Quartermaine's Terms

[poliphilo]

I continue to dip into the archive at Mick's Nostalgia Channel.

Yesterday evening I watched Quartermaine's Terms (1987) a TV version of Simon Gray's tragi-comedy. It has John Gielgud in a role created on stage by Robin Bailey- which is an example of trading up, I think- and Edward Fox (who I find I'm coming to love) as kindly, impossibly other-worldly Quartermaine. Quartermaine's Terms is teetering on the edge of becoming a "classic"- by which I mean that it keeps on being revived. A recent production starred Rowan Atkinson in the title role- and why not?

The picture quality is lousy, but I find I don't mind. I'm here to watch some first rate actors perform a first rate script (and especially watch Gielgud be Gielgud) and not to marvel at the wrinkles on their faces and the folds in their clothes.

Comments

[sovay]

It has John Gielgud in a role created on stage by Robin Bailey- which is an example of trading up, I think- and Edward Fox (who I find I'm coming to love) as kindly, impossibly other-worldly Quartermaine.

Fine, sold.

Edward Fox is in one of the other TV plays I have been hunting for decades, recently found the original stage script for, am rather fervently hoping Mick's Nostalgia Channel has a copy of and don't care about the quality so long as I can see it. The alternative is a visit to the BFI Mediatheque which is not happening for so many reasons.

I was essentially unaware of Simon Gray until his adaptation of A Month in the Country (1987), after which I read several of his plays but somehow missed this one, so thank you for the heads-up.