Catchpenny Twist

Three teachers in a Belfast school (Martyn, Roy and Monagh) lose their jobs and embark on music careers. Martyn and Roy draw some unwanted attention from both sides of the conflict in Northern Ireland. They team up with Monagh to produce a Eurovision-style hit. The trio succeeds in getting an entry into the ‘Ettelbruck’ Song Contest but a string of problems leads to their inevitable failure. It seems that the characters cannot escape their Belfast background, no matter where they go. Stewart Parker perfectly balances the seriousness of the conflict in Northern Ireland with the ridiculous nature of showbiz and the result is a wonderfully tragic farce.

The film Illustrates how identity clings to people from Northern Ireland.

This was Stewart Parker’s first play for television.

Original transmission: BBC1 05/12/1977 (75mins). It was shown as part of the ‘Play for Today’ series on BBC.

Clip courtesy BBC Motion Gallery