This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/26/election-television-braver-political-drama

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
TV has lost its nerve with political drama TV has lost its nerve with political drama
(about 3 hours later)
Today’s scenes of tears, jeers, scowling and howling in the House of Commons – following the defeat of William Hague’s attempt to unseat the Speaker, John Bercow – was British politics at its most theatrical, ahead of an election expected to be among the most dramatic ever. So it’s fitting that this spring’s British theatre listings contain an unprecedented number of productions timed to coincide with a UK ballot. Today’s scenes of tears, jeers, scowling and howling in the House of Commons – over William Hague’s unsuccessful attempt to unseat the Speaker, John Bercow – were British politics at its most theatrical, ahead of an election expected to be among the most dramatic ever. So it’s fitting that this spring’s British theatre listings contain an unprecedented number of productions timed to coincide with a UK ballot.
James Graham’s The Vote is set in a polling station, while a recent new play, John Hollingworth’s Multitudes, imagined the result (a Tory government) and consequences (racial unrest) of the May 7 poll. And the producers of current revivals of David Hare’s The Absence of War, Peter Barnes’s The Ruling Class and Laura Wade’s Posh have acknowledged that they have been timed – with their respective themes of Labour party politics, inherited peerages and Oxford University drinking clubs – to have electoral relevance. James Graham’s The Vote is set in a polling station, while a recent new play, John Hollingworth’s Multitudes, imagined the result (a Tory government) and consequences (racial unrest) of the 7 May poll. And the producers of current revivals of David Hare’s The Absence of War, Peter Barnes’ The Ruling Class and Laura Wade’s Posh have acknowledged that they have been timed – with their respective themes of Labour party politics, inherited peerages and Oxford University drinking clubs – to have electoral relevance.
This landslide of plays about politics is not accidental, but an unforeseen result of a political decision: the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, introduced by David Cameron in 2011.This landslide of plays about politics is not accidental, but an unforeseen result of a political decision: the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, introduced by David Cameron in 2011.
Most theatre schedules are decided at least a year in advance, which meant that when prime ministers could choose their date from within a five-year span there was no reliable way of lining up a show with a poll. For example, the general election widely expected to be held by Tony Blair in May 2001 was delayed for a month by an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, while Gordon Brown publicly flirted with a variety of timings from 2007 to when he hit the buffers in 2010. So any artistic director trying to second-guess a PM would have found their productions frustratingly out of sync with the political cycle. Fixed terms, however, mean that theatres can line up productions with the hustings.Most theatre schedules are decided at least a year in advance, which meant that when prime ministers could choose their date from within a five-year span there was no reliable way of lining up a show with a poll. For example, the general election widely expected to be held by Tony Blair in May 2001 was delayed for a month by an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, while Gordon Brown publicly flirted with a variety of timings from 2007 to when he hit the buffers in 2010. So any artistic director trying to second-guess a PM would have found their productions frustratingly out of sync with the political cycle. Fixed terms, however, mean that theatres can line up productions with the hustings.
But this unintended consequence of the statute book – a glut of political drama in theatre – will paradoxically overlap with an intentional effect of legislation on playwrights: the absence of political fiction on TV. Under requirements of the Communications Act (2003) and the Representation of the People Act (1983), solidified by broadcasters’ guidelines, any work of fiction that might be regarded as ideologically partisan is prohibited from being shown during election campaigns.But this unintended consequence of the statute book – a glut of political drama in theatre – will paradoxically overlap with an intentional effect of legislation on playwrights: the absence of political fiction on TV. Under requirements of the Communications Act (2003) and the Representation of the People Act (1983), solidified by broadcasters’ guidelines, any work of fiction that might be regarded as ideologically partisan is prohibited from being shown during election campaigns.
Neatly, James Graham, beneficiary of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act with The Vote at the Donmar theatre, is a victim of the other bills. Coalition, his biopic about the Cameron-Clegg deal, screening on Saturday on Channel 4, is required to go out in a pre-campaign slot and subsequently TV will become a no-go area for political scriptwriters until the night of May 7, when, in a further piece of serendipity, The Vote will be telecast on E4 late on election night. Neatly, James Graham, beneficiary of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act with The Vote at the Donmar theatre, is a victim of the other bills. Coalition, his biopic about the Cameron-Clegg deal, screening on Saturday on Channel 4, is required to go out in a pre-campaign slot – and subsequently TV will become a no-go area for political scriptwriters until the night of 7 May, when, in a further piece of serendipity, The Vote will be telecast on E4 late on election night.
