The Dinner Party (2007) (TV)

Director:

Tony Grounds

Writer:

Tony Grounds (writer)

Release Date:

9 September 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Young couple Jackie and Leo move from North London to a suburban home in the green belt paradise of Southern England. At the birthday party of a neighbor, they soon discover the strict social hierarchies of village life. |

Cast

Lee Evans	...	Leo
Jessie Wallace	...	Jackie
Agnieszka Liggett	...	Rose
Marek Oravec	...	Marek
George Cole	...	George
Alison Steadman	...	Juliet
Laura Greenwood	...	Lucy
Alun Armstrong	...	Jim
Jamie Campbell Bower	...	Douglas
Rupert Graves	...	Roger
Elizabeth Berrington	...	The Shrew

Directed by
Tony Grounds

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tony Grounds		writer

Produced by
Alison Law	....	line producer
Sally Stokes	....	producer
John Yorke	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Philip Guyler

Cinematography by
Cinders Forshaw		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Gus Beveridge

Casting by
Julia Crampsie

Sound Department
Robert Brazier	....	sound effects editor
Wayne Brooks	....	sound editor
Rupert May	....	sound recordist
Alan Snelling	....	dubbing mixer

Stunts
Gary Connery	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Jeremy Hiles	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Kerrie Mailey	....	casting assistant

Transportation Department
Barry Stevenson	....	unit driver

Other crew
Joe Hornsey	....	floor runner: dailies
Katie Neal	....	production assistant
Helen Revington	....	unit nurse
Sian Sutherland	....	location manager
Emma Thomas	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2007) (UK) (TV)

Also Known As:

People Like Us (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Quotes:

Leo: I work in computer support.
Roger: Computer support? Isn't that "turn it off and turn it on again"?
Leo: Well, "turn it off and wipe your knob across the screen and then turn it on again".
[stunned silence, then everyone laughs uproariously]

Fear and loathing in upper-middle England

Writer Tony Grounds in on familiar territory in 'The Dinner Party': the stomping grounds of the working class made good. In just one hour, he compactly tells a story in which years of tensions between a pair of couples reach boiling point, and with fine performances from a strong cast, there's a blackly hilarious conclusion to the tale. It is, however, a bit heavy handed, one almost feels that these characters should be minor figures in someone else's drama: in fact, he does introduce a third, relatively normal, couple to the plot, but the heart of the story lies elsewhere and you can't help but feeling that all the central parties basically get what they deserve. Hence one watches as something of a distant spectator; but it's still a fine show.