Finally, Disney has delivered the show disabled people need
The show’s star Arthur Hughes says Matthew Shardlake’s disability is the ‘least interesting thing about him’. But James Moore argues that, for the 16 million Britons living with a disability, there’s still value in seeing a disabled performer in a disabled role
Matthew Shardlake’s disability is – according to Arthur Hughes, the star of Disney’s new adaptation of the Shardlake novels – the “least interesting thing about him”. Given the way Hughes portrays the title character, he might be right.
We see not only his fierce determination to pursue justice while attempting to keep clear of court intrigues, but also his moral struggles at a time when justice was very much in the gift of the King and his powerful allies.
However, that is not to say that the disabilities of the character and the actor don’t matter. They do. It is still vanishingly rare to see a character with any kind of disability in a mainstream show – much less an expensively produced drama like this one.
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