You and Me and Him

Screen grab from ‘You and Me and Him’. Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the months before David Rose died, I was approached by a friend and former colleague of his, asking if I could get hold of a copy of David Mercer’s 1973, Thirty Minute Theatre drama, You, and Me and Him, for him. Through friends at the BBC Drama Village, I managed to get a copy of the drama dubbed off, and sent to David. Fortunately, despite being very frail David was able to watch it in the weeks before he died, it apparently meant a lot to him. I decided to take the opportunity of watching the drama myself, and below are a few observations about it.

The only character in the play is Coster, played brilliantly by Peter Vaughan. It is a studio piece, which sounds simple, there being only one character. It is anything but! Coster is in conversation with himself, in three different guises throughout the drama, in quite a schizophrenic manner. There are different settings, an office, and a bedroom. When in the office, Coster wears glasses and is smartly dressed, in the bedroom he is dishevelled and wearing pyjamas. He is in the care of a psychiatrist and realises that he needs to pull himself together. We hear Coster taped on a ¼” tape, and on the phone to himself.

It is a psychological drama and quite philosophical, and considers some of the darker issues in life, there is talk of army rape, of pornography and lusting after little girls. The tone gets increasing violent during the drama, as one version of Coster wants to get rid of his alter-egos. He even talks of suicide. The drama ends with the conclusion that ‘You and me, are him’, and that in fact they each love the other.

Technically the drama is very complex, with hundreds of edits in a half hour piece, including a lot of split screens. John Lannin was the VT editor, and did a wonderful job. It was presumably recorded on 2” videotape, and so the editing process must have been tortuous and extremely time consuming. There are some really creative shots especially in transitions between settings, for example the feet of one of Coster’s personalities from one setting, appear in the foreground of the other setting. I’m not sure how this would have been done at that time, unless it was a locked-off shot. There is also a shot showing the empty office chair spinning, and then Coster appears sat in the chair, which was presumably a locked-off shot.

The director was Barry Hanson, with David Rose the producer, and Michael Edwards the production designer. This was a really innovative piece of drama, which stands up pretty well to contemporary viewing. Apparently the master tape was supposed to be wiped, but it was kept by the VT boys, who changed the tape number. It was then found in the basement by Paul Vanezis in 1990, and placed in the BBC Archive.

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Peter Vaughan 1923-2016

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

You and Me and Him. Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The character actor, Peter Vaughan, died today (6th Dec 2016) aged 93. He is perhaps best known for his role as Harry Grout, in Porridge, although many people will recognise him as Maester Aemon in Game of Thrones. Vaughan also played the role of Coster, in the 1973 Pebble Mill  Thirty Minute Theatre: You and Me and Him. It was written by David Mercer, and directed by Barry Hanson. David Rose was the producer, and the production designer was Michael Edwards.

Thanks to Ian Collins for making the screen grab available.

Ironically, I was only messaging director Paul Vanezis last night about You and Me and Him, and he told me the following story about how he saved the TX tape:

“I found the tape in the basement [of Pebble Mill] in 1990; the spool number had been changed, but it was the original TX tape. It still had the VT card inside. John Lannin edited it and Tony Rayner was his assistant. I think they kept it because it was a very complex show to edit. I recall that it had written in red biro on the card 283 edits!!! That would have been a a lot for 1973. It had also been copied for the BFI in 1975, but then sent to be wiped, hence the VT guys intercepting it and changing the number so it couldn’t be wiped. When I found the tape I sent it to Windmill Road, but only when they promised to keep it safe.”

Fortunately the programme does still exist in the archive.

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

Wendy Critchlow: ‘I remember watching this and Steve talking about the work that had gone into it in VT.’

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Barry Hanson’s Memorial & his Pebble Mill credits

Barry Hanson

Barry Hanson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A memorial is going to be held for Barry Hanson, who died in June 2016, at Channel 4 on 29th September at 6.30pm. If anyone is interested in attending please contact Peter Ansorge (message me for details if necessary).

Here is a list of Barry Hanson’s numerous Pebble Mill credits:

1970s

You and Me and Him – Director, 1973, Thirty Minute Theatre

The Medium – Producer, 1973, Second City Firsts

Mrs Pool’s Preserves – Producer, 1973, Second City Firsts

If a Man Answers – Producer, 1973, Second City Firsts

The Movers – Producer, 1973, Second City Firsts

King of the Castle – Producer, 1973, Second City Firsts

Patrons – Producer, 1973, Second City Firsts

Humbug, Finger or Thumb – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Girl – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Bold Faced Condensed – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

The Actual Woman – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Match of the Day – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Lunch Duty – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Pig Bin – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Too Hot to Handle – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Sunday Tea – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Fight for Shelton Bar – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Squire – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Silence – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Match of the Day – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

The Festive Poacher – Producer, 1974, Second City Firsts

Gangsters – Producer, 1975, Play for Today

Early to Bed – Producer, 1975, Second City Firsts

Swallows – Producer, 1975, Second City Firsts

Waiting at the Field Gate – Producer, 1975, Second City Firsts

The Permissive Society – Producer, 1975, Second City Firsts

Released – Producer, 1975, Second City Firsts

1990s

Broke – Producer, 1991

Out of the Blue – Producer 1991

Olly’s Prison Part 1 – Producer 1991

Olly’s Prison Part 2 – Producer 1991

Olly’s Prison Part 3 – Producer 1991

 

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