'1900 Island' producer says they 'wanted to create a real historical bubble' while shooting near the Irish Sea
Ever thought about going back in time and living life on a deserted island? Well, '1900 Island' showcases such families who swap their regular 21st Century lives to live one like they did a hundred years ago.
Four families leave their regular lives behind, to live in a deserted fishing village known as Llanddwyn off the coast of Anglesey, Wales. They will have to survive through bad weather, no power, grow their own vegetables and much more just like they did in the 1900s.
The four families who appeared in this series were the Davies, the Barkers, Kate and Arwel, and the Powers. While it might be fun to watch these families struggle for a month living in such harsh conditions along with their kids, there were a lot of difficulties even the crew who were on the island filming the series faced.
In an interview with MEA WorldWide (Meaww) Celyn Williams, the producer of the show, spoke about the difficulties they faced and the historical accuracy that the series showcased.
Starting off, Celyn revealed whether or not they succeeded in recreating an authentic historical world for the series.
"I think the experiences that they had, were ones of pure image and so from the seats they were sitting on, the coins they were using to the newspapers they were reading and the food that they were eating, it was all very authentic. I am a historian, that's my background, so we wanted it to be authentic and so it was."
She added, "It was two years in the making and it was something that we really wanted to look at the detail. We had traditional clothes. Oil skins made of wax cotton. So it's all very, very authentic."
Talking about the one family who had the biggest challenge, Celyn shared that it was the Davies because they had five kids. "They have to feed their children on a meager allowance. They have to bake bread. Gavin has to go out fishing and bring back enough money to feed the family. I think they probably had the biggest challenge."
Opening up about the difficulties they faced while filming on the island, Celyn said, "We wanted to create a real historical bubble. So we chose a really remote area on the edge of the Irish Sea."
She continued. "So we had to base ourselves out in a makeshift office in a lighthouse. That's where the main producers work, and then we had to commute back to the islands every morning."
"We were constantly in wet weather gear, so that was probably the biggest challenge, but of course, we wanted to create this real, authentic world. We sent people on real, authentic trips to the Irish Sea, which is one of the most treacherous sketches of sea in the world," she added.