BBC Radio Plays on
BBC Radio 4 in 1981

BBC RADIO DRAMA ON RADIO 4 IN 1981

1st January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Sweet Logic by Bob Wilson
Vera gets on well with LIMBO the computer
Directed by Peter King
   Vera Dromgocilie: Victoria Plucknett
   Computer Mind: Tim Woodward
   J P R Talbot: William Fox
   Mother: Elizabeth Morgan
   Neville Snape: Christopher Scott
   Alec Fitch: John Church
   Computer machine: John Livesey
   Receptionist: Jane Knowles


2nd January 1981
12.27-12.55:
What Ho! Jeeves: Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse adapted by Richard Usborne
5 of 6: Black Eyes and Bloody Noses
Producer David Hatch
   Jeeves: Michael Hordern
   Bertie Wooster: Richard Briers
The first episode in this series was broadcast 3rd December 1980 and repeated 5th December 1981.
Episode 6 was broadcast on 7th and 9th January 1981.
The series was repeated commencing 5th July 1982.


2nd January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Hex by Gregory Evans based on M R. James's short story "Casting the Runes"
Is Gardini a charlatan?
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Montague: Conrad Phillips
   Rhodes: Peter Copley
   Laura: Carole Boyer
   Elspeth: Kim Hartman
   Gardini: Edward Atienza
Also with Tim Bannerman and Edward Atienza
[Also broadcast on R4X in 2014, 2016, 2019, 2022]


3rd January 1981
14.30:
Middlemarch by George Elliot dramatised by Hallam Tennyson.
Part 12 of 12.
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
The first episode was broadcast 18th October 1980.
This episode was repeated 6th January 1981.


3rd January 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Ice by Max Williams
A girl dies at a factory.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Jack Forbes: Charles Foster
   Harry: Paul Copley
   Susan: Natasha Pyne
   Simpson: John Jardine
   Bradshaw: Peter Wheeler
   Doctor: Geoffrey Banks
   Whitehead: Brian Southwood
   Editor: Malcolm Hebden
   Mrs Barker: Judith Barker
   Molly: Sue Jenkins
Repeated 5th January 1981


4th January 1981
14.30
How Many Miles to Babylon? (1974) by Jennifer Johnston. adapted by Denys Hawthorne
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
   Alec a young man: Robert Powell
   Alec a child: Susan Sheridan
   Padre/Patron: Denys Hawthorne
   Cave: Allan McClelland
   Alicia Moore: June Tobin
   Mr Moore: John Welsh
   Jerry a child: Elizabeth Lindsay
   Jerry a young man: Jim Norton
   Major Glendinning: Haydn Jones
   Bennett: Nigel Anthony
   Sgt Barry: Harry Towb
   Major: Jonathan Scott
   O'Keefe: Sean Barrett
Repeated from 3rd December 1979
Winner 1980 Pye Award (Best Adaptation)


5th January 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: Matilda's England by William Trevor
South West England, 1930's/1940's.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Matilda: Anna Calder-Marshall
   Mrs Ashburton: Celia Johnson
   Dick: Christopher Scott
   Betty: Jenny McCracken
   Mrs Tyzack: Rhoda Lewis
   Miss Pritchard: Patricia Gibson
   Mr Tyzack/Mr Gregary: Robert Brown
   Joe/Ralphie: Christian Rodska
   Mrs Frye: June Marlow
   Frye: Phillip Manikum
   The Rev Throataway/Madden: Bill Wallis
   Belle: Margaret Barrass
   Colin/Hasenfus: Graham Faulkner
   Mrs Gregary: Judy Franklin
[The radio play is set in Dorset- the 1979 TV production was set in Somerset, and had the same actors playing Matilda and Mrs Ashburton as the radio play.]


6th January 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Scrap-Heap by Alec Baron (1913-1991)
When money is required, selling some old possessons has its appeal.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
   Tom: George A Cooper
   Doris: Paula Tilbrook
   Jean: Pamela Power
   Marsden: Anthony Benson
   Auctioneer: Bob Hoskins
   Auctioneer at Christies: Simon Molloy


6th January 1981
22.30-23.00:
Earthsearch by James Follett (1939-2021)
1 of 10: Planetfall
A generational exploration for a new planet.
Technical presentation for the series by Lloyd Silverthorne
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Sinclair: Christopher Scott
   Commander Telson: Sean Arnold
   Sharna: Amanda Murray
   Astra: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Darv: Haydn Wood
   Angel One: Sonia Fraser
   Angel Two: Gordon Reid
Additional actors in later parts:
   Custodian of the Past: Eve Karff
   Dren: John Webb
   Fagor: Sion Probert
   Forty One: John Church
   George: John McAndrew
   Helan: Juby Franklin
   Kroll: Michael Spice
   Lenart: Jane Knowles
   Old Man: Godfrey Kenton
   Segal: Stephen Garlick
   Sentinel: Alexander John
   Simon: David Bradshawe
   Tandor: Pauline Letts
   Thale: Graham Faulkner
   Thorden: John Bott
Parts 2 to 9 followed weekly, concluding on 10th March 1981.
This first series was repeated weekly commencing 6th September 1981.
{Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2008, 2009, 2010, and on R4X in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 3019, 2021.]
[Earthsearch II, also in ten parts, commenced on 25th April 1982]
[Earthsearch: Mindwarp, the prequel, was broadcast in three parts on BBC R7 in 2008 and 2009.]


7th January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Table Talk by Peter Johnson
A travelling salesman has problems.
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Bernard: Michael Johnson
   Muriel: Penny Brownjohn
   Mr Higson: James Grout
   Valerie: Amanda Murray
   Disc jockey: Haydn Wood
   Radio announcer: Daniel Day-Lewis


8th January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Minefield by Marian Campbell
Partnership options.
Directed by Roger Pine
BBC Birmingham
   Paul: Gareth Armstrong
   Maggie: Hedli Niklaus
   Elizabeth: Anne Jameson
   Doris: Ysanne Churchman
   Prim: Caroline Heywood


9th January 1981
15.02:
O Fiower of Scotland by Catherine Lucy Czerkawska
The play is about the reality of rape.
Directed by Marilyn Ireland (aka Imrie)
(First broadcast on Radio Scotland)
   Mary: Harriet Buchan
   Bob: Tony Roper
   Johnnie: Henry Stamper
   Claire: Ann Scott-Jones
   Desk Sergeant: Iain Agnew
   Det-Sgt: Tom Watson
   Police Surgeon: John Shedden
   Girl in pub/WPC: Jenny Baird
Repeated from 10th April 1980
[Winner of the 'best new radio play' in the 1980 Society of Authors, Pye Awards to Radio.]


10th January 1981
14.30:
The Apple Tree (1916) by John Galsworthy (1867-1933) dramatised by Jane Benson
A Londoner on holiday is attracted to a local Devon girl.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Frank: Jeremy Clyde
   Megan: Rosalind Ayres
   Stella: Emily Richard
   Robert: Geoffrey Beevers
   Mrs Narracombe: Jane Wenham
   Phil: Graham Seed
   Joe/Waiter: Andrew Branch
   Jim: Danny Schller
   Nick: Susan Sheridan
   Shop assistant/child: Alison Draper
Repeated from 31st December 1978 and 15th March 1979


10th January 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Captain of Heretics by Anthony Read (1935-2015)
16th-century: William Tyndale translated the Bible into English.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   William Tyndale: Charles Kay
   Poyntz: Clifford Rose
   Sir Thomas More: Hugh Dickson
   Margaret: Sheila Grant
   William Roy/Procurator: Cyril Shaps
   Ned: Stephen Garlic
   Tunstal: John Bott
   Monmouth: John Church
   Hebblethwaite/Vaughan: Gordon Reid
   Quentell/Phillips: Sean Arnold
   Frith: Anthony Hyde
   Miles Coverdale: Sion Probert
Repeated 12th January 1981, 30th April 1983 and 3rd October 1994


11th January 1981
14.30:
Afternoon Theatre: Choice by Peter Tegel
Czechoslovakia between March 1938 and March 1939. A love story.
Directed by Richard Wortley
   Irma Barz: Jennifer Piercey
   Frau Schneiderhahn: Mary Wimbush
   Martin Blau: Geoffrey Beevers
   Mirianka: Petra Davies
   Ulrike: Eve Karpf
   Hilgril/Dorothea: Jean Rogers
   Frau Blau: Katherine Parr
   Hermann Barz: Michael Harbour
   Frau Bay: Brenda Kaye
   Rolf: Philip Sully
   Officer: Fred Bryant
   Agent: John Gabriel
   Grett: Clio Tegel
Repeated from 9th and 15th October 1978
[Related to the play "The Liberation" set in 1945, broadcast on 12th January 1981]
[Peter Tegel as a boy fled Czechoslovakia (Sudetanland) to Britain.]

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12th January 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: The Liberation by Peter Tegel
Czechoslovakia in 1945.
Directed by Richard Wortley
   Anna Bayer: Brenda Kaye
   Rolf Bayer: Philip Sully
   First official: Simon Molloy
   Second official: David Fleeshman
   Blazena Klapka: Margery Mason
   Josel: Edward Kelsey
   Frieda Stengl: Diana Olsson
Repeated 18th January 1981
[The play is linked to "Choice" broadcast on 11th January 1981.}


13th January 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: You Sniffed by Peter Silcock
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham
   Julia: Heather Bell
   Charles: Andrew Sachs


13th January 1981
15.02:
The Hunting Party(1884) by Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) translated and dramatised by Arnold Hinchliffe, adapted by Matthew Walters
Chekhov unmasks a murderer.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
   Anton Chekhov: Michael Spice
   Sergei Zinoviev: Jim Norton
   Olga: Maureen O'Brien
   Count Alexei: Martin Jarvis
   Urbenin, his steward: Martin Friend
   Kuzma: Brian Haines
   Kaetan, a Pole: Philip Sully
   Zosia, his sister: Liza Flanagan
   Kalinin: Roger Hammon
   Nadezdha, his daughter: Tammy Ustinov
   The Doctor/Mishka: Peter Baldwin
   Semyon: Graham Faulkner
Repeated from 12th July 1979
[The Chekhov novel The Shooting Party is not the same]


14th January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: John Hates Mary by Owen Holder (1921-2016)
Directed by David Johnston
   Harold: John Rye
   Paula: Irene Sutcliffe
   Barney: Peter Dahlsen
   Diane: Eve Karpf
   Sam: Anton Phillips
   Laine: Haydn Wood
   Reed: Sion Probert


15th January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Bonkers by Anita Bronson
When a husband does not wish a visit from his wife's sister...
Directed by Shaun McLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Cinema manager: Trevor Martin
   Doctor: Anthony Falkingham
   Sylvia: June Barrie
   Ted: Geoffrey Beevers
   Kitty: Rosalind Adams
   Aeron: Peter Whitman
   the Professor: Peter Woodthorpe
Repeated from 18th May 1979


16th January 1981
15.02
Afternoon Theatre: Piracy by William Fox (1911-2008), inspired by Michael Arlen's (1895-1956) 1922 novel.
Young, rich, and little to do. Between the world wars.
Directed by John Tydeman
   Virginia: Maria Aitken
   Ivor Marlay: Gary Bond
   George Tarlyon: Jeremy Clyde
   Lois: Jane Knowles
   Hugo Cypress: John Rye
   Ann Chester: Jenny Lee
   Turner: John Livesey
Repeated 31st January 1982


17th January 1981
14.30-15.25
The Good Soldier Svejk (1921-unfinished) by Jaroslav Hasek (1883-1923) dramatised by Barry Campbell from the translation by Cecil Parrott
The Austro-Hungarian Empire during the First World War.
1 of 5: Svejk Intervenes in the Great War
Directed by Roger Pine
BBC Birmingham
   Svejk: Richard Griffiths
   Hasek: Denys Hawthorne
   Professor Esraymssik: Stephen Hancock
   Mrs Muller: Ysanne Churchman
   Mr Palivec: Jeffrey Segal
   Bretschneider: William Eedle
   Magistrate: Jack Holloway
   Inspector Bobik: Michael Kilgarriff
   Imprisoned official: Nigel Lambert
   Dr Grunstein: Geoffrey Matthews
   Medical expert: Alan Devereux
   Kovarik: Graham Padden
   Kotatko: Ralph Lawton
   Macuna: Peter Harlowe
   Dr Pavek: Simon Carter
   Pokorny: Bob Docherty
Additional actors in parts 2-5:
Alan Lake, Alexander Wilson, Anthony Benson, Ballard Berkeley, Bernard Horsfall, Caroline Heywood, Garard Green, Harold Kasket, Haydn Jones, Hedli Niklaus, Ian Hogg, John McAndrew, John Pullen, John Rowe, John Savident, Jonathan Elsom, Kathleen Helme, Maggie McCarthy, Malcolm Gerard, Michael Graham Cox, Michael N Harbour, Patricia Gallimore, Paul Webster, Peter Brookes, Peter Craze, Ray Llewelyn, Richard Derrington, Roger Hume, Stephen Thorne, Terry Coates, Terry Pearson, Tony McEwan, Trevor Harrison
Pt2:24/1/81 Pt3:31/1/81 Pt4:7/2/81 Pt5:14/2/81
[The original book was a collection of tales, intended to fill six volumes but the fourth volume was unfinished on the authors death and the set was completed by another author].


