''Talent'' is a play written by
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director.
Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over se ...
, first performed in 1978. It centres on two friends, one of whom is about to enter a talent contest in a run down nightclub. Commissioned for the
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...
,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, it received much acclaim and transferred to a London run in 1979. That same year a television adaptation was broadcast. It was the first time Victoria Wood and
Julie Walters
Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a ...
appeared together on TV.
A mixture of dialogue and music, one of its tunes inspired
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...
song ''Rusholme Ruffians''.
The script was published by Methuen in 1988, along with another play by Wood, ''
Good Fun''.
Origins
After receiving much acclaim for her writing and performance in a 1978 revue at The Bush Theatre titled ''
In at the Death'', Wood was commissioned by then theatre director
David Leland
David Leland (born 20 April 1947) is an English film director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut ''Wish You Were Here'' in 1987.
Life
He initially trained as an actor at Central School of Speech ...
to write a play for
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
's
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...
.
The initial commission was for Wood to co-write, with fellow revue writer Ron Hutchinson, a play about strippers. According to Wood: "The Bush Theatre was over a pub which had strippers and Ron and I spent twenty minutes one evening watching a large girl in boots walk out of the ladies' lavatory, take off her clothes (she kept on her boots, the floor was filthy) and walk back into the ladies lavatory again. Then Ron said he was too busy to do this play, and David asked me if I would do it on my own. Not knowing anything about the world of the stripper and having all the investigative zeal of a defrosting beefburger, I decided to try and write up an idea of my own. The idea came quite easily, though typing it out was quite difficult."
Wood gained the idea for a play set around talent contests, based on her own experiences entering them (she had won
ATV's ''
New Faces
''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central.
Original series: 1973 ...
'' three years earlier). She said: "I had always been fascinated by talent contests and had entered quite a few in my late teens and early twenties. I never won, though in a Birmingham nightclub I once came third on the
clap-o-meter
A clap-o-meter, clapometer or applause meter is a measurement instrument that purports to measure and display the volume of clapping or applause made by an audience. It can be used to indicate the popularity of contestants and decide the result of ...
... I was also interested in the relationship between attractive sparky girls and big fat plain ones."
[
]
Plot
''Talent'' centres around two friends, the plain, overweight Maureen, and her more glamorous friend Julie Stephens, who has entered a talent contest. According to Screenonline:
"Julie is one of the hopefuls - a 24-year-old secretary and young mum caught between her youthful dreams of showbiz glamour and the realisation of her more likely future: soul-crushing domesticity and drudgery with upwardly mobile boyfriend Dave. With her for support is the awkward, frumpy Maureen, long in the shadow of her slimmer, better-looking friend.
But Bunters nightclub holds few prospects for Julie - just a grotty dressing room, a surprise encounter with Mel, the flash, sportscar-driving boyfriend who abandoned her as a pregnant schoolgirl eight years ago, and the unwelcome attentions of the oily compere, who precedes his seduction by telling her, "you have got a mediocre voice, a terrible Lancashire accent, no experience and no act," before enticing her with the promise of a spot on the
Des O'Connor
Desmond Bernard O'Connor (12 January 1932 – 14 November 2020) was an English comedian, singer and television presenter.
He was a long-time TV chat-show host, beginning with ''The Des O'Connor Show'' in 1963, which ran for ten years. He a ...
Show (moments later, he is groping a bemused Maureen and offering her twenty minutes in the back of his white Cortina)."
Stage version
The play was first performed at the
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...
in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
in September 1978. It was directed by David Leland. The cast was
Hazel Clyne (Julie), Victoria Wood (Maureen),
Roger Sloman
Roger Sloman (born 19 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work in theatre, film, and television.
Early life and education
He grew up and was educated in South East London. He trained to be a teacher and then went to East 15 acting sch ...
(George Findlay), Bill Stewart (Arthur Hall), Eric Richard (Mel),
Peter Ellis (Compere). Wood also went to the side of the stage to play piano to accompany the songs in the show. She said: "I think that worked better than having a band. I have never seen it done since in the way that we did it. I suppose because fat actresses who can double as musical director are thin on the ground (or fat on the ground)."
She later claimed that she had not intended to be in the show at all, "though everyone assumed I had written it with the express purpose of drinking
Babycham
Babycham () is the trade name of a light (6% ABV), sparkling perry invented by Francis Showering, a brewer in Shepton Mallet in Somerset, England. The name was owned by Accolade Wines until December 2021 when it was bought back into the Showeri ...
and having my bosoms fondled nightly."
