Television
Vacuous
Richard Ingrams
Ever since his controversial appointment to the British Embassy in Washington I have been trying to catch my friend Peter Jay in his award-winning role as presenter of LWT's Weekend World. Two weeks now I have patiently watched and waited while commentators of various shapes and sizes have examined in turn the Israeli general election, the Ulster local government election, the situation in Rhodesia. Jay however has been damned elusive, only popping up in the role of linkman — 'So much for Rhodesia.. And now we take a look at the vexed question of Scottish nationalism'. If this is all he ever does then he might as well „.g° off to Washington, and London weekend could save a lot of money by hiring one of those grinning male models
with flashy ties who tell us what's coming on next.
Watching all these programmes like weekend World I have the strong feeling that they are about everything except what !natters. Rhodesia is an attractive problem Pot Only to David Owen, with the opportun
q for headline catching initiatives and conferences — but also to any current affairs Programme. It is a faraway country about ererich we know everything. In point of fact IS one real story of importance nowaraYs which makes Rhodesia seem fairly Irrelevant and that is 17 per cent inflation. f he irony is that Peter Jay is one of the very Lew People who know all about it. But in role as impartial tele-pundit his lips are s‘ealed. He must confine his remarks to NVisiele°1ne back. And now the crisis in amibia etc. 0,N111 Johnson seemed to show little grasp the 17 per cent problem when he 'PPeared on Tonight. Someone on the ei3hrograrrime compared him to the sort of r al) who writes angry letters to the Daily elegraph
He laments the decline of
Idle-class values but, as Jimmy Reid Pointed out, it is rather snobbish of him to theInaintain that decency is the prerogative of bourgeoisie. Johnson has got to that dan
gerous stage when, like Enoch, he fishes 'etters from unnamed members of the Public out of his pocket to support his ,r,gtiments. Poor old Paul! At least he :n,dresses his mind to the problems, unlike :is predecessor as editor of the New States tele-pundit and ex-Ambassador to ^lashington John Freeman. Where is he 4'w? Earning a huge Salary as Chairman of Weekend Television. (Watch out, had not expected to stay awake for two ;!tole hours of Heartbreak House (BBC 1)
,,c1 only turned it on at the beginning to ea s;511 a glimpse of that grand old Thespian John Gielgud playing Captain Shotover.
Never having seen the play, I had assumed — presumably because of the title — that it was going to be a gloomy affair. To my surprise it turned out quite unlike anything else by Shaw that I have seen. There is no preaching and very little politics in it. It is really Shaw's hopeless attempt to write like Chekhov, the result being a sOrt of Irish Chekhov with no plot and plenty of good jokes. To my surprise I sat through the whole thing and enjoyed ictremendously. Barbara Murray with piercing voice and menacing feather-boa was especially good as Lady Ariadne Utterword and old man Gielgud, black-capped and bearded like Father Christmas, gave an excellent Shotover. (This is Shaw for once portraying himself not as a boring Superman but as a grumpy old man annoyed by the fact that he keeps dropping off to sleep.) I don't often like these all-star National Theatre type productions, but this was an exception. Full marks to all involved.
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