Silva Screen

Based on real life events, the BBC Wales’ commissioned four-part series depicts the hunt for 'The Saturday Night Strangler' who terrorized Port Talbot in the 1970s. The series is set in 1973 and then in 2000, when DNA breakthroughs helped finally catch the killer. Described by MSN as “a more thoughtful class of true crime drama” and by The Arts Desk as “a respectful, even affectionate piece of work”, the focus of the series is on mapping the toll of an unsolved murder on the people left behind in pain.

The series is written by Ed Whitmore (Manhunt, Safe House) and made by Severn Screen (The Pembrokeshire Murders, Hidden/Craith) for the BBC in association with All3Media International. It stars Philip Glenister (Life On Mars, State Of Play) as DCI Paul Bethell, Steffan Rhodri (In My Skin, Gavin & Stacey) as DCI Phil ‘Bach’ Rees, with their younger selves played by Scott Arthur (Good Omens, Borg McEnroe) and Siôn Alun Davies (The Sandman, Hidden). All 4 episodes are currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Composer Sarah Warne exquisitely captures the series zeitgeist with her fragile orchestral score. Industrial percussion, haunting vocals and intense orchestral colours are fused together in the dark and poignant landscape of Steeltown Murders. At its heart, the score evolves and transforms the traditional Welsh hymn tune ‘llef’, in the drawing together of a broken and harrowed South Wales community. A sense of resilience and ultimate catharsis are pursued in the music, beautifully performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, together with various additional soloists including voices, halldorophone, and guitars.

Sarah Warne trained as a classical harpist, pianist and composer. In her composition work, she specialises in blending acoustic instruments with unique electronic signatures. Sarah is best known for her work on Channel 4’s critically acclaimed television drama series Humans, and her recent scores for BBC’s Time and ITV’s Des. Sarah has also scored various primetime documentaries including several films for the BAFTA nominated series Catching a Killer (Channel 4), and her recent series about Putin and Russian corruption in London, Once Upon a Time in Londongrad, which is a 6-part documentary for Sky Atlantic directed by Oscar nominated director Jed Rothstein for Rise Films. Sarah Warne’s scores for Humans, Des, Time and Dark Money are available on Silva Screen Records.