Play for Today

Season 12

BBC anthology series featuring original plays, theatrical and literary adaptations. Over 300 episodes of varying lengths aired from 1970-1984, with some later developed into series, including Rumpole of the Bailey and Gangsters.

Where to Watch Play for Today • Season 12

22 Episodes

Country
E1
CountryThe story of the disintegration of an aristocratic country estate after World War II
London Is Drowning
E2
London Is DrowningA docudrama about what would happen if London was hit by severe flooding
A Room for the Winter
E3
A Room for the WinterJames, an expatriate South African anti-apartheid fighter, deals with his nightmares and his complaining landlady in a run-down area of London, while dreaming of his lover Stephen, left behind.
No Visible Scar
E4
No Visible ScarA nurse is subjected to an interrogation after giving medical treatment to a terrorist leader.
Iris in the Traffic, Ruby in the Rain
E5
Iris in the Traffic, Ruby in the RainIn Belfast, Ruby has a cold and is caught in the rain while Iris is looking for work and gets caught in traffic
Protest
E6
ProtestIn an adaptation of Václav Havel's play, a dissident, newly released from prison for political reasons, attempts to get his well-connected friend to sign a protest. In this one man play, both the roles are played by Nigel Hawthorne.
United Kingdom
E7
United KingdomTwo men on a local council fight the system when forced with massive spending cuts.
PQ17
E8
PQ17During World War II, a British officer is ordered to abandon a Russian convoy.
The Factory
E9
The FactoryA manager, a foreman, and two workers are all that remains of a factory yet labor relations stay the same
England's Green and Pleasant Land
E10
England's Green and Pleasant LandA planning decision must be made, and the motorway extension must go through on either the Golf Course or the Allotments - will the greens survive or the peasant lands?
A Cotswold Death
E11
A Cotswold DeathA police inspector investigates the murder of an Arab sheik who had become a village's Lord of the Manor.
Under the Skin
E12
Under the SkinThree women involved in different ways in the women's movement.
Commitments
E13
CommitmentsPolitics and relationships during the last years of the Heath government
Life After Death
E14
Life After DeathMeg: We were so close, we loved each other, we made a whole together. I feel cut in half.
The Silly Season
E15
The Silly SeasonMalcolm goes through life hating the mundanity of his existence as a factory worker and an unloved husband. But when students take up summer jobs at the factory, it reawakens both his passion for political feeling and romantic urges.
Too Late to Talk to Billy
E16
Too Late to Talk to BillyA family in Belfast deals with life after the death of the mother from cancer
Willie's Last Stand
E17
Willie's Last StandWillie and his friends notice the passage of time around them, and how society is changing as their marriages stagnate. Can Willie prove to himself that he still has it, by being able to cheat on his wife just once?
Tishoo
E18
TishooFrank has dedicated 19 years to researching a cure for the common cold, and is almost ready to publish a paper. Yet budget cuts and his own inability to form real relationships with those around him threaten to derail the project.
Home Sweet Home
E19
Home Sweet HomeHome Sweet Home is a 1982 television film devised and directed by Mike Leigh, for BBC TV, 'about postmen, parenthood, social workers and sex.' It was Leigh's second collaboration with Play for Today producer Louis Marks, and cinematographer Remi Adefarasin, and with composer Carl Davis - the music score featured a quartet of basses -. It stars Timothy Spall, here working with Leigh for the first time, Eric Richard, Tim Barker, Kay Stonham, Su Elliot, Frances Barber, Sheila Kelley, and Lorraine Brunning. It was first broadcast on 16 March 1982. The film was shot on location in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. 90 minutes.
A Sudden Wrench
E20
A Sudden Wrench"My life is over - and I just didn't notice it passing." A call to a radio helpline leads to depressed housewife Christine finding a new direction in life.
Eve Set the Balls of Corruption Going
E21
Eve Set the Balls of Corruption GoingAdolescents will always be obsessed by the same old subject, even when they are educated by nuns. Six ex-Classmates meet for the first time in 12 years and hilarious memories change into highly emotional situations.
Whistling Wally
E22
Whistling WallyWhile Wally was happy there wasn't much wrong with the world, and pints seemed a small price to pay for what he gave us. But don't forget what we gave him. We gave him the knowledge he was important, at least to us.