Play for Today (1970)

Top Cast

• Nigel Hawthorne as Graham
• Liz Smith as Keith's Granny
• Bernard Hill as Bernard Blincoe
• Malcolm Terris as Jennings
• Alison Steadman as Susan
• June Brown as Clara, in Psychiatric Hospital
• Colin Jeavons as Lytton
• Tony Caunter as Alderman
• Colin Douglas as Jackson Arnott
• Julian Curry as Jeremy Butler

Seasons

Specials (1987)

No overview available for this season.

Episodes:

• Ep. 1: Brimstone and Treacle (1987-08-25)

  The Bates sadly care for their severely disabled daughter Pattie. Martin arrives at their door claiming to be her college friend. He charms them into accepting him as a lodger and carer for Pattie. But Martin is not all he seems.

• Ep. 2: Scum (1991-07-27)

  Roy Minton's play deals with the subject of youth imprisonment and its lack of actual rehabilitation practised during the 1970s in young offenders' institutions. The film also deals with racism, authority, gang rape and suicide. Hardened Trainee 4737 Carlin (Ray Winstone) arrives at a new borstal after allegedly brutally attacking a prison officer at his previous borstal. On arrival he is subject to abuse from the prison officers and Pongo (the Daddy) because of his previous reputation. Using the hostile environment to his advantage, Carlin decides to become “The Daddy” of his wing. One of the young inmates, Davis, is gang-raped by two other inmates and subsequently commits suicide in his cell, using a razor blade.

• Ep. 3: The Evacuees (1975-03-05)

  The Evacuees is a 1975 episode of the BBC's Play for Today series written by Jack Rosenthal and directed by Alan Parker. It was broadcast by the BBC on 5 March 1975. Starring Rosenthal's wife, Maureen Lipman, the filmed play is set during the blitz and, loosely based on Rosenthal's personal experiences, centres on the lives of two Jewish boys Neville and Danny, who are evacuated from Manchester to Blackpool.

• Ep. 4: The Black Stuff (1980-01-02)

  Writer Alan Bleasedale's hard hitting black comedy, set against the harsh backdrop of struggle and hopelessly bleak unemployment in the Liverpool of Thatcher's Britain, chronicled the lives of a group of tarmac layers as they sought to find work, whilst suffering the despair and indignity of life on the scrapheap.

• Ep. 5: Drama Out Of A Crisis - A Celebration Of Play For Today (2020-10-12)

  Marking the 50th anniversary of the first Play for Today in October 1970, this film is a celebration of the series, told by a number of its producers, directors and writers. It explores the origins of the series, its achievements and its controversies. Presenting a rich range of often surprising extracts from the archive, the film features interviews with, among others, producers Kenith Trodd, Margaret Matheson and Richard Eyre, film-makers Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, and writer and director David Hare.

• Ep. 6: Kenneth Branagh Remembers... Billy Plays (2022-10-05)

  Kenneth Branagh looks back on his experiences working on the first major production of his career: Graham Reid’s Billy Plays trilogy. The three Play for Today dramas won great praise for the way they captured ordinary working class lives in Belfast, set against the backdrop of The Troubles. The acclaim Branagh received for his portrayal of big-hearted, hot-headed Billy got his career off to a perfect start. He gives his perspective on why the drama was so well-received, recalls working with his fellow cast, and casts an experienced, critical eye over his own youthful performance.

• Ep. 7: Pillion

  The play is set in the shed belonging to an enthusiastic motorcycle mechanic, Fenton. He and his group of like-minded friends meet regularly – all are engaged in rebuilding an ageing Triumph motorcycle. Recorded in 1979 but never transmitted.

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