And a Nightingale Sang
A wartime comedy of family life in Newcastle.
C.P. Taylor's 1977 play, a bittersweet comedy set in wartime Newcastle, follows the Stott family on the home front. Commissioned by the Live Theatre Company, its title comes from Vera Lynn's song. A 1989 television adaptation by Jack Rosenthal for Tyne Tees Television, starring Joan Plowright, earned the Prix Europa in 1990.
Quick Facts
- Playwright
- C.P. Taylor
- Year of play
- 1977
- Commissioning theatre
- Newcastle upon Tyne's Live Theatre Company
- Television film year
- 1989
- Television film writer
- Jack Rosenthal
- Production company
- Tyne Tees Television
- Producer
- Philip Hinchcliffe
- Executive producers
- Victor Glynn
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Joyce, the youngest of the family, is preoccupied with her love life. She wants to be married but cannot decide whether to accept Eric, who has just joined up and wants to settle the matter before being posted abroad. Helen, Joyce's confidante, tolerates her sister's indecision while hiding her own frustration; with a pronounced limp, Helen assumes no man will ever want her. The elder family members pursue their diversions: George (Dad) plays the piano with more enthusiasm than skill, Mam takes refuge in fervent Catholicism, and Andie (Grandad) cares more for his pets than his family. When the air raid siren sounds for the first time, the Stotts panic, stuffing tablecloths under the back door against poison gas and diving under the table at a long high whistle. Helen realizes the whistle is from the kettle Mam had put on for tea, and by then Joyce has decided to marry Eric.
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