Sunday-Night Play

BBC anthology drama series that ran over four seasons and replaced the previous BBC Sunday Night Theatre series.

Episodes

Cast

A Walk in the Desert

1. A Walk in the Desert

25th Sep 1960

The Unplayed Part

2. The Unplayed Part

2nd Oct 1960

The Ruffians

3. The Ruffians

9th Oct 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: Man and Superman

4. Twentieth Century Theatre: Man and Superman

24th Jan 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: The White Guard

5. Twentieth Century Theatre: The White Guard

31st Jan 1960

It is November 1918 and the scene is the city of Kiev in the Ukraine, lately garrisoned by the German Army of Occupation but now threatened by the approach of a large well-equipped army of Cossacks. There's no ammunition and food is desperately short in the city. But still attempts are made to raise an army of citizens to repel the invaders. Describing the impact of the collapse of the Tsarist Empire on a family of officers, this play centres on Alexei Turbin, Colonel of the White Guard, responsible for defending Kiev, and on his beautiful sister Helena, deserted by her husband and in love with a young lieutenant, Leonid Schervinsky.

Twentieth Century Theatre: Our Betters

6. Twentieth Century Theatre: Our Betters

7th Feb 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: MacAdam and Eve

7. Twentieth Century Theatre: MacAdam and Eve

14th Feb 1960

Brian Rix Presents: Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?

8. Brian Rix Presents: Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?

21st Feb 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: The Conquering Hero

9. Twentieth Century Theatre: The Conquering Hero

28th Feb 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: Journey's End

10. Twentieth Century Theatre: Journey's End

6th Mar 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: The Fanatics

11. Twentieth Century Theatre: The Fanatics

13th Mar 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: Young Woodley

12. Twentieth Century Theatre: Young Woodley

20th Mar 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: I Have Been Here Before

13. Twentieth Century Theatre: I Have Been Here Before

27th Mar 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: The Price of Freedom

14. Twentieth Century Theatre: The Price of Freedom

3rd Apr 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: Glorious Morning

15. Twentieth Century Theatre: Glorious Morning

10th Apr 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: The Queen Came By

16. Twentieth Century Theatre: The Queen Came By

17th Apr 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: Love on the Dole

17. Twentieth Century Theatre: Love on the Dole

24th Apr 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: The Vortex

18. Twentieth Century Theatre: The Vortex

1st May 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: Judgment Day

19. Twentieth Century Theatre: Judgment Day

8th May 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: Aren't We All

20. Twentieth Century Theatre: Aren't We All

15th May 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: The Elder Statesman

21. Twentieth Century Theatre: The Elder Statesman

22nd May 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: The Assassin

22. Twentieth Century Theatre: The Assassin

29th May 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: Doctor in the House

23. Twentieth Century Theatre: Doctor in the House

5th Jun 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: Mr. Gillie

24. Twentieth Century Theatre: Mr. Gillie

12th Jun 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: The Insect Play

25. Twentieth Century Theatre: The Insect Play

19th Jun 1960

Twentieth Century Theatre: Musical Chairs

26. Twentieth Century Theatre: Musical Chairs

26th Jun 1960

Playhouse 90: A Town Has Turned to Dust

27. Playhouse 90: A Town Has Turned to Dust

3rd Jul 1960

Summer Theatre: June Evening

28. Summer Theatre: June Evening

10th Jul 1960

Summer Theatre: You're a Long Time Dead

29. Summer Theatre: You're a Long Time Dead

17th Jul 1960

Summer Theatre: My Flesh, My Blood

30. Summer Theatre: My Flesh, My Blood

24th Jul 1960

Summer Theatre: The Critical Point

31. Summer Theatre: The Critical Point

31st Jul 1960

Dr. Gage, involved in cryogenics, volunteers to be the first frozen man after murdering his wife. Dr. Mortimer discovers who killed his wife and ponders whether he should play judge and jury by switching Dr. Gage's freezing machine off?

Summer Theatre: A Dream of Treason

32. Summer Theatre: A Dream of Treason

7th Aug 1960

Lambert, a government official, is required to leak a secret document - which may have serious consequences.

Summer Theatre: The Devil's General

33. Summer Theatre: The Devil's General

14th Aug 1960

General Harras, a hero of the First World War, finds himself increasingly at odds with the new Germany of Adolf Hitler.

Summer Theatre: The Liberators

34. Summer Theatre: The Liberators

21st Aug 1960

Summer Theatre: The Small Victory

35. Summer Theatre: The Small Victory

28th Aug 1960

Summer Theatre: Death of a Guest

36. Summer Theatre: Death of a Guest

4th Sep 1960

Brian Rix Presents: Reluctant Heroes

37. Brian Rix Presents: Reluctant Heroes

11th Sep 1960

Summer Theatre: An English Summer

38. Summer Theatre: An English Summer

18th Sep 1960

A Walk in the Desert

39. A Walk in the Desert

25th Sep 1960

The Unplayed Part

40. The Unplayed Part

2nd Oct 1960

The Ruffians

41. The Ruffians

9th Oct 1960

Pay Day

42. Pay Day

16th Oct 1960

Affair of State

81. Affair of State

31st Dec 1961

Philip is much older than his wife, who is, he discovers, having an affair with his friend George. When he introduces George to a young woman, he has an ulterior motive.

