The Song of Lunch

The Song of Lunch is a British 2010 television adaptation of Christopher Reid's poem of the same name.[1][2] It was directed by Niall MacCormick and stars Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson. Screened on 9 October 2010 during National Poetry Month, the production is unusual in featuring little spoken dialogue, the action instead being an enactment of incidents described in poetic monologue by the male character.[3][4]

The play tells the story of a reunion between two former lovers in a Soho Italian restaurant. Rickman's character ('he') is a London book editor who writes poetry in his spare time (unsuccessfully). Thompson's character ('she') is his former lover who left him to marry a successful novelist fifteen years previously.[5]

50 minutes long and a co-production between the BBC and Masterpiece, it was filmed in the anamorphic format 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Thompson received an Emmy Award nomination (Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie) in 2012 for her performance.[6]

  1. ^ "Thompson and Rickman to star in Reid poem adaptation". BBC News. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  2. ^ Self, John (17 July 2009). "Christopher Reid: The Song of Lunch". Asylum. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  3. ^ "The Song of Lunch". BBC Two. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  4. ^ Mangan, Lucy (8 October 2010). "The Song of Lunch". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  5. ^ Damien Love, The Song Of Lunch, 4 October 2010
  6. ^ "Emma Thompson". Television Academy. Retrieved 16 February 2023.