Corrie live screening at the BFI – a review

It was a small, mainly male, and appreciative audience who turned up at the BFI Southbank on Tuesday 24th February 2009 to watch their favourite soap screened live on the cinema screen. As part of its ‘Live TV’ series, the BFI screened three live episodes of Corrie on the big screen, two black and white episodes from 1961 and the 40th anniversary episode from 2000.

Immediately noticeable in the 1961 episodes was how fitting they were to be shown at the cinema. The live theatrical performance burst into life when shown on the big screen, as if Corrie had been designed to always be shown off that way, not contained in a small box in the corner of a front room. Also noticeable was the speed of delivery of the clacking of dialogue written by Corrie creator Tony Warren. And of course, the dominance of each episode by the women - Elsie Tanner, Ena Sharples, Minnie Caldwell, Annie Walker – with the men providing the background, being feckless, daft or just a plumber passing by. Spotted in the early episodes were actress Beryl Bainbridge and actor Tony Booth, the man who went on to become ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair’s father-in-law and real-life husband of Pat Phoenix, who played Elsie Tanner.

Ken Barlow tried to ban the bomb in episodes from the 60s and in the 40th anniversary live episode from 2000 he was crusading again, this time to save the very essence of the Street - the cobbles. The 2000 episode didn’t seem any more polished than the 60s live episodes, there were technical and acting blips in both. But there was less nuance and subtlety. In the 60s episodes a piercing look from Ena Sharples deserved a scene of its own, in the 2000 episode there was no time for such luxury. The dialogue remained as sharp as ever and British royalty appeared when Prince Charles popped up in a scene.

Corrie has come a long way over the decades to stake its claim as not only the best drama serial in the UK and the second longest running soap in the world, but as an integral part of our British culture. As a Corrie fan of over 35 years, watching my favourite telly show at the cinema with a shared audience was an unusual experience but one that I wouldn’t have missed for the world.