The Barretts of Wimpole Street

82. The Barretts of Wimpole Street

24th Dec 1961

Elizabeth Barrett's tyrannical father has forbidden any of his family to marry. Nevertheless, Elizabeth falls in love with the poet Robert Browning.

The Judge and His Hangman

83. The Judge and His Hangman

17th Dec 1961

Inspector Barlach is ruthless in pursuit of an arrest, and doesn't seem to care if anyone else gets hurt along the way.

Centenary Year

84. Centenary Year

10th Dec 1961

Somewhere for the Night

85. Somewhere for the Night

3rd Dec 1961

She Stoops to Conquer

86. She Stoops to Conquer

26th Nov 1961

Hardcastle, a man of substance, looks forward to acquainting his daughter with his old pal's son with a view to marriage. But thanks to playboy Lumpkin, he's mistaken by his prospective son-in-law Marlow for an innkeeper, his daughter for the local barmaid. The good news is, while Marlow can barely speak to a woman of quality he's a charmer with those of a different stamp.

Cross of Iron

87. Cross of Iron

19th Nov 1961

Brian Rix Presents #14: Flat Spin

88. Brian Rix Presents #14: Flat Spin

12th Nov 1961

The Test

89. The Test

5th Nov 1961

Pressure mounts on a group of scientists as they urgently prepare to test a new top secret weapon.

Hello Ragtime

90. Hello Ragtime

29th Oct 1961

The Big Noise

91. The Big Noise

22nd Oct 1961

What Every Woman Knows

92. What Every Woman Knows

15th Oct 1961

Maggie Wylie isn't very beautiful. She isn't even very young any more. But fortunately there is more to Maggie than meets the eye.

Faraway Places

93. Faraway Places

8th Oct 1961

Kindly, mild mannered clerk Arthur Bruce dreams of traveling to distant lands and reads books about faraway places.

A Clean Kill

94. A Clean Kill

1st Oct 1961

The Hasty Heart

95. The Hasty Heart

17th Sep 1961

It's 1945, Burma, the day the war is over! For many this means they've survived and will be going home. But not for everyone. A Scottish soldier, Corporal Lachlan "Lachie" MacLachlan is the victim of a wound to the lower back on this day. He's moved to a M.A.S.H. unit and undergoes surgery. As time goes by he begins to recover and watches, in dismay as soldiers pack up and head for home.

Wet Fish

96. Wet Fish

3rd Sep 1961

The Winslow Boy

97. The Winslow Boy

20th Aug 1961

The Winslow family return from church to their house in South Kensington on a summer morning in 1912 not knowing how their lives will be altered by their son, Ronnie, who has been expelled from Naval College for stealing a five shilling postal order.

Brian Rix presents: Basinful of the Briny

98. Brian Rix presents: Basinful of the Briny

6th Aug 1961

That Lady

99. That Lady

9th Jul 1961

A Call on Kuprin: Part 1

100. A Call on Kuprin: Part 1

18th Jun 1961

After the manned satellite, the armed satellite. Kuprin, the Soviet scientist, is working on a warhead for the Chelovyek. But Laye-Parker, M.P., and Smith, a Lobby Correspondent at the House of Commons, remember him at Cambridge before the war as an Anglophile married to an English woman. Can they, by a personal approach, persuade him to return to this country?

A Call on Kuprin: Part 2

101. A Call on Kuprin: Part 2

25th Jun 1961

Laye-Parker, M.P., and Smith, a Lobby Correspondent, have reached Moscow in their search for Kuprin, a Soviet rocket expert whom they knew at Cambridge and whom they hope to persuade to return to England. Now Laye-Parker has been arrested by the M.V.D. on unspecified charges, and Smith, a reluctant partner in the enterprise, must carry on the search alone.

Home at Seven

102. Home at Seven

4th Jun 1961

Home at seven as usual after just another Monday at the office - or that is what Mr. Preston thought. But in fact it is Tuesday and he has no recollection of the past twenty-four hours. It soon becomes vital to fill this gap in his memory.

Brian Rix presents: Wolf's Clothing

103. Brian Rix presents: Wolf's Clothing

21st May 1961

Marriage Lines

104. Marriage Lines

14th May 1961

A comedy of marriage, set in the secure partnership of two mature and worldly people, examines what happens when an envious free-lance tries to rock the boat.

Scene of the Accident

105. Scene of the Accident

30th Apr 1961

When a prominent Q.C. is knocked down and killed by a car, the driver's Insurance Company is faced with paying out on a very substantial claim. Briefed to investigate possible grounds for disputing liability, Sam Holford unearths a delicate and intriguing situation.

Charley's Aunt

106. Charley's Aunt

16th Apr 1961

I'm Charley's Aunt from Brazil - where the nuts come from.