The show had a London Transfer to the ICA, beginning on 31 January 1979, with Bill Stewart and Peter Ellis being replaced by David Ellson and
Jim Broadbent
James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role as John Bayley in the feature film ''Iris'' (2001), as well as winning a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe for hi ...
.
[
]
The show had a London fringe revival in 2008 at 'Upstairs at the Gatehouse'. The cast was Vikki Stone (Maureen), Stephanie Briggs (Julie), Harry Dickman (George Findlay), John Walters (Arthur Hall) and Charlie Carter (Mel/The Compere).
In September 2009 a revival began at the
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms.
It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate, Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street in ...
in London, also directed by Victoria Wood.
The play was revived in 2021, at the Sheffield Crucible (this time on the main stage), in a production directed by Paul Foster and with Lucie Shorthouse as Julie & Jamie-Rose Monk as Maureen.
Television version
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
producer
Peter Eckersley was so impressed with the show, he signed Wood for a television adaptation of it which was broadcast on the
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
network on 5 August 1979. Wood had originally written the part of Julie for her co-star in ''In at the Death'',
Julie Walters
Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a ...
, and while she was not available for the stage version, she was able to appear in the TV remake. It was the first of many television appearances the two would make together.
The rest of the cast were
Bill Waddington
William Joseph Waddington (10 June 1916 – 9 September 2000) was an English actor, comedian and co-author who was born in Oldham, Lancashire. In later life he achieved stardom as the pompous ex-serviceman Percy Sugden in Granada Television' ...
(George Findley),
Kevin Lloyd
Kevin Reardon Lloyd (28 March 1949 – 2 May 1998) was a British television actor, who came to prominence in the role of DC Alfred "Tosh" Lines in Thames Television's police drama series ''The Bill''.
Early life
Lloyd was born in Derby in ...
(Mel),
Nat Jackley
Nat Jackley (born Nathaniel Tristram Jackley Hirsch; 16 July 1909 – 17 September 1988) was an English comic actor who starred in revue, variety, film and pantomime from the 1920s to the mid-1980s. His trademark rubber-neck dance, skeletal fr ...
(Arthur),
Sue Glover
Sue and Sunny were a British vocal duo and session singers operating in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Although sisters, their stage names were Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie. For three years (1969-1972) they were members of British pop group The B ...
(Cathy Christmas),
Peter Ellis (Compere), Andrew Dodge (Cathy's accompanist).
The television critics were unanimous in their praise, and Wood received congratulatory letters from actor
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation co ...
and fellow northern writer
Alan Plater
Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s.
Career
Plater was born in Jarrow, County Durham, although his fami ...
. It even led to an offer for Wood to join the then new satirical comedy show ''
Not The Nine O'Clock News
''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show which was broadcast on BBC2 from 1979 to 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, it features satirical sketches on then-curren ...
'', which she turned down.
A year later, a television-only sequel to ''Talent'' called ''
Nearly A Happy Ending'' was broadcast on Granada, again written by Wood and starring Wood and Walters reprising their roles.
The Smiths
A song from the show, Fourteen Again, had its lyrics adapted for another tune, Rusholme Ruffians by the eighties pop group
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...
. Its lead singer
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
was a fan of Wood's, and had even proposed marriage to her via the music press (to which she responded "Morrissey and I have been married for 11 months, though due to touring commitments, we have yet to meet.") According to the band's biographer
Johnny Rogan
John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...
"He paid her the ultimate 'compliment' by hijacking her song 'Fourteen Again' and transforming its sardonic nostalgia into a lacerating satire on mind-numbing proletarial leisure. In Morrissey's landscape, the fairground in the original song becomes a carnival of violence tinged with bitter romance...It is fascinating to observe Wood's characteristic self-effacing, but affectionate, adolescent recollections juxtaposed to Morrissey's almost cinematic melanchony. They both share an appealing laconic style and dour wit, but Morrissey's world view is more threatening, pessimistic and painful."
[
]
Song List
* Julie
* I Don't Know Why I'm Here
* Fourteen Again
* Pals
* He Wouldn't Remember Me
* Bored With This
[Wood, Victoria Wood (1988). Good Fun & Talent (1st ed.). London: Methuen. .]
References
External links
Screenonline - TalentOpening titles of TV version on YouTube*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talent (1978 Play)
British television plays
Plays by Victoria Wood
1979 television plays
1978 plays