Image: Norman Rossington as Jack Burnshaw and Ray Davies as Pete in 'The Long Distance Piano Player' by Alan Sharp.
A new season of television dramas under the banner Play for Today was launched on 15 October 1970. In effect it was a rebrand of The Wednesday Play, moved to Thursday night, but there was still a huge appetite for single dramas on the 成人快手. Introducing the new season in the Radio Times, Dennis Potter stated that "television is the true national theatre". Through the 1970s and early '80s Play for Today made a significant contribution to the canon of television drama.
The first play was The Long Distance Piano Player by Alan Sharp, starring musician Ray Davies (pictured above). Subsequent weeks included works by John Osborne, Ingmar Bergman and Potter. Over its lifetime Play for Today produced many classics ranging from Edna the Inebriate Woman, Licking Hitler and Blue Remembered Hills, to Spend, Spend, Spend, Bar Mitzvah Boy and Abigail’s Party. The strand also caused controversy with two plays – Scum and Brimstone and Treacle - that were banned for a time.
Play for Today ended in 1984 but many of the plays it featured have taken on a life of their own. Alan Bleasdale鈥檚 The Blackstuff became a series. Abigail鈥檚 Party was repeated in a whole evening of programmes in its honour. 成人快手 drama continues to commission original and ground breaking work, with The C-Word, The Missing and Happy Valley among recent successes.
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Katie Crosson, PhD researcher at The Centre for the History of Television Culture and Production, Royal Holloway College examines the phenomenon of Play for Today in collaboration with the BFI.
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A quick guide to Play for Today
The 成人快手 History quick guide to Play for Today.
October anniversaries
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Winston Churchill's first wartime broadcast
1 October 1939 -
Songs of Praise
1 October 1961 -
Live and Kicking
2 October 1993 -
Points of View
2 October 1961 -
The Trials of Life
3 October 1990 -
Pick of the Pops
4 October 1955 -
Monty Python's Flying Circus
5 October 1969 -
Poldark
5 October 1975 -
You and Yours
6 October 1970 -
Woman's Hour
7 October 1946 -
DIY SOS
7 October 1999 -
Later... with Jools Holland
8 October 1992 -
In Touch
8 October 1961 -
Make Yourself At 成人快手 - Programmes for Immigrants
10 October 1965 -
Grandstand
11 October 1958 -
Around the World in 80 Days
11 October 1989 -
On The Move
12 October 1975 -
First edition of Any Questions
12 October 1948 -
First edition of Omnibus
13 October 1967 -
Bombing of Broadcasting House
15 October 1940 -
Play For Today
15 October 1970 -
First televised Party Election Broadcast
15 October 1951 -
Birds of a Feather
16 October 1989 -
Blue Peter first broadcast
16 October 1958 -
The Magic Roundabout
18 October 1965 -
The formation of the 成人快手
18 October 1922 -
成人快手 Symphony Orchestra first broadcast
22 October 1930 -
Captain Pugwash
22 October 1957 -
Terry and June
24 October 1979 -
Launch of daytime television
27 October 1986 -
The Wednesday Play first broadcast
28 October 1964 -
First edition of Today
28 October 1957 -
Maida Vale opens
30 October 1934