Blue Remembered Hills is a television play by Dennis Potter, originally broadcast in January 30th 1979 as part of the BBC's Play for Today series. Liber Amoris Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935—7 June 1994) was a controversial British dramatist who is best known for several widely acclaimed television dramas which mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... The Play for Today logo, seen here in the opening title sequence from 1976. ...

It is about a group of seven seven year olds, played by adults, playing in the Forest of Dean one summer afternoon during 1945. The play not only displays how victimisation and stereotypical views occur even in young children, but also the level of cruelty humanity is capable of even in its raw state (as children). The play ends abruptly when the disadvantaged, mentally disturbed and isolated character of "Donald" is burned to death as a result of the other children's actions which they subsequently deny to each other.

The most striking feature about the play was that the characters are children but played by adult actors and as no adult characters feature this presents the audience with a micro-cosm representing adult society. This also possibly links to Potter's own childhood as he grew up in the Forest of Dean and may well have been subjected to the malicious, selfish actions of the children in the play due to his own disability.

The stars of the original production were:

Colin Welland (Willie), Michael Elphick (Peter), Robin Ellis (John), John Bird (Raymond), Helen Mirren (Angela), Janine Duvitski (Audrey), Colin Jeavons (Donald). Colin Welland (born 4 July 1934 in Newton-le-Willows, St Helens, Lancashire) is an English actor and screenwriter, writer. ... Michael as Harry Slater in EastEnders Michael Elphick (born September 19, 1946 in Chichester, West Sussex; died September 7, 2002 in London) was a British actor. ... Robin Ellis Robin Ellis (born January 8, 1942 London) is a British actor who is best remembered as having starred in both Poldark mini-series on television, playing Captain Ross Poldark. ... There have been several well-known people named John Bird, including: John Bird (actor) John Bird (astronomer) John Bird (politician) ... Dame Helen Mirren DBE (born on July 26, 1945) is an Academy Award-winning English stage, television and film actress. ... Janine Duvitski is a English character actress who trained at the East 15 Acting School in London. ... Colin Jeavons Colin Jeavons is a Welsh character actor, born 20 October 1929 in Newport. ...

The script has also been adapted for the theatre and, as such, remains one of Dennis Potter's best known and most successful plays. Script may refer to the following: Writing system Manuscript, a scroll Draft document for a book Screenplay, containing the dialog and instructions for a movie The dialog for a comic book or comic strip Script (performing arts), the dialog and instructions for a play Dance script or Choreology, such as... Liber Amoris Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935—7 June 1994) was a controversial British dramatist who is best known for several widely acclaimed television dramas which mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. ...

The title comes from the poem 'XL' in A.E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad. The poem is read by Potter himself at the end of the BBC version of the play. Alfred Edward Housman (March 26, 1859 - April 30, 1936), usually known as A.E. Housman, was an English poet and classical scholar, now best known for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad. ... A Shropshire Lad is a cycle of sixty-three poems by the English poet Alfred Edward Housman. ...

External links

• British Film Institute Screen Online
• TV Cream review
• Review of Blue Remembered Hills production in Strode Theatre, Street, Somerset, U.K.