ROLL ON FOUR O'CLOCK Not so with Farrell. Although he insisted his work dealt with "spiritual poverty" before material, he was one of the major Intellects on the left during the '30s and 40s- and would perhaps have continued involvement had not the left itself, hounded and fragmented, abandoned the field to the Stalinists after World War Two, Yet never did he give himself to the excesses of the naTTow partisanship fragmented and immobilised the American left througbout its history. He never claimed to be any sort of "-ite', most clearly with Trotsky. In the John Dewey led a commission to Mexico to 'try" Trotsky on Stalin's charges, the young Farrell was with him -others to acquit. But when he spotted cant, falseness, or excessive authoritarianism in any This leading James Farrell: When be that bas it: He was his literature, though his sympathies lay $30s, called and voted with the maverick in died at 75 America was just beginning to notice him again.
of his political allies, he never failed to attack own man, in politics as in It was that intransigence that accounted for his eclipse in the '50s and '60s. He wrote what be felt he had to, regardless of fashion. His style remained 'cinder block', as one critic And he continued his role an age of literary 'experimentalism'; although he acknowledged his place in the realistic/naturalistic tradition, 'aniversal novel', I begged him to slow down. In his last letter to me, within two weeks of his dest he wrote:
Healin. The worst that can happen is that I will die. That's happened to doesn't interest me.' The ultimate most darning grounds he could imagine it mas a cliché.
Read him now after his death as before. Even when his work is weakest, it matters. As James T Farrell did.
*The only readily available work by James T Farrell is Studs Lonigan (Panther, £1.95). This was also scheduled for screening in ITV's 'Best Sellers' series until the technicians' strike Intervened; ITV now say that it hasn't been decided when or whether it will still be shown.
THE Forum stole the show.
school system as 'failures'.
is savagely mocked.
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people. It writer, the working class suburb in Manchester. It was here that Colin Welland decided to stage 'Roll On Four O'Clock', a play written and directed by him and based on his teaching experience in secondary modern schools.
The audience consisted essentially of those who inhabit Wythenshawe's council estates, a sharp contrast with the trendy glitter of London's West End. And they loved the play. They laughed, joined in the school assembly, sang hymns and applauded the fifteen school students from the local school who Welland's play highlighted the iniquities of the pre-comprebensive Englist between those who were classified as 'successes' and those who were classified He provides us with an anatomy of a secondary modern school: its crade indoctrination, its staffroom conflict, its blatant class bias and its paternalis At the saise time Wellard does not restrict himself to stating the abrian. He broaches taboo subjects such as incest. One of the central conflicts in th play is about homosexuality.
schoolboy, Latimer (superbly played by Nick Camphel tormiented by his fellow-stadents for not being 'a man'. The dispate pol the staff-room where one of the teachers (himself » 89y) attacks th and confronts the two teachers who racourage the Sach events of Large numbers of school teachers, abool stadits and barcats in li Manchester aren have seen the play. It's a play that would r It's hack irom 22nd Getruary dop price fichris for t? on production of this ad until Nih March.
Wyndhame Theatre.
Charing Cross Rd.
Bors Ottice 100-836-3028 Credit Cards 01-379-8565 bead Prices #1.80. £7. t1 Theatre is part of a community centre in Wythenshawe, a - a system which divided children up at eleven years old delight
Socialist Challenge unis •lectini eing mounted by mercenaty openly boaster that he could uarantee the Vote for Muzorewa i hree areas under his control.
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