17th January 1981
Saturday-Night Theatre: The First Men in the Moon(1901) by H.G. Wells (1866-1946) dramatised by Terry James
July 1900: in a sphere heading for the moon....
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Bedford: Hywel Bennett
   Cavor: William Rushton
   Wendigee: David March
   Phi-oo: Paul Rosebury
   Grand Lunar: Stephen Garlick
   Spargus: Malcolm Gerard
   Quaid: David McAlister
   Two chaps on a beach: Haydn Wood and David Bradshawe
Repeated 19th January 1981


19th January 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: Remembrance by Derek Walcott (1930-2017)
A retired schoolteacher in Trinidad.
Directed by Penny Gold
   Interviewer: Ray Charleson
   Albert Perez Jordan: Norman Beaton
   Mabel: Carmen Munroe
   Frederick: Joe Marcell
   Mr Barley: Peter Banks
   Esther Hope: Liza Flanagan
   Anna: Anne-Marie Davies
   Mr Pilgrim: Frank Singuineau
Repeated 25th January 1981
[The author taught in schools in Trinidad 1953-1957]


20th January 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: There and Back by Joan Bakewell
Directed By: Pat Trueman
   Gloria Peters: Sarah Badel
   Mrs Hardy: Elizabeth Spriggs
Also with Judy Franklin, Sonia Fraser, Jenny Lee and Pauline Letts


21st January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Maintaining Standards by Peter Whalley (1946-2017)
A schoolmaster accused of assaulting one of his pupils.
Directed by Roger Pine
BBC Birmingham
   Baxter: Philip Lowrie
   Harry: Anthony Benson
   Louise: Shirley Stelfox
   Headmaster: Geoffrey Matthews
   Inspector: Alaric Cotter
   Maclean: Bob Docherty
   Mrs Knowsley: Patricia Gallimore
   Corona: Jonathan Owen
   Jackson: Trevor Harrison
[The author used to be a school teacher for ten years]


22nd January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Stranded by Neil Rhodes
Scotland: New Year's Eve.
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester
   Hiker: Alan Parnaby
   Singer: Fiona Walker


23rd January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Double Doors by A. S. Robertson
Alf arranges for improvements to the church- but who is going to pay?
Directed by Peter King
   Alf: Brian Glover
   Malcolm: Brian Pringle
   Derek: David Bradshawe
   Eugene: Brian Murray
   Ronnie: Stanley Page
   Tony: Christopher Godwin


24th January 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Stoker Leishman's Diaries by Peter Tinniswood (1936-2003)
After an ill fated South Pole expedition the stoker's family seek out his diaries.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Stoker Leishman: Robin Bailey
   Mrs Bentall: Shirley Dixon
   Dora: Barbara Marten
   Gordon: Christian Rodska
   Barbara: Liz Goulding
   Edgar: Martin Matthews
Repeated 26th January 1981
[Also broadcast on R4X in 2019 and 2022]


26th January 1981
11.05-11.50:
Excursion to an Emperor: A Portrait of Augustus Smith of Scilly (1804-72) by John Wilkie
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Narrator Christian Rodska
   Augustus Smith (1804-1872): Andrew Hilton
   W T Johns: Tim Bentinck
Also with Michael Spice, Paul Nicholson and Caroline Goodall
Contributions By Robert Dorrien-Smith, Mrs Christopher, Peter Clough, Roy Cooper, Frank Gibson, Roy Graham, Richard Jenkins and John Woosnam
Repeated 26th July 1981, 17th January 1982


26th January 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: Hard to Get by Marcella Evaristi
Directed for radio by Marilyn Ireland (aka Imrie)
BBC Scotland
   Jess: Maureen Beattie
   Luke: Peter Kelly
   Anna: Maggie Shevlin
   Jonathan: Peter Wight
Repeated 1st February 1981


27th January 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: A-levels and the Private Eye by Terence O'Brien
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Ambrose Bonnyweather: Paul Webster
   Beatrice Thompson: Penelope Lee
   Errol Billington: Russell Dixon
   Roy Jenkins: Cliff Howells
   Mrs Hanson: Meg Johnson
   Mr Hanson: Charles Foster
Repeated 29th December 1982

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28th January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: So Does the Nightingale by Shelagh Delaney
As Dad is dying, Mother plans her future.
Directed by Pat Trueman
   Alice: Linda Polan
   Amy: Barbara Laurenson
   Auntie Agnes: Margot Boyd
   Joe: Leonard Fenton
   Priest: Martyn Read


28th January 1981
19.45-20.45
Will Jones is Dead - Long Live Will Jackson by Tim Rose Price
After defeat at Worcester, King Charles II escapes across England.
Ballad sung by Terry Molloy
Technical presentation by Peter Belham
Directed by Alaric Cotter
BBC Birmingham
   Charles II: Francis Matthews
   Wilmot: Jack May
   Carlis: Ronald Herdman
   Huddlestone: Stephen Hancock
   Jane Lane: Shirley Dixon
   Wyndham: Roger Hume
   Juliana Coningsby: Patricia Gallimore
   Phillips: Terry Molloy
   Gounter: Michael N Harbour
[Binaural recording to listen to on headphones]



29th January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: For the Man Who Has Everything by Steve Fitzpatrick
Perpetual unemployment isn't an ambition.
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Jack Collins: David Timson
   Audrey Collins: Karen Archer
   Bill Taylor: George Baker
   Peter Williams: Lee Harington
   Marjorie Taylor: Shirley Dixon
   Jenny: Elizabeth Proud


30th January 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Moving by Patrice Chaplin
Two couples buy a house together
Directed By: Cherry Cookson
   Jean: Anna Massey
   Receptionist/Pupil: Eve Karff
   Connie: Rosalind Ayres
   Jonny: Sean Arnold
   Benjamin: David Collings
   Malcolm: Hugh Dickson
   Julian Starr: Malcolm Stoddard
   Mrs Leachman: Catherine Willmer
Repeated from 10th October 1980


31st January 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Samarkand by Timothy Kidd
The story of the author of a play who never saw it performed.
Directed by David Spenser
   James Elroy Flecker (1884-1915): Christopher Guard
   Dr Herman Flecker: John Moffatt
   Sarah Flecker: Freda Dowie
   T E Lawrence: Tim Woodward
   Frank Lavery: John Bull
   Jack Beazley: Gordon Dulieu
   Emma: Jenny Lee
   Helle: Karen Archer
   Cabbie: David Bradshawe
Repeated 2nd February 1981
["Hassan: The Story of Hassan of Baghdad and How he Came to Make the Golden Journey to Samarkand" is very widely quoted (and misquoted) from, although few know the work today. It was first performed in 1923]


2nd February 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: The Lift by Allan Berrie
A poets' and writers' apartment block in Moscow.
Directed by Richard Wortley
   Boris Brodski: David Buck
   Varia Makovsky: Morag Hood
   Ekaterina Denlsov: Sonia Fraser
   Ivan Leshenkov: Martyn Read
   Galina Leshenkov: Elizabeth Ryder
   Dmitri Surov: David Timson
   Tatka Surov: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Kornei Zhukovski: Michael Spice
   Sannikov: Peter Pacey
   Christian Popov: Steve Hodson
   Valentin Morozov: Anthony Hyde
   Vladimir Mayakovsky/Leopold Averbakh: Sean Barrett
   Cherkassov: Nick Brimble
   Voronsky: John Boit
   Maxim Gorki: Gordon Reid
   Lyuba: Amanda Murray
   Nikolai Bukharin: John Livesey
Repeated 8th February 1981


3rd February 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Housekeeper by Mike Parker.
The applicant for the position of housekeeper is a man.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Mary-Ann: Eva Haddon
   David: Christopher Scott
   Mrs Kelly: Irene Sutcliffe


4th February 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre:
This Line is Now Closed by Sheila Hodgson
A local radio phone in.
Directed by David Johnston
   Mary Schofield: Grizelda Hervey (1901-1980)
   Jonathan Geddes: Peter Wickham
   Dr Grace Dearing: Jennifer Watts
   Nicola Schofield: Eve Karpf
   Derek Skinner: Gregory de Polnay
   Sue Casson: Fleur Chandler
   Receptionist: Alison Draper
   Ethel: Brenda Kaye
   Doris: Jennifer Piercey
Repeated from 13th December 1978


5th February 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Noon Ghosts by Catherine Lucy Czerkawska
An exile is haunted by memories of his life before the Second World War.
Directed by Marilyn Ireland (aka M Imrie)
BBC Scotland
   Andrzej: Callum Mill
   Jan: Henry Stamper
   Young Andrzej: David Bannerman
   Ursula: Jill Fenner
   Anton: Sean Barratt
   Leech Woman/Mrs Kahul: Gwyneth Guthrie
   Mrs Laskowska: Diana Olsson


6th February 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Cradle Man by Andrew Tyrrell
One's lonely, two's company, three's a crowd
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Quinn: T. P. McKenna
   Anne: Maggie Shevlin
   Fadden: Frank Grimes
   Miss Walker: Sonia Fraser


7th February 1981
20.30
Saturday-Night Theatre: There'll Almost Be an England by Bruce Stewart.
The Foreign Secretary, decides to give a party
Director: David Spenser
   Maisie Coulthard: Elizabeth Bell
   Alex Hannibal: Robert Morris
   Waverly: John Rye
   Jasper Codd: John Hollis
   President Eremasi: Olu Jacobs
   Kamina Eremasi: Isabelle Lucas
   Wesley T Schumacher: Robert Beatty
   Blanche Schumacher: Jenny Lee
   Bluey Baxter: Bruce Stewart
   Archbishop Tostino: Anthony Newlands
   Nikolai Grigori: Malcolm Hayes
   Dr Freda Vinson: Jane Knowles
   Commentator: John Webb
   MP: Jonathan Scott
   Fr Ciccolini: Tim Bentinck
   Comrade Rostrova: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Repeated 9th February 1981


9th February 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: Brainwash by John Wainwright
He murdered three children.
Directed By: Alfred Bradley
   Chief Inspector Lyle: David Calder
   George Barker: Paul Webster
   Edwina Barker: Anne Rye
   Det Sgt Bell: Russell Dixon
   Station Sergeant Adams: James Tomlins
   Constable: John Jard
   Chief Insp: John Moore
Repeated 15th February 1981


11th February 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Admiral by Murray Shelmerdine
Directed By: Christopher Venning
   Ralph: John Rye
   Helen: Jenny Lee
   Paul: Nigel Nevinson
   Liza: Amanda Murray
   David: Michael Spice
   Susan: Amanda Orton,
[This is the sole entry in the BBC Programme database for Murray Shelmerdine]


12th February 1981
15.02
Afternoon Theatre: The Sport of Angels by Ken Whitmore
Directed By: Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
   Alistair: Frank Middlemass
   Jane: Jane Lowe
   Dawn Bembow: Miriam Margolyes
   Godfrey: Susan Sheridan
   Gladys: Kay Adshead
   Mablethorpe: David Sumner
   Prime Minister/ Newsreader: Peter Wheeler
   Col Bryant: Randal Herley
Repeated 6th October 1984


13th February 1981
15.02
Afternoon Theatre: Uncle's Dream (1859) by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881), translated by Ivy Litvinova, dramatised by Gerard McLarnon
Directed By: Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Marya Alexandrovna: Renee Asherson
   the Count: Arthur Howard
   the Narrator: Chris Harris
   Zena: Sally Baxter
   Mozglyakov: James Snell
   Nastasya: Amanda Redman
   Sofya: Pat Field
   Anna: Jean Waggoner
[Also produced in 1964 rptd 1966 by Dorothy Baker on R3]


14th February 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Last Viking by Donald Campbell
Based on the Orkneyinga Saga, the story of Sweyn.
Directed by Tom Kinninmont.
BBC Scotland
   Sweyn Asliefsson: Derek Anders
   Ragnhild Ogmundsdottlr: Eileen McCallum
   Ragna: Gwynneth Guthrie
   Asbjorn Grimsson: Jimmy Chisholm
   Margad Grimsson: Jimmy Yuill
   Hroald: Gerry Slevin
   Thorbjorn Klerk: Tony Roper
   Earl Rognvald: John Shedden
   Sven Hroaldsson: Benny Young
   Helga: Fiona Knowles
Repeated 16th February 1981
[Sweyn lived around 1115-1171]

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16th February 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: The Man Who Lived Among Eskimos by Frederick Bradnum (1920-2001)
Music arranged by Terence Allbright
Resistance or Terrorist...
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   Actors: Julian Glover, John Rowe, Elizabeth Proud, John Bott, Alan Dudley, Stephen Garlick, Jane Knowles, John Livesey, David McAlister, Irene Prador and Michael Spice
Repeated 22nd February 1981


17th February 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Spare Room by Bob Leng
A safe place to store stolen goods.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Billy: John McAndrew
   Tiny: Nigel Lambert
   Pop: Larry Noble
   Bertie: Barkley Johnson
Also with Chas Bryer and Barkley Johnson
[This is the only credit for Bob Leng in the BBC Programme Database]


18th February 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Comic's Interlude by Stewart Permutt,
Pianist Martin Goldstein
Directed By: Martin Jenkins
   Eddie Collins: George Cole
   Maisie Beamish: Diana Bishop
   Stage manager: Sion Probert
   Steven, his son: Michael Maloney
   Brian: John Webb
   Miller: Eva Stuart


19th February 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Night Stan Kenton Died by William Bankier
Piano: Tony Lee. Harmonica: Barry Pitch
Directed by Peter King
   David Kelly: Charles Keating
   Margo Nesbitt: Paola Dionisotti
   Clive: Alexander John
   Les: Christopher Godwin
   Steve: Kerry Shale
   Jenny/Doctor: Jenny Lee
   Harry: David Timson


20th February 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Landmarks (1979) by Nick Darke (1948-2005)
1935-1938, Cheshire: the replacement of the farm horse with tractors.
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester
   Alice: Kay Adshead
   Totty: David Ross
   Mrs Mayse: Kathleen Helme
   Wilf: Russell Dixon
   Priest: Jonathan Newth
[The author's father was a farmer]


21st February 1981
14.30:
Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Bronte (1818-1848) dramatised by William Ash
1 of 4:
Lockwood has rented Thrushcross Grange for the winter from Heathcliff. He stumbled across Wuthering Heights and its occupants while seeking refuge from a violent snow storm.
Technical presentation by Geoff Wilkinson, Maggie Richmond and Mark Seyler
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
   Lockwood: Gabriel Woolf
   Heathcliff: Derek Jacobi
   Heathcliff (aged 6): Jack Ravenscroft
   Heathcliff (aged 10): Mark Dance
   Hareton: Christian Rodska
   Catherine: Helen Worth
   Cathy: Fiona Walker
   Cathy (aged 6): Rachel Andrews
   Cathy (aged 10): Sarah Kinsley
   Nelly Dean: Shirley Dixon
   Nelly Dean (aged 9): Mei Ame Oldroyd
   Old Mr Earnshaw: Kenneth Alan Taylor
   Hindley: Brian Southwood
   Hindley (aged 14): Richard Clayforth
   Isabella Linton (aged 9): Anneliese Sissons
   Old Mr Linton: Frank Elliott
   Edgar Linton: David Timson
   Joseph: Fred Gaunt
Additional actors in later parts:
   Isabella: Sue Jenkins(2)
   Stable lad: Ken Binge(3)
   Hareton (aged 8): Barry Gaunt(3)
   Servant: Dinah Handley(3)
   Linton: Ian Masters(3)
Pt2:28/2/81 Pt3:7/3/81 Pt4:14/3/81
All episodes repeated after 3 days.


