Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle
Encyclopedia
Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle is a television
drama, written by Rhidian Brook
and directed by Susanna White, which originally aired in 2005 on BBC
.
Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle tells the story of a school outing, with a bunch of uncontrollable fifth-formers and three teachers from a London
comprehensive school
, to Salisbury Cathedral
. The children show no interest in the purpose of the trip, and are even indifferent towards a view of Stonehenge
which they pass on the way: "a boring pile of stones... perhaps we could sell it". The pupils even get more excited by all the things on offer at a motorway service station they stop at on the way.
The teacher behind the trip, a plump, middle-aged and reticent Mr. Harvey (Timothy Spall
), prepares fact sheets about the Cathedral for the pupils, but even the other two teachers (Miss Davies, played by Celia Imrie
, and Mr. Cole, played by Ben Miles
) see little point in the trip. The bunch of kids is a cross-section of multi-cultural London
. Two particular outsiders are a Muslim boy (Mo, played by Joshua Malin) and a pretty-yet-vain girl (Helen, played by Natalie Press
), who turns out to have little self-esteem, letting boys have sex with her and making cuts in her own wrist.
It transpires that Mr. Harvey organised the trip to coincide with the 21st anniversary of his last trip to the cathedral, the day when he proposed to the woman who became his wife. He carries in his wallet a fading photo of the very moment when they got engaged. One of the boys steals his wallet. Helen takes the photo from the wallet, defaces the photo and passes it around the coach for the other pupils to see, to their amusement. Mr. Harvey suspects that one of the pupils had stolen his wallet, but doesn't know who, and confronts Helen, grabbing her and revealing her cut wrists.
When the group finally arrives at Salisbury Cathedral, and the pupils have got out the coach, Mr. Harvey finds the photo - now defaced. He is beside himself with grief and rage. But once inside the cathedral, instead of the expected tour of the building, Mr. Harvey tells the pupils about how his wife had killed herself a year after they had got married.
The pupils are silenced by his story: he has come to terms with his past during the trip, as well as opening up to his colleagues and pupils about the events which had had a profound effect on his life.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
drama, written by Rhidian Brook
Rhidian Brook
Rhidian Brook is a novelist, screenwriter and broadcaster.He has written two novels. His first - The Testimony of Taliesin Jones - won the 1997 Somerset Maugham Award, a Betty Trask Award and the Author's Club First Novel Award as well being runner up for Welsh Book of The Year...
and directed by Susanna White, which originally aired in 2005 on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle tells the story of a school outing, with a bunch of uncontrollable fifth-formers and three teachers from a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
, to Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
. The children show no interest in the purpose of the trip, and are even indifferent towards a view of Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
which they pass on the way: "a boring pile of stones... perhaps we could sell it". The pupils even get more excited by all the things on offer at a motorway service station they stop at on the way.
The teacher behind the trip, a plump, middle-aged and reticent Mr. Harvey (Timothy Spall
Timothy Spall
Timothy Leonard Spall, OBE is an English character actor and occasional presenter.-Early life:Spall, the third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. , was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker...
), prepares fact sheets about the Cathedral for the pupils, but even the other two teachers (Miss Davies, played by Celia Imrie
Celia Imrie
Celia Diana Savile Imrie is an English actress. In a career starting in the early 1970s, Imrie has played Marianne Bellshade in Bergerac, Philippa Moorcroft in Dinnerladies, Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques, Diana Neal in After You've Gone and Gloria Millington in Kingdom...
, and Mr. Cole, played by Ben Miles
Ben Miles
Ben Miles is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the British TV comedy Coupling, from 2000 to 2004.-Life and career:...
) see little point in the trip. The bunch of kids is a cross-section of multi-cultural London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Two particular outsiders are a Muslim boy (Mo, played by Joshua Malin) and a pretty-yet-vain girl (Helen, played by Natalie Press
Natalie Press
Natalie Press is an English actress, perhaps best known for her award-winning performance in the 2004 film My Summer of Love and a number of short and feature length independent films, including Wasp, which won the 2005 Academy Award for Live Action Short Film.-Personal life:Press is from North...
), who turns out to have little self-esteem, letting boys have sex with her and making cuts in her own wrist.
It transpires that Mr. Harvey organised the trip to coincide with the 21st anniversary of his last trip to the cathedral, the day when he proposed to the woman who became his wife. He carries in his wallet a fading photo of the very moment when they got engaged. One of the boys steals his wallet. Helen takes the photo from the wallet, defaces the photo and passes it around the coach for the other pupils to see, to their amusement. Mr. Harvey suspects that one of the pupils had stolen his wallet, but doesn't know who, and confronts Helen, grabbing her and revealing her cut wrists.
When the group finally arrives at Salisbury Cathedral, and the pupils have got out the coach, Mr. Harvey finds the photo - now defaced. He is beside himself with grief and rage. But once inside the cathedral, instead of the expected tour of the building, Mr. Harvey tells the pupils about how his wife had killed herself a year after they had got married.
The pupils are silenced by his story: he has come to terms with his past during the trip, as well as opening up to his colleagues and pupils about the events which had had a profound effect on his life.