I caught this recently and felt I needed to give my opinion of this wonderful little play from 1982.
Willie played by Paul Freeman is a jobbing roofer desperate for a mid life fling to brighten the mundane existence he feels he has in his life with his wife and family.
This involves scratching to make a living and trying unsuccessfully to attract lonely housewives through the course of his working day.
We also see drudgery of family life and the drabness of the local pub with his other mid life crisis hit pals and also the desperate plight of unemployment .
He is desperate to break free of this life and when his wife gives him licence to roam around his old haunts one Friday night he takes it with both hands.
He finds the pubs of his youth have all changed and we see a long scene of him trudging the streets and the images of the pubs he has visited in the same way a stage production would display this.
He then returns to the local and finds the middle aged landlady with her partner on a golfing trip is up for a fling and flattered he stays back for a 'lock in'.
As this is a play most of the action takes place in the pub and the main drama is mostly the various characters gassing about their lives or lack of them.
It doesn't take anything away from this well observed play and if anything adds to the drama however it does contain language and themes that some people would find offensive today.
A great cast is on fine form and there are some strong and relevant scenes throughout this drama.
Play for today was brilliant at observing ordinary people in day to day situations and making watchable and memorable dramas as well as giving breaks to scores to budding playwrights and fledgling actors and actresses.
I think the BBC needs to get back to showcasing new talent as it did with ' Play for Today' and when you think the likes of Mike Leigh , Alan Bleasdale and Willy Russell contributed to this fantastic series i don't think I need to say anymore.
Willie played by Paul Freeman is a jobbing roofer desperate for a mid life fling to brighten the mundane existence he feels he has in his life with his wife and family.
This involves scratching to make a living and trying unsuccessfully to attract lonely housewives through the course of his working day.
We also see drudgery of family life and the drabness of the local pub with his other mid life crisis hit pals and also the desperate plight of unemployment .
He is desperate to break free of this life and when his wife gives him licence to roam around his old haunts one Friday night he takes it with both hands.
He finds the pubs of his youth have all changed and we see a long scene of him trudging the streets and the images of the pubs he has visited in the same way a stage production would display this.
He then returns to the local and finds the middle aged landlady with her partner on a golfing trip is up for a fling and flattered he stays back for a 'lock in'.
As this is a play most of the action takes place in the pub and the main drama is mostly the various characters gassing about their lives or lack of them.
It doesn't take anything away from this well observed play and if anything adds to the drama however it does contain language and themes that some people would find offensive today.
A great cast is on fine form and there are some strong and relevant scenes throughout this drama.
Play for today was brilliant at observing ordinary people in day to day situations and making watchable and memorable dramas as well as giving breaks to scores to budding playwrights and fledgling actors and actresses.
I think the BBC needs to get back to showcasing new talent as it did with ' Play for Today' and when you think the likes of Mike Leigh , Alan Bleasdale and Willy Russell contributed to this fantastic series i don't think I need to say anymore.
