The House That Jack Built, written by Shelagh Delaney, was broadcast by the BBC in 1977 in six thirty minute episodes. It tells the story of the marriage of Jack (played by Duggie Brown) and Lu (played by Sharon Duce) over ten years. Lu's dream is that Jack should be happy, and their hopes are hatched in a little two-up, two-down.
Shelagh Delaney herself had loads to say about the serial tv play...
"Well, I suppose they lose their innocence" she explained "That's what the play is really about. They learn they've got to put up with things they don't really want to put up with…certain aspects of each other. Jack's head is full of ideas. He's a poet. They are building something physical and emotional and sometimes something collapses and they build it up again.
"They are concerned with timeless things like money, food and sex" she added "Jack and Lu are both very sexy. They enjoy sex. But there isn't a bedroom scene in the plays. The audience expects explicit sex but it's more potent when it isn't explicit. In Charlie Bubble the first time we see Billie Whitelaw, she's getting out of bed, not getting in; it's much more sexy..."
The House That Jack Built has never been repeated on tv or released on DVD but now the Mary Quaile Club has arranged a screening by special arrangement with the British Film Institute and sponsored by Gill and Trevor Griffiths, as its contribution to this year's Shelagh Delaney Day.
The House That Jack Built will be shown in two halves of ninety minutes each, with a break for refreshments, at the Three Minute Theatre in Manchester. Seating is incredibly limited so anyone wishing to attend is urged to reserve places as soon as possible.
Shelagh Delaney's The House That Jack Built
Saturday 26th November 12.30pm-4.30pm
Three Minute Theatre
Afflecks Arcade, 35-39 Oldham Street
Manchester
Entrance £5 (£4 for members of Equity, Musicians' Union and the Writers Guild).
To reserve places and for further information email maryquaileclub@gmail.com
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