In this single drama, a man’s holiday reminiscences mask a deeper sense of dissatisfaction and regret.
Mickey Grant (Leonard Rossiter) holds court, regaling his wife Brenda (Margery Mason) and their friend Nancy (Joan Hickson) with tales of a recent trip to Scotland. As he dominates the conversation, his cheerful anecdotes and pronouncements on life begin to grate on his companions. What starts as a simple holiday reminiscence gradually exposes the tensions simmering beneath the surface of his marriage and his own profound sense of personal failure.
After Loch Lomond is a classic example of the writer-led single play, built entirely around a central performance. The script by Douglas Livingstone provides a perfect vehicle for Leonard Rossiter, who constructs a masterful portrait of a man whose relentless bonhomie is a brittle shield for his own mediocrity. Directed with an unobtrusive focus on character by John Gorrie, the drama unfolds almost in real time, using Mickey Grant’s rambling monologue to methodically strip away his facade. The production, overseen by Verity Lambert, is a piercing study of middle-aged disappointment, locating its drama not in events but in the telling of them, and in the weary reactions of those forced to listen.
Broadcast: ITV – LWT, 1 Episode, 2 February 1973
Written by: Douglas Livingstone
Producer: Verity Lambert
Director: John Gorrie
Main Cast: Leonard Rossiter (Mickey Grant), Margery Mason (Brenda), Joan Hickson (Nancy), Joy Stewart (Bar Lady), Gabrielle Daye (Mrs Buckley), Geoffrey Denton (Mr Buckley), Anne Carroll (Sheila), Richard Moore (Colin), Leslie Dwyer (Mr Maystead)
