Spaghetti Two-Step

For its inventiveness, 'Spaghetti Two Step', by Jack Rosenthal, deserves some attention, despite its short length - less than an hour - and typical television production values.

The play presents several groups of diners in an Italian restaurant - a bickering couple, a recent divorcée boring her in-laws, a works outing from the typing pool, and a young, nervous couple on their first date. We also see two waiters behind the scenes and note their problems and hang-ups as well.

Executed well enough to keep you watching, and with some good performances (even if they sometimes border on caricature), the Two Step (referring to a coda showing what's happened to the same people one year on) is still watchable today.

This television play takes the simple but brilliant premise of showing an evening in a restaurant and allowing the viewer to dip into the lives of everybody present. The people dining there are all in different situations, such as the young pair on an awkward first date, the small group on their works' night out, the older couple supposedly out to enjoy a social occasion but still trapped in one another's company, and, of course, the 'three's a crowd' set-up. Things are also eventful behind the scenes in the kitchen area, and even the customers who have to be turned away when the restaurant is full up are given some air time. There's also some marvellous bitching in the Ladies' washroom. Not everybody is quite what they initially seem to be, and this comic drama scripted by the late great Jack Rosenthal keeps the viewer thoroughly absorbed as events gradually unfold. There are plenty of well-known faces from 1970s British television within the cast. The result is quite delightful with some great dialogue and plot twists. Had this been a BBC production it probably would have enjoyed many repeats and become as legendary as Abigail's Party. But it was made by Yorkshire TV and has had little exposure since the decade that spawned it, so thank goodness Network DVD made it available as it really is television gold.

Another one of those television plays where the focus centers on several different characters in an hour-long slot. Set in a suburban Italian restaurant, it centers on the lives of customers and staff alike. Toni (Paul Geoffrey) is the maître d'h front of house, all slinky charm with the customers and ruthless power with the staff. His underling Luigi (Stephen Greif) doesn't get any sex, and thinks that there's something wrong with him. Among the customers, there are a couple who do nothing else except argue about the government's lack of performance, and three office workers led by Mrs. Danby (Zara Nutley) who drinks a great deal and reinforces her authority through her voice, despite insisting that they are all out for a good time. Oh, and we must not forget the divorcee who is so obsessed by her ex-husband that she cannot see how much she is alienating her friends (Selina Cadell, Peter Sertelen) trying yet failing to give her a nice dinner. There's also the first date from hell, where the couple literally cannot talk to each other. Director David Cunliffe concentrates on each one of the scenes, but also suggests the guests are watched like hawks by Tom to see the right time to intervene, get the coats and receive the tip. Running this restaurant is like operating a finely coiled spring, where undesirable guests are politely shown the door while financially well-off patrons get treated like royalty. Jack Rosenthal makes clear that all the guests are involved in a public performance, designed to impress their fellow-guests as well as the staff.