Plays

A 1986 BBC adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's play, Ghosts, directed by Elijah Moshinsky and produced by Louis Marks. Starring; Judi Dench, Michael Gambon, Kenneth Branagh, Natasha Richardson and Freddie Jones. Theatre Night is the umbrella title under which adaptations of classic and contemporary stage plays were usually broadcast on BBC 2 between 15 September 1985 and 21 July 1990. Ghosts is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was written in Danish and published in 1881. Like many of Ibsen's plays, Ghosts is a scathing commentary on 19th-century morality. Because of its subject matter, which includes religion, venereal disease, incest, and euthanasia, it immediately generated strong controversy and adverse criticism. As with his other plays, Henrik Ibsen wrote Ghosts in Danish, the common written language of Denmark and Norway at the time. The original title, in both Danish and Norwegian, is Gengangere, which can be literally translated as "again walkers", "ones who return", or "revenants". It has a double meaning of both "ghosts" and "events that repeat themselves" which the English title Ghosts fails to capture. Indeed, Ibsen disliked the English translator William Archer's use of the word "Ghosts" as the play's title.

The 1957 Stratford Festival production of Oedipus Rex is a film version of the play by Sophocles, directed by Tyrone Guthrie, and adapted by William Butler Yeats. The production is known for its use of large, expressive masks, which were inspired by ancient Greek theater conventions and designed by Tanya Moiseiwitsch Cast & Characters: Douglas Campbell as Oedipus Eleanor Stuart as Jocasta Robert Goodier as Creon William Hutt as Chorus Leader Donald Davis as Tiresias Douglas Rain as Messenger Tony Van Bridge as Man From Corinth Eric House as Shepherd / Old Priest Roland Bull as Chorus Robert Christie as Chorus Ted Follows as Chorus David Gardner as Chorus Bruno Gerussi as Chorus Richard Howard as Chorus Roland Hewgill as Chorus Edward Holmes as Chorus James Manser as Chorus Louis Negin as Chorus Grant Reddick as Chorus William Shatner as Chorus Bruce Swerdfager as Chorus Neil Vipond as Chorus Gertrude Tyas as Nurse Naomi Cameron as Ismene Barbara Franklin as Antigone The film features a notable cast, including Douglas Campbell as Oedipus and a young William Shatner as a member of the chorus. The production is known for its use of large, expressive masks, which were inspired by ancient Greek theater conventions and designed by Tanya Moiseiwitsch.

Theatre Night is the umbrella title under which adaptations of classic and contemporary stage plays were usually broadcast on BBC 2 between 15 September 1985 and 21 July 1990. Click on CC for optional English subtitles. The Devil’s Disciple is a Play by George Bernard Shaw about loyalties and commitments during the American Revolutionary War. Starring Ian Richardson, Mike Gwilym, Patrick Stewart, Elizabeth Spriggs, Graham Turner and Susan Woodridge. Shaw turned to the classic Victorian melodrama to focus on the insincerity of much that his audience held dear, especially family and marriage. In 1777 as the American War of Independence rages, Dick Dudgeon returns to the family he revolted against years ago. But his life is about to take another twist as the british arrive and seem set on an execution...

Based on the 1894 play by Henrik Ibsen, starring Anthony Hopkins, Diana Rigg, Peggy Ashcroft, Emma Piper, Charles Dance, Timothy Stark. Click on CC for English optional subtitles. Little Eyolf tells the story of the Allmers family. At the outset of the play, the father, Alfred, has just returned from a trip to the mountains. While there, he resolved to focus foremost on raising his son Eyolf, rather than continue work on his book, Human Responsibility. Eyolf, though described as having "beautiful, intelligent eyes", is paralyzed in one of his legs, and thus his life is a sheltered one. He craves more than anything else to live the life of a normal boy, but his father knows that this is not possible. As such, Alfred wants to turn Eyolf towards loftier, intellectual pursuits.

Adaptation of the classic Oscar Wilde play involving blackmail and political corruption. Directed by Rudolph Cartier and starring Margaret Leighton, Jeremy Brett and Susan Hampshire. Click on CC for English optional subtitles. Sir Robert Chiltern is a successful Government minister, well-off and with a loving wife. All this is threatened when Mrs Cheveley appears in London with damning evidence of a past misdeed. Sir Robert turns for help to his friend Lord Goring, an apparently idle philanderer and the despair of his father. Goring knows the lady of old, and, for him, takes the whole thing pretty seriously. Cast & Characters: Mabel Chiltern: Susan Hampshire The Earl of Caversham, KG: Charles Carson Viscount Goring, his son:Jeremy Brett Sir Robert Chiltern, Bt, Under-secretary for Foreign Affairs: Keith Michell Vicomte de Nanjac: Michel Faure Mason, butler to Sir Robert: Raymond Graham Phipps, Lord Goring's servant: Erik Chitty Lady Chiltern: Dinah Sheridan Lady Markby: Zena Dare The Countess of Basildon: Magda Miller Mrs Marchmont: Penelope Lee Miss Mabel Chiltern, Sir Robert's sister: Susan Hampshire Mrs Cheveley: Margaret Leighton

A 1979 BBC television play by Ian Curteis. Produced by Cedric Messina and Directed by Michael Darlow. It stars Michael Gough as Sir Anthony Eden, Robert Stephens as President Nasser, Richard Vernon and Wensley Pithey among others. In 1956, the British Prime Minister Anthony Eden grapples with the Suez Crisis, which brings an end to his political career.

