In this delirious Downton Abbey spoof, the aristocratic Davenports plan to marry off their reluctant daughter are complicated by the arrival of a charming new servant with a murky past. By turns whip-smart and daft as a brush, Fackham Hall is a gag-packed, tongue-in-cheek delight.
It’s 1931: England and the Empire are in depression, but the noble Davenports are keeping calm and carrying on, safely ensconced in the luxurious stately home their family has owned for centuries. All is not how it should be at Fackham Hall however. After the untimely deaths of all four male heirs (John, Paul, George and Ringo), Lord and Lady Davenport are hoping that the forthcoming marriage between daughter Poppy and boorish cousin Archibald, will keep the house in the family.
When that wedding is derailed, rebellious 23-year-old sister Rose (“a dried up husk of a woman”) is lined up to take Poppy’s place and secure the line of succession. Rose however has other plans – which might have something to do with Fackham Hall’s newest servant, a mysterious (and handsome) cockney orphan with a shady past…
The sight gags, wordplay and slapstick comes thick and fast in this anarchic parody of classic English period dramas. A gold-plated cast – including Damian Lewis, Katherine Waterston, Thomasin McKenzie and Tom Felton – play it splendidly straight amidst the delicious chaos.
