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bottom of the garden where, unknown to the couple, he has been living for the last few days since walking out on his bereaved mother. After Martin and Emma leave, Janet and John continue to argue. Janet takes a bath while her husband drowns his miseries with a bottle of wine. Meanwhile, Billy takes a shard of glass that fell from the greenhouse roof that morning, returns to the house and knocks on the door; when John answers, Billy stabs him through the throat. Janet rushes downstairs and is confronted by Billy, consumed by rage and jealousy, who declares her "wicked" and her husband "no better than an animal". In an attempt to pacify him, a fearful Janet sits Billy down in the study to resume their lessons. As Janet tries to rein in her sobs, Billy notes "They be funny things, words".
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That night, Janet and John have John's business partner Martin and his wife Emma round for dinner: Janet insists Billy join them. As John and Emma's affair is revealed to an unsurprised
Malcolm, and Janet argues with her husband, who throws curry in her lap, Billy flees to the greenhouse at the
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has led him to seek solace in religion. Billy hopes that by resuming his lessons he may one day read the Bible. Janet, eager to redress the balance in her broken marriage, makes a move on Billy after he has an adverse reaction to the
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established after a break in the playwright's relationship with the BBC. A psycho-sexual thriller, the drama is an example of the visitation motif: a key theme in Potter's work. The title of the play is taken from the 1932
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The following morning, after her husband has gone to work, she is visited by Billy, an illiterate local youth to whom she once gave reading and writing lessons. Billy's abusive father has recently died, and contact with a
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while Janet is a bored housewife with a (well founded) suspicion that her husband is having an affair with his business partner's wife, Emma, after observing them together at their disastrous New Year's Eve party.
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he has been taking. When John returns home he discovers a naked Billy in the living room, lying under a blanket with a half-dressed Janet. John slaps her.
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and an undisclosed writer. In the event, budget cuts and scheduling problems led to only three plays being produced:
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It is the second in a loosely connected trilogy of plays exploring language and betrayal, produced for
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This article is about the television drama by Dennis Potter. For the album by Andy Irvine, see
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328:. All three dramas were shot on 16mm film stock and featured extensive location work.
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was the second play in a proposed series of nine dramas produced by Potter and
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296:'s own production company Pennies From Heaven Ltd. to be broadcast on
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Janet and John are a frustrated middle class couple; John is an
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Fight & Kick & Bite: The Life and Work of Dennis Potter
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205:by the independent company Potter and producer
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20:. For the song by the Lovin' Spoonful, see
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821:Television shows written by Dennis Potter
300:between 1980 and 1981. Commissioned by
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29:1980 British TV series or programme
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432:Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton
826:London Weekend Television shows
811:Films directed by Alan Bridges
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806:Films scored by George Fenton
488:Follow the Yellow Brick Road
842:
342:Dennis Potter: A Biography
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581:The Mayor of Casterbridge
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306:London Weekend Television
203:London Weekend Television
190:is a television drama by
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143:26 October 1980
801:British television plays
464:Moonlight on the Highway
304:and distributed through
18:Rain on the Roof (album)
629:Lipstick on Your Collar
214:song of the same name.
22:Rain on the Roof (song)
456:A Beast with Two Backs
424:Stand Up, Nigel Barton
224:advertising copywriter
816:ITV television dramas
796:1980 television plays
786:1980 television films
720:The Singing Detective
672:Brimstone and Treacle
605:The Singing Detective
552:Brimstone and Treacle
520:Blue Remembered Hills
347:Graham Fuller (Ed.),
528:Blade on the Feather
354:W. Stephen Gilbert,
315:Blade on the Feather
198:on 26 October 1980.
165:Blade on the Feather
747:Pennies from Heaven
664:Pennies from Heaven
597:Tender Is the Night
589:Pennies From Heaven
544:Cream in My Coffee
440:Emergency – Ward 9
338:Humphrey Carpenter
325:Cream in My Coffee
173:Cream in My Coffee
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233:Jehovah's Witness
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90:Country of origin
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536:Rain on the Roof
512:Where Adam Stood
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349:Potter on Potter
320:Rain on the Roof
290:Rain on the Roof
260:Malcolm Stoddard
238:anti-depressants
187:Rain on the Roof
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125:Original release
70:Malcolm Stoddard
36:Rain on the Roof
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739:Hide and Seek
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394:Dennis Potter
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302:Michael Grade
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645:Cold Lazarus
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405:Bibliography
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294:Kenith Trodd
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266:Ewan Stewart
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207:Kenith Trodd
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117:Running time
111:Tony Wharmby
107:Kenith Trodd
74:Ewan Stewart
56:Alan Bridges
35:
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504:Double Dare
52:Directed by
791:1980 films
780:Categories
688:Dreamchild
680:Gorky Park
613:Christabel
563:Television
472:Son of Man
448:Shaggy Dog
414:Television
285:Production
147:1980-10-26
120:82 minutes
98:Production
42:Written by
763:Blackeyes
621:Blackeyes
496:Joe's Ark
392:Works by
310:Jim Allen
274:as Martin
212:Al Bowlly
103:Producers
696:Track 29
573:Casanova
268:as Billy
256:as Janet
218:Synopsis
80:Composer
62:Starring
637:Karaoke
565:serials
480:Traitor
332:Sources
280:as Emma
262:as John
155:Related
145: (
140:Release
130:Network
766:(1987)
758:(1986)
750:(1981)
742:(1973)
731:Novels
723:(2003)
715:(1993)
712:Mesmer
707:(1991)
699:(1988)
691:(1985)
683:(1983)
675:(1982)
667:(1981)
648:(1996)
640:(1996)
632:(1993)
624:(1989)
616:(1988)
608:(1986)
600:(1985)
592:(1978)
584:(1978)
576:(1971)
555:(1987)
547:(1980)
539:(1980)
531:(1980)
523:(1979)
515:(1976)
507:(1976)
499:(1974)
491:(1972)
483:(1971)
475:(1969)
467:(1969)
459:(1968)
451:(1968)
443:(1966)
435:(1965)
427:(1965)
358:; 1995
351:; 1993
344:; 1998
176:(1980)
168:(1980)
656:Films
416:plays
322:and
298:ITV
196:ITV
134:ITV
782::
340:,
318:,
385:e
378:t
371:v
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24:.
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