Jill Scott as Mma Ramotswe in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency
I think the thing I loved the most about Alexander McCall Smith’s The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency book series was that they didn’t take too much out of you. Delectable bite-size reads about lovable lead character Mma Ramotswe, no.1 lady at said agency who doesn’t require all that much investigating herself. She’s a simple Motswana woman with simple values living a simple life.
BBC One commissioned a film version which screened last year this time, and was the last one to be directed by Anthony Minghella. Whenever Africa-based stories are reinterpreted for international audiences, I tend to expect the worst. (See Drum, Hotel Rwanda etc).
I fully expected Jill Scott, cast as Mma Ramotswe to over-do it and most certainly find a way to sing a lot even though there’s none of this in the book. Turns out Jilly from Philly does sing but very briefly. And absolutely beautifully. By her own admission her accent isn’t 100 percent but I’d say she made a really decent go of it. As did the rest of the cast: Anika Noni Rose, Lucian Msamati, Desmond Dube, Paterson Joseph, Colin Salmon.
So now there’s a 6-part series starting on BBC One tonight at 21h00 GMT. (Solomon Modumo also presents the No.1 Ladies favourite radio podcast on BBC Radio 7 which you can download/subscribe to here.)
We’re hoping this cutesy story can carry for as long. We’re also still wondering about everyone else’s thoughts on the casting for the lead role.
Being that the books are best-sellers, and weighing up the reputation of academy award-winning Minghella, would it have been too much of a risk for an African actress to play Mma Ramotswe?
Discuss.
Is your open question about Jill being cast in the lead role based in part on the fact that as an African-American woman she is too far removed (historically and) culturally to acutely sympathise with, or accurately portray the nuanced characteristics of a Botswana native? If this is the case would a Nigerian, South African or Kenyan actress necessarily have been any better? Or does the symbolism of having an African born lead actress trump all other considerations?
Africa is a vast continent...variances in culture and experience within nations yet alone between nations can be equally extreme. Jill is a talented actress, so I say let her do her job. Given her American and international fame/ appeal, casting her was as strategic as it was artistically inspired. Without her the show might not have been green-lighted by both HBO and BBC, and the late Anthony Minghella might not have been as successful in his endeavour to reveal the long-hidden beauty of Botswana and images of everday life on the continent that rarely get such a platform.
Let's just hope that as a result of this series' success, Botswana's profile as a film/tv location, source of native acting talent, destination for travel etc. is increased and therefore leads to much needed investment, jobs....and hopefully the emergence of their very own "Jill Scott" export one day.