I love Australian television series', I spent a ridiculously large amount of my youth glued to the screen watching the goings on in Ramsay Street, the highs and lows of Home and Away, and swooning over the spunky hunks in Heartbreak High... Now I have a new fave, The Slap. Based on Christos Tsiolkas' best-selling novel, the drama centres around a 40th birthday party thrown by Aisha for her husband Hector. Family and friends attend; there are kids playing, adults chatting, music playing and a barbie sizzling in the background. One of the children is a little monster... Banging and crashing around, taking Hector's records out their sleeves, pulling up the flowers in the garden, and breaking the other children's toys. It is decided that a game of cricket would be a good idea so the youngsters can let off some steam. The little boy doesn't understand the rules of the game, and starts brandishing the bat around. Tempers and voices are raised, the boy kicks and screams, and another child's father rushes over, picks him up and gives him a hefty slap on the cheek...
The series follows eight members of the party, each episode focusing on a different person's life, and their reaction to the slap. You get to see the repercussions from this single event and how a seemingly normal, innocent birthday party escalates into a group of people questioning their relationships, careers, and mortality. It is all beautifully shot, with amazing performances from all the cast, including Sophie Okonedo and Melissa George. It's currently showing on BBC Four, but is available on iPlayer.
All pictures are stills taken from episodes 1-6
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