Amazon Prime's new mockumentary Keep Calm & Carry On has its roots in Stratford

Keep Calm & Carry On, produced by Raspberry Films Ltd, has been written and directed by Stratford resident Lawrence Prestidge and follows the life of three households through the ups and downs of a gruelling 2020.

High school sweethearts, and now parents, Harry – played by Lawrence – and Hannah Keegan, try their best to deal not only with their three children but also Harry’s dad Frank – played by Stratford-based Christopher Saul – who has come to live with the family following the passing of his wife.

Sean and Spencer Lawson are a married couple living with their adopted teenage daughter, Lauren, who is going through a certain ‘phase’ in her life. And then there’s Susan and Peter Richards who are a couple in their 60s.

Susan cares very much about her self-image and how she is perceived to the public on television. She finds it challenging when her youngest daughter moves back home after a split from her famous footballer fiancé.

While 2020 was very much about the pandemic, Lawrence stressed that the focus of the series was more about the moments shared with family members during lockdown and not about Covid-19 itself.

“We make very little reference to Covid-19,” he told the Herald. “It was writing about being in lockdown with your family, the funny moments you share together, the home schooling, treading on each other’s toes and watching the endless Downing Street press conferences.

“We even throw a bit of Joe Wicks in there.”

On how the idea for Keep Calm & Carry on came about, he added: “It was just the need to be creative during lockdown. Being isolated in my flat was driving me a bit insane, so I was trying to express the different ways the country might be feeling.

“So I decided to write this series – it was cheaper than going to therapy!”

While the series does touch on all those moments people had at home during the lockdown, some of Lawrence’s own experiences had an influence on the story.

“My friends and family were a huge part of creating the characters and I expanded on different funny little stories they would share with me,” he said.

“I really hope everyone that watches has fun with show and can relate to it.”

Although Lawrence and Chris both live in Stratford, it wasn’t until they were on set in London that they both got to know each other properly.

“I soon found out that my on-screen father (Chris) lived just round the corner from me in Stratford. How weird is that?” he said. “Chris and I clicked pretty quickly and were able to establish that father-son relationship pretty quickly.”

On working with Lawrence, Chris, who has featured in more than 20 RSC productions during his career, added: “He has without doubt succeeded in developing a unique piece of television.

“The mockumentary style has enabled him to remind us of the plight of our lockdown families with humour, with horror and with tears of joy.”

Having something streamed on Amazon Prime is a new first for Skegness-born Chris, who trained at the Rose Bruford College and has 11 grandchildren.

“It feels amazing,” he said. “After all those years of jumping from medium to medium, here we are plunging into a new era of this constantly expanding profession.

“What’s different is that Keep Calm & Carry On will be watched by millions of people worldwide.”

He added: “How fantastic for a young production company like Raspberry to be able to promote their wares on such a global platform.

“How fantastic to have worked with the likes of Harriett Thorpe of Ab Fab fame, Kelly Shirley of EastEnders and Kayleigh-Paige Rees of Sanditon, to name only three. Hope the others don’t kill me.”

There was just one last thing to ask Lawrence and that was, had he managed to find the time to sit down and watch Keep Calm & Carry On?

“I’ve managed to see bits,” he said. “I’m really proud of the entire cast and crew. Hopefully there’s much more to come.”