''Chips with Everything'' is a 1962 play by Arnold Wesker. The play shows class attitudes at the time by examining the life of a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

Productions

''Chips with Everything'' premiered in the West End at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

on 27 April 1962, and subsequently transferred to the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. Opening in 1870, the theatre staged mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. The theatre was rebuilt twice, although each new buildin ...

. Directed by John Dexter, the cast featured

Frank Finlay Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English actor. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Iago in ''Othello'' (1965). His first leading television role came in 1971 in '' Casanova''.

as Corporal Hill. The play opened on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre (and then the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the It ...

) on 1 October 1963 after one preview, and closed on 8 February 1964 after 149 performances. British actors Alan Dobie (as Corporal Hill), Barry Evans (as First Airman) and

George Layton George Layton (born George Michael William Löwy; 2 March 1942) is a British actor, director, screenwriter and author best known for three television roles – junior doctor Paul Collier in the comedy series ''Doctor in the House'' and its sequ ...

(as First Corporal) made their Broadway debut. The director was John Dexter, with a cast that featured

Gary Bond Gary James Bond (7 February 1940 – 12 October 1995) was an English actor and singer. He is known for originating the role of Joseph in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', his performanc ...

as 276 Thompson (Pip),

Corin Redgrave Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor. Early life Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. He was educated at Westminster School and ...

(Pilot Officer), Norman Allen (Fourth Airman), John Levitt as 277 Cohen (Dodger),

John Noakes John Noakes (born John Wallace Bottomley; 6 March 1934 – 28 May 2017) was an English television presenter and actor. He co-presented the BBC children's magazine programme '' Blue Peter'' in the 1960s and 1970s and is the show's longest-servin ...

and Gerald McNally (Third Airman). The play was revived in the West End in 1997, with a production at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, Lyttelton Theatre, from 4 September 1997 to 13 December 1997. Directed by Howard Davies, the set was designed by Rob Howell, with a cast that featured Rupert Penry-Jones, Ian Dunn, Eddie Marsan, and James Hazeldine as Corporal Hill.

Adaptations

The first television adaptation came in 1963, when scenes from the

production aired on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

tv featuring

Derek Fowlds Derek James Fowlds (2 September 1937 – 17 January 2020) was an English actor. He played "Mr Derek" in '' The Basil Brush Show'' (1969–1973), Bernard Woolley in the sitcom '' Yes Minister'' (1980–1984) and its sequel, '' Yes, Prime Ministe ...

Ronald Lacey Ronald William Lacey (28 September 1935 – 15 May 1991) was an English actor. He made numerous television and film appearances over a 30-year period. His roles included Harris in ''Porridge'' (1977), Frankie in the Bud Spencer comedy '' ...

and

television adapted the play for their daytime 'Schools and Colleges' programming in September 1969, dramatizing the play in six 35-minute episodes, having previously presented a radio adaptation starring Martin Jarvis in May 1968. In 1975, the play was presented on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

as part of the ''

Play of the Month ''Play of the Month'' is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different wor ...

'' strand, directed by

Waris Hussein Waris Hussein (''né'' Habibullah; born 9 December 1938) is a British-Indian television and film director. At the beginning of his career he was employed by the BBC as its youngest drama director. He directed early episodes of ''Doctor Who'', inc ...

and produced by

Cedric Messina Cedric Messina (14 December 1920 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa — 30 April 1993 in London) was a South-African born British television producer and director who worked for the BBC and is best remembered for his involvement in television pro ...

, with David Daker heading the cast.

Plot summary

The play examines the nature of class consciousness in post-war Britain. Pip Thompson has been "conscripted for

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

" in the Royal Air Force AF but prefers to be treated as an ordinary airman and not become an officer. Pip is a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

who has seen "squalor of London's East End, typified by greasy cafés offering ‘chips with everything’". Pip is the only privately-educated recruit in a draft of other National Service recruits. He has tried to buck the system by not applying for an officer's commission. The officers, hostile to this socio-political protest, do everything they can to make him abandon his decision, and to join them in the ranks of commissioned officers. While Pip is essentially on an ego trip, through his experiences the class system is examined. In particular, how powerful forces make sure Pip conform to his role as a middle class member of society, and accept a role as a commissioned officer.

Songs performed

* Cutty Wren * Lyke-Wake Dirge

References

{{Reflist

External links

Internet Broadway Database
Plays by Arnold Wesker 1962 plays