Tag: Peter Ansorge

Salt on a Snake’s Tail – Come to Mecca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Tim Savage, no reproduction without permission.

This photo is from a drama outside broadcast, probably from one of the ‘Come to Mecca’ dramas, called: ‘Salt on a Snake’s Tail’. The Traffic Warden, with the rigger driver, Bob Few, is writing out a ticket for the scanner, CM2 – despite it having a parking permit!

‘Salt on a Snake’s Tail’, was transmitted in 1983, it was written by Farrukh Dhondy. Franco Ross was the director, Peter Ansorge the producer, and Ian Ashurst the production designer.

The cast included: Zia Mohyeddin, Andrew Johnson, Gill Dharminder.

The following comment was posted on the Pebble Mill Facebook Group:

Andy Bentley: ‘Last time I saw Bob (Few) was a number of years ago, I had just parked the car on Barmouth Sea front when someone shouted ‘Oi what the F*** are you doing here. It was Bob driving a coach full of passengers.’

Come to Mecca – Janice Rider

Photos by Janice Rider, no reproduction without permission.

‘Come to Mecca’ was transmitted on 2 Dec 1983.  It was produced by Peter Ansorge at Pebble Mill, and directed by John McGrath.  It was written by  the Anglo-Indian writer, Farrukh Dhondy.

The story involves Shahid, who is delighted when Betty asks him to go to a meeting at her house.  It is about the crossover and misunderstandings between different cultures.

The play stars, Sharman Macdonald (Betty), Dinesh Shukla, Nick Stringer, Moti Makan, Paul Anil, along with Zia Mohyeddin and Phil Daniels.

Janice Rider worked in the costume department, and took these polaroids for continuity reasons, so that the actors’ costumes matched from scene to scene and shoot to shoot.

 

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Empire Road – Janice Rider

 

Video interview with costume designer Janice Rider, about working on the drama series: Empire Road.  Empire Road was produced at Pebble Mill by Peter Ansorge and written by Michael Abbensetts.  It was the first soap opera in Britain with a black and asian cast, starring Norman Beaton.

Radio Times 1979

Free Screening Event – Sat 5 March

Archive Event Flier

Screening Schedule

 

Film info


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday 5 March, Birmingham City University are holding a free screening event at the School of Art in Margaret Street, very near the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.  The event is open to the public, and it would be great to see as many people there as possible, so please come along if you can.

We’ll be screening three BBC Pebble Mill dramas: Fellow Traveller, (the only TV film made at Pebble Mill) TX 1991, which will be introduced by Exec Producer Michael Wearing and writer Michael Eaton; A Box of Swan , starring Adrian Dunbar and Pete Postlethwaite, TX 1990; and A Touch of Eastern Promise, TX 1973, which will be introduced by writer Tara Prem and script editor Peter Ansorge.

There will also be the opportunity to see excerpts from a Philip Donnellan documentary made in Birmingham before the building of Pebble Mill: Joe the Chainsmith.

 

 

 

The schedule for the screenings is as follows:

11am-12pm and 2pm-3pm: ‘A Touch of Eastern Promise’ (1973) & ‘A Box of Swan’ (1990)

12pm-1pm: ‘Joe the Chainsmith’ (1958) & ‘A Story of Cradley Heath’ (2010)

1pm-2pm: ‘Made in Birmingham’ (2010).

3pm-4.30pm:            ‘Fellow Traveller’ (1991 )

 

I hope to see you at the event on Sat 5 March. For more information see this link: http://homeidentityandcitizenship.posterous.com/

Vanessa

A Touch of Eastern Promise 1973 – Tara Prem

A Touch of Eastern Promise 1973

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m half Indian, so I was always very anxious to reflect what I saw when I went up to Birmingham.  I wrote a film called A Touch of Eastern Promise, because when I went there I realised there were loads and loads of Indian people, not probably as many as there are now, but nothing was being done about it, and there weren’t any writers.  So Barry was script editor, because I said I wanted to write something, so I did and that was the first thing on British television ever to have an entirely Asian cast.  So I felt very proud about that as well.  But that also spun on to other things.  Michael Abbensetts came and wrote Empire Road, which Peter [Ansorge] produced, and I do think that it was quite new then, but it was very, very apparent in Birmingham – it opened a door really.   In a way it’s what Peter and I are still kicking at the same door of thirty years later.  It’s a bit sad in a way. But it was rather good that we had that opportunity.  So those sort of things I do feel quite proud of.  I do think it kicked open a door.

Tara Prem

(Excerpt from an interview with Tara Prem recorded in summer 2009 by Vanessa Jackson and Olivia Swinscoe from Birmingham City University).

A Touch of Eastern Promise was recorded in Balsall Heath Birmingham.  Michael Lindsay-Hogg was the director, David Rose the producer, Barry Hanson the script editor, Tara Prem the writer.  Mike Williams was the cameraman and Oliver White the film editor.

The cast included Dev Sagoo as Mohan, a young Indian boy who dreams of film stars, and in particular ‘Shalini’, who is coming to perform in Birmingham.  Jamila Massey played Shalini, Zareen Kamal played Lata, K.S. Matharu played Balraj Kumari, and Charan Kaur Matharu – Mrs Kumari.