Play of the Week (TV series)

Synopsis

The very first, Ten Minute Alibi, aired on 14 May 1956 from Associated-Rediffusion. The oldest surviving episode is There Was a Young Lady, which was performed live on 23 July 1956 and simultaneously recorded onto film. The first episode not transmitted live was Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck, also preserved on film. After that, only one play was ever broadcast live: Associated-Rediffusion's Search Party on 26 July 1960. Anglia's The Violent Years aired on its opening night, 27 October 1959, and is held at the University of East Anglia. Other notable productions include Look Back in Anger (Granada, 28 November 1956), Morning's at Seven (ATV, 21 August 1957), Death of a Salesman (Granada, 27 November 1957), The Importance of Being Earnest (Associated-Rediffusion, 26 March 1958), Playboy of the Western World (Granada, 26 November 1958), The Skin of Our Teeth (Granada, 17 March 1959, with Acts I and II existing), South (Granada, 24 November 1959, the earliest known drama with a gay storyline, available via the BFI), The Member of the Wedding (Granada, 16 February 1960), The House of Bernarda Alba (Associated-Rediffusion, 23 February 1960), The Birthday Party (Associated-Rediffusion, 22 March 1960), I Remember Mama (Associated-Rediffusion, 27 June 1961), The Lark (Granada, 28 August 1962), The Rose Tattoo (Granada, 13 January 1964), The Rules of the Game (15 February 1965, with Anthony Quayle, Peter Wyngarde, and Gwen Watford), and Come Back, Little Sheba (Anglia, 8 March 1965).