Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a 1990 BBC television drama miniseries, directed by Beeban Kidron. Jeanette Winterson wrote the screenplay, adapting her semi-autobiographical first novel of the same name (published 1985).[1] The BBC produced and screened three episodes, running to a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes.[2] A 145 minute continuous version was screened at the London Film Festival on 25 November 1989.[3] The series was released on DVD in 2005.[4]
| Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit | |
|---|---|
 Charlotte Coleman and Geraldine McEwan in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit | |
| Created by | Jeanette Winterson |
| Directed by | Beeban Kidron |
| Starring | Charlotte Coleman Geraldine McEwan Kenneth Cranham Cathryn Bradshaw |
| Opening theme | Rachel Portman |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Phillippa Giles |
| Running time | 165 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two |
| Release | 10 January – 24 January 1990 |
The series won the BAFTA award for Best Drama Series or Serial.
Storyline
editCharlotte Coleman starred as Jess, a girl growing up in a Pentecostal evangelical household in Accrington, Lancashire, England in the 1970s, who comes to understand that she is a lesbian. The allegorical fairytales that are woven into the novel do not appear on the screen. Miss Jewsbury's love-making with the underage Jess, which appears in the novel, was also excluded. Even with these cuts, the series caused controversy when shown due to the remaining lesbian sex scenes and its portrayal of the Elim Pentecostal faith.
Cast
edit- Jess - Charlotte Coleman
- Small Jess - Emily Aston
- Jess's mother - Geraldine McEwan
- Pastor Finch - Kenneth Cranham
- William - Peter Gordon
- Cissy - Barbara Hicks
- Elsie - Margery Withers
- May - Elizabeth Spriggs
- Mrs Green - Freda Dowie
- Miss Jewsbury - Celia Imrie
- Jess's real mum - Sophie Thursfield
- Mrs Arkwright - Pam Ferris
- Mrs Virtue - Katy Murphy
- Mrs Vole - Sharon Bower
- Doctor - David Thewlis
- Gypsy - Kay Clayton
- Church Pianist - Tamar Swade
- Melanie - Cathryn Bradshaw
- Graham - Richard Henders
- Katy - Tania Rodrigues
- Nurse - Suzanne Hall
Awards
editThe series won the BAFTA award for Best Drama Series or Serial.[5]
In 1991, via the PBS network, the series won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series.
In 2010, The Guardian ranked the miniseries at number 8 in their list of "The Top 50 TV Dramas of All Time".[6]
Further reading
edit- Hallam, J. & Marshment, M. "Framing Experience: Case Studies in the Reception of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" Screen No. 36, 1995: pp. 1–15
- Hinds, H. ([1992] 1996) "Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit: reaching audiences other lesbian texts cannot reach" In: J. Corner & S. Harvey (eds) Television Times: A Reader London: Arnold, pp. 98–110; ISBN 0-340-65233-0
References
edit- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit (1990)". screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ John J. O'Connor (29 November 1990). "Review/Television; A Lesbian Comes of Age, And Not in an Easy Way - New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
- ^ Jeavons, Clyde (1989). 33rd London Film Festival. p. 18.
- ^ Hal Erickson (2007). "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (trailer)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
- ^ "1991 Television Drama Series or Serial". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ Richard Vine (12 January 2010). "The top 50 TV dramas of all time: 2-10 | Television & radio". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2018.