Unman, Wittering and Zigo

Unman, Wittering and Zigo is a 1958 radio play by the Anglo-Irish playwright Giles Cooper.^[1][2]

Plot[]

The play is a thriller set in a traditional boys' boarding school where a senior form master has just been killed in a tragic accident. The main character is John Ebony, a teacher in his first job, brought in as a temporary measure, though one he hopes will be confirmed as permanent.

He finds his class to be strangely regimented and gradually the dialogue by class members becomes more ominous and disturbing. They show him personal possessions claimed to be mementos from their collective killing of the previous teacher, and between them, tell Ebony that nobody will believe him, they all have alibis and can demonstrate their innocence. Ebony is trapped between apprehension that his class – or some members of it hidden by the others – may have killed his predecessor, his everyday belief that they must be testing him provocatively, and the unhelpful advice of his peers in the school staff. He is also left perplexed by the role (if any) of the absent student Zigo, and struggles to perceive who is behind the boys' regimented behaviour.

Between his rebellious wife Nadia, the eccentric art master Cary Farthingale and the increasingly bold intimidation by the members of his class, Ebony struggles to exercise power, but is thwarted by reality and a disbelieving Headmaster. When he refuses to teach, the boys organise their own education in his class for those who wish it, and instantly behave as a model class when interrupted by the headmaster.

In the final scenes, one of his students commits suicide, leaving a note confessing to his role in the events surrounding the previous teacher's demise, apparently due to bullying and pressure, but it is left ambiguous what actually took place before Ebony's arrival.

The resonant quotation from the play falls to the wise old Farthingale, discussing the question of whether Ebony himself, or his predecessor, inadvertently shaped the class as they were, through their own actions and authority. "Authority is a necessary evil, and every bit as evil as it is necessary."

Adaptations[]

The play was adapted for television as an episode of BBC 2's Theatre 625 series and broadcast in June 1965.^[3] It was the BBC's Italia Prize entry that year.^[4] It featured a number of young actors who gained a higher profile including Hywel Bennett and Dennis Waterman.^[5]

In 1967, the stage premiere was produced at Manchester Grammar School, directed by Brian Derbyshire and Brian Phythian, with Patrick Miller as John Ebony.

The play is part of the curriculum for GCSE and Standard Grade English coursework in the United Kingdom and is frequently performed in public schools. Cooper himself attended Lancing College in Sussex from 1932 to 1936.

A feature film version, directed by John Mackenzie, was released in 1971 with a screenplay by Simon Raven which stayed true to the basic plot, but added sexual scenes and changed Ebony's wife's name from Nadia to Sylvia.^[6] The 1971 film featured actors including David Hemmings and a young Michael Kitchen, and is also currently used for educational purposes in the UK.^[7]

In February 1990, a Wirral Grammar School for Boys Drama Society production, directed by Simon Carter, performed the play over 3 nights. The cast included Stephen Hughes as John Ebony, Kevin McDonnell as Cary Farthingale and Sonia Hardy as Nadia Ebony.

A reference to the play is made in the British TV series Little Britain, in which a schoolmaster finishes the morning roll call with "Unman, Wittering and Zigo absent",^{[citation needed]} while Alan Bennett credits Giles Cooper and the play's influence in his creation of The History Boys.^{[citation needed]}

References[]

External links[]

• Unman, Wittering and Zigo at IMDb