Rhys Ifans and Laura Linney are set to star in Onwards and Sideways, a feature-length drama about two people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, producers announced in 2024.
Ifans plays Tony Evans, the deputy head of a primary school, and Linney is Emma Dretzin, a pianist, composer and mother of two daughters. The film, written by Paul Mayhew-Archer and directed by John Madden, follows Tony and Emma after they meet when both are confronted with a Parkinson's diagnosis. Monica Dolan, Rory Kinnear and Mayhew-Archer himself also appear in the cast.
Madden called the project a "story of humour and emotion, of challenge and bravado, of music and dance - transcending the assumptions of a little-understood condition, and triumphing over the odds to find joy, release and love," and said he was "really looking forward to telling the story of Tony and Emma – a friendship which unfolds unexpectedly." Producers confirmed the drama was set and filmed in north Norfolk and will be released in cinemas, on iPlayer and on One.
Mayhew-Archer, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of 58, said of the production: "The latest of these is the chance to work with the brilliant director John Madden and wonderful actors on bringing this story to life. So, thank you Parkinson's." He has also voiced the condition in public life as co-host of the podcast Movers and Shakers.
The announcement lands against clear statistics: Parkinson's disease is a non-curable degenerative condition that affects how the brain communicates with the muscles, and a national estimate suggests about 166,000 people in the UK live with the condition, with someone diagnosed every 20 minutes. The illness can bring depression, anxiety, sleep and memory problems, alongside the visible physical effects that the film will address.
Producers and creative partners have framed Onwards and Sideways as both funny and life-affirming. Executive producer John Gore called it "a true privilege to bring such a beautiful, life-affirming story to the screen, with talents of the calibre of Laura Linney, Rhys Ifans, and an extraordinary creative team." Other production figures praised Mayhew-Archer's script: "Paul’s wonderful script has made me laugh, cry, and think about all that life has to offer," said Hilary Bevan Jones, while Lindsay Salt described it as "a glorious, important film with a huge heart, a wonderful sense of humour, and a deep sense of purpose."
That buoyant framing sits beside a harder truth. Parkinson's is incurable and progressive; it can make walking, talking and smiling increasingly difficult, and may also involve tremor, stiffness and slowness of movement. Mayhew-Archer has drawn some of that reality into the drama and its publicity with a personal line that undercuts a purely celebratory reading: "My fingers may fumble, my mouth may mumble and each step I take may result in a stumble. But I cannot grumble."
The creative choice—to build a life-affirming, humorous film around an incurable degenerative disease—creates the tension at the heart of Onwards and Sideways. It is a story that promises warmth, music and friendship while refusing to smooth over the physical and emotional costs Parkinson's can impose.
What viewers will not yet find in the announcement is a release date. The film is confirmed "coming soon" to cinemas, iPlayer and One, but producers have not set a date, leaving the single practical question unresolved: when will audiences get to see a story that aims to combine comedy, music and the lived reality of Parkinson's disease on both the big screen and broadcast platforms?
