Black Panther’s Letitia Wright to star in thriller about real-life Silent Twins June and Jennifer Gibbons
The movie, which will be helmed by Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska will follow the real life story of a pair of identical twins, originally from Barbados but who grew up in Wales. They became known as The Silent Twins as they refused to communicate with anyone but each other, and ended up in Broadmoor Hospital after they turned to crime. Jennifer and June spent 11 years in Broadmoor where they were studied by doctors and psychologists, but the pair would still only communicate with each other and became catatonic when separated.
They had a long-standing agreement that if one of them died, the other should begin to speak and to live a normal life – but the circumstances surrounding Jennifer’s death were equally as mysterious. When they were transferred from Broadmoor to another clinic in 1993, they made the decision that Jennifer should sacrifice her life. Letitia previously starred in Black Panther.
Upon arrival at the Caswell Clinic in Wales, Jennifer was unconscious, and she soon died of acute myocarditis, a sudden inflammation of the heart, despite there being no evidence of drugs or poison in her system. June is still alive and living near her parents in West Wales, and is no longer monitored by psychiatric services and has tried to put the past behind her, but has previously given interviews about her story. The Long Song star Tamara Lawrance will also star in the film
As well as Letitia, The Long Song’s Tamara Lawrance has also joined the cast, with the script being based on the book, The Silent Twins, by investigative journalist Marjorie Wallace.
The drama will begin shooting in April, but is not the first time the girls’ story has been covered on-screen.
Photo Credit: metro.co.uk