I expected the story about one man's coming to terms with his sexual identity to be a bit dated. And it is. But it is also timeless. What we have is a 69-minute teleplay written by James Andrew Hall, and while the story revolves around lead character Lewis Duncan (Anton Rodgers), we see how interwoven his life is with three other gay men. We start with Lewis having moved into a new home on a rainy afternoon, and he's by himself. The story then flashes back to cover recent events in Lewis' life. We quickly learn that in his previous residence (a modest apartment) he was cohabitating with younger lover Richie. Richie is portrayed by the very handsome Nigel Havers who for years on British television has specialized in playing cads.
Lewis and Richie have a crisis, because Lewis is a workaholic and this leads to Richie cheating on Lewis. Richie uses Lewis for food, a bed to sleep in and new clothes. Lewis is Richie's sugar daddy; and Richie is Lewis' boy toy. Adding to all this is the fact that Lewis has an alter ego of sorts, using a pseudonym known as Zippy Grimes. As Zippy he writes spicy romance novels, books that detail the exploits of lustful heterosexual characters.
Since Lewis does not have a healthy relationship with Richie, and since he has to remain in the closet so he doesn't alienate his straight female readers, Lewis feels hemmed in. Lewis ends up sleeping with a young black male prostitute to unwind on the side. This is ironic, since he's mostly faithful and it's usually Richie who does the cheating.
Meanwhile there is a unique subplot where Lewis is doing research about gay men for a nonfiction piece that he is writing. At one point he visits a woman whose son recently came out of the closet. During the conversation, she says her son admitted he had his first same sex experience and liked it. She then admits that her son is a Catholic priest. In the next part Lewis is back in his office, and he talks with a maternal old secretary about what's on his mind. He is still struggling with his own identity and with how to resolve issues that are cropping up in his relationship with Richie.
Everything comes to a head later that evening when Lewis and Richie go to dinner at the home of two friends, another gay couple. The problems in the other couple's relationship are more pronounced, and during the meal, Lewis finds out that Richie's latest fling has been with one of the men in the other couple. Lewis and the other guy's partner take all of this in, caught somewhat off guard at the confessions which occur at the dinner table. Although they both sort of expected their partners to be playing around, they did not exactly think their partners were playing with each other! It's amusing and sordid at the same time.
After the meal, Lewis and Richie go home where Lewis gives Richie the cold shoulder. Lewis then decides they are over and breaks up with Richie. He never admits his dalliance with the prostitute, and he acts like he's been more of an ideal partner than Richie could ever be. The story comes full circle, because the next day we see Lewis moving into his new home, alone, without Richie. He starts to write an article he calls 'Coming Out' where he tells his nonfiction readers that he's straight writer Zippy Grimes but a homosexual.
I found this to be a very effective installment of Play for Today. Yes, to some extent we have stereotypical gay men in stereotypical situations. At least for the time. But what strikes me about it all is how much James Andrew Hall puts into the dialogue. Hall is a writer who has lived in the gay scene, to such an extent, that he cannot turn out a single line of dialogue without revealing particular attitudes that men exhibit in this subculture, per 1979 reality. I felt like I was learning new jargon, not just British slang but gay slang.
Also I was learning just how isolated these men are in terms of their own behaviors and how when four of them are alone together in a room at dinner, it all flows out so candidly. These men could not have this sort of melodramatic conversation in public. If they did, they'd probably be judged or shamed; or they would feel like they are playing to an audience who see them only as gays, not as men with real struggles specific to their needs and the dramas that envelope them within their milieu. In some ways it's a "pure gay" version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with a bit of Dorian Gray vanity tossed in for good measure.
Lewis and Richie have a crisis, because Lewis is a workaholic and this leads to Richie cheating on Lewis. Richie uses Lewis for food, a bed to sleep in and new clothes. Lewis is Richie's sugar daddy; and Richie is Lewis' boy toy. Adding to all this is the fact that Lewis has an alter ego of sorts, using a pseudonym known as Zippy Grimes. As Zippy he writes spicy romance novels, books that detail the exploits of lustful heterosexual characters.
Since Lewis does not have a healthy relationship with Richie, and since he has to remain in the closet so he doesn't alienate his straight female readers, Lewis feels hemmed in. Lewis ends up sleeping with a young black male prostitute to unwind on the side. This is ironic, since he's mostly faithful and it's usually Richie who does the cheating.
Meanwhile there is a unique subplot where Lewis is doing research about gay men for a nonfiction piece that he is writing. At one point he visits a woman whose son recently came out of the closet. During the conversation, she says her son admitted he had his first same sex experience and liked it. She then admits that her son is a Catholic priest. In the next part Lewis is back in his office, and he talks with a maternal old secretary about what's on his mind. He is still struggling with his own identity and with how to resolve issues that are cropping up in his relationship with Richie.
Everything comes to a head later that evening when Lewis and Richie go to dinner at the home of two friends, another gay couple. The problems in the other couple's relationship are more pronounced, and during the meal, Lewis finds out that Richie's latest fling has been with one of the men in the other couple. Lewis and the other guy's partner take all of this in, caught somewhat off guard at the confessions which occur at the dinner table. Although they both sort of expected their partners to be playing around, they did not exactly think their partners were playing with each other! It's amusing and sordid at the same time.
After the meal, Lewis and Richie go home where Lewis gives Richie the cold shoulder. Lewis then decides they are over and breaks up with Richie. He never admits his dalliance with the prostitute, and he acts like he's been more of an ideal partner than Richie could ever be. The story comes full circle, because the next day we see Lewis moving into his new home, alone, without Richie. He starts to write an article he calls 'Coming Out' where he tells his nonfiction readers that he's straight writer Zippy Grimes but a homosexual.
I found this to be a very effective installment of Play for Today. Yes, to some extent we have stereotypical gay men in stereotypical situations. At least for the time. But what strikes me about it all is how much James Andrew Hall puts into the dialogue. Hall is a writer who has lived in the gay scene, to such an extent, that he cannot turn out a single line of dialogue without revealing particular attitudes that men exhibit in this subculture, per 1979 reality. I felt like I was learning new jargon, not just British slang but gay slang.
Also I was learning just how isolated these men are in terms of their own behaviors and how when four of them are alone together in a room at dinner, it all flows out so candidly. These men could not have this sort of melodramatic conversation in public. If they did, they'd probably be judged or shamed; or they would feel like they are playing to an audience who see them only as gays, not as men with real struggles specific to their needs and the dramas that envelope them within their milieu. In some ways it's a "pure gay" version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with a bit of Dorian Gray vanity tossed in for good measure.
