Drip. A narcissistic love story.

Man walking along London street. Car being pushed by two boys splashes water from the gutter over his feet. He enters the gate of the Vanity Fayre Guest House, and rings the bell which says "Theatricals Welcome". Cakes and biscuits laid out in a room – next to a bucket into which water is dripping. Ivy moves nervously from chair to chair while a man sleeps upstairs. She is startled by the ringing of the front door bell. The man upstairs is waking up; he starts taking Polaroid photographs of his nearly-naked self, and watches himself on video screens. Ivy dancing by herself to music on the radio. Suddenly a couple burst in doing an exotic Latin American dance. The man outside finds the door key. Young man exercising in the bathroom; he runs a bath; watching himself in the steamy mirror, he sees that man from outside watching him through the glass of the door. They dance together though on opposite sides of the door, then, in identical clothing, toast each other in champagne, and dance together in a "Fred and Ginger" routine. Meanwhile, water continues to drip into the bucket. The man from outside, now labelled as "Ted", arrives at the party and meets the Latin American tango dancers, Ashley and April. They perform some samba steps. The man from the bathroom dances with Ivy. Ted tries to suggest that this relationship won’t work; he changes the music and Ashley and April burst in again. Everyone joins in a conga. Ivy tries to rescue the plates of cakes and biscuits from destruction. The man upstairs tosses and turns. Ted creeps to the bathroom. The young man has drowned in the bath. April stamps on the birthday cake. Ivy surveys the ruins and she and Ted watch water begin to pour into the bucket. They dance together in a daffodil-filled room. Credits.

Music Composed by Rowland Lee;
Performed by Adventures in Motion Pictures:
April, Rosemary Allen;
Vernon, Scott Ambler;
Wayne, Matthew Bourne;
Ashley, Andrew George;
Ivy, Etta Murfitt;
Wayne, Simon Murphy.
Arts Council Production Trainee Richard Riddle;
Thanks to The Criterion Brasserie, London.
And for Adventures in Motion Pictures,
Executive Director Katherine d’Oré;
Company Administrator Simon Lacey;
Production Co-Ordinator Sharon Dean;
Stage Manager Petrus Bertschinger.
Production Assistant Rima Neave;
Production Accountant Marsha Fitzpatrick;
Videotape Editor Richard Harris;
Dubbing Mixer Eli Perl;
Gaffer Gary Owen;
Sound Jeff James;
Make Up and Hair Design Julian Ibbitson;
Costume Design David Manners;
Editor Matthew Wood;
Camera Nina Kellgren,
Simone Horrocks;
Set Design Alison Humphries,
Jenny Andrews;
Executive Producers for the Arts Council and the BBC
Rodney Wilson,
Bob Lockyer;
Produced by Caz Gorham;
Choreographed by Matthew Bourne;
Directed by Frances Dickenson.
A Christmas TV & Film Company Production for BBC and the Arts Council of England.
© BBC The Arts Council of England MCMXCIV.