The Dinner Party

It was probably the best programme I’d seen over the Christmas period, and yet it was made and first broadcast over ten years ago. What am I talking about? The Dinner Party.

Over the past few weeks (and indeed the next few weeks coming up), Channel 4 are slowly releasing their archives of comedy, documentaries and drama to the world for free. All through a nifty little program called 4oD. One of these programmes is called The Dinner Party, a programme made as part of the ‘Cutting Edge’ series by a film-maker called Paul Watson. It’s 1997, on a cold night in East Anglia. The cast? A group of Conservative voters, contemplating the prospect of the end of an 18-year-old Conservative government. Set in the comfortable surroundings of a well-furnished candlelit dining room, the group touch upon the topics of the day.

What amused me whilst watching this programme was not the nature of the comments made by a few of the guests. Not the fact that you couldn’t actually broadcast some of the things said any more. Nor the fact that a couple of the guests were rather entertainingly rude. It was the fact that the issues being discussed were rather the same as the issues we’re talking about right now.

Immigration. Education. Sleaze. Things don’t really change, do they? Should we be placing limits on how many people are coming into the country? Can we really trust a new government to make real and significant improvements in education? What part do private schools play in today’s society? What is the effect of sleaze on a government and is it right for them to get away with things?

The guests are outspoken, the wine is flowing and the discussion is relevant. Watch it, you will not be disappointed.

Click here to download 4oD – www.channel4.com/4od.