‘I am a good citizen who’s aware of his responsibilities…’
The BBC’s long-running anthology series Play for Today proved to be fertile ground for both up-and-coming and established writers, with Ken Loach, Alan Clarke and David Hare all cutting their teeth on the program. Mike Leigh, an English director and screenwriter famed for his authentic portrayals of British life, is the perfect fit for a series that often dealt with social issues and anxieties and so it is no surprise that Nuts in May, Leigh’s 1976 contribution, has proven to be one of the most enduring entries…
Candice Marie (always referred to by her full name and portrayed by Alison Steadman) and her partner Keith (Roger Sloman) are a pair of health-obsessed nature enthusiasts who arrive at a Dorset campsite hoping to visit local sites of interest, play music together and drink unpasteurised milk. They are classic British eccentrics. Everyone has met (and tried desperately to avoid) a Keith in their life, and if you haven’t, then you’re the Keith. Their obsessive single-mindedness clashes with the other inhabitants of the campsite, most notably aspiring PE teacher, Ray (Anthony O’Donnell) and his boisterous Brummie compatriot, Finger (Stephen Bill).
Nuts in May is a masterclass in how to do a lot with a little. There isn’t much here in terms of plot but that’s kind of the point. For the characters, particularly the childlike Candice Marie, this is a trip that she will remember for the rest of her life, despite the fact that on the surface very little happens. What keeps Leigh’s teleplay moving along so successfully is the quality of his writing and the strength of the performances. The film is genuinely funny throughout; anyone familiar with The League of Gentlemen will see plenty of shared DNA between Candace Marie and Keith and the characters of Tubbs and Edward, and it works because Steadman and Sloman are so utterly convincing.
While Mike Leigh entered his most successful era in the ’90s with Life is Sweet, Naked and Secrets & Lies, his early work has an idiosyncratic charm, an innate Britishness, that is impossible to resist. I loved it.
