Play for Today
Play for Today

Play for Today (1970)

6.3 (9 votes)
14 Seasons
October 15, 1970
English
Drama

Synopsis

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Network

BBC One

Episodes

The Long Distance Piano Player
E1

The Long Distance Piano Player

Oct 15, 1970
75 min

A man tries to break the world's record for nonstop piano playing

The Right Prospectus
E2

The Right Prospectus

Oct 22, 1970
75 min

A couple look for the proper school, not for their children but for themselves.

The Lie
E3

The Lie

Oct 29, 1970
75 min

""The Lie"" refers to the 8-year marriage of a couple who are constantly hurting each other.

Angels Are So Few
E4

Angels Are So Few

Nov 5, 1970
75 min

A man claiming to be an angel enters the household of a bored housewife and teaches the family a few lessons.

The Write-Off
E5

The Write-Off

Nov 12, 1970
75 min

A man is made redundant but can't bring himself to let anyone know, plunging into a web of deceit as he keeps up the charade he is still in work.

I Can't See My Little Willie
E6

I Can't See My Little Willie

Nov 19, 1970
75 min

A man has a mid-life crisis in his brother's pub where sees life as a game show

A Distant Thunder
E7

A Distant Thunder

Nov 26, 1970
75 min

A newly-appointed knight finds his celebrations cut short by someone who was witness to his treachery during the war.

Hearts and Flowers
E8

Hearts and Flowers

Dec 3, 1970
75 min

A TV host and his architect brother attend their father's funeral

Robin Redbreast
E9

Robin Redbreast

Dec 10, 1970
75 min

A woman living in a country cottage thinks that someone is trying to get her.

The Hallelujah Handshake
E10

The Hallelujah Handshake

Dec 17, 1970
75 min

A petty thief and social misfit finagles his way into a church congregation

Alma Mater
E11

Alma Mater

Jan 7, 1971
75 min

A civil servant working abroad revisits his old school

Circle Line
E12

Circle Line

Jan 14, 1971
75 min

A cynical student has a radically different view of life from his landlady, leading to conflict. Matters come to a head when he sleeps with her fourteen-year-old brother.

Hell's Angel
E13

Hell's Angel

Jan 21, 1971
75 min

A couple are distressed by the changes in their adopted teenage son when he joins a biker gang.

The Piano
E14

The Piano

Jan 28, 1971
75 min

An old couple refuse to move when they find out that they can't take their piano with them

Billy's Last Stand
E15

Billy's Last Stand

Feb 4, 1971
75 min

Billy, a self-employed coal-shoveller, gains a seedy business partner and competition in the form of a rival coal-shoveller.

The Rainbirds
E16

The Rainbirds

Feb 11, 1971
75 min

A man who attempted suicide by jumping out a window is saved only to live in a coma, in which he has fantasies about his relatives and nightmare creatures.

Reddick
E17

Reddick

Feb 18, 1971
75 min

Charges that the Rev 'Red' Reddick is exploiting his youth club members leads to an explosive confrontation.

The Foxtrot
E18

The Foxtrot

Apr 29, 1971
75 min

An odd menage a trois results when a woman and her lover are visited by her long-lost husband

When the Bough Breaks
E19

When the Bough Breaks

May 6, 1971
75 min

When an injured baby arrives at the hospital, a social worker looks for the parents

Orkney
E20

Orkney

May 13, 1971
75 min

A trilogy of plays--A Time to Keep, The Whaler's Return, and Celia--exploring the life of the islanders in the past and present

The Rank and File
E21

The Rank and File

May 20, 1971
75 min

The story of the Pilkington glass workers strike of 1970

The Man in the Sidecar
E22

The Man in the Sidecar

May 27, 1971
75 min

A succesful novelist Edith lives with her husband and his friend, but she decides to ask the friend to leave.

Everybody Say Cheese
E23

Everybody Say Cheese

Jun 3, 1971
75 min

The story of a disintegrating marriage told through family photos

The Cellar and the Almond Tree
E24

The Cellar and the Almond Tree

Jun 10, 1971

No description available.

Details

Original Title

Play for Today

Status

Ended

Seasons

14

Episodes

314