‘Passing’ as white: How making new film helped explain Rebecca Hall’s family history
Rebecca Hall was in her mid-20s when she first started to understand her complicated family history. The British actress-turned-director says most would look at her fair complexion and dark hair and see “English rose”, she says – but looks are never the end of a person’s story.
Hall, who has appeared in films including Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Frost/Nixon and Holmes & Watson, is the daughter of the late renowned British film and theatre director Peter Hall and the American opera singer Maria Ewing.
Her maternal grandfather, she learned, was a light-skinned black man who “passed” for white for the majority of his life.
Tessa Thompson (left) and Ruth Negga star in Rebecca Hall’s Passing. Pic: Netflix
It was about 13 years ago, when Hall picked up the 1929 novel Passing, by Nella Larsen, that she started to consider her own mixed-race heritage and why it had never really been spoken about in her family.
Set in the Harlem neighbourhood of New York, Larsen’s exploration of race and the practice of “passing”, which was not uncommon for light-skinned black people wanting to escape racial segregation and discrimination in that era, struck a nerve.
Hall pictured with Negga (left) and Tessa Thompson (right) at a screening of the film in New York earlier this year, and below with her mother, Maria Ewing, in 2010. Pics: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP and Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock
Finding out about her own history led to Hall adapting the novel for the big screen; the story follows two black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Oscar nominee Ruth Negga), who could both “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the colour line.
“I think so many people are not aware that it happened because it’s a historical event that was necessarily hidden,” Hall tells Sky News.
“So a lot of families, it’s hidden even within those families, including my own. My grandfather was African-American and he passed white for most of his life. And that is a fact that I’ve only really fully learned details of in the last year or so.”
Before she read Larsen’s novel, Hall says she had no context or even any way of describing how her grandfather had lived his life, and why. “So it gave me an enormous amount of context and understanding and compassion and empathy for the choice.”
Passing tells the story of former childhood friends Clare and Irene, who are reunited one summer and Irene discovers Clare has been passing as white; she is even married to an overt racist (played by Alexander Skarsgård).
The film uses the notion of passing to explore not just racial identity but gender and the responsibilities of motherhood, sexuality and the performance of femininity.
Hall on set with Thompson and Negga, and below with Andre Holland, who plays Irene’s husband Brian. Pics: Emily V Aragones/ Netflix
It is not about critiquing those who chose to pass, says Hall, but about critiquing “a society that, in any way, judges a person’s construct of themselves… there’s the things we think we believe, the person we think we ought to be, that society wants us to be. And there’s the thing we really want to be, that we desire to be. And sometimes that can be a huge conflict zone, and it means sometimes that we’re hiding our true selves.”
Passing is Hall’s directorial debut and it has been many years in the making. “I faced problems both within the industry – I came up against blocks trying to get it made – but I also came up against personal blocks,” she says.
“[The screenplay] sat in a drawer for quite a long time because I just didn’t have the confidence. I felt like it was too ambitious… and I just didn’t believe anyone would let me make it.”
Hall feared that some in the industry would question her suitability for telling this story.
“The pitch meetings were particularly poignant,” she says. “I ended up getting very emotional every time I was pitching it to some financier because they would invariably ask me, you know, ‘why on earth are you making this?’
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“But I feel like I’m this sort of walking example of what this film’s all about. You know, everyone looks at me and has a whole set of assumptions that aren’t necessarily true. Or they’re true but it’s not the end of the story.
“Forever, everyone’s looked at me and known that I’m Peter Hall’s daughter and I’m part of a British theatrical lineage, and [I’m thought of as] ‘English rose’, and that’s sort of the end of the story. And the fact that within my own story there’s… so many other contradictory and elusive things sort of points out the absurdity of it all.”
Hall has shot the film in black and white, something she would not budge on. “In a very soundbitey kind of way, it just felt like the best way to make a movie about colourism was to take all the colour out of it,” she says.
“But I think more specifically what I mean by that is, I think sometimes to understand truths about humanity, we need poetry. We don’t necessarily need complete reality, sometimes the abstraction helps.
Negga as Clare and Thompson as Irene in Passing. Pic: Netflix
Alexander Skarsgard plays Clare’s racist husband John. Pic: Netflix
“I think black and white takes these concepts and sort of highlights that we’re so busy putting everyone into these categories, when no one can be reduced to a single thing. Like, you” – she gestures to me – “can’t be reduced to just ‘woman’ or, you know, ‘white’, or whatever it is… the great irony about black and white film is it’s not black and white, it’s grey. And this is existing in the grey areas, actually.”
Making the film opened up a lot of conversations between Hall and her mother that had previously been left unsaid.
“She’s extremely proud and she’s extremely emotional about it,” says Hall. “She said that she felt it had given her and her father who’s no longer with us a sort of release in a way, like an ability to talk about something that up until this point felt like it couldn’t be addressed.”
