Radha Mitchell says she thinks 2024 viewers will connect to the excitement and anxiety that come with the dawn of the new era depicted in her Australian period dramedy, Last Days of the Space Age.
Set in 1979 Perth, the series follows three ordinary families impacted by a series of extraordinary events -- the 150th anniversary of the remote town's founding, the staging of the Miss Universe pageant, the nearby NASA Skylab space station crash and a power company strike.
"It's interesting to sort of explore this feeling of nostalgia and, at the same time, relate that to the fear of change," Mitchell, 50, told UPI in a Zoom interview Monday.
"These characters are living in this very uncertain moment," she said. "These people are trying to figure out the dynamics of their own personal lives, dealing with things within the family, at school, issues that we can all relate to."
The Phone Booth, Olympus Has Fallen and Troppo actress said she thinks it must have been "surreal" for the people of Perth to have their lives so completely upended by the happenings Space Age explores."I'm sure, at the time, it felt very apocalyptic," Mitchell said.
"It was all happening at the same time," she added. "That's sort of the backdrop, and that's the part that we can certainly relate to [in 2024], now that we're heading into this world of artificial intelligence. We don't know what that means, and we're very uncomfortable with that."
"Every generation is confronted with social change, cultural change, and that's part of human growth," Mitchell said.
"We survive, and we grow and we change, and sometimes growth is really uncomfortable. That's sort of demonstrated in the story," she added. "But it's also what makes life exciting.
"We discover our strengths, and, although this is an uncertain moment we're in now, we will figure it out, because that's what we do."
Mitchell described her character, Judy, a married mother of two teen daughters, as an "everywoman" who is kind and selfless when the series kicks off.
"She was a homemaker and her life was her children and her husband. Unfortunately, the story begins with her husband being on strike at work at this power station, so there's this sort of unrest in their family and financial concerns," she said.
Judy's new career puts her at odds with husband Tony (Jesse Spencer).
"She's crossing the [picket] line for the company that he's on strike against, so that's all a bit strange and it certainly proposes challenges for their relationship," Mitchell said.
"But I think what's really interesting for her journey is this sense of personal growth and discovering herself outside the home."
Mitchell said she had a bit of fun in the wardrobe room, dressing Judy in outrageous styles that were popular in the 1970s.
"I was like: 'Oh, the more gauche, the better. Let's find things that clash. Let's just enjoy the kind of kaleidoscopic aspect of her style,'"
"But I also really wanted to ground it in my grandmother's style because my grandmother was sort of an inspiration to me. I guess she was also a woman of the 1970s who was, coincidentally, leading men in her profession."
Mitchell recalled her grandmother had given her, many years previously, a copy of The Woman's Power Handbook by Joan Kirner and Moira Rayner, but Mitchell never read it until she was making the series.
"It was all about women in the workforce and activism," the actress said. "She was definitely an inspiration."
The show co-stars Iain Glen, George Mason, Linh-Dam Pham, Ana Marie Bello, Mackenzie Mazur, Aiden Du Chien and Deborah Mailman.
