Life and Death in the Warehouse

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Life and Death in the Warehouse
Written by Helen Black
Directed byAysha Rafaele
Joseph Bullman
Starring
Music byRoger Goula
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerAysha Rafaele
ProducerTracie Simpson
Running time59 minutes
Production companyBBC Drama Productions
Original release
NetworkBBC Three
Release7 March 2022 (2022-03-07) [1]

Life and Death in the Warehouse is a 2022 British television drama film, inspired by real stories of warehouse workers in Britain and the poor conditions they work in. [2] It is written by Helen Black, and stars Poppy Lee Friar and Aimee-Ffion Edwards.

Contents

Plot

Floor worker Alys (Friar) works in a distribution centre, under a demanding sixty-hour week on top of being pregnant. When her old friend Megan (Edwards) joins the team as a trainee manager, Alys hopes their shared history will benefit her. But, desperate to keep her new job, Megan is soon pushing Alys' work (her 'pick rate') to a dangerous extent.

Cast

Casting by Leigh-Ann Regan Casting Associates (LARCA), led by Leigh-Ann Regan. Casting associate Oliver Williams.

Production

Black had met Aysha Rafaele and Marco Crivellari at BBC Studios, at first developing a legal drama series. Subsequently, she was asked to work on a factual drama with director Joe Bullman, drawing from his research into warehouse employees. [3]

Reception

Lucy Mangan of The Guardian awarded the film four out five stars, praising its examination of worker conditions, remarking 'Black's drama does this perfectly, aided by fine performances (including Aled ap Steffan as Alys's friend, co-worker and brave union rep Devon). It covers a lot of sociopolitical ground without forgetting to make us care about the people – those 1 million and counting – who are suffering as its footsoldiers.'. [4] Anita Singh in The Telegraph also gave it four out five stars, calling it 'cutting'. [5]

Awards

The film has been nominated at the 2022 BAFTA Cymru Awards for Television Drama. [6]

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References

  1. "BBC Three - Life and Death in the Warehouse". BBC. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  2. Hastings, Christobel (8 March 2022). "Life And Death In The Warehouse miscarriage scene is a true story". Stylist. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  3. "Writing 'Life and Death in the Warehouse'". BBC. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  4. "Life and Death in the Warehouse review – the terrible true cost of online shopping". the Guardian. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  5. Singh, Anita (7 March 2022). "Life and Death in the Warehouse should strike guilt into all next-day delivery junkies". The Telegraph.
  6. "BAFTA Cymru Awards: Nominations 2022". www.bafta.org. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.