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MEASURE FOR MEASURE

My toe-dipping into the vast Shakespearean sea continues with  the BBC’s “Measure for Measure“, one of the ‘problem plays’ (neither comedy nor tragedy), about vice and virtue, hedonism and religion, the law and the lawless.

At its heart, M4M asks whether mankind can rub along with one another without externally imposed rules. Shakespeare’s answer is not optimistic.

The Plot

Liberal Duke Vincentio -- head of the Viennese government -- decides to take a sabbatical, leaving his by-the-book deputy Lord Angelo in charge. The latter’s immediate action is to clamp down on the city’s sexual promiscuity. First,  by arresting Claudio, a man who has impregnated his fiancee, and sentencing him to death. Secondly, by  closing all the brothels; cue much comic business between Mistress Overdone, Pompey (her pimp) and the dim-witted Constable Elbow.

But there is more to Angelo than meets the eye. His suppression of others is an external manifestation of his own suppressed desires and his struggle with himself. The unfolding of his story is a exploration of how personal psychology effects public policy, and how that so often results in hypocricy.

Claudio’s sister, Isabella, hears of his plight. As a novice in a nunnery, she visits Angelo to appeal for clemency (see below). Claudio finally agrees -- if she will sleep with him.

Fortunately for the sibling pair, Vincentio’s gap year has taken him no further than a local monastery, where he has disguised himself as a friar, and re-entered society to better understand why his people flagrantly ignore the law, and to see how Angelo deals with power.

He uses his insider knowledge to create a diversion in which Angelo beds the wrong woman (to whom he was once emgaged, before she lost her dowry). So far so good, until Angelo throws the plot into reverse gear by refusing to pardon Claudio.

This forces the Duke to come out of hiding, to hear all sides of the story, then to reveal himself as the Friar. At which point, all the main characters join each other in a mass confessional, wrongs are righted, and the Duke proposes to Isabella.

The Production

As part of the BBC’s project to film all 39 of Shakespeare’s plays, this 1979 production is a straightforward, to-be-sold-to-the-US rendition. Kenneth Colley is an authoritative Vincentio, Kate Nelligan is beautifully pure (and purely beautiful) as Isabella, while Tim Piggott-Smith does an icy line in self-loathing as Angelo.

The problem is that there is very little interpretation of the text. This is TV Shakespeare for A-level students, directed from no point of view for fear that any taken might contradict a particular syllabus. It’s a read-through in traditional costume.

Of course,  in the late 70’s, the BBC was strapped for cash,  so taking on this project at all was a huge endeavour, and remains one of the few ways of seeing the entire Shakespeare catalogue (there aren’t many touring productions of Timon of Athens). The downside is that many of the productions (at least the ones I’ve seen so far) are rather anodyne -- of which M4M is a perfect example.

Even in my idiot’s guide synopsis, you can see that there’s plenty of scope for decadent interpretation. Prostitution, sexual exploitation, religious and secular fervour; blackmail, state execution, malaise and sexual disease. The content of M4M is like an entire season of The Jerry Springer Show.

To lose this is to lose the point of the play. Without a fully-realised vision of a decadent society, Vincentio just comes across as an honourable leader who can’t quite hack it in the job and needs a long weekend at Lake Tahoe.

Actually, his problem is much deeper than exhaustion. He has completely lost his moral compass. Hence the bizarre final scene in which:

• a convicted murderer is released
• a condemned fornicator is pardoned
• a psychotic administrator is forced to marry his personal bunny-boiler,and
• a nun silently agrees to sleep with her stalker’s boss (who’s obviously pulling rank)

This should be a bleak ending to a very, very black ‘comedy’ about the darker aspects of human behaviour. Instead, in the BBC production,  it is as satisfying a resolution as Bobby Ewing stepping out of the shower.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Now that Kate Winslett has swept and wept her way through the Golden Globes, we know that the movie award season is upon us. Soon it will be the Baftas (8 Feb), then the Oscars (22 Feb) –  six weeks of  pomp and circumstance, glamour and glitz. All great fun, all very distracting, all highly self-important.

