Shalom Salaam TX Card

Shalom Salaam TX Card

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

Thanks to costume designer, Janice Rider, for sharing this transmission card for the Pebble Mill drama series, Shalom Salaam.

The five part series was transmitted between 26th April – 24th May 1989. The story followed the lives of a Jewish and a Muslim family in Leicester, and a mixed race relationship, over the course of five years.

Gareth Jones wrote the script and directed the drama, with Chris Parr the producer.

The series starred Zia Mohyeddin as Sadiq Sattar; Charlotte Cornwell as Sarah Morris; John Cater as Joe Astler; Buki Armstrong as Candy; and Mamta Kaash as Mumtaz Sattar; Toby Rolt as Adam Morris; and Clare Holman as Jackie.

Games Without Frontiers

 

Jim Broadbent

Jim Broadbent

Christopher Fairbank

Christopher Fairbank

Philip Jackson

Philip Jackson

 

 

 

 

 

 

I attended the Kaleidoscope, Pebble Mill archive screening event on Saturday in Stourbridge, and had the opportunity to see some wonderful shows from the 1970s and ‘80s. An added bonus was that some of the programme makers, actors and presenters were able to come along and discuss their work.

One treasure from the archives was the 1980, BBC 2 Playhouse: Games Without Frontiers. It was a multi-camera studio drama, devised and directed by Michael Bradwell, who came along to the screening, as did Philip Jackson, one of the lead actors. The play also featured Jim Broadbent, Eric Allan and Christopher Fairbank – so a very strong cast.

The drama was improvised by the actors during the rehearsal period, and then written down, so that it could be plotted for the cameras, in a similar way to how Mike Leigh’s dramas worked.  It was set on a North Sea ferry from Holland. In order to research ideas for the play the actors went on a weekend away to Amsterdam – including the obligatory trip to the red-light district, paid for, of course, by the BBC!

The action was almost all set in the ferry bar, with a couple of scenes in the corridor, so it had quite a claustrophobic feel. The set was built on the top floor of the Pebble Mill office block, which acted as the studio.

The play was remarkably watchable, mainly because of the developing relationships between the characters. There were some funny comic touches and excellent character acting.  The story revolves around the two main characters, Clive (Philip Jackson) and Stewart (Jim Broadbent), who are on their way home after a weekend in Amsterdam.  They describe their weekend’s adventures, including the trip to the red-light area, and we learn a lot about their home and working lives. Technically the pictures and sound were still good quality.

This kind of drama would not be made nowadays: it is a character driven study, with nowhere near enough action to satisfy a contemporary audience. Also it would not fit into the popular sub-genres of modern drama – it isn’t crime related, or a thriller.

Peter Ansorge was the producer of Games Without Frontiers; he came along to the showing and took part in a panel discussion about it, and other dramas, before the screening. He said to me afterwards that he had no idea that the play still existed, and he hadn’t seen it for many years! So many studio dramas of this era were junked, as videotape was expensive, and tapes were wiped to be re-used.

Vanessa Jackson

Jim Goddard – Director of The Black Stuff

Jim Goddard, Director of The Black Stuff

Jim Goddard, Director of The Black Stuff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

(The television and film director, Jim Goddard has died recently aged 77. He worked at Pebble Mill directing episodes of Dangerfield and also directed the Play for Today – The Black Stuff. Here is a link to his obituary in the Guardian: http://m.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2013/jun/27/jim-goddard-obituary. Head of the English Regions Drama Department at Pebble Mill in the 1970s, David Rose, wrote a letter to the Guardian with memories of Jim Goddard directing The Black Stuff.)

As producer of Alan Bleasdale’s The Black Stuff, I was immensely impressed by Jim Goddard’s direction. Although it was transmitted as a BBC Play for Today, it was in fact a feature-length film. I recall Jim working in west London with the team of actors led by Bernard Hill playing Yosser Hughes, walking back and forth in a rehearsal room, to measure out a long tracking shot which was to be filmed on the roads of the north-east. With the actors in mind, Jim took full advantage by combining old-style television rehearsal with the economic need to keep the film camera turning.

This valuable preparation gave the team of actors the freedom of spirit which subsequently Michael Wearing and Philip Saville inherited when producing and directing, with newly introduced lightweight cameras, Bleasdale’s compelling series The Boys from the Blackstuff.

David Rose

Macbeth on the Estate

Macbeth, James Frain, Lady Macbeth, Susan Vidler

Macbeth, James Frain; Lady Macbeth, Susan Vidler

Macbeth, L. Jodow (Rosse), David Harewood (Macduff) JR

Rosse, L. Jodow; Macduff, David Harewood

Macbeth Susan Vidler (Lady Macbeth) JR

Lady Macbeth, Susan Vidler

Macbeth, Graham Bryan (Malcolm), Martin O'Brian (Seyton), Ray Winstone (Duncan) JR

Malcolm, Graham Bryan; Seyton, Martin O’Brian; Duncan, Ray Winstone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Thanks to costume designer, Janice Rider, for sharing these photos.

Macbeth on the Estate was a 1997 adaptation of Macbeth and set on the Ladywood Estate in Birmingham.

The director was Penny Woolcock, with Alison Gilby as the producer.

The following comment was left on the Pebble Mill Facebook group:

Julian Hitchcock: ‘Juliet Bravo: yes,- if I didn’t work on all productions, it was close.
The History Man: yes,- I was the floor assistant. And what a great cast, too: Anthony Sher, Michael Hordern, Geraldine James. I even appeared in it myself: as Michael’s hand swiftly shutting a blind or curtain.’

Signature Tunes – Midland Tonight, Juliet Bravo, The History Man

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

Thanks to Peter Poole for sharing the following Pebble Mill signature tunes.

The first sig tune is for Midlands Tonight. This was a late night regional opt out, broadcast live from Studio B. The programme covered news and current affairs.

The second sig is for the hosted drama series Juliet Bravo.

The final sig is for The History Man, and includes various versions. The History Man was a four part adaptation of the Malcolm Bradbury novel, transmitted in 1981. Michael Wearing was the producer.

Juliet Bravo 1989, no reproduction without permission

Juliet Bravo 1989, no reproduction without permission