First Cut: Double Lesson, Channel 4

First Cut: Double Lesson, Channel 4 | reviews, news & interviews

First Cut: Double Lesson, Channel 4

A monologue of school and violence

by Josh SperoFriday, 15 July 2011

Phil Davis, wearied, as David de GaleChannel 4

If I'm being honest, I never saw the charm of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads. Too many quiet disappointments, too much capital-A Acting. They lacked naturalism in presentation and content, whereas Double Lesson, from Channel 4's First Cut series of quirky documentaries and quasi-documentaries, had naturalism to spare last night.

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Permalink Submitted by Sal Paradise (not verified) on Sun, 17/07/2011 - 19:36

For many years I have been an admirer of Phil Davis. His style and delivery has been the highlight of many ok programmes and series over his career. However, "Double Lesson" gave a great actor the opportunity to show what great acting can do in 25 minutes. Laughter, pathos and tragedy in 25 minutes without feeling rushed or bored. British Academy, in a time of reality and banal mockumentary grasp these jewels while you can. Congratulations to all, particularly Phil Davis. Bold words but this really could be seen as a performance of a generation.

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