The Afternoon Play is an anthology
program, like Dramarama or The Comic Strip Presents, where each
episode is its own self-contained story.
“The Singing Cactus” is the first piece I’ve seen from the show, and I
enjoyed it a lot. The title was of
course intriguing, and the episode, as it happens, is an odd, sweet
coming-of-age tale.
John, a
fatherless Liverpool lad, has always believed in magic. Raised on the folktales his dad’s friend
Billy used to tell him, John still clings to magic to explain the difficult
things in his life. Lately, much to the
chagrin of his therapist, he’s been obsessed with the idea of returning his
potted cactus to its home in the New Mexico desert. It’s a Hopi “singing” cactus, understand:
enchanted by a rainmaker and imbued with power.
John is convinced that removing the cactus from its sacred ground has
left his family cursed – he blames it for the accident that killed his father
when he was a toddler.
As
Billy Shannon, PC plays the closest thing John has ever had to a father, the
only stable male influence amidst his mother’s string of boyfriends. Together, they talk nature and cowboys and
magic. In everything, Billy tries to
look out for John, a trait that John doesn’t always notice or appreciate.
Billy
is a really engaging, likable character.
He’s an understated friend/father figure, and PC radiates warmth in the
role. Whether Billy and John are joking,
talking seriously, or arguing, the dynamic between them is excellent. Also, Billy is into Morris dancing, an
old-fashioned type of English folkdance that comes complete with outfits to
wear and handkerchiefs to wave stylishly.
Last
note – “The Singing Cactus” has a fantastic soundtrack that it puts to good
use. In addition to really nice covers
of “Wonderwall” and “Let It Be,” it includes the Johnny Cash version of “Hurt”
(which I always adore.)
Accent Watch
Since
this story takes place in Liverpool, we’re talking Scouse. Middling, I’d say – the vowels sound pretty
good, but it doesn’t seem to maintain that particular cadence that Scouse
accents have.
Recommend?
In
General
– Yes; I enjoyed this quite a bit.
Likeable characters, an interesting story, and some fine acting.
PC-wise – I think so. PC does a really nice job with this appealing
role.
Warnings
A
little drinking and smoking, and a few light sexual references.
Where can I find this episode?
ReplyDeleteI found it (and a lot of the more obscure Peter Capaldi stuff I got my hands on) on this Tumblr (https://duckodeathreturns.tumblr.com). They used to have tons of Capaldi stuff posted that I think mostly got taken down for copyright reasons, but maybe start there?
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