A play written in 1960, the TV adaptation became part of Thirty Minute Theatre twelve years later. John Mortimer's style is much more spare here, when what's not said is more significant than what is.
Joss Ackland and Pauline Collins play management and office girl on a lunch break in a seedy hotel in Kings Cross, run by Lila Kaye (a natural barmaid if there ever was one). They're just there for an assignation - but Ackland's dug a big hole for himself trying to invent a back story for why they're there.
Collins is the perfect flighty girl from the typing pool - fake furs, giggles, and all. Ackland plays the repressed and frustrated boss perfectly, the glances at his watch showing agitation as everything conspires against the two of them being alone.
Dialogue-wise, this is a complex play but a successful one. In a short running time, we sympathise and empathise with the characters and get involved in their little story. And Kaye provides marvellous support, bristling behind her starchy outfit.
Joss Ackland and Pauline Collins play management and office girl on a lunch break in a seedy hotel in Kings Cross, run by Lila Kaye (a natural barmaid if there ever was one). They're just there for an assignation - but Ackland's dug a big hole for himself trying to invent a back story for why they're there.
Collins is the perfect flighty girl from the typing pool - fake furs, giggles, and all. Ackland plays the repressed and frustrated boss perfectly, the glances at his watch showing agitation as everything conspires against the two of them being alone.
Dialogue-wise, this is a complex play but a successful one. In a short running time, we sympathise and empathise with the characters and get involved in their little story. And Kaye provides marvellous support, bristling behind her starchy outfit.