She adds: “I hope, sort of in the broadest sense, the thing that people take away [from the film] is, thinking about what the legacy of a life lived in hiding is. And that doesn’t just mean racial hiding, it means all the ways in which we’re not showing up for ourselves completely. And how we can’t because of how much society imposes something – especially black women.”
Passing is out now on Netflix
Coldplay have become the first act in history to headline Glastonbury five times – playing a record-breaking set to a huge, sparkling audience for whom it felt like coming home.
Thousands in the crowd will no doubt have seen them at least once here before, but no matter – they have their detractors, but you cannot argue with the fact Chris Martin’s band can put on a headline performance worthy of Worthy Farm.
Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis was among the special guests watching stage-side as they performed to a crowd stretching way back into the night, and they were also joined by stars and musicians including rapper Little Simz on stage.
Theirs was a celebration not just of their own significant achievements, as one of the most successful British bands in recent history, but of Glastonbury festival and the talent it has supported throughout the decades.
Pic: PA
But the biggest surprise came from Hollywood legend Michael J Fox, who appeared on guitar for the rousingly emotional Fix You as the penultimate track. It’s a song and a performance even the hardest hearts could not fail to be moved by.
Backstage, Tom Cruise was among the fans watching as fireworks lit the sky.
Michael J Fox in Back To The Future. Pic: Universal Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock
Michael J Fox and his wife Tracy Pollan in April. Pic: Reuters
Having handed out their traditional Coldplay LED wristbands before the set was under way, this was a gorgeous light show and epic sing-along of audience participation as the band performed hits starting with Yellow, where it all began, and continued through their extensive back-catalogue.
“I look around and I just see amazing, wonderful people from all over the place and that’s what makes Glastonbury the greatest city on Earth,” Martin told the crowd, in a set featuring songs including Higher Power, Clocks, Viva La Vida, The Scientist and My Universe, which the band recorded with K-pop boy band BTS, with lyrics sung in both English and Korean.
Pic: PA
Earlier in the day, Kasabian had been worst-kept secret of the festival with their surprise set, which led the Woodsies area to be closed off as the crowd grew in anticipation.
And at the Other Stage, The Streets’ Mike Skinner entertained fans with a crowd-surfing set – with Friday night headliner Dua Lipa spotted in the crowd, making good on her promise to enjoy the festival for the full weekend as a punter, as well as one of its biggest stars.
But Saturday night belonged to Coldplay. This was their first Pyramid Stage headline appearance since 2016 and their fifth in total, meaning they now overtake The Cure, who have headlined four times.
Pic: PA
When the band was announced by festival organisers earlier this year, the news was met with the same criticism the band have faced for years: the music is dull, the choice of headliner uninspired, jokes about Martin turning up everywhere here, etc etc.
Similar will no doubt have been tweeted out during their set. The answer is simple, though: those who don’t like them, don’t have to watch them.
Read more:
Kneecap draw ‘headline-worthy’ crowd against the odds
How politics accompanies the music of Glastonbury
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
There’s plenty else going on at Glastonbury to keep people entertained, whether you’re here soaking it all up in person, or following on TV at home.
The size of the Coldplay crowd says it all – they put on an epic show, and this is why they were chosen to headline Glastonbury once again.
Entertainment
Glastonbury: Controversial Irish-language rappers draw ‘headline-worthy’ crowd against the odds
In a morning timeslot when most respectable Glastonbury-goers would usually be in bed, Irish-language rappers Kneecap drew what stage organisers described as a headline-worthy crowd to the area.
The trio have built a name for themselves with a balance of socially conscious lyrics and satire but have really come to the fore in recent months after taking legal action over a UK government decision to block funding they had been granted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Often described as controversial, there is no doubt they are unafraid to say what they think – but argue they are simply speaking up for the deprived areas of Northern Ireland, in a language which is “often ignored”.
Kneecap fans during the Electric Picnic Festival in 2022. File pic: PA
Plus, there is a lot of tongue firmly in cheek here.
Three friends from Belfast, Kneecap are Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh), Móglaí Bap (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) and DJ Próvaí (JJ Ó Dochartaigh, a former teacher who still wears a balaclava initially put in place to disguise himself from his students).
One of their most famous tracks, Get Your Brits Out, has been criticised for being anti-British – but the trio say this is the biggest misconception about the band. And clearly, as it blasts out from a tent in the English countryside, it is loved by the Glastonbury crowd.
Kneecap fans at one of their concerts in 2022. File pic: PA
“This is a thing that people love to spin, like we’re some anti-British band,” says Mo Chara, speaking to Sky News following their successful set. “We have English family. We have loads of good friends who call themselves British. It’s the British government we don’t like.”
They come from a “serious” area of the world where there has been “drama, a lot of violence”, he says.
