''She's Been Away'' is a 1989 British
television play
A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television mov ...
by
Stephen Poliakoff and directed by
Sir Peter Hall. In her final appearance it starred Dame
Peggy Ashcroft, who won two awards at the
Venice International Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
for her performance, as did
Geraldine James.
Plot
The closure of a mental institution threatens to leave the elderly Lillian homeless. Her wealthy nephew Hugh takes her in, putting additional strain on his wife Harriet. Gradually, an awkward friendship develops between Harriet, on the verge of a nervous breakdown herself, and Lillian, who has spent fifty years as a mental patient.
References
External links
BBC site for programme*
1989 television films
British television films
BBC television dramas
{{BBC-tv-prog-stub