21st February 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: A Long Way Home by Mike Walker
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Mary Bryant (1765-?): Jane Knowles
   Will Bryant: Martyn Read
   Manny: Jean England
   Walter Pike: David McAlister
   Dr White: Roy Montague
   Major Ross: Michael Spice
   Governor da Groot: Wolf Kahler
   Capt Edwards: John Livesey
   Jock Butcher: Haydn Wood
   Sammy Isaacs: Nicholas Reding
   Serjeant: Sean Arnold
   Sophie: Diana Bishop
   Lt Cy: Vanessa Knox-Mawer
   Mother: Pauline Letts
   Cox: Russell Keith-Grant
   Judge: Alan Dudley
   Warder: Hugh Quarshie
Repeated 23rd February 1981


23rd February 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: The Woolworth Madonna by Elizabeth Troop
A journalist encourages an interest in classical music.
Directed by Richard Wortley
   Julie: Miriam Margolyes
   Terry Barnes: David Daker
   Edward Rayburn: John Rowe
   Irene: Rosalind Adams
   Miss Arundel: Polly March
   Headmaster/vet: Peter Tuddenham
   Edward's mother: Joan Matheson
   Major/Indian astrologer: Alan Dudley
   Carole: Judy Bennett
   Mrs Etherton: Diana Bishop
   Mrs Dawes: Jenny Lee
   Mrs Sale: Margaret Robertson
   Boudicca's mother: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Repeated 1st March 1981


24th February 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Can't Complain by Robert Davis
Directed by Richard Wortley
   Dolly: Katherine Parr
   Frances: Diana Bishop
   John: Gordon Reid
   Bill: Christopher Scott
   Jean: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Paul: John Rye
   Linda: Jane Knowles
   Jenny: Jean Rogers
   Marge: Sonia Fraser


25th February 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Trotlinen by Ted Walker (1934-2004)
1937, South coast.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   George: John Rowe
   Edie: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Gran: Sonia Fraser
   Andrew: Rosalind Adams
   Doctor: Peter Copley
   Labourer: Tim Bentinck
   Foreman: Roger Snowdon
[The title is a made up word].


26th February 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: An Occasional Day by Peter Tinniswood (1936-2003)
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Narrator: Christopher Benjamin
   Heather: Liz Goulding
   Larry: David Troughton
Repeated 26th January 1985


27th February 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Holding the Baby by Martin Staniforth
The plans for parenthood.
Directed by Penny Gold
   Kate: Amanda Murray
   Roy: Brian Carroll
   Kate's father: Bernard Brown
   Maura: Fleur Chandler
   Obstetrician: Patrick Barr
   Dr Greene: David Burke
   Roy's mother: Ysanne Churchman
   Staff Nurse: Sonia Fraser
   Nurse Bloxam: Felicity Hayes-McCoy
   Nurse Brown: Carmen Munro
   Nursing Sister: Judy Franklin
   Photographer: Martyn Read
Repeated 9th August 1983


28th February 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Essential Act by Stephen Fagan
Has Charles been kidnapped?
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Charles Downing: Tim Woodward
   Eddie: Tony Selby
   Sarah Maxwell: Heather Bell
   Sir Edward Downing: Patrick Barr
   Sir Michael: Cyril Shaps
   Payne: John Church
   Tutor: David Timson
   Kidnapper on phone: John Webb
   Maid: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Repeated 2nd March 1981


2nd March 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: Hedda Gabler (1891) by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) translated by Michael Meyer
Marriage isn't what she thought.
Directed by John Tydeman
   Hedda: Hannah Gordon
   George Tesman: Bill Paterson
   Judge Brack: Bill Simpson
   Eilert Loevborg: Peter Kelly
   Mrs Elvsted: Sandra Clark
   Juliana Tesman: Gudrun Ure
   Bertha: Molly Weir
Repeated on R3: 24th July 1983


3rd March 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Urn by Henry Livings (1929-1998)
An art gallery owner has instructed how his ashes are to be dealt with.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
   Robin: Bernard Cribblns
   Harold: Bob Grant
   Norma: June Barry
   Pam: Marcia Warren
   Betty: Jean Boht
   Geoff: Ronald Baddiley
Repeated from 1st April 1980


4th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Incredible Stan Mascott and the Siege of Rostov Cathedral by Tom Elliott (1937-2017)
Stan is seen at the station with his fishing gear, when he should have been at his lathe.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Clem: Laurence Kenny
   Dempsey: John Jardine
   Stan Mascott: Colin Edwynn
   Dave: Martin Oldfield
   Ron: Colin Meredith
   Walter: Keith Clifford
   Mr Perkins: George A. Cooper
   Mr Muswell: Randall Hurley
   Valnikov: Enn Reitel

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5th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Where Are You, Two-seven? by Jess Curtis
A lady cab driver?
Directed by Pat Trueman
   Jenny: Allson Steadman
   Peter: Sean Arnold
   Carol: Diana Bishop
   Harry: Brian Croucher
   Controller: Haydn Wood
   Mel: Michael Spice
   Derek: David McAlister
   Mike: John Webb
   Ron: Sion Probert
   Fiona: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Nine-two: John Rye
   Eight-four: Christopher Scott
Repeated 23rd September 1982


6th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Flowers by Carol Bruggen
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Molly: Judith Barker
   Ethel Annie: Paula Tilbrook
   Matthew: Judy Bennett
   PC Hetherington: Peter Wheeler
   Mrs Drew: Fiona Walker
   Henry Benn: Geoffrey Banks
   William Bland: John Jardine
   Sister: Sally Gibson


7th March 1981
20.30-22.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Journey Into Space: The Return from Mars by Charles Chilton
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Jet: John Pullen
   Lemmy: Morgan Anthony Hall
   Doc: Ed Bishop
   Mitch: Nigel Graham
   Cassia: Elizabeth Proud
   Pilot: Graham Faulkner
   Control: Sion Probert
   Supervisor: John Webb
   Nichols: Patrick Barr
   Videophone: John McAndrew
   Councillor: Stephen Garlick
   Wrist radio: David Bradshaw
   Sotteer: Christopher Scott
Repeated 9th March 1981
Also broadcast on BBC7/R4X 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017


8th March 1981
12.00-12.30
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien adapted by Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell.
The first of 26 episodes
Music composed and conducted by Stephen Oliver
Directors: Jane Morgan and Penny Leicester.
A large cast of 54 actors included Ian Holm, John le Mesurier, and Michael Hordern.
[A list of actors appears on the Wikipedia page for "The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)" ]
Weekly over 26 weeks, first broadcast on Sundays and repeated the following Wednesday. The series ran until Sunday 30th August 1981.
[Brian Sibley is the author of the LOTR Official Movie Guide]
Repeated as 13 x 1 hour parts in 1982 with some material added which had been cut from the 26 part broadcast due to time limitations]
[The radio scripts, with several plots and characters from the books removed for length were approved by Christopher Tolkien.]


8th March 1981
14.30:
Afternoon Theatre: Polyglots (1925) by William Gerhardie (1895-1977) adapted by Olivia Manning
A Englishman in the Far East.
Directed by Richard Wortley
   George: Geoffrey Beevers
   Sylvia: Madeline Smith
   Aunt Teresa: Mary Wimbush
   Emmanuel: James Thomason
   Berthe: Joan Matheson
   Major Beastly/Gustave: Stephen Thorne
   Head waiter/Dr Abelberg: Nigel Graham
   Sir Hugo/Uncle Lucy: Don Troedson
   Captain Negodyaev: William Eedle
   Madame Negodyaev: Jane Knowles
   Aunt Molly: Anne Rosenfeld
   Natasha: Annabelle Lanyon
   Hughie: Judy Bennett
Repeated from 21st and 27th March 1977


9th March 1981
19.50-21.20:
The Monday Play: Huasipungo (1934) by Jorge Icaza (1906-1978), translated by Mervyn Savill, adapted by Elizabeth Gowans
Ecuador, 1930s: A landowner takes more land to avoid ruin.
Music arranged and played by Malcolm Clarke of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop .
Directed by Margaret Etall
   Don Alfonso: Nigel Davenport
   Dona Blanca: Judy Franklin
   Uncle Julio: Cyril Shaps
   Priest: John Rye
   Policarpio: Martyn Read
   Andreas: Christopher Scott
   Cunshi: Jane Knowles
   Jacinto: Sean Arnold
   Juana: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Foreman and Cabascango: Edward Kelsey
   Engineer: Michael Spice
   Rosita: Ann Rosenfeld
   Mr Chapman: Douglas Lambert
   Soldiers: John Webb and David McAlister
   Indians: Ann Rosenfeld, Olwen Griffiths, John Webb, Stephen Garlick, John McAndrew, Sean Arnold
Repeated 15th March 1981


10th March 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: All for Jeremy by John Challen
A visit to the zoo and a family supper.
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Jeremy: Stephen Garlick
   Roger: Gordon Reid
   Angela: Judy Franklin
   Sue: Diana Bishop
   Trevor: John McAndrew


11th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Another Grey Day by Alistair Chisholm
His colleagues are unaware that it is his retirement day.
Directed by Graham Gauld
   Mr Grey: Cyril Shaps
   George: Jonathan Scott
   Peter: Robin Browne
   Managing Director: Noel Johnson
   Mrs Brown: Gladys Spencer
   Cashier: Susan Sloman
   Security man: R. S. Campbell


13th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Scarborough Morning by T. D. Webster
1914 Scarborough.
Directed by Roger Pine
BBC Birmingham
   Emily: Natasha Pyne
   Michael: Robert Harbour
   Edward: Geoffrey Matthews
   Marjorie: Pauline Letts
   Celia: Shirley Stelfox
   Arthur: Jonathan Owen
   Joan: Hedli Niklaus
   Mrs Bell: Peggy Ashby
   Jim: Hugh Ross
   Workmen: Ralph Lawton and Alan Devereux
Repeated 8th February 1983


14th March 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Stranger in the Dark by Robert Garrett
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Inspector Stranger: Tony Osoba
   Sgt Gregory: Sion Probert
   Harold/Cabrini: Cyril Shaps
   DC Rose: Jane Knowles
   Mr Ogden/Croupier: John Wheatley
   Chief Insp Morris: Alan Rowe
   DC Dick: Adrian Egan
   Dr Hamilton/Mr Smith: Leslie Heritage
   Artozoul/Joe: Tony McEwan
   Gaston: Robin Soans
   Jean: Judy Parkin
   Colin: Jill Lidstone
   Mrs Pine/Doris: Sonia Fraser
   Mr Pine/Assistant: Crawford Logan
   Helene/Barmaid: Jenny Lee
Repeated 16th March 1981


16th March 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: The Summer of the Bullshine Boys (1979) by Alexander Schouvaloff (1934-2012)
September 1957. An incident involving army cadets has to be investigated.
Directed by Margaret Etall
   Investigating Officer: John Rye
   Colonel Camp Commandant: Philip Voss
   Company Sergeant Major: Alan Dudley
   Captain Adam Cox MC: Brian Carroll
   Padre: Alexander John
   Adams/Stanton: Robin Kermode
   Brown: David Timson
   Burgess: John McAndrew
   Constantine: Christopher Scott
   D'Aubigny: John Webb
   Ffrench/Waiters: Graham Seed
   Glasscock: Graham Faulkner
   Harris: David McAlister
   Jenkins: Philip Rowlands
   Levinson: David Gooderson
   Masters: Stuart Blake
   Parradine: Haydn Wood
   Plessey-Combe: David Bradshawe
Repeated 22nd March 1981


17th March 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Never Give all the Heart by Judith Arthy
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Tom: David Goodland
   Jessica: Judith Arthy
   Mrs Venn: Patricia Gibson
   Gary: James Snell
   Paula: Kathryn Hurlbutt
[The title is from a short poem by W B Yeats]


18th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Essential Cecil by Elizabeth Kay
The computer that runs the home is making errors.
Radiophonic sound by Dick Mills of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Cecil: Peter Tuddenham
   Beth: Jennifer Piercey
   Felix: John Rye
   The Darzhendi: Cyril Shaps
   Tosh: David Timson
   Wabbi: Peter Baldwin
   HT: Margaret Robinson
   Sally: Krzysia Newman
   Desk girl: Kathryn Hurlbutt


19th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: A Smell of Carnations by Lester Powell
There is a sweet smell.
Directed by Shaun MacLouglin
BBC Bristol
   Fred: George Cole
   Teresa: Elizabeth Bell
   Roger: Sion Probert
   Dr Peddy: Patrick Barr
Repeated 26th November 1983

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20th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Poor Gentleman (1848) by Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883), translated by Ariadne Nicolaeff
Directed By: Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Kuzovkin: Frank Finlay
   Olga Petrovna: Morag Hood
   Pavel Nikolaich: Colin Baker
   Flegont Aleksandrych: Neil Stacy
   Ivan Kuzmich Tropachev: John Hartoch
[The play is also known as A Poor Gentleman, as translated by Constance Garnett]


21st March 1981
14.30-15.25
The House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton (1862-1937) dramatised by Eileen Cullen
1 of 5: 1905 New York
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Lily Bart: Carole Mowlam
   Lawrence Selden: Keith Alexander
   the Narrator: June Barrie
   Simon Rosedale: Alexander John
   Mrs Bertha Dorset: Anne-Marie Davies
   Judy Trenor: Roberta Hamond
   Mr Hudson Bart: Barry Dennen
   Mrs Hudson Bart: Jennie Lee
   Poleworth: Haydn Andrews
   Percy Gryce: April Johnson
Additional actors in later parts:
   Carry Fisher: Zhivila Roche
   Duchess: Pauline Letts
   George Dorset: Paul Maxwell
   Gerty Farish: Celia Bannerman
   Grace Stepney: Kate Lock
   Gus Trenor: John Church
   Gwen Van Osburgh: Jean Baird
   Jack Stepney: Stuart Milligan
   Lord Hubert: Anthony Hyde
   Mattie Gormer: Jayne Lloyd
   Miss Haines/Kathleen: Janene Possell
   Miss Kilroy/Neltie: Judith Morse
   Mr Wellington Bry: Graham Faulkner
   Mrs Haffen: Thomasine Heiner
   Mrs Peniston: Margot Lawrence
   Mrs Van Osburgh: Tucker McGuire
   Mrs Wellington Bry: Pat Field
   Ned Silverton: Graham Faulkner
   Van Allstyne: Barry Dennen
Pt2:28/3/81 Pt3:4/4/81 Pt4:11/4/81 Pt5:18/4/81
Each part was repeated after three days.