A good time, then, to direct one’s attention to other, smaller, more intimate forms of entertainment. And before your mind slips uncontrollably down a sewer, let me quickly say ‘BBC radio comedy’.

Specifically, “Trevor’s World of Sport”.

I know; its title is hardly a clarion call from the summits of  brilliance. “Civilization”, “Life on Earth”, “Ascent of Man” – now there are names that shout Learning and Intellect. But “Trevor’s World of Sport”??

Bear with me; I will demonstrate that it is a thing of beauty and a joy to behold.

If you wanted to be mealy-mouthed, you would describe TWoS as a minor radio sitcom that transferred to TV, not very successfully. You would also say that Mozart’s “Musical Joke” was good enough to be the  theme tune of ‘Horse of the Year Show’.

The comparison is apposite as both pieces are meant to make you laugh – so are easily dismissed - but on close inspection are expertly-designed, packing multiple layers of information into a very small space, with great humour and a delightful lightness of touch.

‘TWoS’ is written by Andy Hamilton, who UK viewers will recognise from QI and radio listeners will know from ‘The News Quiz’. With writing partner Guy Jenkin, he created newsroom satire ‘Drop the Dead Donkey‘, and is currently enjoying critical and audience success with ‘Outnumbered‘ on BBC TV.

In the late 1990s, Hamilton tapped into the increasing commercialisation of sport, and through fictious agents Trevor Hislop and Sammy Dobbs began exploring the morality and  ethics of such businesses, their clients and  the people who run the major institutions and clubs (Hamilton is a life-long Chelsea supporter).

The programme ran for three series of six episodes on Radio 4, and was then commissioned by  BBC1. Same cast, same writer. Unfortunately, the broadcast of two mid-run episodes was postponed, and the rest moved to a different time slot. Hamilton (with good reason) publicly threw his word processor out of his pram, and ‘TWoS’ closed its office.

Much as I have reservations about the sheer scope of the BBC’s media presence, one of its glories is that the forgotten can be resurrected. ‘TWoS’ has just started again on Radio 7, which prompted me to listen again, and appreciate Hamilton’s undoubted skill as a writer.

Episode One, Series One:

It opens with John Humphries (a very distinctive radio voice that carries a lot of combative baggage) questioning Trevor about bringing sport into disrepute. Trevor is taken aback by the accusational tone and stammers an answer. Warming to his theme, Humphries asks Trevor about the less-than-wholesome reputation of his partner, Sammy. Trevor finds this even harder to answer. Humphries then changes tack, and asks Trevor about the state of his marriage. At which point Trevor realises that he’s in a dream.

In just 90 seconds Hamilton shows us everything we need to know about Trevor, his marriage and his business partner. We know what the programme – and, indeed, the series – is going to be about : Trevor’s struggle to do the decent thing in an increasingly corrupt world, his fight to keep his partner on the right side of legality, and his  neediness / hope of clinging to the safe haven of his wife, Meryl.

All delivered with incredible economy, which Hamilton maintains through 18 short, pared-down exchanges:

1 Trevor dreams about being interviewed by John Humphries

2 Agency Reception:  Trevor tells his colleagues about the dream. Sammy enters, proclaims his self-worth, then makes a play to ‘convert’ the Heidrun, the lesbian receptionist

3 Trevor’s  Office: Meryl calls to arrange a meeting with him. Trevor then takes a call from Spicer, a football manager, who complains that the media is carrying a story about a major club being interested in Jason, a player that Trevor represents.

Hamilton has now set two hares running; the long story that runs across the series (Trevor saving his marriage) and the short story for the episode (reining in Sammy’s efforts to make a quick buck).

4 Reception: Ralph arrives – a not-very-competent TV presenter who is also a client. He manages to both insult and patronise Heidrun within 15 seconds.

5 Office: Ralph asks Trevor for help in preparing for an audition. It’s for a lifestyle-reality show with a religious twist (Hamilton never misses an opportunity to take a pop at the stupidity of  TV formats).

Ralph is the comic-relief subplot, attempting to get back up the greasy pole of the TV presentation business.

All this, and we’re still only six minutes in.

