Play for Today

Play for Today

Season 11

27 Episodes

Pasmore
E1

1. Pasmore

Oct 21, 1980 · 75 min
Play

Colin Pasmore tests his strength against his family ties but finds them stronger than he ever imagined.

C2H5OH
E2

2. C2H5OH

Oct 28, 1980 · 75 min
Play

"In heaven there is no drama - drama depends on failure and conflict. My trade is a scrutiny of hell. For any proud dramatist his style is his prejudice."

The Adventures of Frank: Everybody's Fiddling Something
E3

3. The Adventures of Frank: Everybody's Fiddling Something

Nov 4, 1980 · 75 min
Play

Writer-director John McGrath deliberately shies away from naturalism in an experiment that mixes blue screen, songs, and characters realising they're acting within a play. This first of two parts sees Frank travel to a hostile London.

The Adventures of Frank: Seeds of Ice
E4

4. The Adventures of Frank: Seeds of Ice

Nov 11, 1980 · 75 min
Play
Minor Complications
E5

5. Minor Complications

Nov 18, 1980 · 75 min
Play

Kay Gilbert goes into hospital for a minor operation which goes badly wrong. This play tells the story of her fight for compensation.

Number on End
E6

6. Number on End

Nov 25, 1980 · 75 min
Play

What could Steve Jackson's documentary film expose that must be concealed from the African leaders meeting in Brussels? Steve Jackson is on the run and the wrong decision could prove fatal.

Jude
E7

7. Jude

Dec 2, 1980 · 75 min
Play

Twelve-year-old Jude has never met Dick, his father. One Sunday afternoon Dick impulsively engineers a meeting, which has distressing consequences.

The Flipside of Dominick Hide
E8

8. The Flipside of Dominick Hide

Dec 9, 1980 · 75 min
Play

Dominick Hide, a time traveller from London in the year 2130, is studying the city's transport system of 1980. Breaking the rules, he lands his craft to seek out his great-grandfather. Compared to his anaesthetised home, 80s London is filthy and polluted...and yet...it exudes an excitement that soon draws him in.

Name for the Day
E9

9. Name for the Day

Dec 16, 1980 · 75 min
Play

Clive admits himself to a psychiatric hospital after undergoing a breakdown. His wife wants him back home, but in order for Clive to be released, he has to want to be cured.

Jessie
E10

10. Jessie

Dec 23, 1980 · 75 min
Play

In Victorian times, a nanny cares for a mute boy, who becomes overly attached to her.

Beyond the Pale
E11

11. Beyond the Pale

Jan 6, 1981 · 75 min
Play

A vacation at a seaside hotel in Ireland changes the lives of four friends.

The Muscle Market
E12

12. The Muscle Market

Jan 13, 1981 · 75 min
Play

The problems of an owner of a building contractor company in Liverpool

A Brush with Mr. Porter on the Road to El Dorado
E13

13. A Brush with Mr. Porter on the Road to El Dorado

Jan 20, 1981 · 75 min
Play

"They're nice affable gobblers and we're in the nice affable gobbling business." Tom and Gwen soon find that their gastronomical retreat from the rat race is anything but an escape when the Porters come to dine.

Dear Brutus
E14

14. Dear Brutus

Jan 27, 1981 · 75 min
Play

"They say that in the wood you get what nearly everybody here is longing for - a second chance." J. M. Barrie's fantasy play, depicting alternative realities for its characters and their eventual return to real life.

The Cause
E15

15. The Cause

Feb 3, 1981 · 75 min
Play

A confused industrial dispute at a London hospital triggers off in trade unionist George Harley's mind memories of his days fighting in the Spanish Civil War, when the issues seemed so much clearer.

Beloved Enemy
E16

16. Beloved Enemy

Feb 10, 1981 · 75 min
Play

The head of a multinational corporation wants to do business with the Soviets

The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner
E17

17. The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner

Feb 17, 1981 · 75 min
Play

A group of men hold a reunion dinner in Tokyo

The Union
E18

18. The Union

Feb 24, 1981 · 75 min
Play

You know the nuts and bolts of our policy? To penetrate the unions. To use all sorts of stratagems, manoeuvres, illegal measures, evasions, subterfuges, to carry on Communist activities inside them at all cost.

Sorry
E19

19. Sorry

Mar 3, 1981 · 75 min
Play

Two very different women share an office, a common enemy, and a sense of humour.

Shai Mãlã Khani: The Garland
E20

20. Shai Mãlã Khani: The Garland

Mar 10, 1981 · 75 min
Play

When her 17-year-old son Roy falls in love with a Muslim girl, and a Bangladeshi butcher seeks help from her husband Raji, Leela realizes that the tears and romance of Indian cinema are closer to her own life than she has ever imagined.

The Sin Bin
E21

21. The Sin Bin

Mar 17, 1981 · 75 min
Play

Six lifers living in an experimental self-rehabilitation unit attached to an ordinary prison participate in a group therapy session. All of them have spent many years in prison and have little chance of ever getting out.

Before Water Lillies
E22

22. Before Water Lillies

Mar 24, 1981 · 75 min
Play

An evening with the Parent-Teacher Association gets out of hand.

Bavarian Night
E23

23. Bavarian Night

Mar 31, 1981 · 75 min
Play

When the dynamic young head-master of St Peter's Primary School decides to liven up a parents' fund-raising social by hiring a Bavarian band, he little suspects the hidden passions that are about to be unleashed.

The Good Time Girls
E24

24. The Good Time Girls

Apr 7, 1981 · 75 min
Play

Nancy and Ella are two bored housewives starved of affection when their husbands are away on the oil rigs. The rules are simple: have some fun, just make sure nobody finds out, and you don't get emotionally involved.

Baby Talk
E25

25. Baby Talk

Apr 14, 1981 · 75 min
Play

It's such a simple, natural thing to have a baby, thinks Mary. But she and husband Paul are preoccupied with their careers. Can their young neighbour Tessa help - or are the emotions around a new baby more complex than anyone had expected?

A Turn for the Worse
E26

26. A Turn for the Worse

Apr 28, 1981 · 75 min
Play

Soldiers are subjected to a brutal and sadistic kind of psychological training exercise

Psy-Warriors
E27

27. Psy-Warriors

May 12, 1981 · 75 min
Play

Soldiers are captured and interrogated by terrorists: but is it real or only a sadistic form of psychological training exercise?