A man who'd rather draw buildings than climb ladders in 1970s Britain.
'I'm unusual. I really want to be an architect. Always have done. Always wanted to build fine buildings and fine cities where people can work and eat and sleep and be happy. But the rules of the game say before you can do that you've got to start a firm. Employ people. Turn it into a career. I like architecture. I hate careers. The minute you make it a career you build a ladder and people want to climb it. Sometimes they stand on your fingers. It's hard to draw with flattened fingers. Spoils your draughtsmanship.'
Writing
That opening monologue—career dread never sounded so poetic.
Acting
Barry Foster's simmering frustration as Bellamy.
Director
Bill Hays
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made for ITV's 'Play for Today' anthology series, which launched dozens of British screenwriting careers.
Captures pre-Thatcher Britain's exhausted socialism—everyone trapped by systems too polite to name.
GB
