Shaggy Dog (play)
Encyclopedia
Shaggy Dog, broadcast by ITV
on 10 November 1968, is a black and white television play by Dennis Potter
written for the London Weekend Television
anthology series The Company of Five, specifically a group of five actors.
), the boss of the Bideawhile Organisation, a hotel chain and leisure conglomerate, is trying to persuade his colleague Mr James (Cyril Luckham
) that the methods of a new consultant he has contracted from the Transatlantic Corporation will aid their ability in identifying potential employees who may suffer from stress and poor health. Johnson is taken aback when the man Parker (Derek Godfrey
) arrives wearing an obviously false nose, but Mr James is unfazed.
The man, Mr Wilkie (John Neville), arrives for his interview, and is kept waiting on Parker's insistence as a test of his vulnerability. He is interviewed for a management position by Mr James, and by Mr Parker who is now wearing a woman's blonde wig. Mr Wilkie displays extensive knowledge, from the financial and business press, of the company's history and prospects which he does not think are very promising. He is repeatedly shocked that the firm does not possess a computer. Parker meanwhile insists on knowing about Wilkie's relationship with his mother, any bed wetting and pounces on the man when he admits to suffering from headaches. He concludes (correctly) that the man is recovering from a nervous breakdown.
After Mr James recites a limerick with lines ending on 'Bristol and 'pistol' Wilkie aims his gun at the two men. Now intent on revenge, he recounts his story about the 'Rary' a now extinct (fictional) species (which is again an allegory the character's situation) and threatens Mr Parker for his insulting fixations. Johnson returns to the office but flees. He tells the receptionist (Ann Bell
) that he should never have taken on Parker. They hear two shots, but Johnson hurriedly leaves. The receptionist discovers that James and Parker are dead, and faints. She coming round at the open window to which Wilkie has moved her. He tells his 'Rary' story, before jumping to his death from a window of the tall office block.
; its rediscovery was announced in January 2005. The play's director Gareth Davies
recalled the work as "a sad piece about a madman applying for a job. Not a great play. A sort of sour joke." Once described as "perhaps the most bizarre of all Potter's single plays" Potter continues with themes begun in The Confidence Game in 1965. Shaggy Dog has been issued on DVD in Region 2 along with the other plays Potter wrote for LWT.
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
on 10 November 1968, is a black and white television play by Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
written for the London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
anthology series The Company of Five, specifically a group of five actors.
Synopsis
A man walks through central London perceiving his surroundings as resembling a zoo. On his way to a job interview, he behaves oddly, bumping into people, speaking gibberish and avoiding the cracks between paving stones. Meanwhile, Johnson (Ray SmithRay Smith (actor)
Ray Smith was a Welsh actor who notably played the tough-talking police chief, Detective Superintendent Gordon Spikings, in the television series, Dempsey & Makepeace.- Early life :...
), the boss of the Bideawhile Organisation, a hotel chain and leisure conglomerate, is trying to persuade his colleague Mr James (Cyril Luckham
Cyril Luckham
Cyril Luckham was a British film, television and theatre actor.Luckham played the White Guardian in the long running science fiction television series Doctor Who. He appeared in The Ribos Operation, the first serial in The Key to Time season, and Enlightenment...
) that the methods of a new consultant he has contracted from the Transatlantic Corporation will aid their ability in identifying potential employees who may suffer from stress and poor health. Johnson is taken aback when the man Parker (Derek Godfrey
Derek Godfrey
Derek Godfrey was a British actor who appeared in several films and BBC television dramatizations during the 1960s and 1970s....
) arrives wearing an obviously false nose, but Mr James is unfazed.
The man, Mr Wilkie (John Neville), arrives for his interview, and is kept waiting on Parker's insistence as a test of his vulnerability. He is interviewed for a management position by Mr James, and by Mr Parker who is now wearing a woman's blonde wig. Mr Wilkie displays extensive knowledge, from the financial and business press, of the company's history and prospects which he does not think are very promising. He is repeatedly shocked that the firm does not possess a computer. Parker meanwhile insists on knowing about Wilkie's relationship with his mother, any bed wetting and pounces on the man when he admits to suffering from headaches. He concludes (correctly) that the man is recovering from a nervous breakdown.
After Mr James recites a limerick with lines ending on 'Bristol and 'pistol' Wilkie aims his gun at the two men. Now intent on revenge, he recounts his story about the 'Rary' a now extinct (fictional) species (which is again an allegory the character's situation) and threatens Mr Parker for his insulting fixations. Johnson returns to the office but flees. He tells the receptionist (Ann Bell
Ann Bell
Ann Bell is a British actress, best known for playing war internee Marion Jefferson in the BBC World War II drama series Tenko during the early 1980s. She was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, daughter of John Forrest Bell and Marjorie Bell, and educated at Birkenhead High School...
) that he should never have taken on Parker. They hear two shots, but Johnson hurriedly leaves. The receptionist discovers that James and Parker are dead, and faints. She coming round at the open window to which Wilkie has moved her. He tells his 'Rary' story, before jumping to his death from a window of the tall office block.
Reputation
The recording of Shaggy Dog was long thought to be lostWiping
Wiping or junking is a colloquial term for action taken by radio and television production and broadcasting companies, in which old audiotapes, videotapes, and telerecordings , are erased, reused, or destroyed after several uses...
; its rediscovery was announced in January 2005. The play's director Gareth Davies
Gareth Davies (director)
Gareth Davies is a British television director and actor.Davies began his career as an actor with stage roles at the Royal Court Theatre in London and a recurring role in the early BBC soap opera Compact. It is though as a television director where Davies made his greatest impact...
recalled the work as "a sad piece about a madman applying for a job. Not a great play. A sort of sour joke." Once described as "perhaps the most bizarre of all Potter's single plays" Potter continues with themes begun in The Confidence Game in 1965. Shaggy Dog has been issued on DVD in Region 2 along with the other plays Potter wrote for LWT.
External links
- "Shaggy Dog" on Clenched Fists - The Official Dennis Potter website