In a small Northern English town in 1947 the citizens endure continuing food rationing. Some local businessmen want to hold a party to celebrate the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip and illegally decide to raise a pig for that occasion. However, the pig gets stolen by Gilbert Chilvers, who was encouraged to do so by his wife Joyce. Meanwhile, a food inspector is determined to stop activities circumventing the food rationing. Read the complete synopsis for more. Once the recording is released, I will also try to add lyrics here.		A Private Function is a 1984 British comedy film by Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray, starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith. Belts are being tightened and the country’s long-suffering citizens are being told by the government that there will be fair shares for all in return for surviving Austerity Britain. Meanwhile local officials feather their own nests by taking far more than their own fair share. It is of course 1947, and having won the war Britain seems to have lost the peace, and the country is staggering under the burden of acute rationing, unemployment and the coldest winter for decades. The only bright spark on the horizon is the impending marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Find out more about the film that inspired the show, and then see how the show developed.
The official recording of the show has not been released yet - check back for a review once it has been! In the meantime, you can listen to a clip from one of my favourite songs. I saw this show on Press Night (or Opening Night), and had almost as much fun picking out British celebrities in the crowd as I did watching the show. Which was a lot! Read more of my thoughts on the performance. There are some great eccentric characters in this show, and some great actors who have played them. See a bit more information about a few of them. Once you're done looking around here, check out some of the other Betty Blue Eyes websites that are out there.