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Summary

The Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of history. It was originally commissioned by the BBC in 1983, for production and broadcast in 1986, but was subsequently shelved by Controller of BBC One Michael Grade due to its alleged pro-Margaret Thatcher stance and jingoistic tone. This prompted a press furore over media bias and censorship.The play was not staged until 2002, when it was broadcast in separate adaptations on BBC Television and Radio.

Cast

Patricia Hodge

Rt. Hon Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister)

John Standing

Rt Hon William Whitelaw CH MC MP (Home Secretary)

Michael Cochrane

Rt Hon Nicholas Ridley MP (Financial Secretary to the Treasury)

James Fox

Rt Hon Peter, 6th Baron Carrington KCMG MC (Foreign Secretary)

Colin Stinton

Alexander Haig (US Secretary of State)

Anthony Calf

Robin Fearn (Head of Falkland Islands Department, Foreign Office)

Jeremy Child

Rt Hon Francis Pym MC MP (Foreign Secretary)

Richard Cordery

Tom Enders

Robert Hardy

Sir Anthony Parsons

John Woodvine

Adm. of the Fleet Sir Terence Lewin

Rupert Vansittart

Sir Robert Armstrong (Cabinet Secretary)

Jonathan Coy

Richard Luce MP (Minister of State, Foreign Office)

Clive Merrison

Rt Hon John Nott MP (Secretary of State for Defence)

Peter Blythe

Rt Hon Sir Michael Havers QC MP (Attorney-General)

Jeremy Clyde

Sir Nicholas Henderson (HM Ambassador to the United States)

Shaughan Seymour

Adm. Sir Henry Leach (First Sea Lord)

Jasper Jacob

John Wilkinson MP (Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Nott)

Bob Sherman

President Ronald Reagan

Lorelei King

Jeanne Kirkpatrick (US Ambassador to the UN)

Garrick Hagon

Vernon Walters (Senior Adviser to the US Secretary of State)

Arturo Venegas

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (UN Secretary-General)

Vernon Dobtcheff

Nicanor Costa Méndez (Argentine Minister of External Relations)

Robert Bowman

Sir Hamilton Whyte (Member, British Mission to the UN)

Tom Chadbon

Adm. Sir John Fieldhouse (C-in-C Fleet)

Gordon Langford Rowe

Rt Hon George Thomas MP (Speaker of the House of Commons)

Patrick Godfrey

Rt Hon Michael Foot MP (Leader of the Opposition)

Ron Meadows

Rt Hon Peter Shore MP (Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer)

Renny Krupinski

David Lambie MP (Labour)

Charles McCurdy

John Browne MP (Conservative)

Martin Oldfield

Rt Hon Enoch Powell MP (Conservative)

Geoffrey Wilkinson

Sir Anthony Meyer Bt MP (Conservative)

Alan Rothwell

John Wells MP (Conservative)

Geoff Holman

Rt Hon Tony Benn MP (Labour)

David Fleeshman

Denis Healey MP (Labour)

Crew

Director

Michael Samuels

Writer

Ian Curteis

Reviews

Geronimo1967

September 3, 2023

Recently, there have been a spate of singularly poor dramas about historical figures from the British Isles - "Mary, Queen of Scots" (2018), "Robert, the Bruce" (2019) being two of the least agreeable - but this takes that low benchmark and throws it under the bus (or chariot). Anyone expecting a battle-fest featuring this famously brave and courageous Queen leading loads of people in woad fighting off the fearsome Roman Legions is in for an huge disappointment. You will possibly have seen bloodier battles on a rugby field - indeed, what action there is seemed more about whether our as yet only teenage Boudica was going to be seduced by a deserting Roman legionnaire impersonating, well, who really cares. I'm afraid that this is just dreadful - the sort of film you would be proud of your kids making at college, but deserving of no more than that. The production quality is adequate, and actually the technical aspects - costumes, wattle huts etc., are adequate too - but the acting, dialogue and the whole pace of the thing makes you ever grateful that it's just 80 minutes long... Avoid, you know you want to.