"Dennis Potter was a writer who is best known for his BBC television serials Pennies from Heaven (1978) and The Singing Detective (1986), as well as the BBC television plays Blue Remembered Hills (1979) and Brimstone and Treacle (1976). His plays were often controversial but are fondly remembered by those who saw them at the time, often revelling slightly in the controversy as well."
"First broadcast in 1965 on BBC1 as part of The Wednesday Play series, Stand Up, Nigel Barton is a semi-autobiographical work that draws from Dennis Potter's experience as a working-class Oxford student from a small mining community. Pennies from Heaven tells the story of Arthur Parker, a songsheet salesman whose fantasies, expressed through 1930s musical numbers, contrast with the grim reality of his life. Set and filmed in Potter's hometown of Berry Hill, Forest of Dean, the drama is a fictionalisation of a real incident."
"The Singing Detective stars Michael Gambon as Philip Marlow, a writer suffering from a debilitating skin condition who escapes into noir-styled fiction, music and memory to make sense of his life and overcome his illness, the root of which is believed to be psychological. Originally aired on BBC1's Play for Today and later adapted into the film Track 29, this haunting drama is one of Potter's signature "visitation" pieces."
Studio Voltaire in Clapham is screening several television plays by Dennis Potter as part of a season of events. Potter's best-known works include the serials Pennies from Heaven (1978) and The Singing Detective (1986) and the plays Blue Remembered Hills (1979) and Brimstone and Treacle (1976). His work often provoked controversy while remaining fondly remembered by contemporary audiences. Stand Up, Nigel Barton (1965) draws on Potter's working-class Oxford experience. Pennies from Heaven juxtaposes a songsheet salesman's 1930s musical fantasies with his grim reality. The Sextet entry features an actor convinced he is followed by an invisible camera. The Singing Detective blends illness, memory, music and noir fiction.
#dennis-potter #british-television-drama #studio-voltaire #pennies-from-heaven #the-singing-detective
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