''In Two Minds'' is a television play by David Mercer commissioned for ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction ...

'' (

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

) anthology drama series. First transmitted on 1 March 1967, it was directed by

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

and produced by

Tony Garnett Tony Garnett (3 April 1936 – 12 January 2020) was a British film and television producer, and actor. Best known for his thirteen-year association with director Ken Loach, his work as a producer continued into the 21st century. Early life and ...

and features Anna Cropper in the lead role.

Outline and production

The play depicts the experiences of Kate Winter (Cropper), a young woman with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

, and her experiences with the medical professionals who attempt to care for her in a mental hospital. She is shown being given

Electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive th ...

(ECT) as a clinical treatment and being discussed at a lecture for medical students. ''In Two Minds'' was influenced by the ideas of

R. D. Laing Ronald David Laing (7 October 1927 – 23 August 1989), usually cited as R. D. Laing, was a Scottish psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illnessin particular, the experience of psychosis. Laing's views on the causes and treatment o ...

expressed in his co-authored book, ''Sanity and Madness in the Family''. Attempting to demonstrate that schizophrenia lacks an organic basis in the brain, Laing believed that the family had the potential to make people mentally ill. Mercer and producer

were introduced to Laing and his colleague David Cooper, by the theatre critic

Kenneth Tynan Kenneth Peacock Tynan (2 April 1927 – 26 July 1980) was an English theatre critic and writer. Making his initial impact as a critic at ''The Observer'', he praised Osborne's ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956), and encouraged the emerging wave of ...

; Laing and Cooper served as an official consultants on the project. It is the earliest of Loach's television works to be shot entirely on location, without any use of the television studio. Loach's previous ''Wednesday Play'', '' Cathy Come Home'', contains five brief scenes which were shot electronically. By the time ''In Two Minds'' was in production, an agreement had been reached between Equity, the actors' union, and the BBC to allow the shooting of drama entirely on film in the conventional manner.

Cast

* Anna Cropper as Kate Winter * Brian Phelan as The Interviewing Doctor * George A. Cooper as Mr. Winter *Helen Booth as Mrs. Winter * Christine Hargreaves as Mary Winter * Peter Ellis as Jake *Adrienne Frame as Hairdresser * Bill Hays as Man at the rehearsal room * Vickery Turner as Woman at the rehearsal room *Yvonne Quenet as Girl in the bar * Neville Smith as Man at the pub *Malcolm Taylor as Man at the pub * Patrick Barr as Consultant *

George Innes George Innes (born 8 March 1938) is a British actor. Stage career Innes was born in Stepney, East London, and began his career on the stage with the National Theatre of Great Britain under Laurence Olivier. Before that, he trained at Toynbee ...

as Paul Morris *Anne Hardcastle as Doctor *

Edwin Brown Edwin Stanley "Nigger" Brown (1898–1972) was an Australian rugby league player who played in the 1910s and 1920s. A Queensland state and Australian international representative centre, he played club rugby in Toowoomba for Newtown. Brown, ...

as Mental Warfare officer *

Eileen Colgan Eileen Colgan Simpson (2 January 1934 – 10 March 2014) was an Irish theatre, television and film actress. She was best known for her recurring role as Esther Roche on the RTÉ One soap opera, ''Fair City''. She also appeared in the RTÉ televis ...

as Sister *Julie May as Nurse

Responses

The play gained mixed response from psychiatrists at the time of its first broadcast, with some arguing that Kate is depressed and hysterical rather than truly schizophrenic. In his review for '' The Listener'', the novelist

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...

felt the play had not found a resolution for Kate's problems and found the form of the play problematic. Despite accusing the whole ''Wednesday Play'' series as being 'anti-art,' he wrote that ''In Two Minds'' "was better than art because it was so real".Brandt ''British Television Drama'', p.104 Conversely, within the BBC Drama department, the play had led to intense discussions between producer Tony Garnett and department head

Sydney Newman Sydney Cecil Newman (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman w ...

over its status as drama and its veracity. Television critic

Anthony Hayward Anthony Hayward (born 26 October 1959) is a British journalist and author. He is a regular contributor to ''The Guardian'', ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Independent'', and has written more than 20 books about television and film. The subje ...

wrote that Cropper displayed "a rollercoaster of emotions, from breaking down on pondering her dilemma to giving a beaming smile, eyes sparkling, while recalling an ex-boyfriend. At times, she talks as if 'Kate' is another person."

Legacy

''In Two Minds'' won the Writers' Guild Award for the Best Television Play of 1967. It is included in the ''Ken Loach at the BBC'' 6 DVD box set. ''

Family Life Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

'' (1971), again directed by Loach and with a screenplay by Mercer, is a feature film remake of this television play.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:In Two Minds 1967 television films 1967 films 1967 television plays BBC television dramas British docudrama films Films directed by Ken Loach Social realism in film 1960s British films