“I think we’re the first generation… because we came after the ceasefire or just before it, around that time – ceasefire babies, as people like to call us – […] we’re able to joke about these things that were once traumatising for people in our community.
“But every side of the community can take a joke and we don’t give people enough credit, that people know how to have a laugh.”
“I think being offended is subjective,” says Móglaí Bap. “We’re having a good time, a bit of craic. There’s a lot of fun with it and all these jokes, humour, it’s all in context, and you can take it out of context and get offended. But I think genuinely, we meet people from all walks of life and they enjoy it.”
Read more:
Glastonbury’s greatest secret sets of all time
How politics accompanies the music of Glastonbury
Dua Lipa at Glastonbury: A masterclass from a proper pop star
Unsurprisingly, the trio have locked horns with quite a few politicians.
At the minute, they are embroiled in a legal battle with the British government over the blocking of £15,000 in funding from the Music Export Growth Scheme, which aims to help UK music groups market themselves abroad.
It’s a “slippery slope” and sets a “bad precedent”, says Móglaí Bap, to only give funding to artists that “align with them… that doesn’t make any sense”.
They are all taxpayers, he adds, and therefore have “every right” to funding that is available to British artists.
A government spokesperson says they are unable to comment due to this being an election period, but the Department for Business and Trade’s decision at the time was that Kneecap’s Republican views made them ineligible.
Rich Peppiatt, Michael Fassbender and Kneecap attend the UK premiere of Kneecap, the opening film of the Sundance London Film Festival. Pic: PA
While they await the outcome of the legal case, the rappers are busy performing following the release of their second album, Fine Art, earlier this month, and are also looking forward to their big-screen debut.
The band members play themselves in a biopic about their rise to prominence, set in post-Troubles Belfast, also starring Irish actor Michael Fassbender. The film has been shown at festivals including Tribeca in New York, and the band say the reaction has been “crazy”.
Which all means it looks like the fanbase will expand even more when the film is released in the summer.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
So while some politicians may fail to see the funny side of Kneecap, there are plenty of young people in Belfast, Glastonbury and beyond who clearly enjoy their irreverence.
Dua Lipa has set the bar high for this year’s Glastonbury headliners, performing a slick set of hits to an enormous crowd at the festival’s famous Pyramid Stage.
The 28-year-old star told fans she had manifested the moment, but watching her command the stage – hit after hit played, voice soaring, dance moves effortless – it seems her talent was always going to bring her here.
Starting with Training Season, from her latest album Radical Optimism, Lipa kept the energy levels high throughout for tracks including Be The One, Levitating, Hallucinate, One Kiss, Physical, New Rules and Don’t Start Now.
As is Glastonbury tradition, fireworks lit the sky, during and after the set, while several costume changes also added to the sense of occasion – which the singer described as “the maddest night of my life”.
Pic: AP
Telling the crowd about manifesting the experience, she also hinted she would be staying on at the festival to enjoy the rest of the weekend (although probably not in a tent, I’m guessing).
“I have written this moment down. I’ve wished for it, I’ve dreamt, I’ve worked so hard in the hopes that maybe one day I’ll get to do it and I can’t believe I’m here,” she said.
“You know when I wrote it down, I was very specific, I said I really wanted to headline the Pyramid stage on a Friday night because then I knew I could party for the next two days in the best place on Earth.
“I’m so grateful, little me would just be beside herself right now.”
Read more: Full line-up for Glastonbury 2024 – with space for surprises
Pic: PA
Lipa’s performance included Cold Heart, her Sir Elton John collaboration, which saw her greeting delighted fans at the front of the crowd, who had no doubt been there for hours beforehand to save the spot.
She followed another Glastonbury tradition by bringing out a surprise guest – Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, to perform The Less I Know The Better from his band’s 2015 album, Currents – and teased Barbie’s Dance The Night during one of her several costume changes.
The star also showed awareness of the festival audience, with 90s rave imagery on screens and confetti cannons blasting rainbows.
It’s something some big acts can get wrong – to go down in Glastonbury headlining history, it needs to be more than just an extra tour show.
Pic: PA
At times, however, the set was so slick, it felt more geared to the TV audience than to the crowd – a couple of songs saw Lipa performing to the camera, back to the audience, for good chunks of time – but when the choreography is this good, it’s captivating to watch wherever you are. It’s a small complaint.
Festival organiser Emily Eavis had said beforehand that Lipa was “born” to headline.
By the time the star had closed the set with Houdini, she had proved her absolutely right.
Read more on Sky News:
Brian Cox reunites with D:Ream
Meet Glastonbury’s State Of The Ground Guy
Glastonbury ‘likely taking break in 2026’
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
If Lipa is indeed staying on to enjoy the weekend, she’ll get to see for herself the huge array of brilliant acts on offer.
But as headline sets go, hers will be a hard act to beat – a masterclass from a world-class, proper pop star.
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