Penda's Fen

David Rudkin's 'legendary' TV play from 1974 isn't exactly easy to comprehend for the shallow and would probably go well above the heads of many. It is both a bold and provocative piece for its time; it is also very subtle. However, perhaps one just reads into it what one will whilst making the effort to identify with the young man who is the protagonist of what may well be considered playwright Rudkin's opus. It has been compared to Anthony Shaffer's Wicker Man but that is indeed a very thin and transient parallel.

Your 'third' eye is needed here in order to appreciate what Rudkin is getting at, whereas Shaffer is all too obvious. Teenager Stephen Franklin (Spencer Banks giving a fine performance) appears to be a rather precocious and reactionary young man. A cursory look at the books on his bedroom shelf will tell you that: we are talking pretty heavy stuff, and he isn't even at university yet. Stephen’s favourite composer is Elgar, to whom he listens avidly, and is particularly intrigued by what Elgar is saying in 'The Dream of Gerontious'. Stephen is a little curious to find out where the soul goes after death (if, indeed, it goes anywhere). Such deeply philosophical thoughts seem quite unusual for such a young man. For Stephen this is going to be a voyage of discovery as he starts to look for some answers. The boy appears to be an isolate and has no friends with the exception of his adopted parents if they count.

The school that Stephen attends is obviously not the one for him and it is rather surprising that his 'understanding' parents sent him to such a place to begin with! Really, Stephen would probably be more at home at a school run on the lines of Summerhill rather than military style school. But perhaps his 'father', Reverend J. Franklin (John Atkinson), couldn't afford the fees… Stephen even dresses up in his military garb whilst home alone where he is mocked by the young milkman. Soon he starts to have dreams - some of them are of a homoerotic nature and the boy starts to question his sexuality.
Then there are his other dreams where we enter the realm of the surreal. All of this has a big impact on Stephen's thought process. It goes without saying that at school Stephen has a pretty hard time. His teacher Mr. Cooke (Ivor Roberts) doesn't like him, as Stephen is clearly a 'non-co-operative' pupil who is undergoing a series of 'Manichean' episodes. Obviously the school bully (who Stephen fantasizes about) has little time for him and eventually he and the other boys gang up on him and put pink ribbons into his hair. Significantly though, it is only the bully that smiles at Stephen's humiliation.

All of these events start Stephen on a different tract. He even befriends local radical author Arne (Ian Hogg) and his wife (Jennie Heslewood) whom he'd previously despised for thinking “they lost their baby because of their lack of faith in God”. Obviously Stephen will get more sympathy from these two 'freethinkers' than he would from his 'committed to a regime' schoolmaster.
Towards the end, when Stephen questions his father about his beliefs, many would have been shocked by what the vicar replies in his advocation of paganism and why he does his job. You can probably work out for yourself why the neighboring village is called Penvin or 'Penfin'. Stephen, in his visions, even meets his hero Sir Edward Elgar (Graham Leaman) and last the great pagan king Penda himself astride a hilltop. “Who knows, Stephen” his father tells him, “Penda may not be dead.” This is coming from a Christian vicar!

It is good to have Rudkin's multi-textured play Penda’s Fen out restored and available on Blu-ray. Director Clarke does a first rate job of directing – the film furthermore celebrates the glory of the rural Malvern landscape which inspired Elgar's music. Watch this ‘Play For Today’ episode twice if you don't get it the first time. You may find yourself on a pilgrimage to Glastonbury searching for your formerly lost 'third eye'… here's hoping you find it.