by David Hopkins.
With William Mervyn as Father, Doris Hare as Mother, Geraldine Sherman as the Girl and Christopher Chittell as the Son
(Colour)

[Article]
William Mervyn
If you think the macabre events in tonight's play could not possibly happen in real life, you would be wrong. It was a Continental newspaper report of a case that suggested the idea to David Hopkins.
His play takes us behind the seemingly respectable facade of a suburban house. In a locked room with the windows barred and shuttered, is Roy Bates who, for the last twenty-one years, has been entombed by his parents - a living testament to their terrible sin. The sin of being born on the day they were to be married.
Roy is now twenty-one. And society calls him a man. But when he begins to ask questions about himself and life outside the room, he suddenly ceases to be a son and instead becomes a threat - a threat culminating in a tense, terrifying climax.
For William Mervyn, the part of the father is a considerable change from the lovable Bishop in the All Gas and Gaiters series, which has endeared him to millions of viewers.