A Question of Attribution
Encyclopedia
A Question of Attribution is a 1988 one-act stage play, written by Alan Bennett
. It was premièred at the National Theatre, London in December 1988, along with An Englishman Abroad
. The two plays are collectively called Single Spies
.
The one-act play formed the basis of a 1992 television film of the same name broadcast as part of the BBC's Screen One
series. The film was directed by John Schlesinger
and starred James Fox
as Anthony Blunt
and Prunella Scales
as Elizabeth II "H.M.Q". The film was produced by long-time Bennett collaborator Innes Lloyd
.
The New York Times called the film a "razor-sharp psychological melodrama" and it won the 1992 BAFTA TV award for Best Single Drama. Prunella Scales was nominated for Best Actress.
, personal art advisor to Queen Elizabeth II. It portrays his interrogation by MI5
officers, his work researching and restoring art, and his relationship with the Queen. Bennett described the piece as an "inquiry in which the circumstances are imaginary but the pictures are real"
While supervising the restoration of a dual portrait attributed to Titian
, Blunt discovers a further three figures that had been painted over. As Blunt's public exposure as a spy in 1979 draws near the play suggests that he has been made a scapegoat to protect others in the security service.
One of the main themes is over whether or not the Queen knew that Blunt was a former Soviet spy. In one scene Blunt discovers that a painting in the Queen's collection is a fake. When she is told this, the Queen discusses the nature of fakes and secrets. After she has left and an aide asks what they were talking about, Blunt replies "I was talking about art. I'm not sure that she was."
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
. It was premièred at the National Theatre, London in December 1988, along with An Englishman Abroad
An Englishman Abroad
An Englishman Abroad is a 1983 BBC television drama, based on the true story of a chance meeting of an actress, Coral Browne, with Guy Burgess , a member of the Cambridge spy ring who worked for the Soviet Union whilst with MI6...
. The two plays are collectively called Single Spies
Single Spies
Single Spies is a 1988 stage play written by English playwright Alan Bennett. It consists of two acts, An Englishman Abroad and A Question of Attribution.-Stage play:...
.
The one-act play formed the basis of a 1992 television film of the same name broadcast as part of the BBC's Screen One
Screen One
Screen One is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 between 1989 to 1993.Following the demise of the BBC's Play For Today which ran from 1970 to 1984, producer Kenneth Trodd was asked to formulate a new series of one-off television dramas...
series. The film was directed by John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
and starred James Fox
James Fox
James Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
as Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
and Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
as Elizabeth II "H.M.Q". The film was produced by long-time Bennett collaborator Innes Lloyd
Innes Lloyd
Innes Lloyd was a British television producer of BBC drama producers.-Doctor Who:...
.
The New York Times called the film a "razor-sharp psychological melodrama" and it won the 1992 BAFTA TV award for Best Single Drama. Prunella Scales was nominated for Best Actress.
Plot
The play and subsequent film is based on Anthony Blunt's role in the Cambridge Spy Ring and, as Surveyor of the Queen's PicturesSurveyor of the Queen's Pictures
The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by the Sovereign in an official capacity – as...
, personal art advisor to Queen Elizabeth II. It portrays his interrogation by MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
officers, his work researching and restoring art, and his relationship with the Queen. Bennett described the piece as an "inquiry in which the circumstances are imaginary but the pictures are real"
While supervising the restoration of a dual portrait attributed to Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
, Blunt discovers a further three figures that had been painted over. As Blunt's public exposure as a spy in 1979 draws near the play suggests that he has been made a scapegoat to protect others in the security service.
One of the main themes is over whether or not the Queen knew that Blunt was a former Soviet spy. In one scene Blunt discovers that a painting in the Queen's collection is a fake. When she is told this, the Queen discusses the nature of fakes and secrets. After she has left and an aide asks what they were talking about, Blunt replies "I was talking about art. I'm not sure that she was."
Main cast (film)
- James FoxJames FoxJames Fox, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:James Fox was born in London, England to theatrical agent Robin Fox and actress Angela Worthington. He is the brother of actor Edward Fox and film producer Robert Fox. The actress Emilia Fox is his niece and the actor Laurence Fox is his son. His...
- Sir Anthony Blunt - David CalderDavid Calder (actor)David Calder is a British actor.Calder was born in Portsmouth, England, and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His most high profile TV roles include Det. Insp...
- Chubb - Geoffrey PalmerGeoffrey Palmer (actor)Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:...
- Donleavy - Prunella ScalesPrunella ScalesPrunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
- H.M.Q.
See also
- Cambridge SpiesCambridge SpiesCambridge Spies is a 2003 four-part BBC television drama concerning the lives of the best-known quartet of the Cambridge Five Soviet spies from 1934 to the 1951 defection of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean to the Soviet Union...
, a 2003 BBC TV play about the Cambridge Ring, and how Blunt came to be a Soviet agent.
External links
- BBC profile of John Schlesinger, retrieved 17 January 2006