Rotter’s Club

Synopsis

Television adaptation, in three episodes, of Jonathan Coe’s novel. Tells the story of a group of Birmingham teenagers and their families in the 1970s, a time of class conflict, racial tension and industrial strikes. In one episode a pupil introduces the question of Shakespeare’s sexuality in abusive terms. The teacher admonishes him by assigning an essay topic on the theme of ‘great writing has no gender’. In a later episode the one black pupil in the class (Richards) is shown playing Othello in a school production.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Television

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

gender issues; schoolchildren; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); School productions

Credits

Director

Tony Smith

Producer

Chrissy Skinns

Writer

Dick Clement; Ian La Frenais; Jonathan Coe

Cast

Bill Anderton
Geoff Breton
Julian Rhind-Tutt
Kevin Doyle
Mark Williams
Peter Bankolé
Rebecca Front
Sarah Lancashire

Production Company

Name

Company Pictures

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web

http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7255 1444

Fax

020 7436 0165

Address

21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN

Name

Learning on Screen Off-Air Recording Back-up Service

Email

services@bufvc.ac.uk

Web

http://bufvc.ac.uk/tvandradio/offair External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7393 1514

Fax

020 7393 1555

Address

For Learning on Screen Members only
77 Wells Street
London
W1T 3QJ