Drama. A man's mind becomes unhinged and a life is at stake.
The local police and the inhabitants of one particular house
undergo an experience they will never forget.
ARDEN WINCH'S first play, "Incident,"
which is produced by Associated Rediffusion, stars Eddie Byrne
and Alan Bates and shows that the playwright has a natural feeling
for what makes people tick.
 Winch takes as his theme an incident
in a policeman's day, an incident that touches the policeman
as deeply as the others involved.
 Most
of the action is in the narrow hall, stairway and landing of
a slum house, and centres on the police and their efforts to
get Palmer, a young soldier (Stephen Dartnell) out of the first
floor room where he has barricaded himself with his three month
old daughter. There is no doubt that the baby is in immediate
danger from him.
Some months before, Palmer had
a nervous breakdown after seeing the injuries caused by the atom
bomb at Hiroshima. Now he has deserted the Army rather than be
posted to Christmas Island, where atom tests are carried out.
"The situation is electric," says director Cyril Coke.
"And rings true," adds
Alan Bates, who plays Ralph Freeman, an intelligent but lawless
neighbour, with a string of convictions against him.
Eddie Byrne, as Inspector Matthews,
represents the authority so despised by Freeman. The clash of
these two makes one of the most powerful scenes. The last time
Eddie Byrne was directed by Cyril Coke was nearly three years
ago in "Dead on Nine," which won top place in the audience
ratings for the week.
"I was a detective in that,"
said Byrne, "and in my past two films I've been a policeman.
But Matthews breaks away from the stereotyped inspector. He's
a soft-hearted man with a tough exterior." Byrne himself
is a soft-hearted Irishman, with a home in Dublin where he joins
his wife and four children as often as possible.
Alan Bates has been seen often
on television, but it was his performance in "The Thug"
that sent his fan mail soaring. His career has included repertory
at Coventry, two years as Cliff Lewis in "Look Back in Anger"
and a part in the film of "The Entertainer, another John
Osborne play. The part of Palmer's wife, Mavis, mother of the
baby, goes to Liz Fraser.
Arden Winch, who is 33, has been
writing in one form or another all his working life. As a fiction
and feature writer he has contributed to leading magazines, and
for nine years he has been an advertising copywriter. He hopes
to continue writing plays, and has two more in preparation. He
is married to former journalist Phoebe Young and has a son, Nicholas,
aged 19 months. |||
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