Play for Today — Series 1

01 The Long Distance Piano Player

Oct 15, 19701h 15m

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

02 The Right Prospectus

Oct 22, 19701h 15m

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

03 The Lie

Oct 29, 19701h 15m

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

04 Angels Are So Few

Nov 5, 19701h 15m

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

05 The Write-Off

Nov 12, 19701h 15m

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.

06 I Can't See My Little Willie

Nov 19, 19701h 15m

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

07 A Distant Thunder

Nov 26, 19701h 15m

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

08 Hearts and Flowers

Dec 3, 19701h 15m

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

09 Robin Redbreast

Dec 10, 19701h 15m

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

10 The Hallelujah Handshake

Dec 17, 19701h 15m

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

11 Alma Mater

Jan 7, 19711h 15m

A civil servant working abroad revisits his old school

12 Circle Line

Jan 14, 19711h 15m

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.

13 Hell's Angel

Jan 21, 19711h 15m

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

14 The Piano

Jan 28, 19711h 15m

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

15 Billy's Last Stand

Feb 4, 19711h 15m

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

16 The Rainbirds

Feb 11, 19711h 15m

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.

17 Reddick

Feb 18, 19711h 15m

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

18 The Foxtrot

Apr 29, 19711h 15m

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

19 When the Bough Breaks

May 6, 19711h 15m

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

20 Orkney

May 13, 19711h 15m

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

21 The Rank and File

May 20, 19711h 15m

The story of the Pilkington glass workers strike of 1970

22 The Man in the Sidecar

May 27, 19711h 15m

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

23 Everybody Say Cheese

Jun 3, 19711h 15m

The story of a disintegrating marriage told through family photos

24 The Cellar and the Almond Tree

Jun 10, 1971