Medieval REBEL

What to expect from a star-studded comedy coming-of-age set in 1290...

- SEAN MARLAND, REBECCA FLETCHER

CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY NEW FROM FRIDAY 7 OCTOBER, PRIME VIDEO COMEDY

Feudal England isn't a great place for a young girl to grow up - especially if your debt-ridden father is hell-bent on marrying you off to the highest bidder! F Such is the predicament Lady Catherine, otherwise known as Birdy, finds herself in as the heroine of new medieval comedy Catherine Called Birdy, which launches on Prime Video this week.

'Birdy's recklessness and passion don't fit with the societal role she's been assigned,' says Games of Thrones star Bella Ramsey, who plays the 13th-century teen with a 21st-century attitude.

'The film's about Birdy fighting these customs with justified rage, humour and open-mindedness. She's basically trying to forge her own path in a world stacked against her.'

A MODERN HEROINE

An adaptation of the 1994 novel of the same name by Karen Cushman, the coming-of-age story is set in 1290 and centres around Lady Catherine, the feisty and funny 14-year-old daughter of Lord Rollo (Fleabag’s Andrew Scott) and Lady Aislinn (I Hate Suzie’s Billie Piper).

Having grown up in Stonebridge Manor, a house that, like the now hard-up family, has seen better days, Birdy’s happiness is threatened when her spendthrift dad sees her marriageability as a solution to his money woes and starts lining up wealthy suitors to woo her.

This, in turn, prompts his headstrong child to do all in her power to scare off the potential matches, including dressing in feral ‘bogwitch’ costumes, blackening her teeth with soot and making ointment ‘gifts’ out of faeces!