Screening: Dennis Potter, 'Schmoedipus '(1974)

Taking place as part of the public programmes for Hilary Lloyd Very High Frequency, this screening programme surveys key and rarely seen works by Dennis Potter.

The programme primarily focuses on Potter’s work for the BBC’s groundbreaking anthology drama series The Wednesday Play (1964–1970) and its successor Play for Today (1970–1984). Reflecting then-contemporary social and political contexts, these single-play formats became platforms for provocative storytelling that encompassed realism, satire and experimental drama. The series, which included Potter’s early semi-autobiographical works such as Stand Up, Nigel Barton (1965), helped launch his career, alongside directors such as Ken Loach and, later, Alan Clarke and Stephen Frears.

Two special marathon screenings showcase Dennis Potter’s most significant television serials. Pennies From Heaven (1978) marked Potter’s first major popular success and is recognised for transforming the possibilities of television drama. The Singing Detective (1986), widely regarded as his masterpiece, combines the themes and experimental structures of his earlier work to explore noir fantasy, childhood memory and musical interludes in a brilliant, hallucinatory narrative.

Potter’s readiness to engage with complex themes, including politics, class, illness, sexuality and religion, is a significant reminder of a time when a limited number of television channels vied for public attention and challenging content was broadcast to a mass audience.

Schmoedipus (1974)Wednesday 29 October 2025, 7–8.15 pm

Originally aired on BBC1’s Play for Today and later adapted into the film Track 29, this haunting drama is one of Potter’s signature “visitation” pieces. The title Schmoedipus is a play on Freud's Oedipus Complex and stars Tim Curry as Glen, a strange young man who appears at a woman’s home claiming to be her son.

The screenplay explores the complicated relationship between the mother and supposed son, and the complicated guilt she feels for having him adopted after a traumatic teenage pregnancy. Similar to other screenplays by Potter, the narrative broaches ideas of motherhood, memory, disrupted domestic life and hidden trauma.

Schmoedipus was one of Potter's many collaborations with Producer Keith Trodd, whom he also worked with on Pennies from Heaven, Brimstone and Treacle, Double Dare and The Singing Detective.

Writer: Dennis Potter; Director: Barry Davis; Producer: Kenith TroddRuntime: 67 mins

Content warning

Contains mature and potentially distressing material, including sexual content, strong language, and references to trauma and mental illness. The play also features disturbing imagery and themes of an explicit and unsettling nature. Viewer discretion is strongly advised. Age guidance: 15+

Image credit

Dennis Potter, The Singing Detective, 1986. Film still. Copyright BBC Archive.