I am mud and flame! ‘I am woman and man!Written by David Rudkin and directed by Alan Clarke, Penda’s Fen was first broadcast in 1974 as part of the BBC’s Play for Today series. It tells the story of seventeen year-old Stephen, a middle-class pastor’s son who has a bizarre series of encounters with angels, the composer Edward Elgar, and King Penda, the mythical last pagan ruler of England. These encounters – whether real or imagined – force Stephen to question his religious beliefs, his politics and his sexuality. Truly decades ahead of its time, Penda’s Fen confronts issues around national identity, the demonising of the countryside, class and paganism. It remains the only film to present paganism in a truly sympathetic light and feels more relevant today than ever. Forget Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan’s Claw, Penda’s Fen is truly worthy of being included in Folk Horror’s Unholy Trinity. And it comes with ice cream.