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The play was released on limited-edition Blu-ray and DVD in May 2016. In an essay published with the release, Sukhdev Sandhu argues that "Penda's Fen" "is, long before the term was first used to describe the work of directors such as Todd Haynes and Isaac Julien, a queer film". According to Sandhu,
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Critics have noted that the play stands apart from Clarke's other, more realist output. Clarke admitted that he did not fully understand what the story was about. The play has gone on to acquire the status of minor classic, to win awards and to be rebroadcast several times by the BBC. Following the
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London magazine as one of the 100 best
British films. It described the play as a "multi-layered reading of contemporary society and its personal, social, sexual, psychic and metaphysical fault lines. Fusing Elgar's ‘Dream of Gerontius’ with a heightened socialism of vibrantly localist empathy, and
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191:, the play is an evocation of conflicting forces within England past and present. These include authority, tradition, hypocrisy, landscape, art, sexuality, and most of all, its mystical, ancient
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pagan belief systems with pre-Norman histories and a seriously committed – and prescient – ecological awareness, ‘Penda's Fen’ is a unique and important statement."
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295:: "Make no mistake. We had a major work of television last night. Rudkin gave us something that had beauty, imagination and depth".
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the play presents
Stephen's discovery of his homosexuality as "a gateway drug to a new enlightenment" that "inspires heterodoxy".
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past. All of this comes together in the growing pains of the adolescent
Stephen, a vicar's son, whose encounters include angels,
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magazine described "Penda's Fen" as "One of the great visionary works of
English film". In 2011, "Penda's Fen" was chosen by
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Sukhdev, Sandhu (2016), "Penda's Fen", essay in Blu-ray booklet published by the
British Film Institute, 23 May 2016.
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151:. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 21 March 1974. "Penda's Fen" was written by
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as the Angel is used, and the album itself features as a prop. Extracts from Elgar's
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of King Penda and the "mother and father of
England", is set on the Malvern Hills.
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David Rudkin: Sacred
Disobedience: an expository study of his drama 1959-96
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David Rudkin: Sacred
Disobedience: An Expository Study of His Drama 1959–96
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features throughout the play. The 1971 Decca recording by
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141:" is the 16th episode of fourth season of the British
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18:16th episode of the 4th series of Play for Today
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605:Interview with David Rose and Peter Ansorge
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203:. The final scene of the play, where the
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435:. Elidor.freeserve.co.uk. Archived from
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410:"BFI Screenonline: Penda's Fen (1974)"
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1218:1974 British television episodes
345:(22 March 1974). "Penda's Fen".
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564:. Manchester University Press.
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240:Geoffrey Staines as King Penda
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1136:The Flipside of Dominick Hide
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595:Synopsis at BFI screenonline
459:"VERTIGO | Penda's Fen"
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127:"Pidgeon - Hawk Or Dove?"
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1152:Another Flip For Dominick
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266:Introduction and Allegro
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461:. Vertigomagazine.co.uk
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209:apparitional experience
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93:21 March 1974
1179:(1991, completed 1977)
1171:(1987, completed 1976)
252:The Dream of Gerontius
175:Set in the village of
1228:BBC television dramas
1223:1974 television plays
1168:Brimstone and Treacle
1088:Blue Remembered Hills
1080:The After-Dinner Joke
968:Rumpole of the Bailey
952:Just Another Saturday
672:Rita, Sue and Bob Too
412:. Screenonline.org.uk
272:Original music is by
560:Rolinson, D (2005).
145:anthology TV series
1024:Spend, Spend, Spend
439:on 4 September 2012
249:Music from Elgar's
1128:The Imitation Game
1112:A Gift from Nessus
600:Review at TV Cream
343:Banks-Smith, Nancy
105:Episode chronology
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1195:Play for Tomorrow
1104:Just a Boys' Game
1032:The Price of Coal
832:The Rank and File
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234:Georgine Anderson
226:Jennie Hesselwood
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90:Original air date
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504:"Penda's Fen"
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484:. Timeout.com
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528:Bibliography
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486:. Retrieved
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463:. Retrieved
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441:. Retrieved
437:the original
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414:. Retrieved
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348:The Guardian
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197:Edward Elgar
174:
153:David Rudkin
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84:David Rudkin
33:
25:
15:
1072:Our Day Out
1000:Double Dare
976:Nuts in May
904:Penda's Fen
880:Hard Labour
824:The Foxtrot
742:Short films
707:Penda's Fen
641:Alan Clarke
562:Alan Clarke
535:Raby, David
488:5 September
465:5 September
443:5 September
416:5 September
390:Alan Clarke
323:Manichaeism
205:protagonist
157:Alan Clarke
139:Penda's Fen
74:Alan Clarke
70:Directed by
26:Penda's Fen
1212:Categories
1187:Associated
944:Funny Farm
816:Alma Mater
715:Funny Farm
541:. Oxford,
368:, Oxford,
329:References
223:as Stephen
201:King Penda
161:David Rose
97:1974-03-21
80:Written by
65:Episode 16
1096:Comedians
1056:Red Shift
936:Gangsters
896:Joe's Ark
543:Routledge
508:Amazon UK
370:Routledge
298:In 2006,
292:The Times
284:Reception
750:Elephant
680:The Firm
537:(1998).
317:See also
305:Time Out
230:Ian Hogg
181:Pershore
116:Previous
62:Series 4
55:Episode
840:Traitor
372:, 1998
300:Vertigo
276:of the
207:has an
179:, near
125: →
114:←
95: (
38:episode
1163:(1984)
1155:(1982)
1147:(1982)
1139:(1980)
1131:(1980)
1123:(1980)
1115:(1980)
1107:(1979)
1099:(1979)
1091:(1979)
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1075:(1978)
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1059:(1978)
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931:(1975)
923:(1974)
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899:(1974)
891:(1973)
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867:(1972)
859:(1971)
856:Evelyn
851:(1971)
843:(1971)
835:(1971)
827:(1971)
819:(1971)
811:(1970)
753:(1989)
734:(1982)
726:(1977)
718:(1975)
710:(1974)
702:(1972)
699:Horace
683:(1989)
675:(1987)
667:(1987)
659:(1979)
568:
549:
396:
376:
177:Pinvin
259:with
245:Music
193:pagan
1176:Scum
864:Home
723:Scum
656:Scum
590:IMDb
566:ISBN
547:ISBN
490:2012
467:2012
445:2012
418:2012
394:ISBN
374:ISBN
215:Cast
199:and
171:Plot
123:Next
588:at
364:by
183:in
143:BBC
57:no.
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