The Falklands Play
Production
The Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of history. It was originally commissioned by the BBC in 1983, for production and broadcast in 1986, but was subsequently shelved by Controller of BBC One Michael Grade due to its alleged pro-Margaret Thatcher stance and jingoistic tone. This prompted a press furore over media bias and censorship.The play was not staged until 2002, when it was broadcast in separate adaptations on BBC Television and Radio.
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Cast
Patricia Hodge
Rt. Hon Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister)
John Standing
Rt Hon William Whitelaw CH MC MP (Home Secretary)
Michael Cochrane
Rt Hon Nicholas Ridley MP (Financial Secretary to the Treasury)
James Fox
Rt Hon Peter, 6th Baron Carrington KCMG MC (Foreign Secretary)
Colin Stinton
Alexander Haig (US Secretary of State)
Anthony Calf
Robin Fearn (Head of Falkland Islands Department, Foreign Office)
Jeremy Child
Rt Hon Francis Pym MC MP (Foreign Secretary)
Richard Cordery
Tom Enders
Robert Hardy
Sir Anthony Parsons
John Woodvine
Adm. of the Fleet Sir Terence Lewin
Rupert Vansittart
Sir Robert Armstrong (Cabinet Secretary)
Jonathan Coy
Richard Luce MP (Minister of State, Foreign Office)
Clive Merrison
Rt Hon John Nott MP (Secretary of State for Defence)
Peter Blythe
Rt Hon Sir Michael Havers QC MP (Attorney-General)
Jeremy Clyde
Sir Nicholas Henderson (HM Ambassador to the United States)
Shaughan Seymour
Adm. Sir Henry Leach (First Sea Lord)
Jasper Jacob
John Wilkinson MP (Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Nott)
Lorelei King
Jeanne Kirkpatrick (US Ambassador to the UN)
Garrick Hagon
Vernon Walters (Senior Adviser to the US Secretary of State)
Arturo Venegas
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (UN Secretary-General)
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Reviews
CinemaSerf
Recently, there have been a spate of singularly poor dramas about historical figures from the British Isles - "Mary, Queen of Scots" (2018), "Robert, the Bruce" (2019) being two of the least agreeable - but this takes that low benchmark and throws it under the bus (or chariot). Anyone expecting a battle-fest featuring this famously brave and courageous Queen leading loads of people in woad fighting off the fearsome Roman Legions is in for an huge disappointment. You will possibly have seen bloodier battles on a rugby field - indeed, what action there is seemed more about whether our as yet only teenage Boudica was going to be seduced by a deserting Roman legionnaire impersonating, well, who really cares. I'm afraid that this is just dreadful - the sort of film you would be proud of your kids making at college, but deserving of no more than that. The production quality is adequate, and actually the technical aspects - costumes, wattle huts etc., are adequate too - but the acting, dialogue and the whole pace of the thing makes you ever grateful that it's just 80 minutes long... Avoid, you know you want to.
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