Their relationship’s over. Their tenancy isn’t. Break Clause follows ‘Ben’ (Samuel Bottomley) and ‘Lil’ (Lara Ricote) as they navigate their breakup whilst stuck in the same flat. Moving on from your first love is hard enough. Moving out is even harder…
Produced by BBC Studios Comedy, Break Clause is a six-part romantic comedy series written and created by Jess Bray and directed by New Zealander Alice Snedden, who’s own writing credits include Starstruck, Double Parked and Funny Girls.
Of course, I loved it! This is the perfect rom com and sit com rolled into one which plays to the strength of an amazing ensemble cast and expert direction by Alice Snedden. It looks, feels (and probably smells!) like a cross between The Holiday and Four Weddings and a Funeral with the same sense of ‘will she, won’t she’ and relationship jeopardy that has proven to be a successful global formula for comedy drama.
The brilliantly observed production incorporates Lara’s Mexican American heritage and partial deafness in her role as the female lead, ‘Lil’.
We are already very familiar with Lara’s talent here at Funny Women. I first saw her performing stand up on stage at Funny Women Amsterdam in 2019 and then she slipped through our net until she reappeared on our radar in 2021 when she entered the Funny Women Awards. She went on to win the coveted Stage Award.
It’s such a great crack for us to see our Awards alumni get the recognition they deserve and opportunities to have their talent acknowledged beyond the stand up circuit.
“I feel so lucky” says Lara. “Jess wrote a character that was perfect for me to play. The circumstances of my life were such that I felt very prepared for this role. Lil’s like me but a little bit heightened, which is a little bit like me when I do stand up. It was perfect.”
Lara recognises the benefits of working with such an experienced cast and crew. She says, “Alice, the director, was so amazing, she helped me grow with each take. Working with Samuel was so fun and getting to fight with him so much and make up and fight again was just so good. Watching him act made me better, too. He’s wonderful.”
Lara is wonderful too – this is an incredible script, set between Manchester and London and an ‘of its time’ piece of feel-good telly. As winter draws in, we need a good rom com to enjoy.
I will end with Lara’s choice of three emojis to describe the show, a ‘broken heart, a house and a hug’. Tune in!
Break Clause launches on Channel 4 TONIGHT, Thursday 1st October at 10.00pm after The Celebrity Traitors on BBC One at 8.00pm!
