'' Cloudstreet '' is an Australian television drama miniseries for the Showcase subscription television channel, which first screened from 22 May 2011, in three parts. It is an adaptation of ''

Cloudstreet ''Cloudstreet'' is a novel by Australian writer Tim Winton published in 1991. It chronicles the lives of two working-class families, the Pickles and the Lambs, who come to live together in a large house called Cloudstreet in Perth, Western Au ...

'', an award-winning novel by Australian author

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the ...

. It was filmed in 2010 in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, with Matthew Saville as the director, and script written by Tim Winton and Ellen Fontana.

Plot and context

After separate personal tragedies, two families flee their rural lives to share a "great continent of a house", Cloudstreet, in the Perth suburb of West Leederville. The two families are very different; the Lambs find meaning in industry and in God's grace; the Pickles, in luck. Although at first the two families do not warm to each other, their separate paths and search for meaning in life ends with the uniting of the two families. ''Cloudstreet'' is set in the mid-1940s to late 1950s. Although the families are influenced by world events, the story focuses on their domestic and personal lives. A recurring motif in the series involves the

stolen generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Gover ...

of Aboriginal children, some of whom had been harshly treated in the house the two families now inhabit.

Cast

The Pickles

*Dolly Pickles -

Essie Davis Esther "Essie" Davis is an Australian actress and singer, best known for her roles as Phryne Fisher in '' Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'' and its film adaptation, '' Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears'', and as Amelia Vanek in '' The Babadook''. ...

*Sam Pickles -

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...

*Rose Pickles - Emma Booth *Young Rose Pickles - Lara Robinson *Ted Pickles - Sean Keenan *Young Ted Pickles - Will Mattock *Chub Pickles - Shannon Lively *Young Chub Pickles - Reece Sardelic

The Lambs

*Lester Lamb - Geoff Morrell *Oriel Lamb -

Kerry Fox Kerry Lauren Fox (born 30 July 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie '' An Angel at My Table'' directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and ...

*Fish Lamb - Hugo Johnstone-Burt *Young Fish Lamb - Tom Russell *Quick Lamb -

Todd Lasance Todd James Lasance (born 18 February 1985) is an Australian actor, best recognised for his roles in Australian television including Aden Jefferies on ''Home and Away'', Cam Jackson on '' Rescue: Special Ops'', Ben McMahon on '' Crownies'' and M ...

*Young Quick Lamb - Callan McAuliffe *Young Hat Lamb -

Freya Tingley Freya Tingley (born 26 March 1994) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her roles as Wendy Darling in the series ''Once Upon a Time (TV series), Once Upon A Time'', Christina Wendall in the Netflix series ''Hemlock Grove'', and Fran ...

*Hat Lamb - Siobhan Dow-Hall *Young Elaine Lamb - Annie Smith *Elaine Lamb - Sarah McKellar *Lon Lamb - Adam Sollis *Red Lamb - Amanda Woodhams

Additional cast

*Narration by Ron Haddrick *Greg McNeill as Trainer *Milly Haddrick as Trainer's Daughter *Ben Mortley as Gerry Clay *

Bruce Spence Bruce Robert Spence (born 17 September 1945) is a New Zealand-born Australian actor. Spence has amassed over 100 film and television credits and has also acted in theatre. Career Spence won an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in the 197 ...

as Pig * Kelton Pell as Bob Crab *Shaquita Nannup as Florrie *Billie-Jean Hamlet as Ruby *Michelle Stanley as Mrs Johnson *Julia Moody as Mrs Tisborn *Anna Bauert as Alma *Sarah Louella as Darlene *Natalie Holmwood as Merle *Melanie Munt as Mrs Clay * Oliver Ackland as Toby Raven *Ethan Thomas as Geoffrey Birch *Laura Fairclough as Lucy Wentworth *David Bowers as Earl Blunt *Helen Doig as May Blunt *Richard Adams as Spinner *Jodie Mead as Aboriginal Woman *Sean Walsh as Bloke *Matthew Elverd as Bloke *Angelique Malcolm as Housewife *John McKenzie as Sam's Hand Double

Production

It is an adaptation of ''

'', an award-winning novel by Australian author

. It was filmed in 2010 in

, with Matthew Saville as the director, and script written by Tim Winton and Ellen Fontana. Three generations of the Sydney-based Haddrick family were involved in the production of ''Cloudstreet'': Ron Haddrick as the narrator; Greg Haddrick as producer; and Milly Haddrick as an actress.

Release

The three-part series premiered in Australia on 22 May 2011. The series was screened in the UK from January 2012, distributed by

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group, Sky Group Limited that launched in 2011 and broadcasts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel airs original British-produced dramas like ''Fortitude (TV series), F ...

Reception

David Knox from ''Tvtonight.com'' stated: "There are visuals, concepts and performances that surpass the usual small screen dramas which stick to pedestrian storytelling and talking heads. ''Cloudstreet'' is bursting with character, imagination and offers a cornucopia for the eye." The ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

s Brad Newsome wrote: "The production and costume designs are wonderful, as is the original music by Bryony Marks (who also provided the haunting score for '' Tangle''). Director Matthew Saville (''Noise'', ''The King'') and cinematographer Mark Wareham (''Clubland'', ''Answered by Fire'') bring it all to vivid, entrancing life. Outstanding."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cloudstreet Showcase (Australian TV channel) original programming 2010s Australian television miniseries 2011 Australian television series debuts 2011 Australian television series endings Television series by Screentime