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The Durrells

Relocating the family to Corfu is a challenge, but one full of energy, humour, exotic locales and engaging performances.

Durrells

I have fleeting memories of reading a Gerald Durrell novel, My Family and Other Animals, during high school.

The autobiographical work was bursting with a fondness for creatures great and (mostly) small and overflowing with exotic Mediterranean characters. Now it is brought to screen in the new ITV series, The Durrells, featuring Keely Hawes as UK matriarch Louisa Durrell.

Adapted for the second time by writer Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly), this 2016 series brings it all to life with a loving eye.

Opening in Bournemouth 1935, The Durrells are a reckless bunch of strident teens, plus schoolboy Gerald (Milo Parker), held delicately together by widower Louisa Durrell. But with few prospects, a dependence on alcohol and increasingly-uncontrollable children, she uproots her clan to the Greek island of Corfu to begin anew.

Her children, aspiring novelist Larry (Josh O’Connor), trigger-happy Leslie (Callum Woodhouse) and forlorn daughter Margo (Daisy Waterstone), are dragged to Corfu under duress, with only young Gerald entranced by the abundance of new wildlife.

It has to be said that sun-drenched Corfu serves as an inviting, exotic backdrop to this tale, worthy of armchair travel and becoming a character in the same way as the scenery enhanced Mamma Mia! or Shirley Valentine. Here in the 1930s it is full of pastel colours, summery wardrobes and gentle coastlines.

The Durrells set up house at a run-down villa (it’s surely no Downton!), guided by amiable local Spiros Hakaiopoulos (Alexis Georgoulis), who hires elderly housemaid Lugaretzia (Anna Savva).

But building a new life doesn’t come easy in a ramshackle house without power, creepy crawlies in the outdoor toilet, and a lecherous old sea captain with eyes for Louisa. Convinced their mother needs to reignite her sex life, the teens set their sights on a bit of local matchmaking. As a comedy of errors ensues a frazzled Louisa, already the sanest of the lot, despairs, “Where did I go wrong? How did you all become so vile?”

Only the solitary young Gerald is at peace with his new home, freely acquainting himself with insects, tortoises and pelicans -in a sign of a celebrated career to come.

Keeley Hawes is a stand-out in this drama, commanding of every scene she is in and standing tall as an independent female in this sometimes-hostile environment. Nye has expertly highlighted contemporary values in this period setting, without undermining its truth. Humour also bubbles away throughout the script.

Wide-eyed Milo Parker makes for a fitting young Gerald while Josh O’Connor is excellent as an abrasive, self-obsessed young writer.

The Durrells may well be another dysfunctional TV family but this is an affectionate piece, brimming with energy and mishaps in an exotic location.

Much to love.

The Durrells premieres 8:50pm Wednesday on Seven.

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