21st March 1981
20.30-21.58:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Winslow Boy (1946) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)
Let Right Be Done
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   Violet: Peggy Paige
   Ronnie Winslow: John McAndrew
   Grace Winslow: Pauline Letts
   Arthur Winslow: Michael Aidridge
   Catherine Winslow: Sarah Badel
   Dickie Winslow: Michael Maloney
   John Watherstone: David Timson
   Desmond Curry: Michael Spice
   Miss Barnes: Margaret Robertson
   Sir Robert Morton: Aubrey Woods
   First Lord of the Admiralty: Patrick Barr
   Mrs Beggs: Gladys Spencer
   Attorney General: Nicholas Courtney
   Herbert Ridgeley-Pearce: John Rye
Repeated 23rd March 1981 and 27th December 1986
[Also broadcast on R4X in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2021]
[Based upon an event that took place in 1906- although Rattigan quotes from Hansard and Court transcripts, he has amended dates and characters]


23rd March 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: Party Going (1939) by Henry Green (Henry Vincent Yorke 1905-1973) adapted by Neville Teller.
Victoria Station is fog-bound. The Railway Hotel provides shelter.
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Angela Crevy: Amanda Murray
   Robin Adams: Paul Herzberg
   Miss Fellowes: Renee Asherson
   Claire Hignam: Rosalind Shanks
   Robert Hignam: Martin Connor
   Evelyn Henderson: Penelope Lee
   The stranger: Sean Arnold
   Julia Wray: Selina Cadell
   Annabel: Frances Jeater
   Max Adey: David McAlister
   Edwards: Haydn Wood
   Alex Alexander: Geoffrey Bateman
   Thomson: Nick Brimble
   Station announcer/Porter: Graham Faulkner
   Driver/Porter: Alexander John
   Clerk/Driver: John Livesey
   Roberts: Alan Dibley
   Mr Wray/Floor waiter: John Forbes-Robertson
   Cloakroom attendant: Sonia Fraser
   Mr Ogilvle/Stationmaster/Doctor: David Graham
   Counter Assistant/Receptionist: Jane Knowles
   Counter Assistant/Room service: Vanessa Knox-Mawer
   Embassy Richard/Passer by: Rupert Everett
Repeated 29th March 1981


24th March 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Dead Image by John P. Rooney
Belfast.
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
   Billy: Michael McKnight
   William: Joe McPartland
   Samuel: Allan McClelland
   The man: Derek Halligan
Repeated 5th June 1982


25th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Flash Bang Wallop by Gwen Cherrell (1926-2019)
A wedding.
Directed by Margaret Etall
   Hilda Bentley: Jenny Lee
   Albert Bentley: Cyril Shaps
   Nigel Bentley: John Salthouse
   Josie Gamble: Judy Franklin
   Peter Gamble: Alexander John
   Gloria Gamble: Sue Wallace
   Freda Gamble: Maureen Beddoes
   Wayne: Philip Rowlands
   Cindy: Deborah Makepeace
   Mrs Mason: Pauline Letts
   Bertha: Judith Fellows
   Photographer/Olly: Sion Probert


26th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Fren by Ken Blakeson
The funeral of their friend is tomorrow.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Ron: Malcolm Hebden
   Jean: Rosalind Ayres
   Julia: Susan Tracy
   Josh: Martin Jarvis
   Frances: Carole Hayman
   Taxi driver: Charles Foster


27th March 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Men of Violence by Jan Needle
Who is responsible for violence?
Directed by Michael Bartlett
   Albert Winterbottom: Leslie Sands
   John Spragg: Eric Allan
   Polly: Amanda Murray
   Blaze: Kenneth Cranham
   Tom: Bill Monks
   Capt Clark: Norman Shelley
   Mrs Winterbottom: Betty Hardy
   Les: Kenneth Shanley
   Dave: John Vine
   Jim: Tim Bentinck
Repeated from 11th January 1979


28th March 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Dancing Faun by Paul Bryers
They meet when visiting a country church.
Directed By: Cherry Cookson
   Kate: Alison Steadman
   Stratton: Peter Howell
   Helen: Ann Firbank
   Steve: Paul Herzberg
   Dominic: David McAlister
   Prebble: Geoffrey Matthews
   Yvette Devreux: Pauline Letts
   Mr Langham: Cyril Shaps
   Janice: Jane Knowles
also with with John Webb and Alan Dudley
Repeated 30th March 1981


30th March 1981
18.30-19.00
A Murder of Quality (1962) by John le Carre (1931-2020), adapted by Rene Basilico
1 of 5
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
   George Smiley: George Cole
   Inspector Rigby: Norman Bowler
   Terence Fielding: Peter Jeffrey
   Miss Brimley/Mad Janie: Sheila Grant
   Felix D'Arcy: Richard Pearson
Also with Leonard Fenton and Stephen Garlick
Additional actors in later parts:
   Sergent Mundy: Robert Brown
   Miss D'Arcy: Diana King
   Miss Dawnay: Jenny Lee
   Stanley Rode: William Gaunt
   Simon Snow: Jon Glover
   Anne Snow: Jane Knowles
   Major Harriman/Samuel Glaston: David Ryall
   Police Sergeant: Peter Tuddenham
   Miss Truebody: Sheelah Wilcocks
   Mrs Harlow: Harriet Reynolds
   Brigadier Havelock: Anthony Sharp
Also with Sonia Fraser and Martyn Read
Pt2:6/4/81 Pt3:13/4/81 Pt4:20/4/81 Pt5:27/4/83
Each part repeated after two days.
[Also produced by David Geary in 1968]
[Also directed by Marc Beeby in 2009]
[The R4X broadcasts 2011-2016 were of the 2009 production]


30th March 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: The Old Jest (1979) by Jennifer Johnston dramatised by Denys Hawthorne
Dublin, 15 August 1920
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
   Nancy: Marcella O'Riordan
   Rankin: Christopher Scott
   Corporal: John Webb
   Mary: Pauline Delany
   Bridie: Mairin O'Sullivan
   Grandfather: John Welsh
   Harry: Bosco Hogan
   Maeve: Angela Harding
   The man: Norman Rodway
   Georgina: Margot Boyd
   Celia: Kathleen Helme
   Joe: Colm Meaney
Repeated 5th April 1981


1st April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Two Brothers by R. E. T. Lamb
Directed By: Shaun MacLoughlin.
BBC Bristol
   Jimmy: Steve Hodson
   Ben / Mac: Geoffrey Matthews
   "Nclian 1"(??): Meg Davies
   Shifter: Roger Snowdon


2nd April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: A Fair Exchange by Grant C. Eustace
Accident, suicide, or something more sinister?
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Scott Mortimer: Martin Jarvis
   Lt-Cdr Tony Waterman: Jonathan Kent
   Lt John Palmer: John Wheatley
   Ronnie MeLevy: Alexander John
   Fiona Campbell: Ciaran Madden
   Mrs Duncan: Eva Stuart
   Bruce Taggart: Frank Ellis
   Edward Cawton: Christopher Scoulah
   Sir Spencer Beamish: Richard Hurndall
   Beriosov: John Livesey
   Janet: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Young fisherman/Bateman: Graham Faulkner
   Semeonova: Mary Zuckerman
   Russian conductor: Peter Forest
Repeated 19th April 1983


3rd April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Harmony Weekend by Dave Simpson
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
   Sandra: Sylvia Brayshay
   Rupert: Enn Reitel
   Nita: Diana Flacks
   Barry: John Jardine
   Mary: Nina Holloway
   Vicky: Patricia Denys
   Lionel: Sean Barrett
   Don: Nigel Anthony

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4th April 1981
20.30::
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Rundle Gibbet by Peter Terson (1932-2021)
Read all about it!
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin.
BBC Bristol
   Francis: Haydn Jones
   Mrs Haydock: June Barrie
   Faker, the auctioneer: Christian Rodska
   Editor: Brian Haines
   Albert/Vicar: John Abineri
   Felix, the solicitor/Dr Parker: Rex Holdsworth
   Nurse/Nora: Rosalind Adams
   Vera: Christine Pollon
   Agnes: Angela Phillips
   Miss Bailey: Julia Hills
   Psychiatrist/Fred: Geoffrey Matthews
   Barrett/Cooper: Bruce Stewart
   Magistrate: William Fox
   Dentist/Bailiff: Andrew Hilton
   Ipomea: Daphne Heard
   Lord Vincent: Jack Watson
Repeated 6th April 1981


6th April 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: Welcome Sister Death by Wally K. Daly (1940-2020)
A play with music about the life of Francis of Assisi.
Music by Jim Parker
Counter-Tenor: David James; Baritone: David Timson, Bass: Alan Dudley, Harpist: Fiona Hibbert
Directed by Martin Jenkins
   Brother Illuminato: David Timson
   Bishop Guido: Peter Jeffrey
   Brother Elias: Donald Hewlett
   Pietro Bernadone: Manning Wilson
   Pica, his wife: Petra Davies
   Francis, his son: William Nighy
   Bernard: Chistopher Scott
   John Clair's brother: John Bull
   Giles/Rulano: John Webb
   Masseo: David McAlister
   Favorite Scifi: Patric Barr
   Clare, his daughter: Elizabeth Rider
   Doctor: Alan Dudley
   Bishop Ugolino: John Rye
Additional members of Choir: John McAndrew, Michael Spice
Repeated 21st April 1984


7th April 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Eyelids of Bodhidharma by Mavis Smith
Directed by David Johnston
   Martha: Petra Davies
   Arthur: Jack May
   Ajit: David March
   Olive: Diana Bishop
[One form of the myth is that tea bushes grew from The Eyelids of Bodhidharma]


8th April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Price Strike by Allen Saddler
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Charles Hart: Nicholas Courtney
   Horace Baker: David McAlister
   Erie: Alexander John
   Chris Bush: John Livesey
   Ernie Cave: Haydn Wood
   Harry Townsend: Basil Moss
   Poppy: Judy Franklin
   TV reporter: John McAndrew
   Jane: Margaret Robertson
   TV producer: John Webb
   TV interviewer: Christopher Scott
   Professor Barnstorm: Malcolm Hayes


9th April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Family by Robert Davis
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Alan Holmes: Geoffrey Matthews
   Brenda Holmes: Elizabeth Morgan
   Charlie: Haydn Wood
   Mike: David Bradshawe
   Lizzie: Jane Knowles
   Jane: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Jenny Lord: Jenny Lee
   Brannock: John Livesey


10th April 1981
15.02-16.05:
Afternoon Theatre: Separate Tables "No 7" (1954) by Terence Rattigan
The residents of the Beauregard Private Hotel, near Bournemouth
Directed by Pat Trueman
   Jean Stratton: Christine Absalom
   Charles Stratton: Anthony Smee
   Major Pollock: Nigel Stock
   Miss Meacham: Sonia Fraser
   Mr Fowler: Cyril Shaps
   Miss Cooper: Jenny Lee
   Mrs Railton-Bell: Margaret Courtenay
   Sibyl Railton-Bell: Joanna David
   Lady Matheson: Pauline Letts
   Mabel: Judy Franklin
   Doreen: Jane Knowles
Rattigan produced two different plays called "Separate Tables" with one set ten months after the other. Radio Times has not done well to indicate which play has been broadcast on some dates although the one hour running time indicates both plays were not broadcast together.. There appear to have been different productions in 1965 rptd 1970, then new productions in 2002 and again in 2022.


11th April 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Crises by Peter Whalley (1946-2017)
Ten years of marriage
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester
   Comedian: Peter Wheeler
   Roger: David Beames
   Jane: Joanna Wake
   Priest/Consultant/Man/Estate Agent: Roger Phillips
   Aunty May: Pamela Power
   Uncle George/Tannoy: Fred Gaunt
   Jill/Lynn: Sheridan Lesley Ball
   Desmond/Fred: Brian Southwood
   Drummer: Dave Hassell
Repeated 13th April 1981
[This is the sole credit in the BBC Programme Database for Sheridan Lesley Ball]


12th April 1981
14.30:
Afternoon Theatre: Wilaya 7 by John Kirkmorris
Algeria 1962
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Phillipe: Michael Jayston
   Nadia Destouches: Caroline Blakiston
   Colonel Ferre: Patrick Troughton
   General: John Bott
   Cecile: Jane Wenham
   Picot: David Daker
   Mohgrebi: Philip Voss
   Rossi: Michael Harbour
   Velin: Rod Beacham
   Francoise: Elizabeth Rider
   Zohra: Valerie Sarruf
   Selim/Announcer: John Church
   Jacques/Sentry/Operator: John Bull
   Fredric/Tannoy: Michael McStat
Repeated from 29th December 1979 and 28th January 1980


13th April 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: The Magician of Lublin (1960) by Isaac Singer (1811-1875) adapted by Arnold Yarrow
Mid 1880's Poland.
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Yashi Mazur: David Graham
   Pobyastia: Barry Dennen
   Esther: Sonia Fraser
   Magda: Fleur Chandler
   Zeitel: Ed Bishop
   Wolsky: Arnold Yarrow
   Frullia: Elizabeth Bell
   Hadina: Patience Tomlinson
   Yadwiga: Catherine Willmer
   Herman: John Rye
   Rytza: Pauline Letts
   Monkey/ Parrot/Crow: Olwen Griffiths
   First beadle/Patrolman: Nicholas Courtney
   Second beadle/Patrolman: Kevin Brennan
   Old man/Coachman: Kenneth McClellan
Repeated 19th April 1981


15th April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Passage of Time by Sheila Hodgson (1921-2001)
Directed by David Johnston
   Mrs Lloyd Evans: Mary Jones
   Miss Mountsey: Diana Bishop
   Anne Thomas: Edwina Wray
   Dai Thomas: Sion Probert
   Gwyneth Thomas: Elizabeth Morgan
   Morgan: Talfryn Thomas
   Griffiths: Richard Davies
   Policeman: David Bradshawe


