Prison Play

[Pegasus]

I saw this in the late seventies/early eighties. I think it was a Play For Today or The Wednesday Play. It was about a man who ends up in prison and tries to adapt. He is hit on by a gay prisoner when he first enters and violently rebuffs him. Later, he finds he cannot or will not be accepted by any of the other cons. I think he became a grass and was subsequently alienated by everyone. In the final scene, he is so lonely that he tries to befriend the gay but is rejected. The reason I am so interested in this is because one night I was in a pub and the actor's face came on the television screen during News At Ten. I don't know what the story was because the pub was noisy and I couldn't get near enough to hear. I have never seen or heard of the actor since, so I figure that the story was about his death. So, if I can find the play, I can eventually find out his story. Phew!

[Euryale]

A Life Is Forever was a 1972 Play For Today production. This is a synopsis from the TV Cream website:



A Life is for Ever - w Tony Parker. Grim study of the plight of 'lifers' in prison, concentrating on a man serving thirty for the murder of a police officer. Controversial for a depiction of a gay encounter (remarkably tame by the standards of Scum et al.), though convincing enough for the Home Office to use it in prison officer training courses.



This is the cast list from IMDB:



"Play for Today" A Life Is Forever (1972)



But the date of the play seems too early, and I don't recall any of the cast making the news headlines.



E.

[Euryale]

Another prison drama/TV movie was Knockback:



Knockback (1984) (TV)



And the final part of G. F. Newman's Law and Order was called A Prisoner's Tale:



"Law and Order" (1978)



E.

[Euryale]

I think both of these dramas caused controversy when first shown and - shall we say - slipped off the radar for a while.



Don't think I ever saw Law and Order, but I did see a TV play about a prisoner quite a few years ago. He was very rebellious when first jailed and was put into solitary confinement for, I think, 40 days. While there, if he commited the slightest misdemeanour, he would be forced to start the 40 day cycle over again, which happened several times. It made for very grim viewing - not sure if this was Knockback, but may well have been.



E.

[jaycad]

name='Pegasus']I saw this in the late seventies/early eighties. I think it was a Play For Today or The Wednesday Play. It was about a man who ends up in prison and tries to adapt. He is hit on by a gay prisoner when he first enters and violently rebuffs him. Later, he finds he cannot or will not be accepted by any of the other cons. I think he became a grass and was subsequently alienated by everyone. In the final scene, he is so lonely that he tries to befriend the gay but is rejected. The reason I am so interested in this is because one night I was in a pub and the actor's face came on the television screen during News At Ten. I don't know what the story was because the pub was noisy and I couldn't get near enough to hear. I have never seen or heard of the actor since, so I figure that the story was about his death. So, if I can find the play, I can eventually find out his story. Phew!

the actor who appeared on news at ten couldn't be john bindon could it?

[batman]

name='jaycad']the actor who appeared on news at ten couldn't be john bindon could it?

That's what I was thinking.



This is a Bindon possibility .....



LINK: Her Majesty's Pleasure



synopsis:

A group of "lifers" in prison prepare for their annual big event at Christmas, their own pantomime. The "star" has escaped but a new inmate looks an ideal Goldilocks.



..... this was part o fthe Play for Today series.

[Pegasus]

Thanks everyone, particularly Euryale. Indeed it was [I]Life Is Forever. Well done. I only joined and posted the question last night. I'm well impressed guys!