The uncovering of his illiteracy forces a man and his wife to risk a change of course in later life.
Fascinating fairytale set in the decade of Greed Is Good. Adapted from one of Somerset Maugham's slighter Cosmopolitans, this production elaborates on the commercial theme while retaining the ironic structure of the originaI.
The interest lies in its prejudices: the old style of master and servant is dependable yet adaptable; at the same time, innovation is destructive, new methods obstructive; you have to spend money to make money, and risk taking is a reward in itself; lack of education is not down to laziness, and actually promotes self-fulfillment.
The setting strikes every note of the English class system, including monarchy and a couple of choruses of, "it's not what you know, it's who you know", alongside the wilful delusion that small-time high street retail is a land of opportunity, when in reality it's the domain of money launderers, and the shopkeeper's greatest enemy is his landlord. At the same time, the story joins hands across the Atlantic in a naive climax portraying American commercial exploitation as frank and honest - a meeting of minds between Thatcher and Reagan.
The snobbery is pungent, from the assumed hostility of the college, the too-obvious smirk of self-satisfaction on the face of the disruptive vicar, the unpleasantness of the cafe with its youth and foreigness, the tweeness of the tea room, to the dismissal of the public sector worker as, "the likes of him". I imagine pensioners throughout the land Daily Mailed this fantasy as a triumph of the televisual art when first it aired, refusing to admit that they would have been eaten alive in its real world counterpart.
The performances are very good, the pace and progression well judged. Didn't notice the music.
Some reviewers speak of a twist in the tale, but they've mistaken that for a note of irony - and not an intelligent irony, at that.