16th April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: A Little Fault by Ray Jenkins (1935-2023)
Ten-year-old Chrissy wants a new bike.
Piano: Dennis Termer
Directed by Peter King
   Don: Alan Lake
   Liz: June Barry
   Sergeant Allen: Derek Newark
   Tom: Harold Goodwin
   Chrissy: Natalie Pennington
   Frank: Nicholas Courtney
   Maggie: Jane Knowles
   WPC Lambert: Christine Absalom
   Therapist: Christopher Godwin
   Inspector Wellesley: Malcolm Hayes
   Store manager: Norman Mitchell
Also with Polly Perkins


17th April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Old Herbaceous (1950) by Reginald Arkell (1881-1959) dramatised by Alfred Shaughnessy
Reminiscences of a retired gardener.
Directed by Roger Pine
BBC Birmingham
   Herbert Pinnegar: Roger Hume
Repeated 29th July 1981


18th April 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Deep Blue Sea (1952) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Hester Collyer: Isabel Dean
   Philip Welch: Richard Kay
   Mrs Elton: Judith Harts
   Ann Welch: Jane Knowles
   Mr Miller: Manning Wilson
   Sir William Collyer: John Rowe
   Freddie Page: Michael Byrne
   Jackie Jackson: Basil Moss
Repeated from 29th July 1972, and 18th May 1975
Repeated 8th June 1985
[Other productions:
1957 rptd 1958 Val Gielgud
1964 Light rptd 1966 Home -Normal Wright
2000 Mary Peate
2009 R3 by Nicolas Soames]


20th April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: French Without Tears (1936) by Terence Rattigan
Directed by: Norman Wright
   Diana Lake: Frances Jeater
   The Hon Alan Howard: John Rye
   Monsieur Vaingot: John Gabriel
   Jacqueline Maingot: Cecile Chevreau
   Kit Neilan: Kenneth Fortescue
   Lt-Cdr Rogers: Frederick Treves
   Kenneth Lake: Brian Hewlett
   Brian Curtis: Sean Barrett
   Marianne: Paulette Preney
[with an introductory comment recorded by the author at the time of the play's first transmission. ]
Repeated from 25th December 1973, 8th December 1974 and 17th February 1980
[Other productions:
1957 Martyn C Webster
1986 rptd 1989 and 1992 Gerry Jones]


21st April 1981
11.05:
Thirty Minute Theatre: Another Time. Another Place by Jessie Kesson (1916-1994)
Directed by Marilyn Ireland (aka M Imrie)
BBC Scotland
   Meg: Fiona Knowles
   Kirsty: Sheila Donald
   Jess: Gwyneth Guthrie
   Finlay: Billy Riddoch
   Luigi: Freddie Boardley
   Young woman: Phyllis Logan
   Husband: Paul Young
   Children: Vicki Masson and Dawn Massie
Repeated 25th October 1983


22nd April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Silvertrain Day by Dave Sheasby(1940-2010)
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester
   Peter: Nicholas Geake
   Jane: Clare Kinsale
   Jez: Frank Middlemass
   Pike: Derek Smith
   Hodkins: Colin Edwynn


23rd April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Man Who Wrote Shakespeare by Anton Gill
Who really wrote the works of Shakespeare.
Directed by Jan Cotterell
   Inspector: Peter Wickham
   Sergeant: Eric Allan
   Eugene Cole: Roy Kinnear
   Modtz: Peter Woodthorpe
   Philip Henslowe: Jonathan Scott
   Landlord: Rod Beacham
   Ostler: Alaric Cotter
   William Shakespeare: Henry Knowles
   Ben Jonson: Gregory de Polnay
   James Burbage: Anthony Newlands
[Radio Times listing said "first broadcast 1978". BUFVC lists the 1978 broadcast for 20/4/78 at 15.02. The British Library recording is from 1981.]

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24th April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: You and the Night and the Floormop by Chris Allen
All that glisters is not necessarily gold.
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Myra Stephens: Diana Bishop
   Joe Stephens: John Rye
   Lorraine Stephens: Patience Tomlinson
   Joyce Babbage: Claire Davenport
   Sandra: Pauline Letts
   Mr Woodrow: David Timson
   Leslie Evans: Cyril Shaps
   Brian Wilson: Christopher Scott
   Mr Wilson: Margaret Robertson
   Smith: C J Allen


25th April 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: A Change in the Advertised Programme by John Wilkie
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Trev: Cornelius Garrett
   Maggie: Angela Phillips
Repeated 28th April 1981


25th April 1981
20.30-21.58:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Chrysalids by John Wyndham dramatised by Barbara Clegg
Society will not tolerate any kind of mutation and ruthlessly destroys anything or anyone who deviates from the 'norm'.
Directed by Michael Bartlett
   David: Stephen Garlick
   Rosalind: Amanda Murray
   Petra: Judy Bennett
   Michael/Alan: Spencer Banks
   Katherine: Phillipa Ritchie
   Rachel: Jenny Lee
   Anne: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   David a child: Susan Sheridan
   Sophie a child: Elissa Derwent
   Mrs Wender/Sealander: Jennifer Piercey
   Mr Wender/Spiderman: Robin Browne
   Mary: Elizabeth Rider
   Father: Peter Baldwin
   Mother: Sonia Fraser
   Axel: Michael Spice
   Inspector: John Rye
   -Jacob: William Eedle
   Skinner: Martyn Read
   Sophie: Jane Knowles
[Also broadcast on R7 2008, 2010, and R4X 2011 ]
[Also broadcast in Canada by CBC in 1983 as 3 x 30m]
[There was also a production in 2 x 1 hour parts, by Nadia Molinari in 2012, with Henry Devas as Michael, also broadcast on R4X in 2014, 2016]


26th April 1981
14.30-16.00:
Afternoon Theatre: Kind Hearts and Coronets by Roy Horniman (1874-1930); Film screenplay by Robert Hamer and John Dighton, adapted by Gilbert Travers Thomas
Music composed and played by Terence Allbright
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   Louis Mazzini: Robert Powell
   Sibella: Elizabeth Bell
   Edith: Fiona Walker
   the Hangman: Timothy Bateson
Also with Patrick Barr, Diana Bishop, John Church, Sonia Fraser, Alexander John, Godfrey Kenton, Jenny Lee, John Livesey, David Mcalister, John Mcandrew, Sion Probert, Martyn Read, John Rye, John Webb, Haydn Wood.
Repeated from 25th December 1980
Repeated 28th May 1990
[Also produced 1965 rptd 1967, by David H Godfrey with Dennis Price as Louis]
[Also produced 1996 by Andy Jordan, with Harry Enfield , for BBC7 2007 rptd 2008, 2009, rptd R4X 2011, 2021]]
[BBC Radio made a sequel in 2012 "Like Father, Like Daughter" with Alistair McGowan]
[Original work was "Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal (1907)"]


26th April 1981
21.03:
Precious Bane (1924) by Mary Webb (1881-1927) dramatised by Michelene Wandor
Beginning in 1803
1 of 3: The Love Spinning
Traditional folk music sung and played by Sue Harris, John Kirkpatrick and Ann Weller
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham
   Pru: Miriam Margolyes
   Gideon: Terry Molloy
   Kester: Peter Davidson
   Mrs Sarn: Penelope Lee
   Mr Sarn: Haydn Jones
   Mrs Beguildy: Jill Meers
   Wizard Beguildy: Robert Vahey
   Jancis Beguildy: Elspeth Charlton
   Gideon (aged 7): Henry Milner
   Tiwy: Cecily Hobbs
   Sexton: Roger Snowdon
   Callard: John Rowe
   Dorabella: Patricia Gallimore
   Squire Camperdine: David Vann
   Felena: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Sukey: Deirdre Lee
   Moll: Hedli Niklaus
   Mrs Sexton: Carol Snape
Additional actors in later episodes:
   Mrs Grimble: Ysanne Churchman
   Grimble: Gordon Reid
   Huglet: Malcolm Gerard
   Miller's Tim: Peter O'Dwyer
   Apothecary: Stephen Hancock
   Grandfather Callard: Gordon Reid
   Sexton's Sammy: David Landberg
   Doctor: Denys Hawthorne
Pt2: 3/5/81 Pt3:10/5/81
Each episode repeated two days later
[Also produced in two parts in 2003 by Gaynor Macfarlane with Julia Ford as Prue]


27th April 1981
19.50:
The Monday Play: The Seagull by Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) translated by Elisaveta Fen
She loves the lake as a seagull does.
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Arkadina: Gwen Watford
   Nina: Petra Markham
   Trigorin: James Laurenson
   Konstantin: Michael Maloney
   Masha: Patience Tomlinson
   Dr Dorn: Richard Pearson
   Sorin: Cyril Shaps
   Polena: Jennifer Piercey
   Medviedenko: Sion Probert
   Shamrayev: Nicholas Courtney
   Yakov: Haydn Wood
Repeated on R3 14/7/83
[Some other productions....
1953 BBC Home, Val Gielgud and David H Godfrey
1960 BBC Home by Cedric Messina
1963 BBC Home Val Gielgud- different production to 1953.
1968 R3 by Charles Lefeaux rptd 1969, also on R4 1971, 1973
1987 R4 David Hitchinson
1997 R3 Cherry Cookson
2010 R3 Dominic Hill rptd 2014]


29th April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: A Lovesome Thing by Alan Melville (1910-1983)
A garden and the neighbours.
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Adam: Peter Baldwin
   Janet: Jennifer Piercey
   Mr B: Alan Melville
   Mrs B: Katherine Parr
   Tim: Stephen Garlick
   Face: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Also with Sion Probert, Martyn Read and Christopher Scott


30th April 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: A Good Loser by Alan McDonald
The confusions of old age.
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
   John: Nigel Stock
   Cambell/Coroner: Gordon Reid
   Kathy: Liza Ross
   Annie: Daphne Oxenford
   Dot: Kathleen Helme
   Douglas: Randal Herley


1st May 1981
15.02: Afternoon Theatre: The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner by Stewart Parker
War nostalgia.
Director: Robert Cooper
BBC Scotland/ BBC Northern Ireland
   Makotoi: John Le Mesurier
   Tokkotai: Ronald Baddiley
   Shushin: Graham Crowden
   Shimpu: Ronald Herdman
   Kamiwashi: Harry Towb
   Co-pilot: John Shedden
   Miss Tomishita: Maureen Beattie
First broadcast on Radio 3 on 16th December 1979, repeated 27th April 1980
Repeated R4 1st June 1985, 18th December 1988
Also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra 2012.
[Winner of the 1980 Giles Cooper Award and Prix Italia nomination]
[Also made into a tv play 1981]


2nd May 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Apart from That, He's a Nice Boy by Joan Lock
Directed by Margaret Windham
   Avril: Pauline Quirke
   Jude: Jane Carr
   Miss Wilcox: Amanda Murray
Repeated 5th May 1981


2nd May 1981
20.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Cause Celebre (1975) by Terence Rattigan
The songs 'Night brings me you' and 'Dark haired Marie' composed by Alma Rattenbury (pen-name Lozanne).
Pianist: Martin Goldstein.
Directed by Norman Wright
   Newsreader Alvar Lidell
   Alma Rattenbury: Diana Dors
   Mr Rattenbury: Haydn Jones
   Christopher Rattenbury: Peter Whitman
   George Alfred Wood: Robin Browne
   Mr Davenport: Peter Williams
   Mrs Davenport: Gwen Watford
   Davenport Junior: Gareth Johnson
   Judge: Carleton Hobbs
   Mr J D Casswell, KC: Noel Johnson
   Mr R. P. Croom-Johnson,KC: Peter Pratt
   Montagu: Michael Deacon
   Harvey: Garard Green
   Irene Riggs: Katherine Parr
   Joan, wardress: Betty Baskomb
   Miss Wilkinson: Polly Murch
   Miss Johnson: Cecile Chevreau
   Street girl: Frances Jeater
Also with Rosalind Adams, Madi Hedd, Deborah Paige, Michael Burlington, Alan Dudley, Trader Faulkner, Denis McCarthy, Clifford Norgate, Hector Ross, Robert Harris, and Anthony Smee
First broadcast 27th October 1975 and repeated 2nd January 1978
[Also produced in 2011 by Thea Sharrock]
[Based on the Rattenbury murder case of 1935]


3rd May 1981
14.30:
Afternoon Theatre: Cirrhosis Park by Frederick Bradnum
Directed By: Jane Morgan
   Peter Hardinge: Alfred Burke
   Joe Bradgate: Robert Lang
   Dixon: Adrian Egan
   Marjorie Hardinge: Sylvia Syms
   Oliver: William Relton
   Sarah: Josie Kidd
   Lucy: Tammy Ustinov
   Henrietta Wiedmeyer: Caroline Mortimer
   Bateman: Philip Fox
   Cripps: Brian Carroll
   Dolly: Liza Flanagan
Repeated from 6th and 12th August 1979



3rd May 1981
18.15-18.45
The Buckingham Palace Connection (1978) by Ted Willis (1914-1992)
Music arranged and played by: Richard Holmes
Balalaika player: Roberto Campadelli
Russia: 1918
1 of 5: An Interview with the King
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Lord Tremayne: Maurice Denham
   Captain Tremayne: Jeremy Clyde
   Maria Astakhov: Miriam Margolyes
   Major Story: Bob Sherman
   Colonel Kasakor: Sean Barrett
   George V: Michael Aldridge
   Lydia Elman: Elizabeth Seal
   Scmyonov: Michael Spice
   Dukhonin: David Timson
   Klaus: John Rye
   Admiral Knight: Murray Kash
   High Commissioner: Alan Dudley
   Samarin: James Windsor
   Giomeko: Cyril Shaps
   Mogilov: Nicholas Courtney
Additional actors in later parts:
Christine Absalom, David McAlister, Diana Bishop, Elizabeth Proud, Haydn Wood, Jane Knowles, John Livesey, John Webb, Joyce Carey,
Liza Hayden, Malcolm Hayes, Pauline Letts, Spencer Banks, William Booker
Pt2:10/5/81 Pt3:17/5/81 Pt4:24/5/81 Pt5:31/5/81
All parts repeated after 3 days


