Flatpack Festival
Film for all the senses

Second City Firsts 1

Sunday 24th April, 2016

MAC Birmingham - Cinema | 14:00

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.

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.

A Touch of Eastern Promise (dir: Michael Lindsay-Hogg, 1973) Our first film 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.

Girl (dir: Peter Gill, 1974) We then kick off a small Alison Steadman double-bill with this studio-shot military drama, which features the first lesbian kiss seen on British TV.

Early to Bed (dir: Les Blair, 1975) The final film has Steadman in a very different role, 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.

See also: Second City Firsts vol.2

This screening is a part of the Second City Firsts Bundle. Buy a bundle and get both Second City Firsts screenings at the reduced price of £12 Full Price or £10 Concession.

Cert (PG) *

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