Brian Rix presents: A Fair Cop

107. Brian Rix presents: A Fair Cop

2nd Apr 1961

Fury in Petticoats

108. Fury in Petticoats

26th Mar 1961

It is 1837 and we are in the home of the Rev. William Dill, the vicar of a small parish in England. Life there is peaceful and leisurely until one day the vicar welcomes into his household a native girl brought from Tierra del Fuego by a Mr. Charles Darwin....

The Wrong Side of the Park

109. The Wrong Side of the Park

19th Mar 1961

Old Mick Mack

110. Old Mick Mack

12th Mar 1961

A Reason for Staying

111. A Reason for Staying

5th Mar 1961

A group of Eastern European emigres, now living in England, still hope that they will one day return to their home-land in authority. But one of them, a general, has a reason for staying.....

The Mather Story

112. The Mather Story

26th Feb 1961

A serious accusation by a famous artist about the work of another gives John Ramsay a chance to 'get something into the paper' and perhaps to keep his job on the Sunday Herald. But rapidly the story becomes a challenge-to his skill, and to his responsibility.

An Inspector Calls

113. An Inspector Calls

19th Feb 1961

Spring, 1912 - for the wealthy a time of good living, gaiety, and a belief in the unshakability of the status quo. Mr. and Mrs. Birling are celebrating the engagement of their daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft, heir to a title; it is the pinnacle of Mr. Birling's successful rise in society.....

The Intervener

114. The Intervener

12th Feb 1961

Jeremy Penlove is a London solicitor and a confirmed bachelor. His life is placid and uncomplicated until, one fine summer's day, a new client, Lily Forrester, walks into his office to turn his world upside down.

The Final Result

115. The Final Result

5th Feb 1961

John Horner's father, mother, and sister are waiting to hear the result of his degree examination. He is the only one who is not surprised: it is what he expected it to be. It is this result, and the action John takes as a consequence, which reveals, nakedly, the conflict within this family group.

A Kind of Strength

116. A Kind of Strength

29th Jan 1961

Two men, both trapped in the world of commerce, struggle for freedom. In facing the truth about themselves, the decisions they have to make need a rare kind of strength.

Off Centre

117. Off Centre

22nd Jan 1961

Joe Hunter is a scientist living two lives: one as he sees himself, and the other as the world, sees him. The story spans the years from 1917, when he was a young pilot in the Royal Flying Corps, to the present day - when the man and his ideas come into headlong collision.

A Woman Comes Home

118. A Woman Comes Home

15th Jan 1961

Home has many meanings; a refuge from strain, the start of 'growing up'; the source of compassion and understanding. When these are lost there is desolation, but if they are fought for, no matter with what human frailty, life may grow again out of a new wisdom.

Venus Brown

119. Venus Brown

8th Jan 1961

For Jack Brown, his wife Venus is a goddess in more than name. But she is not a goddess, she is a human being, and it is dangerous to worship human beings.

Nearer to Heaven

120. Nearer to Heaven

1st Jan 1961

The Chopping Block

121. The Chopping Block

23rd Oct 1960

Looking for Garrow

122. Looking for Garrow

30th Oct 1960

American business woman Clarissa comes to England seeking one J.S. Garrow - author of an alarmingly frank new novel. But it looks as though her teenage daughter has already found Garrow - and he is franker and more alarming than his book!

A Subject of Scandal and Concern

123. A Subject of Scandal and Concern

6th Nov 1960

In 1842, a rebel in Cheltenham and Gloucester imprisoned for his beliefs and for the right to express them.

The Wind and the Sun

124. The Wind and the Sun

13th Nov 1960

Ruth and Lewis Miller's marriage is almost at breaking point. The result upon their two children of the tension created by this situation is revealed in the play as an important question in modern life. The play is not regarded as suitable for viewing by children.

The Squeeze

125. The Squeeze

20th Nov 1960

Should Big Tom, a colliery face repairer, confronted by the onset of middle age, continue with his work at the risk of his life, or settle for something safer at the risk of his self-respect?

The Nightwalkers

126. The Nightwalkers

27th Nov 1960

A young British student wandering through France today becomes involved with remnants of a former French Resistance group.

The Assassins

127. The Assassins

4th Dec 1960

A quiet evening at home for a normal fairly prosperous middle-class family is suddenly disrupted by the arrival of two strangers - two men with a mission, fanatical and ruthless, prepared to kill if necessary; but these men are not criminals-they would be described by some as patriots.

The Song of a March Hare

128. The Song of a March Hare

11th Dec 1960

Crumble is convinced that he was born for success in business. All he needs is a chance to prove it, and this comes with an unexpected legacy.

A Time to Fight

129. A Time to Fight

18th Dec 1960

Housewife Ellen Manders had no reason to suspect that this evening was going to be any different from any other until her husband arrived home late with his shoes and brief-case covered in mud.

Tuppence in the Gods

130. Tuppence in the Gods

25th Dec 1960

First air date

25th Sep 1960

Last air date

15th Sep 1963

Status

Ended

Type

Scripted

Original language

en

Networks