Foxtel’s Picnic At Hanging Rock about to air

AUSSIE drama dominated in 2017 and the year is set to kick off with another epic locally produced show, Foxtel’s Picnic At Hanging Rock.

Picnic At Hanging Rock the new Foxtel show. Samara Weaving (Irma Leopold), Madeleine Madden (Marion Quade), Natalie Dormer (English headmistress Mrs Hester Appleyard) and Lily Sullivan (Miranda Reid). Picture: FremantleMedia Australia / Ben King

AUSSIE drama dominated in 2017 and the year is set to kick off with another epic locally produced show, Foxtel’s Picnic At Hanging Rock.

With an all-star cast led by UK-born actor Natalie Dormer, the remake of the iconic 1975 movie, which was shot Down Under this year, takes inspiration from the original production, but also has totally new elements.

Natalie Dormer attends the British Independent Film Awards held at Old Billingsgate on December 10 in London, England. Picture: John Phillips/Getty Images

Actress Natalie Dormer poses in the Studio during the MTV EMAs 2017 held at The SSE Arena, Wembley on November 12 in London, England. Picture: Gareth Cattermole/MTV EMAs 2017/Getty Images for MTV

The Game Of Thrones star plays school headmistress Mrs Hester Appleyard, who has travelled from the UK to Australia.

Dormer said the stubborn headmistress was an exciting character to portray.

“In her novel, Joan Lindsay gives you hints there is a past and that Hester isn’t being completely honest about her background,” Dormer said.

“The delicious thing that has been done with out version of Picnic At Hanging Rock is that we have really fleshed out her morally ambiguous background in London. The audience slowly learns more and more and that she is not as she portrays herself to be.

“It is such a great ensemble piece with so many characters with a lot of secrecy between them.”

Picnic at Hanging Rock trailer

Heading to Australia for the show was the first trip Down Under for Dormer, who said she was blown away by the country.

“You become so overwhelmed by the beauty and the scale of the Australian landscape, which is a character in itself — it has a power and inform a lot of the characters’ journeys,” Dormer told Foxtel Magazine.

Picnic At Hanging Rock will air on Foxtel’s Showcase.