4th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: In Praise of Love (1973) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)
Lydia knows she is dying....
Directed by Peter King
   Sebastian Cruttwell: Anthony Quayle
   Lydia Cruttwell: Muriel Pavlow
   Mark Walters: Robert Beatty
   Joey Cruttwell: John Bull
   TV announcer: Brian Carroll
   TV actors: Godfrey Kenton and Danny Schiller
Repeated from 19th April 1980
Repeated 28th May 1984 and 30th December 1986
[Also produced by Celia de Wolff in 2011 with Martin Jarvis as Sebastian]

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4th May 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: On Balance by Hallam Tennyson (1920-2005)
A Thanksgiving Service for his life is to be held in Westminster Abbey. His widow will not be attending.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
   Lady Ward: Celia Johnson
   Alice, her daughter: Diana Ricardo
   Dean Wynn Williams: Gerald James
   Kafardene Brown: Annette Crosbie
   Terry Pollock: John Rye
Repeated 10th May 1981


6th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Peewit by Georgina Reid
A servant and Thomas Carlyle
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Thomas Carlyle: Bill Paterson
   Sarah: Rosalind Adams
   Jane Carlyle: Jennifer Piercey
   Mrs Welsh: Eva Stuart
   John Stuart Mill: John Webb
Repeated 12th January 1983


7th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Second Sight by R. D. Wingfield (1928-2007)
Det-Insp Ford is called in to investigate a robbery at Lord Crombie's mansion
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Det-Insp Ford: Michael Burlington
   Marlow: Lee Harrington
   Police Supt Skinner: John Forbes Robertson
   Police Sergeant Jarvis: Malcolm Hayes
   Det-Sgt Clark: Sam Dastor
   Lord Crombie: Nicholas Courtney
   Ann Raven: Jenny Lee
   Sammy Ladbury: Sion Probert
(1981 list says this was first broadcast in 1979- but not listed on BBC Genome for 1979)
Repeated 10th March 1983


8th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: In the Absence of Loving by Ray Brown
A social worker becomes depressed.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Sandra: Sue Jenkins
   Mary: Linda Gardner
   Patrick: John Shrapnel
   Dave: Ian Sharrock
   Giblets: John Branwell
   Des: David Fleeshman
   

9th May 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Angel, Islington by Jo Gill
She went to feed the meter in the cupboard under the stairs.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Maisie: Sally Gibson
   Len: Brian Southwood
   Angel: Peter Wheeler
   Brenda: Sue Jenkins
   Doctor: Geoffrey Banks
Repeated 12th May 1981


9th May 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Treadgold Conspiracy by Malcolm Stewart
A private investigator is consulted on protecting antique furniture.
Director: Margaret Etall
   Galloway Hatch: Nicholas Courtney
   Lady Constance Treadgold: Margaretta Scott
   Olga: Norma Ronald
   Sir Daryl Ford: John Bennett
   Walter Crowley Snell: James Thomason
   Principal: Don Fellows
   Lionel Elder: John Livesey
   Inspector: Alan Dudley
   Sergeant: Spencer Banks
   Secretary: Patience Tomlinson
   Chauffeur/Radio announcer: Haydn Wood
Repeated 11th May 1981


11th May 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The Echoing Grove (1953) by Rosamond Lehmann (1901-1990) dramatised by Elspeth Sandys
The two sisters met after 15 years.
Dave Cook (guitar)
Directed by Jane Morgan
   Dinah: Janet Suzman
   Madeleine: Susan Engel
   Corrigan/Singer: Diana Bishop
   Rickie: Christopher Casenove
   Mrs Burkett: Pauline Letts
   Clara: Amanda Murray
   Jack: David McAlister
   Georgie: Maureen O'Brien
   Selbig: Rex Robinson
   Rob: William Nighy
   Anthony: Patience Tomlinson
   Jocelyn: Andrew Seear
Also with Alan Dudley and Margaret Robertson
Repeated 17th May 1981
[The novel was filmed in 2002 as "Heart of Me"]


13th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Final Words by Richard Freeman
The National Scrabble Final
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Hazel: Pauline Letts
   Derek: Rex Holdsworth
   Sue: Margo Gunn
   Alan: Haydn Wood
   MC: Alexander John
Also with Sonia Fraser, Alexander John, Jane Knowles, Catherine Owen and David Ponting


14th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Marginal Seat by David Self
A General Election and the candidates wives.
Directed by Peter King
   Richard Wardle: Terrence Hardiman
   Jean Wardle: Patricia England
   Keith Riley: Christopher Godwin
   Helen Riley: Theresa Streatfeild
   Tony Wardle: Jams Robinson
   Harry Bradley: Harold Goodwin
   Peter Jenkinson: Ellis Dale
   Andrew Sutcliffe: Spencer Banks


15th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Over the Points by Ken Blakeson and Dave Simpson
A honeymoon in the Yorkshire Moors, with steam trains and the Brontes.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
   Keith: Christopher Scott
   Mrs Kershaw: Madi Hedd
   Mrs Hartley: Eva Stuart
   Mr Hartley: Michael Spice
   Brian: John Webb
   Julie: Karen Archer
   Alison: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Mrs Radcliffe: Pauline Letts
   Jonathan: Stephen Garlick
   Alf Harrison: John Bott


16th May 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: You Can't Fight City Hall, Bren by Pam Valentine
The tensions between a married couple with a parent living with them.
Directed by John Cardy
   Alan: Bernard Bresslaw
   Brenda: Julia McKenzie
   Mum: Patricia Hayes
   Tracy: Patience Tomlinson
Repeated 19th May 1981


16th May 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Giving People by David Hopkins
The villagers reactions when their village becomes home to a religious sect.
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
   David Gair: Alan Rothwell
   Alan Towner: Christian Rodska
   Ted Hagan: John Talbot
   Mrs Waters: Ann Rye
   Madge Nugent: Dinah Hadley
   Jane: Lisa Evans
   Alice: Nina Holloway
   Bol, Jameson: Simon Molloy
   Sgt Craddock: James Tomlinson
   James Bartlett: Roger Rowland
   Phil: Andy Rashleigh
   Det-Insp Proctor: Robert Keegan
   Sgt Reid: Christopher Scoular
Repeated 18th May 1981


17th May 1981
21.03:
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons adapted by Elizabeth Proud
Music: Terence Allbright; Piano: Terence Allbright; Cello: Richard Apley
1 of 4: Flora's Rights
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   Stella Gibbons: Elizabeth Proud
   Reader: John Westbrook
   Mary Smiling: Kate Binchy
   Flora Poste: Patricia Gallimore
   Charles Fairford/Young Man: David McAlister
   Aunt Gwen/Letty: Pauline Letts
   Angus McKnag/Micah: Alexander John
   Spiritualist: Gladys Spencer
   Judith Starkadder: Margaret Robertson
   Reuben Starkadder: Trevor Martin
   Adam Lambsbreath: Cyril Shaps
   Seth Starkadder: Sion Probert
   Amos Starkadder: John Hollis
   Abbe Fausse-Maigre: Malcolm Hayes
   Mark Dolour/Richard: Stephen Garlick
   Elfine Starkadder: Jane Knowles
Additional actors in later episodes:
   Aunt Ada Doom: Fabia Drake
   Claud Hart-Harris: Roger Hammond
   Dr Midel: John Rye
   Earl P Neck: Nigel Anthony
   Harkaway: David Timson
   Meriam: Amanda Murray
   Monsieur Solide: Alan Dudley
   Mr Mybug: Michael Spice
   Mrs Beetle: Miriam Margolyes
   Mrs Hawk-Monitor: Margot Boyd
   Mrs Murther: Diana Bishop
   Ralph PentHartigan: Nigel Anthony
   Reader: John Westbrook
   Rennett/Phoebe: Christine Absalom
   Susan: Diana Bishop
   Urk Starkadder: Christopher Scott
   Waitress: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Part2:24/5/81 Part3:31/5/81 Part 4:7/6/81
All episodes repeated after two days.
Series repeated commencing 9/9/1988
[Also broadcast on R7 2008, 2009, 2010, and R4X 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022]


18th May 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Mucky Books by Chris Barlas
The story of a publishing partnership.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
   Narrator: Frank Middlemass
   Clifford: Paul Webster
   Suzanne: Elizabeth Bell
   Rollo: Christopher Godwin
   Donal: Colin Edwynn
   Jerry: Tony Robinson
   Ms Saxby/Dr Stilson: Kathleen Helme
   Agnes: Ann Rye
   Fiona: Patricia England
   Jo/Suckwind: Geoffrey Banks
   Troutbeck: Ronald Baddiley
   Foulbreath/Wu: Graham Roberts
Repeated 24th May 1981


20th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Traitor by Dennis Potter (1935-1995)
A field in Moscow.
Directed by Derek Hoddinott
A BBC World Service Drama production
   Harris: Denholm Elliott
   James: Ian Ogilvy
   Simpson: Alan White
   Blake: Don Fellows
   Sir Arthur: William Pox
   The master: Jack May
   Lady Emma: Jane Thomson
   Adrian: Matthew Ryan
   Thomas: Gregory de Polnay
   Cole-mackinson: Jean Rogers
   Policeman/Agent: Martin Friend
   Michaelov/Man: John Church
   Duty clerk: Danny Schiller
   Craig: David Griffin
[Previously a TV "Play for Today" in 1971]


21st May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Disconnection by Rod Beacham (1940-2013)
Just when it seems success is within his grasp, he makes a telephone call.
Directed by David Spenser
   Peter Taylor: David Daker
   Charles Jardine: John Westbrook
   Geoffrey: David McAlister
   Toby Sinclair: Christopher Scott
   Dad: Malcolm Hayes
   Diana: Jane Knowles
   Erica: Hilda Kriseman
   Liz: Amanda Murray
   Barry: William Eedle
   Grace: Josie Kidd
   Rick: Rod Beacham
   Sheila: Christine Absalom
   Waiter: Spencer Banks


22nd May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Offcuts by John Wilkie
Neville works for a timber merchant. He has been stealing offcuts.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Joe: Iain Cuthbertson
   Neville: Sean Barrett
   Karen: Jo Anderson
   Pete: Mark Buffery
Repeated from 27th January 1979


23rd May 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Oyster by Frederick Harrison
Every week David goes to visit his father in hospital.
Directed by Pat Trueman
   David: Kenneth Colley
   Maureen: Christine Absalom
Repeated 26th May 1981


23rd May 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Bequest to the Nation by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977), adapted by Bridget Marrow
Fortepiano: David Johns
Directed by David Johnston
   Emma Hamilton: Sian Phillips
   Nelson: Michael Bryant
   Lady Nelson: Anna Massey
   Capt Hardy: Alan Lake
   George Matcham Sr: Michael Spice
   Katherine Matcham: Judy Franklin
   George Matcham: David McAlister
   Lord Barham: Alan Dudley
   Lord Minto: Nicholas Courtney
   Betsy: Diana Bishop
   Captain Blackwood: Sean Arnold
   Francesca: Patience Tomlinson
Repeated 26th December 1981, 1st January 1987 and 21st April 1990
[Also broadcast on R4X 2011,2015]
[Also produced for R3 by Nicolas Soames - 2005 and 2006]
[Based upon Rattigan's 1966 tv play "Nelson- a portrait in miniature"]

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24th May 1981
18.45-19.30
Death and the Magician (1980) by Raymund Fitzsimons
Music and special effects by David Hitchinson, BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Produced by John Knight
   Houdini: Lee Montague
   Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: James Grout
   Houdini: Miriam Margolyes
Repeated 25th May 1981


25th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Tunes of Glory by James E Kennaway adapted by B. C. Cummins
Behind the walls of Campbell Barracks.
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Jock Sinclair: Gordon Jackson
   Col Barrow: John Stride
   Pipe-Major MacClean: Fulton MacKay
   RSM Riddick: David Lodge
   Jimmy Cairns: John Rowe
   Dusty Miller: Henry Stamper
   Piper Adam: Fraser Kerr
   Cpl Fraser: John Samson
   Charlie Scott: John Rye
   Mackinnon: Christopher Bidmead
   Mary Titterington: Norma Ronald
   Morag Sinclair: Alison Gollings
   Sir Alistair: Hector Ross
   Landlord/Driver: Nigel Lambert
   Guard Sergeant/Donald: Michael Shannon
   Lt-Cpl: Michael Deacon
   Pipe-Majors: Bob Murphy and Willie Cochrane
Repeated from 19th and 25th April 1976
Repeated 24th February 1990
[Also produced by Patrick Raynor in 1995 rptd 1997]



25th May 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: These Amateur Theatricals by Eugene Chirikov (1864-1932), English version by Basil Ashmore (1915-1998)
A recuperating actor works as director of a village group.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
   Orlov: John Howe
   Borodkin: Barry Foster
   Maria: Maureen O'Brien
   Polina: Pat Heywood
   Maria's father: Michael Aldridge
   Pelegeya: Patsy Byrne
   Kostya: David Timson
   Josef: Alexander John
   Petrov: John Rye
   Glashenka: Christine Absalom
   Elena: Rosalind Ayres
   Stephan: John Webb
Repeated 31st May 1981


27th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: There May be a Need for Mourning (1980) by Paavo Rintala (1930-1999) translated by Diana Tullberg
Recalling the Russian invasion of Karelia in 1939.
Directed by Margaret Etall
   Man: Michael Spice
   Benjamin: Susan Sheridan
   Mother: Rosalind Shanks
   Grannie: Anne Jameson
   Father: John Woodvine
   V....?..: Gordon Faith
   Teacher/Old woman: Pauline Letts
   Boy: Delia Morgan
   Russian/Man from next door: John Webb
[Original title: "Kenties kaipaustakin tarvitaan"]


28th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Dragon in Heaven by Mike Walker
A deserter from Cromwell's army.
Music directed by Terence Allbright and played by Paul James and Cliff Stapleton
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Kate: Elizabeth Bell
   Jack: Crawford Logan
   Gerard: Michael Spice
   Pers: Jill Lidstone
   Pru: Patience Tomlinson
   Soldier: John Wheatley
Repeated 24th May 1983


29th May 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Taptoe Through the Telephones by John Fletcher.
Computer Espionage? Or a "bug".
Radiophonic music and effects by Dick Mills
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Gerald: Nigel Anthony
   the Computer: Penelope Lee
   Annette: Judith Arthy
   Commander Hodgson: Neil Stacy
   Simpkins: Bill Wallis
   Ed: Blain Fairman
   Larry: Bob Sherman
   Mr Patterson: Rex Holdsworth
Repeated 24th January 1985


30th May 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Chrissie by John Hall (1925-2001)
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Auntie: Margot Boyd
   Chrissie: Petra Markham
Repeated 2nd June 1981


30th May 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: A Fall of Moondust (1961) by Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008), adapted by Andrew Lynch
Time: the 21st century. Place: the Moon. A rescue.
Banjo played by Peter Sayers
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Captain Pat Harris: David Buck
   Jim Lawrence: Barry Foster
   Tourist Commissioner: Roland Curram
   Commodore Hansteen: Bill Simpson
   Dr Lawson: Richard Pearson
   Maurice Spenser: James Aubrey
   Myra Shuster: Libby Morris
   Irving Shuster: Harry Towb
   Stewardess Sue Wilkins: Jane Knowles
   Miss Morley: Brenda Kate
   McKenzie: John Rye
   Jaywardene: Saeed Jaffrey
   Skipper: Ed Bishop
   Lester: Guy Gregory
   Ed: Haydn Wood
   George: David Timson
   Ingrid: Christine Absalom
   Anne: Amanda Murray
Repeated 1st June 1981
[This was written before men set foot on the moon]


1st June 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play : Poor Pikeman by Edwin Pearce
The people don't like the poll tax and march on London. Six hundred years ago.
Directed by Roger Pine.
BBC Birmingham
   Wat Tyler: Barry Foster
   John Ball: John Rowe
   Dan Brooke: Brian Haines
   Ben Cave: Sean Barrett
   Princess Joan: Patricia Gallimore
   Richard II: Brian Hewlett
   Jack Straw: Terry Molloy
   Walworth: Mark Woolgar
   Mrs Cave: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Maidstone tavern mistress: Shirley Stelfox
   Duke of Oxford: Jack Holloway
   Oxford cleric: Alan Devereux
   London tavern mistress: Jane Galloway
Repeated 7th June 1981


2nd June 1981
19.50:
Fortune and the Fishmonger by David Benedictus
Horse racing 1844.
Directed by Alec Reid
   William Crockford: Bill Owen
   Gronow: Manning Wilson
   Sarah Crockford: Olwen Griffiths
   John Gully: John Rye
   Young girl: Christine Absalom
   Lord Lennox: Spencer Banks
   Lord Glasgow: Alan Dudley
   Landlord: Christopher Scott
   Footman: Stephen Garlick
   John: Haydn Wood
   Crockford as boy: Patience Tomlinson
   Mrs Crockford: Margaret Robertson
   First customer: Amanda Murray
   Second customer: Diana Bishop
   Third customer: Theresa Streatfeild
   Butcher: Sion Probert
   Loser: Malcolm Hayes
   Doctor: Nicholas Courtney
   Ude: David McAlister
   Neale: John Livesey,
   Gye: Cyril Shaps
   Ashgrove: Alexander John
   Page: David Timson
Repeated 5th June 1981


3rd June 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Rattling the Railings by Peter Terson (1932-2021)
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Pauline: Elizabeth Proud
   Dad: Timothy Bateson
   Brenda: Anna Keaveney
   Alec: Michael Tudor Barnes
   Robert: Nigel Anthony
Repeated from 7th March 1979


4th June 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Red For Danger By Shirley Cooklin
A shy, introverted boy.
Directed by David Johnston
   Tom: Arthur Quintus Haycraft
   Anna: Judy Franklin
   Diana Curtis: Jan Holder
   Frank Curtis: Malcolm Hayes
   Geoff: George Parsons
   Mrs Harman/Sally: Amanda Murray
   Sue Graves: Shirley Cooklin
   Janice/Policewoman: Christine Absalom
   Gary: Nicholas Barnes
   Wayne/Gibbs/Probation officer: Stephen Garlick
   David/Policeman: John Livesey


5th June 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: A Surfeit of Smiths by John Graham
Mr and Mrs Smith stay in a recently upgraded hotel.
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Ashley Parker MP: Dinsdale Landen
   Mr Salvadori: Hywel Bennett
   Mr Hobbs: Alan Dudley
   Mrs Hobbs: Eva Stuart
   Samantha Hobbs: Helen Fraser
   Diane: Frances Jeater
   Receptionist: George Parsons
   Culver Smith: Cyril Shaps
   Birdie Smith: Bessie Love
   Operator: Judy Franklin
   Barman: Spencer Banks
   Keith: David Timson
Repeated 15th November 1984


6th June 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Plant Plot by Gill Linscott
Pot plants have become status symbols.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Mandy: Sherrie Hewson
   Harry: Terry Scully
   Stella: Margaret Robertson
   Plant keeper: Alan Dudley
   Chairman: Stephen Thorne
   Boardman: Michael Spice
   Secretary: Diana Bishop
   Machine voice: John Rye
Repeated 9th June 1981


6th June 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Custard Boys (1960) by John Rae (1931-2006) adapted by Colin Finbow
1942. Norfolk. Children evacuated from London.
Directed by Peter King
   John: James Robinson
   Mark: Christophe Chescoe
   Lewis: Christopher Donkin
   Andrew: Keith Emin
   Jacob: Julian Silvester
   Willy: Michael Sampson
   Father: Bernard Gallagher
   Mother: Theresa Streatfeild
   John (as a man): Christopher Godwin
   Headmaster: Terrence Hardiman
   Vicar: Ellis Dale
   Herr Stein: Alexander John
   Mr Crabtree: George Parsons
   Mr Wilson: David Timson
   Sgt-Major: Sion Probert
   Lance Freeman: Spencer Banks
   Mrs Freeman: Amanda Murray
   Diana Freen: Christine Absalom
   Mrs Freen: Jane Knowles
   Shopkeeper: Haydn Wood
   Policeman: Christopher Scott
   Village girls: Mary Greco and Samantha Carr
Repeated 8th June 1981
[The story was filmed in 1962 as "Reach for Glory" winning a UN award, and filmed again in 1979 with the original title.]


8th June 1981
12.27-12.55:
Lord Peter Wimsey: Murder Must Advertise (1933) by Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957) adapted by Alistair Beaton
1 of 6: Death Comes to Pym's Publicity
Producer Martin Fisher
   Lord Peter: Ian Carmichael
   Chief Inspector Parker: Allan Cuthbertson
   Mr Ingleby: John Quentin
   Mr Willis: Richard O'Callaghan
   Mr Hankin: Frank Williams
   Miss Rossiter: Joanna Wake
   Miss Meteyard: Frances Jeater
Additional cast in later episodes:
   Dian de Momerie: Beth Morris
   Ginger: Greg Mandell
   Major Milligan: Lyndon Brook
   Mr Brotherhood: Norman Shelley
   Mr Garfield: Philip Voss
   Mr Garrctt: Brian Wilde
   Mr Tallboy: Edward de Souza
   Pamela Dean: Amanda Murray
   PC Moffat: Gordon Clyde
   Sgt Lumley: Danny Schiller
Pt2: 15/6/81 Pt3:22/6/81 Pt4:29/6/81 Pt5:6/7/81 Pt6:13/7/81
First broadcast commencing 1st January 1979, 1979 episodes were repeated after two days.
[Also broadcast on R7 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and R4X 2012, 2014, 2020, 2022]
[Also produced by Giles Cooper in 1957 for BBC Home]

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8th June 1981
20.15:
The Monday Play: Watches of the Night by Stephen Jeffreys (1950-2018)
1939 to 1945.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
   Graham: Gerrard Mulgrew
   Jean: Alison Peebles
   Ruth: Adele Griffiths
   Martin: Robert Pickavance
First broadcast on R3 on 16/4/81


10th June 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Arrangements by Debbie Horsfield
Sylvia discovers she is pregnant
   Mildred: Patricia Routledge
   Sylvia: Kay Adshead
   Maureen: Heather Bell
   Stanley: Leonard Fenton
   Eric: Christopher Scott
   Michael: John Rye


11th June 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Scarlet Ribbons by Sheila Bradley
Preparing for the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Mark: Jean England
   Pete: Brian Southwood
   Sarah: Sue Jenkins
   Carol: Jane Collins
   Daddy: John Blythe
   Ella: Meg Johnson
   Shirley: Angela Curran
   Teacher: Rosalind Knight
   The Rev Mooney: John Jardine
   Mummy: Marlene Sidaway
   Pianist: Brian Fitzgerald


12th June 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Martyr of the Hives by Peter Redgrove (1932-2003)
Mystic bees.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Beekeeper: Martin Friend
   Henry: Richard Morant
   Hanger: John Franklyn-Robbins
   Librarian: Rex Holdsworth
   Julia: Hlldegard Neil
   Jennie: Catherine Owen
   James: Leonard Fenton
   Paul: John Justin
With: Boys From Clifton College, Bristol
Repeated from 15th October 1980
(Joint winner of the Giles Cooper Memorial Award for Best Radio Play of 1980)
[Also broadcast on R4X 2017]


13th June 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Waving to a Train by Martyn Read
June 1953 recalled.
Directed by David Spenser
Richard: Michael Jayston
Mother: Diana Bishop
Susan: Elizabeth Lindsay
Richard as a boy: Jim Lidstone
Repeated from 25th November 1980
[A Giles Cooper award winner]


13th June 1981
20.30-21.58:
Saturday-Night Theatre: A Winter in the Hills (1970) by John Wain (1925-1994) dramatised by Chris Stephenson.
Take this bus to...
Producer: Jane Morgan
   Roger: David Collings
   Gareth: Ioan Meredith
   Jenny: Anne Carroll
   Mam: Elen Roger Jones
   Madog: Ian Saynor
   Ivor: Haydn Wood
   Ditto: Geofrey Morgan
   Gerol Twyford: John Rye
   Vic Sharp: Sean Probert
   Sianon: Marged Esli
   Mrs Piron Jones: Janet Davies
   Mr Kenwyn Jones: John Livesey
   Geoffrey: Christopher Scott
also with Christine Absalom, Stephen Garlick, Alexander John
Repeated 15th June 1981
[Adaptor, Producer and actor details transcribed from the episode, not published in Radio Times]
[Documents relating to the book and the radio play are held by University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections ref Coll-29, see MS2855, 2857, 2858 especially 2858 re the radio version.]


14th June 1981
14.30-16.00:
Afternoon Theatre: Invitation to the Waltz (1932) by Rosamond Lehmann (1901-1990) Dramatised by Michael Voysey
Music: Mike Steer
Director Jane Morgan
   Kate: Marian Diamond
   James: Rusty Livingstone
   Mrs Curtis: Monica Grey
   Mr Curtis: Robert Trotter
   Uncle Oswald: Patrick Troughton
   Lace Girl: Karen Archer
   Reginald: David Timson
   Marigold: Valerie Sarruf
   Lady Spencer: Maxine Audley
   Rolo: Simon Cadell
   Archie: Michael Cochrane
   Etty: Joanna Dunham
   Tony Herriot: Martin Jarvis
   Dolly: Suzan Farmer
   Maurice: David Ashtord
   Peter Jenkin: Tom Wilkinson
   George: Peter Wickham
   Timothy Masters: Eric Allan
   Sir John Spencer: Peter Williams
Repeated from 24th and 26th June 1978 and 25th November 1979
Repeated 31st July 1993
[Also produced by Sara Davies in 2001, repeated on R4X]


14th June 1981
21.02:
A Dance to the Music of Time: The Valley of Bones (1964) (Book 7 of 12) by Anthony Powell (1905-2000), dramatised by Frederick Bradnum
Part 1 of 2.
The rules and discipline of war now prevail.
Title music composed by Antony Miall
Directed by Graham Gauld
   Nicholas Jenkins: Noel Johnson
   Young Nicholas: Gareth Johnson
   Captain Gwatkin: Richard Gold-Parry
Part2: 21/6/81
[The series title was also used on the radio for the other books, serialised as follows:
   A Question of Upbringing (1951)-2 parts comm 22/7/79
   A Buyer's Market (1952)-2 parts,comm 5/8/79
   The Acceptance World (1955)-2 parts comm 21/8/79
   At Lady Molly's (1957)-3 parts,comm 12/7/80
   Casanova's Chinese Restaurant (1960)-2 parts comm 26/7/80
   The Kindly Ones (1962)-2 parts comm 9/8/80
   The Valley of Bones (1964)- 2 parts comm 14/6/81
   The Soldier's Art (1966)-2 parts comm 28/6/81
   The Military Philosophers (1968)-2 parts comm 12/7/81
   Books Do Furnish a Room (1971)-3 parts comm 18/7/82
   Temporary Kings (1973)-3 parts, comm 8/8/82
   Hearing Secret Harmonies (1975)-2 parts comm 29/8/82
   Most parts were repeated two or three days later.]


15th June 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Adventure Story (1949) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)
The King of Macedon, sets out on the task of conquering the Persian Empire.
Producer: Anon
   Alexander: Simon Callow
   the Queen Mother of Persia: Maxine Audley
   Darius: James Laurenson
   Hephaestion Alexander: Tim Woodward
Repeated 21st June 1981
[Also produced by Peter Watts in 1957 with Angela Baddeley as the Queen Mother]
[Also produced by John Powell in 1967 with Margaret Rawlings as the Queen Mother]


[We now have a short period where Radio Times seems to have omitted the producers/directors names for many plays and in a few cases, no cast list.]


16th June 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Sky High Dreamer by Sheila Hodgson (1921-2001)
Directed by David Johnston
   Wayland Scott: Lockwood West
   Dyson: Nelson Ward
   Felix: Gerald Cox
Repeated from 8th July 1980


17th June 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Orange Blossom by Veronica Cecil
Directed by Ian Cotterell
with Benjamin Whitrow and Sylvia Coleridge


18th June 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Towards the Sunset Coast by David Marshall
Directed By: Richard Wortley
   Tom: Neville Jason
   Jean: Norma Ronald
   Lil: Joanna Wake
   Paul: John Bull
Repeated from 9th May 1980
[These characters continue in "Suddenly" due to be broadcast 25/6/81 but postponed to 23rd July 1981.]


