Dublin; June 16, 1904. Stephen Dedalus, who fancies himself as a poet, embarks on a day of wandering about the city during which he finds friendship and a father figure in Leopold Bloom, a middle-aged Jew. Meanwhile, Bloom’s day, illuminated by a funeral and an evening of drinking and revelry that stirs paternal feelings toward Stephen, ends with a rapprochement with Molly, his earthy wife.Read More »
Short stories by George MacKay Brown, adapted for television by John McGrath
Three short-stories by Orcadian author Brown, adapted to create three short plays, running back-to-back, in an episode lasting just over 90-minutes. It explores the lives of islanders, past and present.
Brown won the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, and although ultimately unsuccessful he was shortlisted for a Booker Prize for fiction.
Take into consideration that there’s three stories with approx. 10 actors and actresses in each, then add in Scottish drama’s reputation for using the same tried-and-tested faces over and over again. That means, if you’re a Scot over 40, you’re bound to end up spending the evening guessing the other things they were in!Read More »
Irvine Welsh adapts three stories from his ‘Acid House’ collection for the screen. In ‘The Granton Star
Cause’, Boab Coyle (Stephen McCole) is happy playing for his local football team and dating girlfriend
Evelyn. When he loses both, however, along with his job and home, he turns to drink – only to meet God
(Maurice Roëves) in a pub. ‘A Soft Touch’ tells the story of Johnny (Kevin McKidd), an easily
manipulated man who loses his girlfriend to violent and psychotic neighbour Larry (Gary McCormack).
In ‘The Acid House’, raver Coco (Ewen Bremner) finds that he has swapped places with Tom, newborn
baby of middle class couple Rory (Martin Clunes) and Jenny, after an acid trip.Read More »
Legendary Scots rock ‘n’ roll outfit The Majestics find themselves in trouble on the eve of their 25th anniversary tour when their singer, Big Jazza, is killed in a car crash. But with the appearance of his younger brother, Danny, their problems appear to be over. If only it was that easy…
Rock and roll mythologises itself as a rejuvenating rebel music, an image embodied by the Rolling Stones, who claim the music keeps them fired up and excited despite their advancing years. However, entry into the ranks of rock and roll originals has failed to bestow the same energising favours on The Majestics, Scotland’s very own (fictional) survivors of the 1960s beat boom.Read More »