When the world is in a state of lockdown, there is something to be said for transportive television; a show that envelops the viewer completely by inviting them into a new world.
That is exactly what The Luminaries does.
The new six-part BBC One adaptation of Eleanor Catton's award-winning novel by the same name is available to stream in the UAE on Starzplay from Thursday, June 4.
Starring familiar faces Eve Hewson, Eva Green and Himesh Patel, the series takes the viewer to New Zealand during the 1866 gold rush, a period I, perhaps ignorantly, was completely unaware of before watching the show.
When people think of the gold rush, they tend to think of California, but there was also one down in New Zealand, and because of its setting, The Luminaries brings fresh energy to the Wild West genre.
In parts, the show could act as a tourism campaign for the country. For the scenery alone, it is worth a watch – and the Antipodean island nation is “a key character”, says Patel.
For anyone who has been sitting tight in their living room for about 12 weeks now, the South Island’s rolling hills, inviting lakes and lush greenery will be an inviting brief escape from our homes.
Kiwi viewers, however, may put themselves at risk of developing homesickness.
"It was such a treat to shoot in such wild places," Green tells The National.
“I had never been there. So, it was actually part of the appeal to take on this project. The landscape is magnificent and dense,” she adds.
A whole Zodiac of characters
The premise of the show, and the 2013 novel, is rather complex.
Very early on the viewer is introduced to a large cast of characters, each associated with a Zodiac sign or an astronomical body.
Anyone who has read the book will instantly make the connection, although it is not an overwhelmingly prevalent theme in the TV series.
The show follows defiant young adventurer Anna Wetherell, who has sailed from Britain to New Zealand to begin a new life, where she meets Emery Staines. It's a star-crossed love story featuring murder and revenge, telling the stories of the men and women who travelled across the world to make their fortunes.
The show begins with Wetherell (Hewson) and Staines (Patel) first arriving in New Zealand. They represent the sun and the moon – two circling heavenly bodies.
We are introduced to our key love story early into the series. However, it will not be plain sailing for the young couple, despite their treacherous journey across the globe having only just ended.
The core love story
Overall, The Luminaries does a good job of blending mystery and fantasy, but it is not quite as mythical as one might originally anticipate.
“At the heart of it, it’s a love story, and hopefully it will give people a sort of relief in these troubled times,” says Patel. “It’s a beautiful love story, with murder mystery, too. It’s extremely compelling and it should be some good escapism for everybody right now.”
Patel, 29, will be familiar to British TV fans, as he starred as Tamwar Masood in London-set soap opera EastEnders from 2007 until 2016. He has since been seen in Yesterday, a film that focuses on the music of The Beatles.
Irish actress Hewson, 28, is the daughter of U2 frontman Bono and starred as Marian in the 2018 adaptation of Robin Hood. She agrees with her co-star's take on the show: "It really is a story of resilience … Resilience is what people really need right now."
We see the young could-be couple arrive in Hokitika on New Zealand’s west coast. At first, they go their separate ways, agreeing to meet again that same night.
But we already know their love story is not going to be particularly straightforward.
It really is a story of resilience … Resilience is what people really need right now
The timeline jumps months into the future, giving us a glimpse of what is in store for them as they settle into their lives amid the gold rush. Wetherell is forced into sex work and is accused of a dark crime, while Staines is set on finding the woman he met when he initially arrived in this foreign land.
Despite their love story being the “core of the series", Patel says the pair did not actually film together until very late in the production.
“It was funny,” he says. “We shot a couple of months before Christmas and then we went back to shoot rest of the show.
"Then we realised that we had yet to shoot a scene together." That's because the duo are not often seen together in the TV series.
“The two characters are circling, never quite catching each other, which is something that we hope gets people involved in the story … that mission to just find each other,” he explains.
Enter the ‘pantomime villain’
There is an obvious vulnerability to Wetherell as she arrives in New Zealand, a quality that seems to disappear when we see the character in scenes set in the future.
That could largely be because of the character of Lydia Wells, played by Green. She is a local businesswoman (or is that madame?) who tricked Wetherell while she was on her hunt for Staines and set the young woman off on a rocky road.
Green acknowledges her character is the show’s antihero, but says she cannot be branded with one simple label. “It is the case with the most interesting baddies, when they crack and you feel something is fragile,” says the French actress, who previously starred in Casino Royale.
The character of Wells is fuelled by love for herself, which is also not simple or linear in its narrative. “She is a survivor,” Green says, “and like many survivors, she feels she is above the law, that she can have whatever she desires, no matter the cost. She is a driven woman, very young and power-hungry.”
The pressure of adapting popular novel
Each of the cast members approached the project differently. While Patel and Hewson read Catton’s novel in preparation, Green chose not to.
“I had obviously heard about the book and it is a very well-known novel, but I preferred not to read it to not get influenced by it.
“I had heard the script and my character, in particular, was different from the original book. And the fact that Eleanor [the original author] was adapting the novel into the script was quite reassuring ... I trusted her completely.”
People who have read the book should not assume they know exactly how The Luminaries will play out.
“It’s completely different," says Patel, "but it’s amazing the way that Eleanor adapted her own story for the show and the way it all comes together.”
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
EA Sports FC 24
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C600rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C500-4%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.9L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh119%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Racecard
6.35pm: American Business Council – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm: British Business Group – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: CCI France UAE – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
8.20pm: Czech Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,400m
8.55pm: Netherlands Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Indian Business and Professional Council – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
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