Tom Stoppard, “Dirty Linen”, a comedy in one act, Faber and Faber, 1976, London.

CONSUELO HERNANDEZ RUBIO GROUP B

“Dirty Linen” is a play which happens in a room in the tower of Big Ben of the House of Commons at London. It’s a closed place where the characters are going arriving for a meeting.

They, French, Chamberlain, Cocklebury-Smythe, Withenshaw, Mrs. Ebury and Mcteazle belong to a Select Committee (pag.82: C. Smythe).

The meeting, Mcteazle, pag.83: “is a meeting of a Select Committee of Members of Parliament to report on moral standards in the House….and for the most part, outside the House too”; “to being sitting to report on rumours of sexual promiscuity by certain unspecified Members“; pag.84: “owes its existence to the determination of the Primer Minister to keep his House in order”; Withenshaw, pag.91: “Committee on Promiscuity in High Places” .

Maddie is another character who is a new member if this Committee. She joins them as a clerk (pag.81: C-Smythe: “So you are going to be our clerk”; pag91: Maddie: “I’m the clerk”) because of the Committee “suffered the resignation for personal reasons of the previous membership” (pag.110: Withenshaw). She’s a typist (109) and she’s the first character who enters in the meeting room. She’s a odd and ridiculous woman who enters at scene and puts a “pair of white silk with red lace trimmings knickers” on and “drops her skirt”. (79). Along the play she is dressed in this way. It sets us in an absolutely humoristic situation.

The characters have to prepare a “thorough job which he (Primer Minister) can present to the House the day before the Queen’s Silver Jubilee” (pag.93: Withenshaw), “a unanimous report declaring that there is no evidence that Members have engaged in scandalous conduct above the national average” (pag.94: Withenshaw). Front this French says that “The proper business of the Committee is to examine witnesses!” (109).

To do it, they talk about moral standards, about how the British press gives way at rumours, about the reputation of members at Westminster, about unbuttoned behaviour (84), about sexual immorality and politics (93), about sensationalism (102). Everything with puns and bluffs which get misunderstandings between themselves and towards the readers (pag87: Maddie: “Forget. Forget Crockford’s, Caridges, Coq d’Or....Remember Claridges, Coq d’Or, Crockford’s…”.

They look into the newspapers (pag.100: C-Smythe: “are the people in a sense”; pag.101: Maddie: “press…it is also the watchdog of democracy”) the articles and they speculate ( pag.96: Withenshaw: “The Time: the danger to good government of a moral vacuum at the centre of power”; pag.97: Mcteazle: “The Guardian: The House of Commons is no stranger to scandal or to face…”; pag.111: Withenshaw: “New Statesman: Gossiping over Bristol Cream in Vincent Square?”).

Then Withenshaw (98) stars to read the six paragraphs of the draft report as it was at the last session and the Committee decides to keep some aspects: pags.98-99: “representatives in Parliament should bring probity, honourable intent and decent conduct…must stand in an exemplary relationship to the behaviour of the British people generally”; pag100: “respect…morality of the honourable 600”.

At the end they write that they are “unable to conclude that the aforesaid speculations had any basis in fact” (110).

Opinion

I think that the Committee is like a kind of censure which can’t with the speculations, rumours and gossips.

I suppose that the title “Dirty Linen” is referred to everything what is stayed in the citizens from their represents: negative and unmoral attitudes which the citizens echo and copy ( pag.84: Mcteazle: “Because the country by and large looks to its elected representatives to set a moral standard…”).

In my opinion, this play by Tom Stoppard has been a little easier for me than the another play that I have read “If you’re Glad, I’ll be Frank” because I think that “Dirty Linen” is a less philosophical play, however I don’t get find too much the characteristic English humour.