Jan 29, 2019
Theatre 625: Talking To A Stranger: No Skill Or Special Knowledge Is Required (BBC, 1966)
"Don't talk to me like a father - you're too late, and I'm too old."
#theatre 625#talking to a stranger#no skill or special knowledge is required#1966#bbc#classic tv#maurice denham#michael bryant#judi dench#margery mason#emrys james#calvin lockhart#ann mitchell#frederick pyne#barry stanton#gaynor jones#keith kent#john hopkins#christopher morahan#denham's father character takes centre stage here. this is in some ways much tighter than the first episode#where that charted the course of an entire day with fragmented and sometimes incoherent memories#this episode spans only an hour or two with multiple flashbacks to the same few memories#i suppose its reflective of the minds of the characters. dench is unhappy and confused and flits from memory to memory. denham is unhappy#too but focuses on the same few memories with an obsessive nostalgia and regret. once again everyone is superb#bryant has a lot more to do here and after appearing to be the voice of reason and calm in ep 1 we slowly start to see just how#hollow and insecure he is. repeatedly asking his father's advice on a job prospect unable to make a decision for himself#and craving only to be told what to do. its a desperately sad character and one of his finest performances. lockhart reappears and is#superb. be warned there is some racism in the dialogue but rather than being 'a product of its time' its a purposeful#demonstration of the age gap between denham and his children. this isn't happy watching by any means#but by god its powerful. unlike the first episode the flashbacks here have been filmed with a sort of filter