In this musical special, young actors from London’s celebrated Anna Scher Theatre improvise scenes inspired by their own lives.
A group of young people at the North London Youth Theatre are in rehearsal when their session is interrupted by the arrival of a stranger. This intrusion forces the members of the group to reveal more than they intended about their personal lives and anxieties. The cast of young actors includes Pauline Quirke, Ray Burdis, Linda Robson, Kim Taylforth, John Blundell, John Fowler, Beverley Martin, Herbert Norville, David Nunn, Kelvin Omard, Martin Philips, and Mario Renzullo.
This one-off musical was a product of the influential Anna Scher Theatre, a drama school in Islington renowned for its improvisational methods and for nurturing working-class talent. Rather than a conventional scripted piece, the production was constructed around scenes devised by its young cast, giving the drama a raw, unpolished texture. Recorded on location at the theatre, the direction for television by Jeremy Swan mixes the immediacy of a live performance with short filmed inserts to set the scene. The musical is a key document of the Anna Scher method and an early vehicle for a generation of actors, including Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Ray Burdis, who would become familiar faces on British television.
Broadcast: BBC Two, 1 Episode, Tuesday, 8 April 1980
Devised by: Anna Scher, Charles Verrall
Music and Lyrics by: Ken Howard, Alan Blaikley
Directed for television by: Jeremy Swan
Executive Producer: Anna Home
Film Director: Sarah Hellings
Main Cast: Pauline Quirke, Ray Burdis, Linda Robson, Kim Taylforth, John Blundell, John Fowler, Beverley Martin, Herbert Norville, David Nunn, Kelvin Omard, Martin Philips, Mario Renzullo
