- Beautiful Thing
Infobox Film
name = Beautiful Thing
image_size = 150px
caption = Australian promotional poster for the film release
director =Hettie MacDonald
producer =Tony Garnett Bill Shapter
writer =Jonathan Harvey
narrator =
starring =Linda Henry Meera Syal Glen Berry Martin Walsh Steven M. Martin Scott Neal Tameka Empson
music = John Altman
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =
released = 1995
runtime =
country =England
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0115640"Beautiful Thing" is a play written and first performed in
1993 byJonathan Harvey . A screen production of the play was released in1995 by Channel 4 Films, with a revisedscreenplay also by Harvey. Initially, the film was only intended for television broadcast but it was so well-received that it was later released in cinemas. The atmosphere of the film is heavily influenced by a soundtrack comprising almost entirely of the work ofCass Elliot .Plot
The story is set and filmed on
Thamesmead , aworking class area of South EastLondon dominated bypost-war council estate s.Jamie (
Glen Berry ), a teen who is infatuated with his classmate, Ste (Scott Neal ), has to deal with his single mother Sandra (Linda Henry ), who is pre-occupied with ambitious plans to run her ownpub and with an ever-changing string of lovers, the latest of whom is Tony (Ben Daniels ), a neo-hippie . Sandra finds herself at odds with Leah (Tameka Empson ), a sassy and rude neighbour girl who has been expelled from school, does several drugs, and constantly listens and sings along to her mother'sCass Elliot records. While Jamie'shomosexuality remains concealed, his introvert nature and dislike of football are reason enough for his classmates to bully him at every opportunity.Ste, who is living together with his drug-dealing brother and abusive,
alcoholic father in the flat next door, is one night beaten by his brother so badly that Sandra takes pity and lets him sleep over. In the absence of a third bed, Ste has to make do with sleeping 'top-to-toe' with Jamie. On the second night they share a bed, after a massage and a minor conversation, the boys soon change sleeping arrangements and Jamie kisses Ste for the first time.The next morning, Ste panics and leaves before Jamie awakens, avoiding him for days. Jamie works up the nerve to steal a
Gay Times from anewsagent , apparently starting to accept his sexuality and affection for Ste. Jamie finally spots Ste at a nearby party and confronts him; they prepare to leave together. The party ends badly, with Sandra taking vengeance on Leah for gossiping, who then threatens to 'spill the beans' about Ste and Jamie and confesses to having covered up for Ste in front of his father and brother. Ste reacts poorly, angrily rejecting Jamie and running away.Slowly, Ste accepts Jamie's love and their relationship begins to develop as they visit a gay pub together. Sandra follows them and discovers their secret, and the movie reaches its climax as a
bad trip by Leah (on an unnameddrug ) precipitates Sandra's breakup with Tony; the news of Sandra's new job comes out; and Sandra confronts Ste and Jamie. Sandra comes to accept her son's relationship.The play ends with the two boys slow-dancing in the courtyard of their
council flat s to the tune of the Cass Elliot classic, "Dream a Little Dream of Me ", while a guarding Sandra dances defiantly at their side with Leah as the local residents look on; some of them shocked, some of them enjoying the moment themselves.Theatrical productions
The film is based on Jonathan Harvey's original play script.
* 28 July, 1993: Beautiful Thing was first performed at the
Bush Theatre , London, directed byHettie McDonald . It featuredPatricia Kerrigan ,Mark Letheren ,Jonny Lee Miller ,Sophie Stanton andPhilip Glenister .* September 1994: The play opened in the West End at the
Duke of York's Theatre , withAmelda Brown ,Zubin Varla ,Richard Dormer ,Diane Parish andRhys Ifans .* February 1998: The Australian premiere was directed by
Michael Darragh and produced byMake Believe Productions in Sydney. ASydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival event, the critically-acclaimed independent production starredFiona Harris ,Simon Corfield ,Andrew Wallace ,Natalie Murray andCharles Kevin .* 16 May, 1998: The American premiere was produced by
Famous Door Theater Company inChicago ,Illinois .* 14 February 1999: New York premiere:
Cherry Lane Theatre in New York,New York .* January-March 2006: A production of Beautiful Thing took place at the
Sound Theatre inLondon starring Andrew Garfield, Gavin Brocker, Leo Bill, Sophie Stanton and Naomi Bentley.* July-September 2006: A production of Beautiful Thing took place at the
Sound Theatre inLondon starringJonathan Bailey (Actor) , Gavin Brocker,Steven Meo , Carli Norris and Michelle Terry.* September 2007: A production of Beautiful Thing took place at the
South London Theatre . [MySpace |mybeautifulthing|Beautiful thing]* October 31st - November 3rd 2007: A production of Beautiful Thing took place at the
University of Sheffield Drama Studio bySuTCo . www.sutco.co.uk* 11 January 2008: Beautiful Thing produced in the German language for the first time at the [http://www.jtbonn.com/ Junges Theater Bonn] . Notably this is a performance with actors being the same age as the characters they portray.
* February 2008: Beautiful Thing is staged by [http://www.soulsticetheatre.org/ Soulstice Theatre] in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, directed by Mark E. Schuster. The cast features Zach Kunde as Jamie, Chris Darnieder as Ste, Jillian Smith as Sandra, Amanda Carson as Leah, and Doug Giffin as Tony.
* 1st May 2008: Directed and acted by Fever theatre at Hemsworth Arts and Community College. The production features Kyle Crookes, (Jamie) Aaron Peace, (Tony) Joss Froggatt, (Ste) Stacey Young, (Leah) and Lauren Raynor (Sandra). The script has been cut to a thirty minute runtime.
* 26th June 2008: Beautiful Thing, Produced by EM-LOU PRODUCTIONS at the Battersea Arts Centre, Directed by Peter Darney, featuring Harry Bradshaw as Jamie, Niall Phillips as Ste, Anna Stolli as Sandra, Finn Hanlon as Tony, Louise Tyler as Leah.
* 15th July 2008: Beautiful Thing, produced by the Hillyer Theatre Company at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham, directed by Jack Fayter, with Richard Loftus as Jamie, Joel Stubbs as Ste, Evelyne Beech as Sandra, Megan Travers as Leah and Steve Roberts as Tony.
Upcoming Productions
* 9th January to 1st March 2009 : Paris Premiere. Beautiful Thing will be performed in French at Le Vingtième Théâtre, Paris. Directed by Kester Lovelace. [A Drama Ties] Production. Featuring Matila Malliarakis (Jaimie),Ivan Cori (Ste), Tadrina Hocking (Sandra), Simon Hubert (Tony)and Aude-Laurence Clermont (Leah). Translation : Pascal Crantelle. [http://homepage.mac.com/kesterlovelace/dramaties/beautiful_thing/bt_index.htm]
* 3rd August to 21st August 2009 : Ontario Premiere. Beautiful Thing will be performed with Tri-City Productions, Kitchener,Ontario. Production. Featuring Jeffrey Bowers (Jaimie), Chris Geary (Ste), Lesmond Tracey (Sandra), Raechel Lovell (Leah). Translation : Pascal Crantelle.
References
External links
*
* [http://www.beautiful-thing.com Beautiful Thing fansite]
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