Project Detail

Wah-Wah

Synopsis

Wah-Wah is a semi-autobiographical 'coming of age at the end of an Age' story, told through the eyes of young Ralph Compton. Set during the last gasp of the British Empire in Swaziland, South East Africa, in 1969, the plot focuses on the dysfunctional Compton family whose gradual disintegration mirrors the end of British rule.

As an 11 year-old, Ralph witnesses his mother's adultery with his father's best friend. His parents divorce and Ralph is sent to boarding school. Harry Compton not only loses his wife and best friend, but also his position as Minister of Education with the coming of Independence, prompting his rapid descent into alcoholism.

Now 14, Ralph returns home to discover that his father has re-married an American ex-airhostess called Ruby whom he has known all of six weeks. As round a peg as you could find in this square-holed society, Ruby ridicules the petty snobbery of colonial life by identifying colonial-speak as sounding like a load of old 'Wah-Wah'. Although Ralph is initially wary of Ruby, he bonds with her as his father's drinking escalates dangerously out of control.

Emotions climax against the backdrop of Swazi independence. Ralph throws himself into an amateur production of Camelot as a means to escape his hellish home life, falls in love and in the process begins to make sense of his turbulent relationship with his parents.

Details

Year: 2005
Type of film: Features
Running time: 96 mins
Format: 35mm
Director: Richard E Grant 1st Feature
Producer: Julia Blackman, Joel Phiri, Jeremy Nathan
Editor: Isabelle Dedieu
Screenwriter: Richard E Grant
Director of Photography: Pierre Aïm AFC
Production Designer: Gary Williamson
Sound: Dominique Levert
Music: Patrick Doyle
Principal cast: Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Julie Walters, Emily Watson, Nicholas Hoult, Celia Imrie

Genre

Drama

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Scion Films, Wah Film Productions, Lorna Nasha, IMG

Sales Company

The Works

Portland House
4 Great Portland Street
London W1W 8QJ
UK

T +44 (0)20 7612 1080

joy@theworksltd.com

Visit Website

www.theworkslimited.com

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments