Nuts in May

This tragicomical story (part of the Beeb’s anthology series ‘Play for Today) was originally broadcast in 1976. To celebrate MAY IN NUTS 50th Anniversary, the BFI have just released it in 4K Blu-ray. Undoubtedly one of director Mike Leigh’s finest works, it stars Roger Sloman and Alison Steadman as self-righteous vegetarians and nature-lovers whose camping holiday goes to pieces as the days progress.

Right from the outset, we get an idea what Keith Pratt (Roger Sloman) and his wife Candice-Marie (Alison Steadman) are all about when they drive along a country road in their Morris Minor singing (cringe-worthy) self-composed songs while looking forward to a holiday on a campsite in Devon. Keith is the ultimate eco-warrior / eco-nerd - completely obsessive about his hardcore vegetarianism and with a self-righteous attitude which gives anyone who doesn’t share his opinions not even a quarter. He’s also dominant and possessive and constantly bosses his somewhat dopey and timid wife around when not patronising her at every given opportunity, of course, not even realising that he does so.

Finally they reach their goal and Miss Beale (Richenda Carey), the manager of the campsite, gives them a card on which the campsite rules are printed. After having pitched their tent, Keith wanders off in search of unpasteurised milk from a nearby farmer. The first couple of days seem blissful enough, with Keith and Candice-Marie takin excursions to nearby Corfe Castle, singing and playing their self-composed ditties (usually with an eco message) with guitar and banjo which they had brought along, and delighting in their vegetarian meals, which offers an insight into how nuts (hence the film’s title) Keith really is, as he insists that nuts must be chewed slow and at the exact amount of times in order to get the most nutrition out of them - while dopey Candice-Marie follows suit without ever questioning anything that Keith says or does.

Their blissful camping holiday is brought to an end with the arrival of fellow camper Ray (Anthony O’Donnell), a singleton and teacher whose companion is his radio and it doesn’t take long for Keith to get irritated about the ‘noise’ which disturbs the couple's peace. Ray argues that he has a right to enjoy his camping holiday as much as the others and if Keith and Candice-Marie feel bothered about him playing music on the radio, they should pitch their tent somewhere else. Suffice to say, neither Ray nor Keith budges! During an outing at Stair Hole Cove, it begins raining heavily and Keith and Candice have to bring their outing to an abrupt halt. Driving back towards the campsite, they spot Ray on the road, trying to hitch a ride back to the camp side and they give him a lift, with Ray sarcastically remarking, “Oh, you do drive a car then?”

The situation deteriorates further when Keith becomes aware that his wife seems to take an interest in Ray (who can blame her), which in turn offers the perfect opportunity for bully Keith to humiliate Ray. Things soon get out of hand though with the arrival of Brummie couple Finger (Stephen Bill) and Honky (Sheila Kelley), and Finger’s somewhat loutish behaviour irritates Keith no end while Ray soon realises that he is more in common with the Brummie couple than with the boring eco-couple. The whole situation blows up when Finger begins to collect firewood to fry some sausages he brought along and heat up a tin of baked beans - two deadly sins as far as Keith is concerned, who delivers a stern sermon as to why Finger and Honky shouldn’t eat sausages in the first place while quoting the Country Code, to which Finger remarks that Keith should mind his own darn business. When Candice-Marie chips in and points out that getting a campfire going can be hugely dangerous, it triggers an almighty showdown during which Finger and Keith attack each other with tree branches while Honky kicks Candice-Marie’s camping table, knocking all her pencils and drawings onto the ground. Keith, close to a nervous breakdown, starts crying and runs away into the woods to calm down. Shortly after, the couple pack their things and drive off in search of another spot where they can pitch their tent, far away from any other human beings… En route, they get stopped by a patrolling policeman, who demands that Keith shows him his papers and asks him to open the car’s boot, where Keith has a spare tyre - a bald tyre as it turns out, which is an offence. After the policeman has taken Keith’s address details, the couple drive off and finally find a spot near a farm where they can pitch their tent. Candice-Marie sings another one of her cringe-worthy compositions while Keith is on the lookout for a suitable ‘toilet’ with both unaware as to what kind of farm it is where they have just pitched their tent…

Wonderfully barmy it might be, but there’s also a serious and stark warning, namely that well-meaning hardcore vegetarians and eco-warriors are ultimately narrow-minded zealots, who refuse to accept that other people may not share their opinions. Mike Leigh, who also wrote the screenplay, has delivered a true gem here while Sloman and Steadman are simply terrific (if not terrifying…).

NUTS IN MAY offers the following Bonus Material:
Director Mike Leigh remembers… (2026; 14 min) / Director and Cast Q&A (2021; audio 43 min) / London Film Festival screen talk with Mike Leigh (2024; 48 min) / various archive and public information films (1933, 1934, 1941) / The Chiffy Kids: Pot Luck - a 1976 episode from the popular Children’s Film Foundation series / Illustrates booklet.