6 Reception: Trevor asks the team to help Ralph with his interviewing technique.

7 Office: Sammy avoids the issue of the football rumour by demonstrating his new mobile. Trevor takes another call from Meryl, who asks him to collect bread on the way to her house. Trevor agrees, and Sammy remonstrates with him about being too compliant.

I catch my breath at the brilliance of this short scene. It reinforces the conflicts in Trevor’s life, shows just how weak he is with his wife, and shows Sammy turning an argument on a sixpence.

8 Reception: Ralph ‘interviews’ Barry (the office junior) about being a Muslim

9 Office: Trevor asks Sammy again about the media rumour. Sammy’s not-very-convincing defence is that he “walked into a trap”

10 Reception: Ralph ‘interviews’ Theresa (the bookkeeper) about being a Christian

11 Office: Sammy suggests that the big club started the rumour – then lets slip that he has also spoken to two other clubs

12 Reception: Ralph ‘interviews’ Heidrun about her faith in the context of being a lesbian.

13 Office: Trevor and Sammy now arguing about the meaning of trust and the importance of contracts. Trevor forcefully explains his principles.

14 Meryl’s House: She tells Trevor that he was right to make a stand. They discuss their marriage, and whether Trevor has ‘moved on’. While he says that he has, he obviously hasn’t.

In ’scenes’ 6 – 13, Hamilton builds the conflict between Trevor  and Sammy so that there is something to be resolved by the end of the episode, while inter-cutting it with Ralph’s ham-fisted approach to interviewing. The section is funny, builds character, moves the drama forward and has great pace.

He then changes the tone by showing  just how desperate Trevor is to save his marriage, while being equally desperate to put on a brave face.

Hamilton has anticipated the question ‘why should we like someone in an amoral business who is probably making a lot of money?’ and answers it by showing Trevor as a good man cast adrift; all he really wants is to return to the normal stability of home.

15 Trevor dreams again of John Humphries, who asks him if he’s a man or a mouse?

Of course, this is not Humphries – it’s Trevor asking it of himself, and letting us hear the doubt permanently running in his head: do I have courage?

16 Reception: Trevor recounts his dream (without the man/mouse conundrum); Ralph ‘interviews’ Barry again, this time about ‘yoof culture’ and faith. Sammy intimidates Ralph.

17 Office: Trevor and Sammy meet with Jason and tell him that the big club is not interested. Sammy then destabilizes Jason by mentioning other clubs.

Trevor’s done the decent thing; Sammy still won’t let go of the opportunity; the tension peaks.

18 Reception: Trevor and Sammy wish Jason goodbye; Trevor tells Ralph that he’ll be fine for the audition (he and Theresa later agree that Ralph hasn’t got a chance); Trevor takes a call from Spicer, who now wants to leave the club himself, and asks Trevor to represent him. Trevor points out the hypocrisy of the conversation, and declines. He tells Sammy to start touting Jason to other clubs.

Ralph exits, destined for comic failure. Trevor gets a chance to take a moral stand. Sammy gets to make his deal. The loose ends are all tied, except the marriage / separation problem with Meryl, which takes us into the next episode.

29 minutes of expert comic craftsmanship. And my description misses out the jokes about footballers, Sammy’s altercation with the Virgin Trains helpline, and the John Humphries coda. Nor have I mentioned the excellent ensemble performances.

What’s really astonishing about this mini-masterpiece is that it arrived fully formed. How many times have you sat and watched a pilot episode, or the first couple of a series, and wondered ‘when will it be funny’? Or read an interview with  the head of a channel or commissioning  editor about ‘characters taking time to establish themselves’?

TWoS was an exception. The lead characters had depth and well-defined drivers. The relationships were all long-standing and the source of the comedy grounded in believable reality. Most importantly, there was an underlying sadness about the eponymous hero.

Episode One was a perfectly taken goal and a home win. The quality play continued throughout all three series. The great pity is that Trevor and his team only lasted a single season in the Premiership.

‘Trevor’s World of Sport’ can currently be heard on BBC7 or via the BBC iPlayer

Popularity: 9% [?]