Play for Today - Hard Labour - Mike Leigh - (1973)

A quiet and put-upon house cleaner breaks her silence.

Mrs. Thornley works very hard without notice or appreciation. Every day she
keeps her own house clean, attends to her husband and unmarried daughter,
Ann, then cleans other women's houses. She looks tired and has little affect.
She does have a married son and a daughter-in-law who's chatty and pleasant.
Mrs. Thornley's husband works nights, except for Saturdays, when he expects
conjugal attention. Ann's worried about pregnancy and talks to her mum about
labor and childbirth. Later, Mrs. Thornley goes to confession at her parish
church, and she makes an extraordinary revelation.

Cast

Liz Smith ... Mrs. Thornley

Clifford Kershaw ... Jim Thornley

Polly Hemingway ... Ann

Bernard Hill ... Edward

Alison Steadman ... Veronica

Vanessa Harris ... Mrs. Stone

Cyril Varley ... Mr. Stone

Linda Beckett ... Julie

Ben Kingsley ... Naseem

Alan Erasmus ... Barry

Rowena Parr ... June

June Whitaker ... Mrs. Rigby

Paula Tilbrook ... Mrs. Thornley's friend

Keith Washington ... Mr. Shaw

Louis Raynes ... Tallyman