Our screening on Thursday 30 January will be introduced by writer and filmmaker Adam Scovell, and will be followed by a post-film discussion in the cinema bar.

Directed by John Mackenzie (The Long Good Friday), this acclaimed and long-unseen BBC TV Play for Today from 1978 is adapted by Alan Garner from his own complex and enthralling sci-fi fantasy novel.

Red Shift takes the viewer on a beguiling voyage through English history, spanning three distinct time periods: Roman Britain, the English Civil War and 1970s modern day. Garner’s play tells the story of three troubled young men, Tom, Thomas and Macey, who occupy these different eras and are haunted by shared visions. They are connected through a shared location (Mow Cop in south Cheshire) and by the discovery of mystical talisman: an ancient axe-head.

Exploring themes of mysticism, folklore and geography that are common in Alan Garner’s fantasy novels, Red Shift is a uniquely compelling Play for Today from the golden age of BBC drama.

Contains scenes of implied rape.

Cast:
Stephen Petcher, Lesley Dunlop, Bernard Gallagher, Stella Tanner