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Play for Today
S8.E14
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IMDbPro

The Spongers

  • Episode aired Jan 24, 1978
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
67
YOUR RATING
Play for Today (1970)
ComedyDrama
Set against the backdrop of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the play depicts a single mother's struggles in this highly polemical and unremittingly bleak diatribe against government welf... Read allSet against the backdrop of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the play depicts a single mother's struggles in this highly polemical and unremittingly bleak diatribe against government welfare cuts from the poor and disabled.Set against the backdrop of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the play depicts a single mother's struggles in this highly polemical and unremittingly bleak diatribe against government welfare cuts from the poor and disabled.
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
67
YOUR RATING
    • Roland Joffé
    • Jim Allen
  • Stars
    • Christine Hargreaves
    • Bernard Hill
    • Peter Kerrigan
    • Roland Joffé
    • Jim Allen
  • Stars
    • Christine Hargreaves
    • Bernard Hill
    • Peter Kerrigan
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 3User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos24

    Bernard Atha in Play for Today (1970)
    Christine Hargreaves in Play for Today (1970)
    Gertie Almond and Paula McDonagh in Play for Today (1970)
    Gertie Almond, Christine Hargreaves, and Paula McDonagh in Play for Today (1970)
    Christine Hargreaves, Bernard Hill, and Paula McDonagh in Play for Today (1970)
    Paula McDonagh in Play for Today (1970)
    Christine Hargreaves and Peter Kerrigan in Play for Today (1970)
    Christine Hargreaves and Bernard Hill in Play for Today (1970)
    Donald Gee, Christine Hargreaves, and Bernard Hill in Play for Today (1970)
    Play for Today (1970)
    Gertie Almond and Christine Hargreaves in Play for Today (1970)
    Bernard Hill and Peter Kerrigan in Play for Today (1970)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Christine Hargreaves
    • Pauline
    Bernard Hill
    Bernard Hill
    • Sullivan
    Peter Kerrigan
    • Peter
    Paula McDonagh
    • Paula
    Gary Todd
    • Gary
    Grace Allen
    • Grace
    Dawn Booth
    • Baby Dawn
    Angela Catherall
    • Jackie
    Gertie Almond
    • Gertie
    Elaine Lindsay
    • Mrs. Johnson
    Bernard Atha
    • Councillor Conway
    Fred Pearson
    Fred Pearson
    • Director of Social Services
    Ina Clough
    Ina Clough
    • Deputy Director of Social Services
    Donald Gee
    • Dr. Whitehead
    Frances Cox
    • Supervisor at Home
    Josephine Antosz
    • Warden at Hostel
    Lesley Nightingale
    • Assistant Supervisor at Home
    Marion Shakespeare
    • Chairman of Tribunal
      • Roland Joffé
      • Jim Allen
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Bernard Atha, who plays Councilor Conway, was at the time of filming a Leeds City Councilor. He was later Lord Mayor of Leeds.
    • Alternate versions
      After Jim Allen's death in June 1999, this episode was screened in tribute on BBC2 the following month. However, the repeat edition was edited down to a 91 minute duration. Removed entirely from the broadcast was an 86 second council planning scene which began at 10'34m in, while among pruned material was the beginning of Pauline's visit to her doctor for a check up and medication.
    • Connections
      Featured in Totally Shameless: How TV Portrays the Working Class - The Huw Wheldon Memorial Lecture (2013)

    User reviews3

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Television at its angriest
    The late Jim Allen was not known for his restraint and The Spongers is perhaps his fiercest and most devastating attack on modern life. It centres on Pauline, whose husband has recently left her with huge debts which she is not entitled to assistance with from the state. She is trying to bring up four children, one of which has Down's Syndrome. Matters reach a critical stage when that child is moved into an old people's home as a result of council cutbacks. The real target of this play may appear to be the uncaring beauracracy who turn their backs on a woman trying desperately to raise her children against all odds, but in fact Allen is really attacking the public attitude that all people on state benefits are parasites. It is an unashamedly biased portrait, as Pauline (Christine Hargreaves) is depicted without any black side to her character, while the council representatives are all unattractive, unsympathetic cipers. Such is the tactic that dates back to the earliest of Ken Loach's works. The Spongers is in a way a celebration of all that was good about the filmed television play in the 1970s, with a huge cast, unflinchingly bleak and fiercely political. From the opening shots of an upside down Queen with the telling title underneath, this is a play prepared to say exactly what it wants. The ending is horrific, the acting is stunningly naturalistic. Where has television like this gone?
    helpful•20
    1
    • simon-118
    • Sep 19, 2000

    Details

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    • Release date
      • January 24, 1978 (United Kingdom)
      • United Kingdom
      • BBC Programme Website
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, USA
    • Production company
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 44 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono

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