Shakespeare or Bust

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Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.

This grab is from the 1973 Play for Today, ‘Shakespeare or Bust’, by Peter Tersen.  David Rose was the producer, Brian Parker the director, Barry Hanson the script editor, assisted by Tara Prem.

The film featured three characters who’d appeared in an earlier Play for Today, ‘The Fishing Party’ again by Peter Terson.  The drama followed the miners, Art, Ern and Abe, on a canal narrowboat trip down to Stratford Upon Avon.  Art was played by Brian Glover, Ern, Ray Mort and Abe by Douglas Livingstone.

Peter Terson wrote the script whilst doing the journey himself in a narrowboat, leaving chunks of the finished script at lock-keepers’ cottage along the route for Tara to pick up.

The following comments were added on the Pebble Mill Facebook Page:

Caroline Hawkins: ‘Yep, I remember it. Mum was the costume designer and after the filming was over we hired the very same boat for a family holiday.’

Dawn Trotman: ‘I think Oliver White cut it and of course Barry Hanson went on to head up the department as well as produce the Long Good Friday.’

David Rudkin talking about the success of Penda’s Fen


Relative success of Penda’s Fen from pebblemill on Vimeo.

Specially shot interview with writer David Rudkin, talking about the relative success of the 1974 Play for Today, ‘Penda’s Fen’, made by BBC Pebble Mill.  Alan Clarke was the director, David Rose the producer, and Tara Prem the script editor.

Caroline Hawkins left the following message on the Pebble Mill Facebook Group: ‘I remember it. I was in it. I was the little girl who had her hands chopped off and my mother was the costume designer (who persuaded me to do it!)’.

Writer, David Rudkin