
Josh said: "Having the chance to work with writing of this quality, inspired by such a rich real-life story, alongside such talented creatives is a genuine gift. A real pinch me moment.
"Every stage of the process so far has been both a joy and a welcome creative challenge. I'm itching to get filming and can't wait for people to get the chance to watch this hugely sensitive, empathic, hilarious and at times deeply emotional story."
Writer and executive producer Dennis Kelly said: "It's not at all unusual for the men in Andy West's family to end up in prison – but Andy is the only one that chose to be there.
"His book is funny, insightful, beautiful, genuinely heartbreaking and nothing like what you'd expect it to be – we've tried to take that into the series. God alone knows if we've succeeded, but we've tried..."
