BBC Gosta Green revisited

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sat 15 Oct 2016, 11am | Tickets £5 (£3) | Hexagon Theatre – Midlands Arts Centre
When BBC Birmingham outgrew its first base on Broad Street, television production moved to the old Delicia Cinema on Gosta Green. Saturday morning’s screening is a rare chance to sample a selection of Gosta Green’s output, introduced by TV historian Lez Cooke (Royal Holloway) who has been focussing on the studio as part of his AHRC-funded project Forgotten Television Drama. The programme includes the opening episode of Rainbow City, the first UK series to feature a black actor (Errol John) in the lead role, and will be followed by a discussion involving people who worked at the studio. Also shown will be an episode of The Newcomers and Sinking Fish Move Sideways as part of the tribute to this pioneering regional television studio, sixty years after drama was first produced there.This event is part of Birmingham on Film, a Flatpack season of archive screenings and events across the city from 16 September to 15 October.

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The Permissive Society

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a grab from The Permissive Society, one of Mike Leigh’s first television dramas. It was broadcast on 10th April 1975, on BBC 2, at 10.40 pm. Here is the Radio Times entry, courtesy of the BBC Genome project:
“A season of new plays from Birmingham
The Permissive Society
Les’s sister is going out and his parents won’t be back for a while. What will happen when he’s finally left alone with his girl friend?”
Designer MARGARET PEACOCK ProducerTARA PREM
Devised and directed by MIKE LEIGH (Birmingham)
Contributors
Designer: Margaret Peacock
Producer: Tara Prem
Directed By: Mike Leigh
Les: Bob Mason
Yvonne: Rachel Davies
Carol: Veronica Roberts

http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/aaa18560d30d484191e683327e5b477f 

The drama was part of the Second City Firsts series of half hour plays. It was shown at the Flatpack Film Festival in April 2016, at the Midlands Arts Centre, where Mike Leigh carried out some of his early improvisatory work with actors.

Second City Firsts screenings Sun 24 April 2016

copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission

copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a series of screenings at the Midlands Arts Centre on Sunday 24 April 2016, starting at 2pm, as part of the Flatpack Film Festival. Below is the publicity information from organiser, Ian Francis:

SECOND CITY FIRSTS

During the 1970s, a key strength of the drama department at BBC Pebble Mill was its ability to unearth new talent; not just through flagships like Play For Today, but also the entry-point offered by the likes of Second City Firsts. Running from 1973 for ten series, this half-hour slot took a chance on a spectacular range of ‘regional talent’ including Willy Russell, Julie Walters, David Rudkin, Brian Glover and many others. Just as importantly, it offered a diversity of representation that often compares favourably with today’s TV drama. This afternoon we’re joined by Tara Prem, a script editor and subsequently series producer on Second City Firsts, to explore six very different episodes from the strand.

Girl 1974

Girl 1974

Early to Bed

Early to Bed 1975

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volume One:

A Touch of Eastern Promise; Girl; Early to Bed

Our first film, A Touch of Eastern Promise (1973), is not officially a Second City First, though it emerged from a very similar slot. Written by Prem herself, it’s the tale of a daydreaming shop-boy who has the opportunity to meet his favourite star. Partly shot in Balsall Heath, all the cinema scenes were captured at the now-demolished Imperial on Moseley Road. To follow, an Alison Steadman double-bill: studio-shot military drama Girl (1974), which features the first lesbian kiss seen on British TV; and then Early to Bed (1975), with Steadman smouldering on location in a depressed mill town. This claustrophobic tale of infidelity was the first television script by Alan Bleasdale, who later went on to Boys From the Blackstuff and GBH.

 

The Permissive Society 1975

The Permissive Society 1975

Jack Flea's Birthday Celebration 1976

Jack Flea’s Birthday Celebration 1976

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volume Two:
The Permissive Society; Club Havana; Jack Flea’s Birthday Celebration

It was at the Midlands Arts Centre where Mike Leigh first embarked on his unique approach to devising scripts, and Pebble Mill which commissioned much of his early TV work. Made a year before camping comedy Nuts in May, The Permissive Society (1975) is an overlooked gem. Also confined to a single set, Club Havana (1975) is a tense portrait of a Handsworth speakeasy by playwright Barry Reckord, featuring Don Warrington as the landlady’s son newly arrived from Jamaica and an incredibly young Julie Walters as the barmaid. We conclude with Jack Flea’s Birthday Celebration (1976), a psychosexual nightmare from the pen of Ian McEwan which is very much in keeping with his short stories of the time.

Flatpack Film Festival – Second City Firsts

A Touch of Eastern Promise

A Touch of Eastern Promise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Flatpack Film Festival are going to be screening six 30 minute dramas made at Pebble Mill by the English Regions Drama Department, in April 2016 at the Midlands Arts Centre, Edgbaston:

“SECOND CITY FIRSTS

During the 1970s, a key strength of the drama department at BBC Pebble Mill was its ability to unearth new talent; not just through flagships like Play For Today, but also the entry-point offered by the likes of Second City Firsts. Running from 1973 for ten series, this half-hour slot took a chance on a spectacular range of ‘regional talent’ including Willy Russell, Julie Walters, David Rudkin, Brian Glover and many others. Just as importantly, it offered a diversity of representation that often compares favourably with today’s TV drama.

 

Volume One:

A Touch of Eastern Promise; Girl; Early to Bed

A Touch of Eastern Promise (1973), is not officially a Second City First, though it emerged from a very similar slot. Written by Tara Prem, it’s the tale of a daydreaming shop-boy who has the opportunity to meet his favourite star. Partly shot in Balsall Heath, all the cinema scenes were captured at the now-demolished Imperial on Moseley Road. To follow, an Alison Steadman double-bill: studio-shot military drama Girl (1974), which features the first lesbian kiss seen on British TV; and then Early to Bed (1975), with Steadman smouldering on location in a depressed mill town. This claustrophobic tale of infidelity was the first television script by Alan Bleasdale, who later went on to Boys From the Blackstuff and GBH.

 

Volume Two:

The Permissive Society; Club Havana; Jack Flea’s Birthday Celebration

It was at the Midlands Arts Centre where Mike Leigh first embarked on his unique approach to devising scripts, and Pebble Mill which commissioned much of his early TV work. Made a year before camping comedy Nuts in May, The Permissive Society (1975) is an overlooked gem. Also confined to a single set, Club Havana (1975) is a tense portrait of a Handsworth speakeasy by playwright Barry Reckord, featuring Don Warrington as the landlady’s son newly arrived from Jamaica and an incredibly young Julie Walters as the barmaid. We conclude with Jack Flea’s Birthday Celebration (1976), a psychosexual nightmare from the pen of Ian McEwan which is very much in keeping with his short stories of the time.”