Waiting for Alan

WAITING FOR ALAN is about a woman whose marriage is dead. Trapped in the rich but sterile environment of a lavishly appointed country house, MARCIA is a microcosm of society – a victim of, and partner in, someone else's routine. It’s not the housework or the cooking (MRS BETTS looks after those), but the daily monotony of waiting for ALAN – her newspaper-reading, TV watching husband. To him, she's just the emotional central heating switched on and off in return for paying the bills and expected to operate as smoothly and regularly as the washing-up machine or the gardener. But MARCIA has waited long enough… WAITING FOR ALAN is a humorous but critical 'tale of the unexpected' (and expected) in classical, three-movement sonata form. It was screened at least twice on Channel Four television in the late eighties and both times received a very positive audience response as well as praise from weekly pre-viewers in the newspapers

Directed by Richard Woolley, Waiting for Alan leans on a strong ensemble — Anthony Schaeffer, Joyce Kennedy, Carolyn Pickles — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 1984.