The Arbor

The Arbor (2024)

2024

Documentary / Drama

7 from 10 with total 23 votes

2010-10-22

94 minutes

Portrayal of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar. Andrea Dunbar wrote honestly and unflinchingly about her upbringing on the notorious Buttershaw Estate in Bradford and was described as ‘a genius straight from the slums.’ When she died tragically at the age of 29 in 1990, Lorraine was just ten years old. The Arbor revisits the Buttershaw Estate where Dunbar grew up, thirty years on from her original play, telling the powerful true story of the playwright and her daughter Lorraine. Also aged 29, Lorraine had become ostracised from her mother’s family and was in prison undergoing rehab. Re-introduced to her mother’s plays and letters, the film follows Lorraine’s personal journey as she reflects on her own life and begins to understand the struggles her mother faced.

Christine Bottomley character Lisa Thompson

Manjinder Virk character Lorraine Dunbar

Natalie Gavin character The Girl

George Costigan character Jimmy 'The Wig'

Monica Dolan character Ann Hamilton

Neil Dudgeon character Steve Saul

Jimi Mistry character Yousaf

Robert Emms character Young David

Kate Rutter character The Mother

Danny Webb character Max Stafford-Clark / The Father

Matthew McNulty character Andrew Dunbar

Kathryn Pogson character Pamela Dunbar

Jonathan Jaynes character David Dunbar

Lizzie Roper character Kathy Dunbar

Liam Price character Billy

Robert Haythorne character Fred

Parvani Lingiah character Young Lorraine Dunbar

Gary Whitaker character Himself

Jamie Timlin character Himself

Kulvinder Ghir character Rafee

Moey Hassan character Bus Conductor

Josh Brown character Policeman