''Trinity Tales'' is a 1975 British television series, consisting of six 50-minute programmes, written by

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 family ...

and shown on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

. It was loosely based on

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's '' magnum opu ...

'', updated to a modern setting. The series evolved from a stage play by Plater, "Trinity Tales or The Road to Wembley", which was performed by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company from 30 January 1975 to 22 February 1975.

Scenario

A bus carrying supporters of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

club

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

is on its way from Wakefield to a Challenge Cup Final at London's

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

. To pass the time each of the characters on the bus tells a story. The teller of the best tale will win a free fish-and-chip supper provided by "Stan the Fryer", a chip shop proprietor. Along with Stan, the travellers are Nick, the bus driver, "Smith, the Man of Law" (a policeman), "Alice, the wife of Batley", "Dave the Joiner", his girlfriend "Judy the Judy" and a writer referred to as "Eric the prologue". On the way they stop off at several pubs. At one stop-off point they pick up the pub's lugubrious landlord, Reuben.

Commentary

Names such as "Stan the Fryer" and the "Wife of Batley" are parodies of the names of the Chaucerian characters, the

Wife of Bath "The Wife of Bath's Tale" ( enm, The Tale of the Wyf of Bathe) is among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''. It provides insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages and was probably of interest to Chaucer himse ...

and the Huberd the Friar. The figure of Chaucer himself is replaced by the writer Eric.Janet Moat, Screen Online, Trinity Tales (1975)
/ref> Plater adapted five of the original stories:

the Miller's Tale "The Miller's Tale" ( enm, The Milleres Tale) is the second of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'' (1380s–1390s), told by the drunken miller Robin toquite (a Middle English term meaning requite or pay back, in both good and negative way ...

the Wife of Bath's tale "The Wife of Bath's Tale" ( enm, The Tale of the Wyf of Bathe) is among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''. It provides insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages and was probably of interest to Chaucer himsel ...

the Reeve's Tale "The Reeve's Tale" is the third story told in Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales''. The reeve, named Oswald in the text, is the manager of a large estate who reaped incredible profits for his master and himself. He is described in the ...

, the Knight's Tale and the Franklin's Tale. Another story begun by Eric is cut off by the other pilgrims for being boring, just like Chaucer's tale of

Sir Thopas Sir Thopas is one of ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer, published in 1387. The tale is one of two—together with The Tale of Melibee—told by the fictive Geoffrey Chaucer as he travels with the pilgrims on the journey to Canterbury Ca ...

in the original. The tales are told in ways that parody TV and film clichés of the era.Hunt, Albert, "Alan Plater", in ''British Television Drama'', Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 148–154. Thus ''The Man of Law's Tale'', is a pastiche of 1973 film, ''

The Sting ''The Sting'' is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936, involving a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss ( Robert Shaw).'' Variety'' film review; December 12, 1973, pag ...

'', and Eric's unfinished tale is told in the style of an arty '' film noir''. The actors playing the "pilgrims" also perform the roles of the characters in the various tales, usually reflecting the personality of their pilgrim. The tales typically involve techniques such as breaking the narrative with songs, and comic Brechtian alienation devices, including characters commenting on their own roles in the story.

Episodes

The tales were first broadcast from 21 November to 26 December 1975 on BBC2. The series was repeated in 1977. *''The Driver's Tale'' - 21 November 1975: Con-man "Big George" attempts to swindle rugby fans by selling tickets for a non-existent trip to Wembley. *''The Fryer's Tale'' - 28 November 1975: Arthur, a weedy youth, is in love with Dorothy, the wife of rich man. He has to play rugby for Britain to win her interest. (based on The Franklin's Tale) *''The Judy's Tale'' - 5 December 1975: Sam and Charlie compete for the favours of a barmaid, Judy. She tells them to perform a series of tasks in the pub to prove their worth, which ends up with both passed-out drunk. (based on The Knight's Tale) *''The Joiner's Tale'' - 12 December 1975: Eric attempts to tell a Chandleresque ''film noir'' story but is cut off. Dave butts in with a different tale. Two workmen outwit an obnoxious businessman while building a cocktail bar at his house, continually managing to extend the job. In the end they complete the work by "testing" the bar with the help of the man's wife and daughter, ending up in bed with them. (based on

The Reeve's Tale "The Reeve's Tale" is the third story told in Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales''. The reeve, named Oswald in the text, is the manager of a large estate who reaped incredible profits for his master and himself. He is described in the ...

) *''The Wife of Batley's Tale'' - 19 December 1975: A would-be trendy DJ for "wonderful radio Batley" is sacked by his boss but is helped by a mysterious woman. (based on

The Wife of Bath's Tale "The Wife of Bath's Tale" ( enm, The Tale of the Wyf of Bathe) is among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''. It provides insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages and was probably of interest to Chaucer himsel ...

) *''The Man of Law's Tale'' - 26 December 1975: A financial scam goes wrong.

Cast

Bill Maynard Walter Frederick George Williams (8 October 1928 – 30 March 2018), better known by his stage name Bill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor. He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in '' G ...

(Stan the fryer) * Francis Matthews (Eric the prologue) *Colin Farrell (Nick the driver) *Gaye Brown (Alice, the Wife of Batley) * John Stratton (Smith, the Man of Law) * Susan Littler (Judy the Judy) *

Paul Copley Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voiceover artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of ''Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV so ...

(Dave the joiner) * Peter Benson (Reuben)

Music

Audio Cue

References

External links

Music recording
* {{The Canterbury Tales 1975 British television series debuts 1975 British television series endings 1970s British drama television series BBC television dramas 1970s British television miniseries Works based on The Canterbury Tales Rugby league plays English-language television shows