The Wednesday Play

1h 15min

Drama

An anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.

Episodes

Cast

Catch As Catch Can

1. Catch As Catch Can

1h 15min

30th Sep 1964

Based on the play "La foire d'empoigne" by Jean Anouilh.

A Crack in the Ice

2. A Crack in the Ice

1h 15min

28th Oct 1964

A soldier named Postnikov rescues a drowning man.

In Camera

3. In Camera

1h 25min

4th Nov 1964

Three people find themselves sharing a room with no way out. As they talk, the nature of the room and how they came to be there is gradually revealed.

Pale Horse, Pale Rider

4. Pale Horse, Pale Rider

1h 25min

11th Nov 1964

A young woman's dreams of death but The Pale Rider fills her dreams along with her lover.

The Big Breaker

5. The Big Breaker

1h 30min

18th Nov 1964

A lodger, recuperating from a heart attack, sets his sights on his landlady.

Mr. Douglas

6. Mr. Douglas

1h 10min

25th Nov 1964

Coronation Day, 1761: A merchant entertains a guest with an extraordinary secret.

Malatesta

7. Malatesta

1h 35min

2nd Dec 1964

Sigismondo Malatesta is a condottiere, a mercenary for hire and patron of the arts.

The July Plot

8. The July Plot

1h 35min

9th Dec 1964

Dramatisation of the failed plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in July 1944 by a conspiracy of high-ranking German Army officers.

First Love

9. First Love

1h 25min

16th Dec 1964

A study of a boy's passion for an older girl as he discovers the difference between infatuation and true love.

Tap on the Shoulder

10. Tap on the Shoulder

1h 15min

6th Jan 1965

Archibald Cooper is a London gangster who is living the life of a country squire while running a criminal empire. He learns that he's getting a knighthood so invites some old associates to country house unaware they are planning a robbery.

Sir Jocelyn, the Minister Would Like a Word...

11. Sir Jocelyn, the Minister Would Like a Word...

1h 15min

13th Jan 1965

A group of politicians and university dons argue over whether a new university should have a chapel or a state-of-the-art lecture hall.

The Navigators

12. The Navigators

1h 15min

20th Jan 1965

A tale of romance between two working class navvies.

Fable

13. Fable

1h 15min

27th Jan 1965

In a parallel totalitarian Great Britain, those in authority are Black people, and white people are their social underdogs — a reversal of the situation in then-contemporary apartheid South Africa.

Dan, Dan the Charity Man

14. Dan, Dan the Charity Man

1h 15min

3rd Feb 1965

Dan Sankey, the charity knocker, has become a national celebrity but who is the man behind the image?

Ashes to Ashes

15. Ashes to Ashes

1h 15min

10th Feb 1965

Barbara is an assertive, clever, liberated woman, her own boss. Who'd think she could be swept off her feet by a handsome stranger for whom she'd give up her career, London, everything? Especially as her new husband maybe wants to kill her.

Wear a Very Big Hat

16. Wear a Very Big Hat

1h 15min

17th Feb 1965

A young couple celebrate their wedding anniversary with a night on the town.

The Confidence Course

17. The Confidence Course

1h 1min

24th Feb 1965

A trio of swindlers advertise a self-assertiveness seminar, lure a dozen victims to a hotel and attempt to persuade them to enroll in their course. However, a man claiming to be 18th century critic-essayist William Hazlitt attacks the consumerist values outlined by the motivational speaker.

Campaign for One

18. Campaign for One

1h 15min

3rd Mar 1965

Astronaut Osborne is stuck in a malfunctioning capsule. As he goes round and round the Earth, he starts telling jokes and secrets. When the time comes to bring him down to Earth, he can't face it as he feels like a sexual failure.

Horror of Darkness

19. Horror of Darkness

1h 10min

10th Mar 1965

Peter and Cathy are initially delighted to see their charismatic, subtly domineering friend Robin. But he outstays his welcome, and that's to say the least of it.

A Little Temptation

20. A Little Temptation

1h 15min

17th Mar 1965

Moving On

21. Moving On

1h 15min

24th Mar 1965

Cat's Cradle

22. Cat's Cradle

1h 15min

31st Mar 1965

Three Clear Sundays

23. Three Clear Sundays

1h 15min

7th Apr 1965

The Interior Decorator

24. The Interior Decorator

1h 15min

14th Apr 1965

Auto-Stop

25. Auto-Stop

1h 15min

21st Apr 1965

The Good Shoe Maker and the Poor Fish Peddler

26. The Good Shoe Maker and the Poor Fish Peddler

1h 15min

28th Apr 1965

Cemented with Love

27. Cemented with Love

1h 15min

5th May 1965

A Knight in Tarnished Armour

28. A Knight in Tarnished Armour

1h 15min

12th May 1965

For the West

29. For the West

1h 15min

26th May 1965

And Did Those Feet?

30. And Did Those Feet?

1h 15min

2nd Jun 1965

The Man Without Papers

31. The Man Without Papers

1h 15min

9th Jun 1965

The Pistol

32. The Pistol

1h 15min

16th Jun 1965

Women in Crisis: With Love and Tears

33. Women in Crisis: With Love and Tears

1h 15min

23rd Jun 1965

The Seven O'Clock Crunch

34. The Seven O'Clock Crunch

1h 15min

30th Jun 1965

First air date

30th Sep 1964

Last air date

27th May 1970

Status

Ended

Type

Scripted

Original language

en

Networks