John Mortimer

[dc]

As many have noted, John Mortimer has died. It happens that there's an evening of programmes on BBC4 on Sunday evening, including the original Rumpole Play For Today, A Voyage Round My Father, and two or three other programmes about/with Mortimer.

Comments

[loveandgarbage.livejournal.com]

Many thanks for the heads up. The first Rumpole play is often overlooked, but has an emotional punch sacrificed for the comedy of the later stories. It's a perfect companion piece to Voyage - a tale of fathers and sons.

[tanngrisnir.livejournal.com]

I think that's true; although, I would also extend that assessment to the first ITV series, each episode being set in a different year, with the father/son relationship being important in some of them.

The first play is also interesting for the performance of Joyce Heron as Hilda, a rather different characterisation than that of Peggy Thorpe-Bates or Marion Mathie.