''Strumpet'' is a British

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

produced by the

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 ...

and broadcast on 10 July 2001. It was also shown at several international film festivals. It was directed by

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

, written by

Jim Cartwright Jim Cartwright (born 27 June 1958) is an English dramatist, born in Municipal Borough of Farnworth, Farnworth, Lancashire. Cartwright's first play, Road (play), ''Road'', won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the B ...

, and stars

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...

Jenna G Un-Cut were a British group from Manchester, England, composed of Darren Lewis and Iyiola Babalola from the music production duo Future Cut, and vocalist Jenna Gibbons (Jenna G). Prior to forming Un-Cut, their first collaboration was in 2001 ...

and Stephen Walters. The film score was composed by John Murphy.

Plot

The film features a poet named Strayman (played by Christopher Eccleston) who lives with a pack of stray dogs in a rough estate in a town of

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

. He meets a young woman he calls Strumpet (played by singer Jenna G.), whom he rescues from a predatory man. Out of kindness, he takes her into his flat. He asks her to play guitar and he sings along from his poetry. Strayman's neighbour, Knockoff (played by Stephen Walters), overhears them and wants to represent their talent. The pair land a record contract, face problems with the recording process and eventually are featured on the BBC's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''.

Production

While working at the Royal Court Theater in the 1980s, Director Danny Boyle was introduced to the work of Jim Cartwright. He left the theater before the opportunity to direct one of his plays came available, but maintained a desire to work with the playwright. That chance came in 2001 when Boyle returned to the small-screen to direct several small-scale dramas. While working together on '' Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise'', Boyle mentioned a desire to make a film about the Manchester music scene. Cartwright had such a screenplay, titled ''Strumpet'', which had been commissioned and subsequently dropped by the BBC. Still lacking funding, Boyle chose to film in digital video, which meant he was able to film both movies for the original budget of ''Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise''. The script, about the creative instinct, became the vehicle Boyle used to illustrate how music and street poetry are spontaneous and unplanned creations. Boyle spoke of the film by saying, "Strumpet is a tribute to all the great musicians and writers who have come out of Manchester. God knows where they come from, or how they keep going, but they're always there." ''Strumpet'' was shot completely on digital video on location in Manchester and London by director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle, who had worked with the medium on previous films. Cameras were placed in locations throughout the set so that every shot could be covered in multiple angles. Boyle, who is an advocate of digital video, would go on to use it in his next feature film, ''

28 Days Later ''28 Days Later'' (sometimes stylised with ellipsis as ''28 Days Later...'') is a 2002 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. It stars Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to d ...

''.

Music

The film features Eccleston's recitation of "

Evidently Chickentown "Evidently Chickentown" is a poem by the English performance poet John Cooper Clarke. The poem uses repeated profanity to convey a sense of futility and exasperation. Featured on Clarke's 1980 album ''Snap, Crackle & Bop'', the realism of its ly ...

" by

John Cooper Clarke John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet and comedian who styled himself as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums and performed on stage with punk and post-punk ...

, as well as versions of the song Strayman and Strumpet perform together.

References

External links

* 2001 films 2001 television films British television films Films scored by John Murphy (composer) Films about music and musicians Films about writers Films directed by Danny Boyle Films set in England 2000s English-language films {{UK-tv-film-stub