The screen adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas’ much loved and debated book The Slap arrives on ABC TV this month. The best selling book has been a conversation starter since its release in 2008 and already the trailers for the television series are setting off discussions around the country.

When Hector’s largely Greek family meet to celebrate his birthday he expects a bit of tension between his Anglo-Indian wife and his parents, but the challenges of the day turn out to come from all sides. The idyllic picnic day comes to an abrupt end when someone slaps a misbehaving child, a child who is not their own. The attendees all react differently and the issue begins to divide the group. As a result the secrets held by close friends begin to unravel as loyalties and longstanding friendships are tested.

Bring the book to the screen is the multi-talented gay writer, director and producer Tony Ayres, whose previous work includes the feature films Walking on Water and The Home Song Stories as well as a diverse range of television programs.

Like the book, which portrayed a different character’s point of view and story in each chapter, the television show’s eight episodes work their way through the different characters.

The production brings together a killer cast. It’s pulled Melissa George and Jonathan LaPaglia back from America, attracted outstanding British actress Sophie Okenedo, secured Alex Dimitriades, whose most acclaimed career role is in another adaptation of a Tsiolkas book, Head On – and cleverly cast Kingswood Country’s Lex Marinos as the patriarch of the Greek family.

Also included are some of Australia’s most talented young actors like Sophie Lowe, who stared in the WA film Blame; Oliver Ackland from Wasted on the Young and Blake Davis, who was most recently seen in the TV series Tangle.

Davis plays Ritchie, a young gay man who is the central character of the show’s concluding eighth episode. For Davis there was a challenge in taking on the role, ‘Because people have read the book they’ll watch the show and think, ‘Well, that’s not Ritchie’ or ‘That is Ritchie’… I had a few meetings with Tony and Brendan Cowe, who wrote the script, and thinking how’s Ritchie going to be played in this? Because I didn’t want the audience to be watching and go ‘That’s not who Ritchie is’

The Slap will be the first time Davis has portrayed a gay character, but Davis says Ritchie’s sexuality is not central to his character’s motivations. Davis sees Ritchie as a character who is finding his place in the world,

‘Ritchie’s young and he’s growing up and I think through the whole series he’s trying to find who he is and he’s not too sure. He goes to this picnic and he doesn’t know anybody there, he tags along with Connie who’s his best friend. He loves Connie and he’s caring and sharing and even though Connie is a bit rude and blows him off a few times, he still loves Connie.’

‘He’s a bit confused… he’s growing up. I think it’s just that age, becoming 17,18, 19 is for some people a bit daunting and a bit confusing because you’re actually going out a lot more and mingling and meeting people your own age.

‘Guys my age they want to be dominant and they want to be stronger; they don’t want to let people talk rubbish about them. They’ve got to show their manhood.

‘On the other side there’s people who don’t care about that and they’re a bit insecure about how they look and what not, Ritchie he has all that in one.’

Producer Tony Ayres, who also directed the series’ final episode that focuses on Ritchie’s perspective, has nothing but praise for the young actor.

‘Blake is just a wonderful actor, I’m so thrilled to work with him. I think he has a huge future, he has immense capabilities and such amazing range.

While child discipline is the first topic The Slap has put on the agenda around the nation’s dinner tables, the story has a number of rich themes that are set to provoke conversations. The multi-cultural element of the story is also intriguing.

‘I certainly think The Slap is a really great example of how to do multiculturalism in a contemporary way, which is to tell a story that is quite universal that affects everyone, but to set in a very particular cultural milieu.

‘To me, that’s the most interesting way to talk about cultural diversity. I do think it’s a shame that the discussion about culture in Australia has dropped away a lot.
‘There are a lot of hot button topics in the book, which is why the book did so well I hope it does raise issues about parenting and fidelity, relationships, the role of women and the role of men, the way that men see the world, the way that women see the world. I hope that all those things that were discussion points in the book are also there in the TV series.’

The Slap premieres on ABC TV on Thursday Oct 6 and runs for eight episodes. The series will also be available on ABC TV’s iView.

Graeme Watson

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