"Play for Today" Hard Labour (1973)

Director:

Mike Leigh

Writer:

Mike Leigh (deviser)

TV Series:

"Play for Today" (1970)

Original Air Date:

12 March 1973 (Season 3, Episode 20)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A quiet and put-upon house cleaner breaks her silence.

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship

Cast

Liz Smith	...	Mrs. Thornley
Clifford Kershaw	...	Jim Thornley
Polly Hemingway	...	Ann
Bernard Hill	...	Edward
Alison Steadman	...	Veronica
Vanessa Harris	...	Mrs. Stone
Cyril Varley	...	Mr. Stone
Linda Beckett	...	Julie
Ben Kingsley	...	Naseem
Alan Erasmus	...	Barry
Rowena Parr	...	June
June Whitaker	...	Mrs. Rigby
Paula Tilbrook	...	Mrs. Thornley's friend
Keith Washington	...	Mr. Shaw
Louis Raynes	...	Tallyman

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

A time well buried

'Bleak Moments', 'Hard Labour': the titles of Mike Leigh's early works certainly pull no punches; and at times, when watching the latter, one yearns for the hilarious ambiguity of the later works like 'Life is Sweet', for it's uncomfortable viewing. A portrait of life in a decidedly unfashionable northern town circa 1973, you could be forgiven for thinking that the sixties had never swung; life here is ugly, and riven by divisions defined by class and sex. As always with Leigh, there are some acute observations, and the central character's upwardly mobile daughter-in-law, played by Alison Steadman, provides a hint of a world I recognise (and also a hint of Steadman's later turn in 'Abigail's party'). But there's not many laughs, just unrelenting awfulness. Life is still hard for many, but it's hard to feel nostalgic for this lost world. What should be regretted, however, is the loss of 'Play for Today', and the immense amount of talent that used to go into making dramas like this (to be broadcast to huge audiences by modern standards); in the world of multi-channels and celebrities, something, at least, has been lost.