Capturing Mary
Encyclopedia
Capturing Mary is a BBC television drama
(co-produced by HBO), written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff
. It was aired on BBC Two
on 12 November 2007. It is linked, by the central character of Joe, to another Poliakoff drama, Joe's Palace
, which was first aired on 4 November 2007.
's caretaker character of Joe, who encounters former socialite Mary (played by Dame Maggie Smith in the present and Ruth Wilson
in her youth) when she visits the house featured in Joe's Palace
. We see flashbacks to her past links with the house. This present-day meeting between Joe and Mary overlaps with the events of Joe's Palace
.
The programme also starred David Walliams
as the character Greville White and Gemma Arterton
as Greville White's young date, Liza.
Moving from room to room, she tells Joe of the 1950s high society soirees she was invited to in the house. She recalls how Mr Graham’s soirees were attended by the great and the good – the aristocracy, the nouveaux riche, industrialists, newspaper barons, editors, actors, directors, and so forth. She tells Joe that she has been haunted by the memory of a sinister man named Greville White who she met one evening in the house. Greville White turns out to be a social climber whose influence reached into high society. Mary recalls that he was supremely charming, but utterly evil. We see Greville and the “young” Mary (Ruth Wilson) in Mr Graham’s cellar selecting fine wines for a salad that he has prepared. In the cellar, Greville tells Mary of dark secrets involving members of the British Establishment who are enjoying Mr Graham’s soiree in the rooms above them. The secrets involve child abuse, sexual perversion, anti-semitism, and racism amongst the great and the good.
He feigns friendship with Mary, but she rejects him because of his malevolent powers. The audience encounters “subsequent” meetings between the two in the 1950s and 1960s at Mr Graham’s soirees and other social events. We begin to see the sinister destruction of Mary’s life by Greville White and her slide into despair and alcoholism.
The end of the drama sees Greville White re-appear in Kensington Gardens in the present. Mary is now an old woman (Dame Maggie Smith) but the sinister Greville White has not aged since they first met in the 1950s. The audience is left questioning whether Greville White and Mary ever met again after his dark revelations to her in Mr Graham's wine cellar. Poliakoff leaves us wondering whether their "subsequent meetings" were a figment of Mary's imagination - regret at her wasted youth and talent, embodiment of her struggle to succeed against the back drop of the class-based British Establishment, representation of her alcoholism, or merely that Greville's sinister revelations have remained with her into old age.
BBC television drama
BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom...
(co-produced by HBO), written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff, CBE, FRSL is an acclaimed British playwright, director and scriptwriter, widely judged amongst Britain's foremost television dramatists.-Early life and career:...
. It was aired on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 12 November 2007. It is linked, by the central character of Joe, to another Poliakoff drama, Joe's Palace
Joe's Palace
Joe's Palace is a BBC television drama, and written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff. It was first aired on BBC One on 4 November 2007...
, which was first aired on 4 November 2007.
Overview
The drama saw a repeat of Danny Lee WynterDanny Lee Wynter
Danny Lee Wynter is an English actor best known for his performance as Joe in Stephen Poliakoff's collection of films Joe's Palace and Capturing Mary.-Biography:...
's caretaker character of Joe, who encounters former socialite Mary (played by Dame Maggie Smith in the present and Ruth Wilson
Ruth Wilson (actress)
Ruth Wilson is an English actress, perhaps best known for her performance in the title role of Jane Eyre.-Early life and education:...
in her youth) when she visits the house featured in Joe's Palace
Joe's Palace
Joe's Palace is a BBC television drama, and written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff. It was first aired on BBC One on 4 November 2007...
. We see flashbacks to her past links with the house. This present-day meeting between Joe and Mary overlaps with the events of Joe's Palace
Joe's Palace
Joe's Palace is a BBC television drama, and written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff. It was first aired on BBC One on 4 November 2007...
.
The programme also starred David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
as the character Greville White and Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton is an English actress. She played the eponymous protagonist in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and starred in the feature films St Trinian's, the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Tamara...
as Greville White's young date, Liza.
Plot
We first meet the character of Mary as an old woman (Dame Maggie Smith) in the present. The “old” Mary, a former journalist and socialite, arrives at the house of Elliot Graham’s late father. Joe, the caretaker of the house, takes pity on her and invites her in. She begins to recount to Joe the significance of the house to her.Moving from room to room, she tells Joe of the 1950s high society soirees she was invited to in the house. She recalls how Mr Graham’s soirees were attended by the great and the good – the aristocracy, the nouveaux riche, industrialists, newspaper barons, editors, actors, directors, and so forth. She tells Joe that she has been haunted by the memory of a sinister man named Greville White who she met one evening in the house. Greville White turns out to be a social climber whose influence reached into high society. Mary recalls that he was supremely charming, but utterly evil. We see Greville and the “young” Mary (Ruth Wilson) in Mr Graham’s cellar selecting fine wines for a salad that he has prepared. In the cellar, Greville tells Mary of dark secrets involving members of the British Establishment who are enjoying Mr Graham’s soiree in the rooms above them. The secrets involve child abuse, sexual perversion, anti-semitism, and racism amongst the great and the good.
He feigns friendship with Mary, but she rejects him because of his malevolent powers. The audience encounters “subsequent” meetings between the two in the 1950s and 1960s at Mr Graham’s soirees and other social events. We begin to see the sinister destruction of Mary’s life by Greville White and her slide into despair and alcoholism.
The end of the drama sees Greville White re-appear in Kensington Gardens in the present. Mary is now an old woman (Dame Maggie Smith) but the sinister Greville White has not aged since they first met in the 1950s. The audience is left questioning whether Greville White and Mary ever met again after his dark revelations to her in Mr Graham's wine cellar. Poliakoff leaves us wondering whether their "subsequent meetings" were a figment of Mary's imagination - regret at her wasted youth and talent, embodiment of her struggle to succeed against the back drop of the class-based British Establishment, representation of her alcoholism, or merely that Greville's sinister revelations have remained with her into old age.
External links
- Capturing Mary at the BBC website.
- Capturing Mary: An Exegesis