Synopsis
‘I’m not a number. I’m a free man!’
January 16th, 1967...
A secret agent resigns, then wakes up to find himself imprisoned in ‘The Village’ - a bizarre community with a cheery veneer, but an underbelly of mystery and threat. All occupants of The Village have numbers instead of names, with our secret agent forced to accept the mantle of Number Six.
The authorities running this Village are intent on discovering why Number Six resigned - but it’s a secret he steadfastly refuses to divulge. As the drama unfolds, the authorities, in the guise of the sinister Number Two, try ever more ingenious and aggressive means to bend Number Six to their will. All the while, Number Six is intent on two aims: to escape and to find out ‘Who is Number One?’.
2.1 I Met a Man Today (adapted from Many Happy Returns)
Exhausted after a daring escape from the Village, Six returns to London to find a woman living in his home. Despite being fearful that this could be yet another trick by those who run the Village, he dares to take the risk and starts to get to know her… Meanwhile, those running British Intelligence have their own agenda.
2.2 Project Six (adapted from A, B and C)
Six is now certain he can’t trust anyone. Any food or water in the Village could be laced with chemicals to alter his mental state. Going ‘nil by mouth’ in an attempt to prevent potential drugging, he finds himself dazed and confused by hunger and dehydration. And a prisoner in a secret laboratory makes some unnerving claims. Claims that lead to the identity of Number One.
2.3 Hammer into Anvil (adapted from the TV episode of the same title)
For the new Number Two ‘the gloves are off’. His mission is to break Six, saying he must be either hammer or anvil. But Six has a plan to exploit a weakness in the system.
2.4 Living in Harmony (not adapted from the TV episode of the same title)
Six finds himself in entirely unfamiliar circumstances. He is also confronted with the seemingly impossible return of Number Nine. But worst of all, he is faced with a deadly choice. Just how much is his freedom really worth?
Written By: Nicholas Briggs
Directed By: Nicholas Briggs
Cast
Mark Elstob (Number Six), Lucy Briggs-Owen (Kate Butterworth), Susan Earnshaw(Brenda), Jim Barclay (Control), Barnaby Edwards (Danvers / Shopkeeper), John Heffernan (Thorpe), Sarah Mowat (Janet), Sara Powell (Number 9 / Number 90), Andrew Ryan (Number 52), Nicholas Briggs (Number 99), Jez Fielder (Number 48), Deirdre Mullins (Number 2), Helen Goldwyn (Barmaid / Village Voice / Village Clone / Number 26 / Lunar Controller / Moon Clone / Observation Controller), Michael Cochrane (Number 2).
Other parts played by members of the cast.
Writer/director Nicholas Briggs
Script Editor Jamie Anderson
Producer Scott Handcock
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
