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Cathy Come Home by TelevisionHeaven on December 11, 2000
Article Rating: 9.00
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Cathy Come Home
In 1966 The Wednesday Play
brought us one of the most significant pieces of work
that has ever been transmitted on British television.
Written by Jeremy Sandford and directed by Ken Loach,
this single drama had such a profound effect on its showing,
that Britain would never be the same again. The play
was called Cathy Come Home.
By the late 1950's and early
1960's a new wave of plays depicting the gritty reality
of life in Britain was introduced to the television audience
via the ITV series Armchair Theatre. Under the guidance
of series producer Sidney Newman, playwrights such as
Harold Pinter, Alun Owen and Robert Muller tackled hitherto
taboo subjects such as infidelity and unplanned pregnancies
among the working classes. This approach to important
social issues in a series of kitchen sink dramas with
their no-holds barred realism earned the series the nickname
Armpit Theatre. However distasteful some viewers may
have found these subjects the fact was that there were
serious social and political issues that could not, indeed
would not, be ignored.
When Newman left independent
television to take up a post as Head of Drama with the
BBC, he took his hard-hitting play format with him. Now
called The Wednesday Play, the new series became a showcase
for emerging talent such as Ronald Eyre, David Mercer
and Dennis Potter, but it was Jeremy Sandford's study
of a homeless family in 1966, that was to have the biggest
impact.
Cathy Come Home told the story
of a young northern lass (an emotionally powerful performance
by Carol White), who made her way to London, met and
married a local lad, Reg (Ray Brooks), and soon found
herself the mother of three children. As the story unfolded
the family was torn apart by the fact that they had no
permanent roof over their heads, following Reg's accident
at work and his subsequent struggle to find re-employment.
It showed how they fell headlong into a downward spiral
of squalor, from a pokey caravan to an eventual hostel
for the homeless. Torn apart by this the couple separated
and eventually Reg stopped paying for their keep, until
Cathy and her children were thrown onto the streets.
The despair experienced by Cathy as her children were
forcibly removed from her by Social Services touched
the hearts of the nation. Scenes were kept to a minimum
and the play quoted true housing figures throughout.
Shot in documentary style with a hand held camera, a
soundtrack devoid of music and punctuated with urban
noise, many viewers thought that they were watching a
true story unfold.
Never before or since has
one single piece of drama had such an effect on an entire
nation. The stark realism of Cathy Come Home led to angry
calls for action to prevent such circumstances from happening.
The changes in social attitudes and awareness were significant,
and the issues addressed were discussed in Parliament.
As a direct result of the play the homeless charity,
Shelter, was founded a week later as a national campaign
for the homeless, and quickly became an important voice
in housing matters.
Stark, unremittingly grim
and charged with a palpable tragic power which haunts
the minds of those who saw it to this very day, Cathy
Come Home remains as a truly ground-breaking piece of
dramatic documentary fiction which was to cause great
debate over the very nature of broadcast drama. Although
director Loach has constantly refused to take credit
for the impact that Cathy had on social attitudes, stating
that the drama had a minimal effect, and reminding us
that the homeless problem is far worse today than it
ever was in the 1960's, rarely has a programme so clearly
illustrated the true power of television. Even more rarely
has television succeeded in touching the conscience of
an entire nation.
CAST
Cathy Ward Carol White | Reg
Ward Ray Brooks | Mrs Ward Winnifred Dennis
Written By: Jeremy Sandford Produce By: Tony Garnett. Directed
By: Ken Loach.
95 minute duration. Black and white. BBC 1966
The video of Cathy Come Home is available through Blackstar.
(See contents page for link).
Text: Laurence Marcus & Stephen Hulse 2000
http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk
Article Rating: 9.00 (576/640)
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