The path to manhood is a troublesome one, particularly when the male ego sits on your shoulders like an audience demanding entertainment. And there's no beating about the bush: sex is crucial on this motorway to masculinity. Social constructs mean that men simply have to have sex to be considered a man. Better yet, being highly skilled in the old art of the bedroom Olympics will only enhance your manliness.
Agree or roll your eyes as you please, but these expectations create a special vintage of angst for young men. Exhibit A arrives in the form of young Gary in Reservations.
The final offering of BBC2's Summer Season, an anthology of plays transmitted over the summer of 1985, Reservations follows Gary (Perry Fenwick) as he attempts to lose his virginity to Linda (Cassie Stuart). Gary, inflated with a sense of pride which fears even the slightest pinprick, is far too proud to admit to being a virgin. Instead, he puffs out his chest to assure Linda that he's a seasoned veteran. However, this is tricky to demonstrate when they both live at home, where parents can interrupt at any moment.
Luckily, Gary has a plan: sweep lovely Linda away to a fancy hotel, do the deed and then enjoy a continental breakfast. Problem is, fancy hotels cost a bit of money, and Gary doesn't have a job. Consequently, Gary has to go to his father, played by Leo Dolan, to seek some venture capital for this romantic enterprise. The price of admission is confession, complete with a few awkward conversations about his parents' sex lives. But what price, Gary surmises, can you put on entering manhood?
Gary's plan appears to be coming to fruition. In fact, he does achieve his main objective, but it's a disaster due to his performance. And the fact that he finds out he's not Linda's first. With his ego in tatters, and Linda checking out separately before breakfast, Gary decides he needs an education in the world of sex. So, he heads up to Soho where he hopes he can learn a few lessons in a brothel. But is this education or desperation?
I'd previously sampled the Summer Season opener, a Patrick Troughton starring play titled Long Term Memory, and been thrilled by it. There's something about anthology series from the distant past which are simply irresistible to me. Perfect time capsules of social, ethical and moral conventions, they offer a variety of stories which are conceived and concluded within an hour. If one misfires, you'll probably love the following weeks. They used to be plentiful in the past, but only Inside No. 9 has carried the torch in recent times.
Reservations, written by Tony Marchant, is a fine example of the standalone British TV play. On paper, a young man trying to lose his virginity with confidence and style is far from original. It's something every man goes through. However, Marchant is savvy enough with a script to dig his scalpel a little deeper and take a closer look at the messy, fragile male ego underneath. And he does it with a laidback, introspective style which allows the characters to do all the heavy lifting.
Perry Fenwick is, of course, best known for his role as Billy Mitchell in EastEnders. And Gary isn't a million miles away from the same postcode. Yet Fenwick delivers this fragile brand of bravado and front with such ease, it's a masterclass in precision. Fenwick summons up a wide range of strong, nuanced emotions on what proves to be a rollercoaster ride for his character. Cassie Stuart is given less of a meaty role as Linda, but there's still room for her to rail against Gary's inadequacies.
Reservations is a straightforward slice of drama, but it's one which thrives on its sly dissection of societal norms, particularly the fiery and dynamic business of relationships and gender. Strong performances help back this up, and I've barely touched upon Soho escort Suzie (Carole Harrison), a true tart with a heart and her world weary maid (Edna Doré), both of whom help shape Gary's redemption.
Seek out Reservations if you can. With luck, there are more Summer Season treasures waiting to be unearthed.
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