The play 'Gotcha' by Barrie Keefe was written in 1976, it was about a nameless boy who ends up holding three teachers hostage on his last day at school.
At the time, grammar schools were a big part of the Educational Debate. Keefe took the idea that many kids were ignored if they were not academic or sports orientated and wrote the play to show just how many slipped under the radar.
If a kid was considered "untalented" whilst in education then their name wasn't known and they literally became anonymous to the teachers and workers at the school. This is reflected in the play itself, as the main protragonist is literally called 'Kid.'
When it was released it caused a huge stir and the TV showing caused controversy among some members of the public. The 70's were a time of huge change, and quite a few people were still stuck in their ways and refused to accept it, Mary Whitehouse was one of them. She descrive the TV showing as "One long, vicious, obscene gesture." And forced the BBC to ban the repeat when she realised it was showing again. This was the time just before Margret Thatcher came to power and by Whitehouse banning the repeat, it actually made it more popular.
As the play is set in a grammar school, a lot of the students or people associated with it may have been looked down on by the upper class, however, the casual violance and smoking scene throughout the play was part of everyday life, very different to modern times. This meant that these actions would not of initially had a shock factor to them but Keefe directed 'Kid' and 'Lynne' to come across as shocked and offended by the violence.
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