Sir Arnold Wesker, one of the key figures in 20th Century drama, has written a play to mark the 75th anniversary of BBC World Service - 'The Rocking Horse'.



'The Rocking Horse' is a story of two parts.

Three people see a brilliantly-painted rocking horse in a window. All find it intriguing. What is the story behind it sitting there, unused?

In parallel, an elderly couple live in the house with the rocking horse in the window.

Their son was killed in a road accident - and Marvin, the father, feels responsible and cannot stop grieving over his son. Zelda, his wife, has somehow found a place for her sorrow, but the continuing grief of her husband is an agony for her.

But why should the father feel guilt? And is there a way it can be assuaged?

The two stories are drawn inexorably together as these disparate characters seek a way towards a different future.

The Rocking Horse stars Clive Swift and Prunella Scales as Marvin and Zelda, with Sheila Steafel as Clara, Amanda Root as Agnes and, fresh from RADA, Alex Lanipekun as Rambo.

The director is David Hitchinson.




Wesker first came to prominence in the late 1950s as one of the group of so-called Angry Young Men; dramatists who made their plays out of the stuff of everyday life.

This is Arnold Wesker's 50th year of writing plays and, like BBC World Service, he is celebrating 75 years of observing the world.

He was knighted in 2006 for his services to drama.

Arnold Wesker himself features in the play singing a song which opens and closes the piece.

The audio for this play is no longer available