A new production of one of Dennis Potter's earliest plays, written in 1967. Introduced by political interviewer Brian Walden.
Sir David Browning has twice been Prime Minister. On his retirement Parliament decides to honour him with a portrait painted by the famous artist James Player . See today's choices.
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Performance: Message for Posterity 9.30pm BBC2
A new series of classic studio drama begins with a revival of an early Dennis Potter play, Message for Posterity, first produced by the BBC in 1967.
For series producer Simon Curtis, this was a work which needed to be revived. "People don't think twice about doing new theatre productions of Arthur Miller or Harold Pinter, but it is assumed that TV plays are done once and never again. In my opinion, television playwrights of this calibre are equally deserving." Potter himself was apparently enthusiastic about the revival, though he died before it could go into production.
A typically biting Potter creation, the play stars John Neville as Sir David Browning, who has been twice Prime Minister. After he is forcibly retired from office, Parliament decides to commission a portrait of him by famous artist James Player (Eric Porter). But Browning begins to suspect a vicious plot after he finds out that Player is a diehard radical, who disagrees with everything he stands for.
Player also has qualms about the commission, but as the painting process progresses, the two old men find they have more in common than they imagined.
Future plays in the Performance season will include Measure for Measure and Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea.