衣领上的唇印

The narrative unfolds within the confines of a British Military Intelligence Office located in Whitehall during the year 1956. A diminutive ensemble of foreign affairs analysts find their tranquil lives abruptly interrupted by the tumultuous Suez Crisis. Ewan McGregor portrays the character of Mick Hopper, an interpreter of Russian documents who is serving his national service. Languishing in his role, Hopper fills his days with whimsical reveries, imagining his colleagues belting out contemporary chart-toppers. Louise Germaine embodies the character of Sylvia Berry, the blonde wife of the tempestuous Corporal Pete Berry, played by Douglas Henshall. Sylvia becomes the object of desire for Private Francis Francis, a bumbling Welsh intellectual who has seen his academic pursuits interrupted by military conscription, and for Harold Atterbow, a middle-aged pipe-organist, portrayed by Roy Hudd. In contrast to the savvy Hopper, Francis is an awkward and bookish figure, whose academic trajectory has been sidetracked by his military service. The arrival of the scholarly niece of a seconded American officer facilitates the pairing of these two conscripts with compatible companions, following an initial period of misaligned pairings. The story weaves several subplots, among them the impact of American rock and roll on English society, the chasm that exists between senior analysts, who are seasoned army officers, and the conscripted ranks, the work of the Russian playwright Chekhov, and the admiration for ornate theatre pipe organs. The unique setting—a military culture transplanted within a civil service office environment—reflects the author's personal experience of national service in the 1950s. Although this work takes on the guise of a romantic comedy, it diverges from the unconventional nature of Dennis Potter's later works, featuring explicit scenes of sex and violence, as well as Potter's signature dreamlike visuals. The highlight of this production is the surreal musical sequence that accompanies the song "In a Persian Market."