The Apple Cart: A Political Extravaganza is a 1928 play by George Bernard Shaw. It is a satirical comedy about several political philosophies which are expounded by the characters, often in lengthy monologues. The plot follows the fictional English King Magnus as he spars with, and ultimately outwits, Prime Minister Proteus and his cabinet, who seek to strip the monarchy of its remaining political influence. Magnus opposes the corporation "Breakages, Limited", which controls politicians and impedes technical progress. The Apple Cart was presented as part of the BBC Television's Play of the Month series in 1975. Produced by Alan Shallcross, directed by Cedric Messina, starring; Nigel Davenport, Helen Mirren, Peter Barkworth, Prunella Scales, Bill Fraser, Trevor Baxter, Beryl Reid, Reg Pritchard, Simon Lack.

A 1977 BBC adaptation play written by Bernard Shaw, directed by Cedric Messina, starring John Gielgud as Shotover, Barbara Murray as Ariadne and Siân Phillips as Hesione. Click on CC for English subtitles. "Heartbreak House: A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes" is a play written by Bernard Shaw during the First World War, published in 1919 and first performed in November 1920 at the Garrick Theatre, New York, followed by a West End production the following year. The play reflects Shaw's disillusion with post-war Britain. It contrasts cultured but self-absorbed and politically irresponsible people on the one hand and aggressive philistines on the other. Heartbreak House contains a self-mocking depiction of Shaw himself in the central character, Captain Shotover. On the eve of World War I, Ellie Dunn, her father, and her fiancé are invited to one of Hesione Hushabye's infamous dinner parties. Unfortunately, her fiancé is a scoundrel, her father's a bumbling prig, and she's actually in love with Hector, Hesione's husband. This bold mix of farce and tragedy lampoons British society as it blithely sinks toward disaster. Cast & Characters: Captain Shotover: John Gielgud Hesione Hushabye: Sian Phillips Lady Utterword: Barbara Murray Hector Hushabye: Daniel Massey Ellie Dunn: Lesley-Anne Down Mangan: David Waller Randall Utterword: Donald Pickering Mazzini Dunn: Richard Pearson Burglar: Barry Jackson Nurse Guinness: Joyce Grant

A 1972 BBC adaptation of George Bernard Shaw play, produced by Cedric Messina and directed by William Slater. Starring Dame Maggie Smith as Epifania, with Peter Barkworth, James Villiers, Tom Baker. Epifania is the richest woman in England. She's also strong-willed, highly intelligent, fiercely determined and an expert at Judo, which makes her hard to live with. She's also married, but her husband is now in love with another woman. She's also seeing another man socially, but he seems to be more interested in his food than her. Will or can this poor little rich girl ever find true happiness? A chance meeting with an Egyptian doctor may prove interesting... Cast & Characters: Epifania: Maggie Smith The Woman: Avril Angers The Doctor: Tom Baker Julius Sagamore: Peter Barkworth The Man: John Garrie Adrian Blenderbland: Charles Gray Patricia Smith: Priscilla Morgan The Manager: Donald Pickering Alastair Fitzfassenden: James Villiers

BBC Play of the Month, 1979, based on the novel "The Wings of the Dove" by Henry James. Click on CC for English subtitles. Kate Croy's mother was born to wealth and privilege, but she threw it all away to marry Kate's father, a penniless opium addict who admits to having stolen from his wife. After her mother's death, Kate is offered an opportunity to return to the life her mother gave up. There is a condition, however: Kate must sever all of her old ties, not only to her father, but also to her lover, the muck-raking journalist Merton Densher, whom she has promised marriage. Kate reluctantly agrees to this, and in the meantime becomes friendly with "the world's richest orphan," Millie Theale, an American making the Grand Tour. Desperate to see Kate, Merton crashes a party that she and Millie are attending, and Millie is attracted to him. When Kate learns that Millie is dying, she comes up with a plan to have her cake and eat it too... but all does not go as planned. Dramatised by: Denis Constanduros Costume Designer: Michael Burdle Lighting: John Summers Designer: David Spode Producer: Alan Shallcross Director: John Gorrie Cast & Characters: Maud Lowder: Elizabeth Spriggs Susan Stringham: Betsy Blair Merton Densher: John Castle Kate Croy: Suzanne Bertlsh Milly Theale: Lisa Eichhorn Lord Mark: Rupert Frazer Sir Luke Strett: Alan Rowe Eugenio: Gino Melvazzi