"The Wednesday Play", which ran on BBC1 between 1964 and 1970, was an anthology series of one-off dramas intended to compete with ITV's similar "Armchair Theatre"; it was devised by Sydney Newman, who had previously been the producer in charge of the ITV series. The title was changed to "Play for Today" in 1970, when a change to the BBC's schedules saw Wednesday nights given over to sport, with drama moving to Thursdays. Most Wednesday Plays were specially commissioned for television, and many were deliberately written to tackle socially relevant subjects.
"Horror of Darkness" was first broadcast in March 1965 during the first season of "The Wednesday Play". Peter Young, a thirty-something commercial artist, shares a flat with his girlfriend Cathy, but their relationship is disturbed by the sudden arrival of Robin Fletcher, an old college friend of Peter's, who turns up unannounced and virtually invites himself to stay. Peter and Cathy have misgivings, but allow Robin to stay with them, which turns out to be a mistake.
The play has been described as a variation on the "eternal triangle" theme, a description which might lead us to believe that it involves some sort of romantic attachment developing between Cathy and Robin. That, however, is not what it is about; it is much more varied than that. Cathy accuses Peter of being jealous of Robin, but in fact if there is any romantic attachment it is between Robin and Peter, although the word "homosexual" is never used at all. (As for "gay", that word was not commonly used in its modern sense in mid-sixties Britain). At one point, however, Robin explicitly announces to his friend "I love you", although as Robin tends to see himself as a licensed agent provocateur we are not sure whether he is merely saying this as a tease or in all sincerity. At another point Robin forcibly kisses Cathy, although the implication here is that he is desperately trying to prove his heterosexuality- perhaps to Peter, perhaps to himself. The play's underlying homosexual theme caused surprisingly little controversy when it was first broadcast, even though male homosexuality was still illegal in 1965.
The play is not, however, just about interpersonal relationships. There is another sort of jealousy involved. Robin accuses Peter, who at one time had ambitions to be a painter, of having sold out his art by becoming a commercial artist producing illustrations for books and magazines, and although Peter claims to love his job, he obviously resents the accusation, possibly because there is some truth in it. Robin claims to be an author, writing under the pseudonym Philip Moss, and to have had a short story published in a literary magazine and a play performed in the West End. Robin's claims are later shown to be an imposture, but Peter and Cathy are taken in by them, and Peter clearly envies Robin for supposedly having become the creative artist that Peter himself would love to be.
"The Wednesday Play" and "Play for Today" often managed to attract leading lights of the British acting profession, and there are three good performances here in the leading roles, from Alfred Lynch as Peter, Glenda Jackson as Cathy and Nicol Williamson as Robin. Lynch's Peter starts off as a confident, even complacent, member of London's well-to-do bourgeoisie, but he is shaken out of his self-confidence by the arrival of Robin and finds himself doubting all the old certainties, especially as there is a hint that he might, to a certain extent, return Robin's feelings. The down-to-earth Cathy is probably more intelligent than her boyfriend, but even she finds it difficult to cope with what T. S. Eliot called "disturbance of the quiet seasons". Williamson's Robin might seem like an anarchic free spirit, but beneath this guise he is actually an angst-ridden, deeply troubled man, and it is his troubles which lead to the play's tragic climax.
I deliberately use the word "climax" rather than "conclusion", because the climax does not come right at the end, and what follows it is something of an anti-climax. I didn't really like the character of Micaela, whom I felt writer John Hopkins did not really integrate well into the structure of his play. For most of its length, however, "Horror of Darkness" is a bleak but well-realised psychological character study of the ways in which people can torture one another while not consciously meaning to. 7/10.
"Horror of Darkness" was first broadcast in March 1965 during the first season of "The Wednesday Play". Peter Young, a thirty-something commercial artist, shares a flat with his girlfriend Cathy, but their relationship is disturbed by the sudden arrival of Robin Fletcher, an old college friend of Peter's, who turns up unannounced and virtually invites himself to stay. Peter and Cathy have misgivings, but allow Robin to stay with them, which turns out to be a mistake.
The play has been described as a variation on the "eternal triangle" theme, a description which might lead us to believe that it involves some sort of romantic attachment developing between Cathy and Robin. That, however, is not what it is about; it is much more varied than that. Cathy accuses Peter of being jealous of Robin, but in fact if there is any romantic attachment it is between Robin and Peter, although the word "homosexual" is never used at all. (As for "gay", that word was not commonly used in its modern sense in mid-sixties Britain). At one point, however, Robin explicitly announces to his friend "I love you", although as Robin tends to see himself as a licensed agent provocateur we are not sure whether he is merely saying this as a tease or in all sincerity. At another point Robin forcibly kisses Cathy, although the implication here is that he is desperately trying to prove his heterosexuality- perhaps to Peter, perhaps to himself. The play's underlying homosexual theme caused surprisingly little controversy when it was first broadcast, even though male homosexuality was still illegal in 1965.
The play is not, however, just about interpersonal relationships. There is another sort of jealousy involved. Robin accuses Peter, who at one time had ambitions to be a painter, of having sold out his art by becoming a commercial artist producing illustrations for books and magazines, and although Peter claims to love his job, he obviously resents the accusation, possibly because there is some truth in it. Robin claims to be an author, writing under the pseudonym Philip Moss, and to have had a short story published in a literary magazine and a play performed in the West End. Robin's claims are later shown to be an imposture, but Peter and Cathy are taken in by them, and Peter clearly envies Robin for supposedly having become the creative artist that Peter himself would love to be.
"The Wednesday Play" and "Play for Today" often managed to attract leading lights of the British acting profession, and there are three good performances here in the leading roles, from Alfred Lynch as Peter, Glenda Jackson as Cathy and Nicol Williamson as Robin. Lynch's Peter starts off as a confident, even complacent, member of London's well-to-do bourgeoisie, but he is shaken out of his self-confidence by the arrival of Robin and finds himself doubting all the old certainties, especially as there is a hint that he might, to a certain extent, return Robin's feelings. The down-to-earth Cathy is probably more intelligent than her boyfriend, but even she finds it difficult to cope with what T. S. Eliot called "disturbance of the quiet seasons". Williamson's Robin might seem like an anarchic free spirit, but beneath this guise he is actually an angst-ridden, deeply troubled man, and it is his troubles which lead to the play's tragic climax.
I deliberately use the word "climax" rather than "conclusion", because the climax does not come right at the end, and what follows it is something of an anti-climax. I didn't really like the character of Micaela, whom I felt writer John Hopkins did not really integrate well into the structure of his play. For most of its length, however, "Horror of Darkness" is a bleak but well-realised psychological character study of the ways in which people can torture one another while not consciously meaning to. 7/10.