The assumption behind both the screen ban and the stage boom is that political plays may sway voters. That certainly was the aim of the “agit prop” theatre of the 1960s and 70s, when leftwing touring groups such as Portable might, during a strike or a political row, take a play about the issue to the place in question. A similar spirit of revolutionary instruction infused TV strands such as Play for Today (BBC1, 1970-84), helping to fuel the authorities’ fear of potentially partisan programming while the battle buses were running.The assumption behind both the screen ban and the stage boom is that political plays may sway voters. That certainly was the aim of the “agit prop” theatre of the 1960s and 70s, when leftwing touring groups such as Portable might, during a strike or a political row, take a play about the issue to the place in question. A similar spirit of revolutionary instruction infused TV strands such as Play for Today (BBC1, 1970-84), helping to fuel the authorities’ fear of potentially partisan programming while the battle buses were running.
Screening plays such as Coalition, This House or David Hare’s Absence of War would illuminate an election periodScreening plays such as Coalition, This House or David Hare’s Absence of War would illuminate an election period
This new wave of political plays, though, tends to be observational rather than polemical. An earlier play by Graham – This House, seen at the National Theatre, which dramatised the Labour-Liberal pact of the late 70s – had, in almost a parody of the BBC idea of “balance”, a Labour hero and a Tory one. Coalition is also historical not doctrinal.This new wave of political plays, though, tends to be observational rather than polemical. An earlier play by Graham – This House, seen at the National Theatre, which dramatised the Labour-Liberal pact of the late 70s – had, in almost a parody of the BBC idea of “balance”, a Labour hero and a Tory one. Coalition is also historical not doctrinal.
And although The Absence of War focuses on Labour, Hare’s critique of the risk-free managerialism of contemporary campaigning hits broader targets.And although The Absence of War focuses on Labour, Hare’s critique of the risk-free managerialism of contemporary campaigning hits broader targets.
These more even-handed political plays have – like low taxation – been led by public taste. Theatrical agit-prop declined mainly because it failed to engage usefully with the electorate. The plays attracted small audiences drawn from those already converted to the cause; the disagreeing stayed away. This echoes the paradox that some of the greatest leftwing TV plays – such as Jim Allen’s The Spongers and Alan Bleasdale’s Boys from the Blackstuff – were screened during the rise of Thatcherism, indicating that such work was always more likely to win prizes for the makers than elections for Labour.These more even-handed political plays have – like low taxation – been led by public taste. Theatrical agit-prop declined mainly because it failed to engage usefully with the electorate. The plays attracted small audiences drawn from those already converted to the cause; the disagreeing stayed away. This echoes the paradox that some of the greatest leftwing TV plays – such as Jim Allen’s The Spongers and Alan Bleasdale’s Boys from the Blackstuff – were screened during the rise of Thatcherism, indicating that such work was always more likely to win prizes for the makers than elections for Labour.
Given both the lack of proven knock-on from box to ballot box and the trend for less partisan dramas, there must be a case for reducing the severity of restrictions on broadcasters. I can see that screening Posh – or the Channel 4 Dave-and-Ed satire Miliband of Brothers – during the next few weeks might be provocative. But Coalition or This House or Absence of War would illuminate an election period. Inconclusive opinion polls suggest the possibility of a second election later this year. Given both the lack of proven knock-on from box to ballot box and the trend for less partisan dramas, there must be a case for reducing the severity of restrictions on broadcasters. I can see that screening Posh – or the Channel 4 Dave-and-Ed satire, Miliband of Brothers – during the next few weeks might be provocative. But Coalition or This House or Absence of War would illuminate an election period.
As no director will have been able to schedule for this outcome, theatres will be forced to be as unresponsive to the election as in the past; but perhaps the next poll should encourage television to experiment in being braver about political plays. Inconclusive opinion polls suggest the possibility of a second election later this year. As no director will have been able to schedule for this outcome, theatres will be forced to be as unresponsive to the election as in the past; but perhaps the next poll should encourage television to experiment in being braver about political plays.