19th June 1981
15.02
Rough Play by Glenn Chandler
[No information available on this programme]


20th June 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Almost a Tradition by A. S. Robertson.
Who wants a job in management?
Produced by: Anon
   Harry: Paul Copley
   Doug: Brian Miller
   Jack: Harold Goodwin
Repeated 23rd June 1981


20th June 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Wilfred and Eileen (1976) by Jonathan Smith
1913. Young love.
Produced by: anon
   Wilfred: James Windsor
   Eileen: Isabelle Amyis


22nd June 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The True Story of the Public School Strike 1990 by David Cregan
When the schools go on strike due to government cuts (fiction).
No program details available
Repeated 28th June 1981


24th June 1981
15.02
A Weekend Away by Bill Corrigan
No programme details available


25th June 1981
15.02
Suddenly by David Marshall
No program details available
[The first story about Tom, Jean, Liz and Paul was "Towards The Sunset Coast"- see 18th June 1981 above]
NB Although listed for 25th June 1981 this program was not broadcast on this date. The broadcast was postponed until 23rd July 1981


[Note- in 1981 the Summer saw a great deal of unrest and rioting including the first mainland use of CS Gas]


26th June 1981
15.02
Afternoon Theatre: The Browning Version (1948) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   John Taplow: Stephen Garlick
   Frank Hunter: David McAlister
   Millie Crocker Harris: Barbara Jefford
   Andrew Crocker Harris: Nigel Stock
   Dr Frobisher: Michael Spice
   Peter Gilbert: David Timson
   Mrs Gilbert: Christine Absalom
Repeated 24th December 1982


27th June 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Spinoza's Day by Dave Sheasby (1940-2010)
Albert takes his pet along to his local radio station.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Albert Beck: Roger Rowland
   Woman customer: Meg Johnson
   Martha: Sue Jenkins
   Perry Masterton: Charles Foster
Repeated 30th June 1981


27th June 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Country House Mystery by Guy Meredith (1953-2023)
A book is ghost written.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Sharp: James Laurenson
   Marion: Caroline Blakiston
   Richard: Peter Jeffrey
   Wallace Keyes: Roger Hammond
   Jackie: Christine Absalom
   Paul Kidd: Christopher Scott
   Max Haufmann: Malcolm Hayes
Repeated 29th June 1981, listed in Radio Times under the title "The Country House Murder"


28th June 1981
21.02:
A Dance to the Music of Time: The Soldier's Art by Anthony Powell (Book 8 of 12), dramatised by Frederick Bradnum.
1 of 2.
Title music composed by Antony Miall
Directed by Graham Gauld
   Nicholas Jenkins: Noel Johnson
   the younger Nicholas: Gareth Johnson
   Charles Stringham: Simon Cadell
   Widmerpool: Brian Hewlett
   Moreland: Sion Probert
   General Liddament: Richard Hurndall
   Bithel: Anthony Hall
   Hogbourne-Johnson: Frank Duncan
   Biggs: Roger Snowdon
   Soper: Martin Friend
   Finn: Brian Haines
   Pennistone: Philip Sully
   Audrey Maclintick: Jenny Lee
   Chips Lovell: John Levitt
   Priscilla: Penny Brownjohn
   Odo Stevens: John Baddeley
Additional actors in part 2:
   Max Pilgrim: David Alder
   Eleanor: Anne Rosenfeld
   Bithel: Anthony Hall
   Pedlar: Jonathan Scott
   Cheeseman: Christopher Scott
   Air-raid Warden: Haydn Wood
Part2:5/7/81
Please refer to 14th June 1983 for full list of books and broadcasts in this series.


29th June 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The Class of 39 by Patrick Galvin (1927-2011)
Ireland 1939.
Mouth organ played by Paddy McGuigan
Directed bv Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
   Murphy/Fr Driscoll: Chris Gannon
   Franklin: Sean Barrett
   Superior: T P McKenna
   Brother Tom: Bill Hunter
   Brother John: Alan McClelland
   Brother Mac: Kevin Flood
   Policeman/Narrator: Alan Barry
   Delany: Susan Sheridan
   Mercer: Elizabeth Lindsay
   Peters: Bernadette Windsor
   Rogers: Denise Bryer
   Duggan: Mairin Mythen
   Mr Delany: John Rogan
Repeated 5th July 1981


1st July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Keys by Mavis Hampson
He believes he loves two women.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Robert: Geoffrey Palmer
   Delia: Jennie Linden
   Constance: Thelma Whiteley

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2nd July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Screen Test by Ken Blakeson
A film company comes to town looking for extras.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Sue: Brigit Torsyth
   Bob: Brian Southwood
   Petra: Anne Cunningham
   Chris: Tim Preece
   Archie Drowzinski: John Branwell
   Star: Blain Fairman


3rd July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Shellshock by Carolyn Sally Jones
1945: Recovering from the war will be a matter of years.
Directed by Margaret Windham
   Rafe Protheroe: Philip Madoc
   May: Alison Fiske
   Len Protheroe: Gareth Armstrong
   Mrs Protheroe: Elizabeth Morgan
   Ferris: Nigel Anthony
   Greg: Sion Probert
   Isaac: Christopher Scott
   Billy: Alexander John
   Ella: Jane Knowles
   Cathy: Amanda Murray


4th July 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Secrets by Bernard MacLaverty
A confession.
Directed by Stewart Conn
BBC Scotland
   Gerald: Finlay Welsh
   Marie: Felicity Hayes-McCoy
   Mother: Sheila Donald
   Aunt Mary: Diana Olsson
   Fr Haughey: Walter McMonagle
Repeated 7th July 1981


4th July 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Gallows in My Garden by Bruce Stewart (1925-2005)
Literary controversy.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   G K Chesterton: Freddie Jones
   G B Shaw: Norman Rodway
   Hilaire Belloc: John Franklyn Robbins
   H G Wells: Ronald Lacey
   Jane Wells: Maureen O'Brien
   Gregory: Bruce Stewart
   Charlotte Shaw: Kate Binchy
   Frances Chesterton: Sheila Davies
   Barman: Ian MacKenzie
   Doctor: Ronald Russell
   Mary: Sara Clee
Repeated 6th July 1981


6th July 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Joking Apart by Alan Ayckbourn
Two influencers.
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester
   Richard: Jonathan Newth
   Anthea: Fiona Walker
   Louise: Auriol Smith
   Hugh: Malcolm Hebden
   Sven: Peter John
   Olive: Ann Rye
   Melody/Mandy/Mo/Delible: Sheridan Ball
Repeated 12th July 1981.
[Also broadcast on R4X in 2014]
[Also produced in 1990 rptd 1993, by Michael Fox with Pam Ferris as Anthea]
[There was also a different play with this title written by Ragan Butler]


8th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Not Known at this Address by Peter Johnson
A promotion.
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Don: Barry Foster
   Julie: Susannah Fellows
   Bill: David Timson
   Ian: David McAlister
   Edward: Christopher Scott
   Endacott: Michael Johnson
   Margaret: Janet Hargreaves
   Landlord: Alan Dudley
   Michael: John Webb
   Susan: Christine Absalom
   Mildred: Judy Franklin


9th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: There is no God in Godalming by Simon Carr
Madness is in the mind.
Directed by David Spenser
   Robin Bentley: Christopher Guard
   Robin as a child: Bernadette Windsor
   Mr Bentley: John Pullen
   Mrs Bentley: Carole Boyd
   Victoria: Jamila Massey
   Mrs Midway-West: Pauline Letts
   Mr Johnson: Christopher Scott
   Mrs Johnson: Rowena Roberts
   Amajeet: Garard Green
   Tas: Renu Setna
   Rutherferd: Anthony Hyde
   Nun: Amanda Murray
Repeated from 24th April 1980


10th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Breezy Goes a Bomb by Karl Barry
I only want my factory blown up ...
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
   Breezy Muldoon: John Hewitt
   Tricia: Aingeal Grehan
   Rose Muldoon: Stella McCusker
   Sean: Derek Halligan
   Harry: Louis Rolston
   Alec: John Keegan
   Sammy: Justin Duff
   Ossie: Mark Mulholland
   Chairman: Michael Duffy
   Patrick: Joe McPartland
   Seamus: Des MacAleer
   Policeman: Ian McElhinney


11th July 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Managerial Circles by Gerry McKee
The boss wants to fire an employee.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Dennis: Bernard Hill
   Ray: Michael N Harbour
   Bernie: Rod Beacham
Repeated 14th July 1981 and 31st May 1983


11th July 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Passing Day (1936) by George Shiels (1881-1949) adapted by Allan McClelland
His last day in business. He sees his doctor and visits his lawyer.
Directed by Michael Heffernan
BBC Northern Ireland
   John Fibbs: Allan McClelland
   Peter Fibbs: Stephen Rea
   Nurse Annie: Frances Tomelty
   Mrs Fibbs: Marie Kean
   Doctor: Denys Hawthorne
   Charles Daw: Patrick Magee
   Samson: William Hunter
   Looney: Michael Duffy
   Mr Black: Kevin Flood
   Mr Hind: Harold Goldblatt
Repeated from 29th August 1977 and 4th September 1977
[Also produced by David A Turner in 1968, rptd 1969, with Patrick Magee as John Fibbs]


12th July 1981
21.02:
A Dance to the Music of Time: The Military Philosophers (1968) (Book 9 of 12) by Anthony Powell (1905-2000), dramatised by Frederick Bradnum
Part 1 of 2.
News came through of the German invasion of Russia
Title music composed by Antony Miall
Technical assistants Carol Mcshane, Roy Fraser, Diana Barkham, David Chilton,
Directed By: Graham Gauld
   Nicholas Jenkins: Noel Johnson
   the younger Nicholas: Gareth Johnson
   Widmerpool: Brian Hewlett
   Peter Templer: Christopher Good
   Pennistone: Philip Sully
   Odo Stevens: John Baddeley
   Finn: Brian Haines
   Farebrother: Hugh Dickson
   Blackhead: Malcolm Hayes
   Ted Jeavons: John Bott
   Pamela Flitton: Elizabeth Rider
   Myra Erdleigh: Betty Baskcomb
   Norah Tolland: Sonia Fraser
Additional actors in part 2:
   Jean: Jane Asher
   Lady Isobel: Elizabeth Proud
   Charles Stringham: Simon Cadell
   Duport: Michael Spice
   Pennistone: Philip Sully
   Field Marshal: Nigel Lambert
   Major Prasad: Garard Green
   Asbjornsen: David McAlister
   Der Voort: Crawford Logan
   Kucherman: Nicholas Courtney
   Matilda Donners: Liza Flanagan
   Colonel Flores: Geoffrey Matthews
   Archie Gilbert: Brian Carroll
Part 2: 19th July 1981
Please see 14th June 1981 for the full list of the books and broadcast dates.


13th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Burglar's Bargains by Wally K. Daly (1940-2020)
The robbery of the century.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
   Charles Forbes: Peter Jones
   Governor Smith: Donald Hewlett
   George Evans: Lockwood West
   Bullet Head: Bernard Bresslaw
   Twins: David Timson
   Brian Thompson: John Pullen
   Perkins: Adrian Egan
   Delia: Elizabeth Rider
   Simpson: John Rye
   Lift man/Tommy: Gordon Dulieu
   Adams: Philip Voss
   Bella Thompson: Diana Bishop
   Angelo Calloni: Gordon Reid
   Sanjo Patel: Danny Schiller
   Doreen/Dolly: Josie Kidd
   Eric: Brian Haines
   Barry: Trevor Cooper
   Nick the Greek: Roger Hammond
   Fingers: Charles Hawtrey
   Billy: John Bull
   Ex-Lance Corporal: Fraser Kerr
Repeated from 15th and 17th December 1979
[Also broadcast on BBC7 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009 and R4X 2013, 2014, 2020,]
[This was part one of three linked plays: Part 2 of the trilogy, A Right Royal Rip Off, first broadcast 3rd April 1982, the third part, The Bigger They Are, first broadcast 3rd August 1985.]


13th July 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Ross (1960) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977), adapted by Cynthia Pughe and Derek Hoddinott.
A story of Lawrence of Arabia
Directed by Derek Hoddinott
   Lawrence: Michael Williams
   Flt-Lt: Gregory de Polnay
   Flt-Sgt: Peter Baldwin
   Dickinson: David Strong
   Hamed: Saeed Jaffrey
   Evans: Ellis Jones
   Parsons: John Bull
   Allenby: Reginald Marsh
   Stores: David Griffin
   Franks: David Gooderson
   Turkish Gen: John Gabriel
   Auda: Adrian Egan
   Barrington: Richard Bebb
   Voice/Corporal/ADC: Andrew Branch
   Turkish Capt: Roy Spencer
   Turkish Sgt: Philip Fox
Repeated 19th July 1981
(First broadcast on the BBC World Service)
[Also produced in 1965 by John Gibson with Ronald Baddiley as Flt Sgt]


15th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Queenie's Channel by David Wheeler.
A weekend alone with a broken television set.
Directed by Margaret Etall
   Queenie: Beryl Reid
   Edna: Sheelah Wilcocks
   Frank: Alan Dudley
   Announcer: Stephen Thorne
   Master of Ceremonies: Haydn Wood
   Commentator: Crawford Logan
   Mother: Theresa Streatfeild
   Queenie (aged 18): Christine Absalom
   Teacher: Patience Tomlinson
   TV man: David McAlister
Repeated 8th June 1983


16th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Men that Were Boys by Alan England
The men recall their public flogging thirty years ago.
Directed by Peter King
   Bomber: Norman Jones
   Fizz: William Gaunt
   Lassie: Stanley Page
   Mrs Broadhead: Liz Smith
   Kemble: Ellis Dale
   Lydiat: Harold Goodwin
   Policeman: George Parsons


17th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Operation Elvis (1978) by C. P. Taylor (1929-1981)
A voyage of self discovery.
Directed by Stewart Conn
BBC Scotland
   Malcolm: Tim Healey
   Malcolm's mother: Annie Orwin
   Lynn: Madelaine Newton
   Michael: Brian Hogg
   Jackie: Dick Irwin
   Headmaster: Ian Oliver
Repeated 27th April 1982
[C P Taylor taught drama at Morpeth Northgate Hospital. The first performance of this play included actors Tim Healy and Brian Hogg.]


18th July 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Great Strides by John Barry
Directed by Martin Jenkins
   Martin: Christopher Scott
   Jenny: Jane Knowles
   Derek: Michael Spice
   Joan: Katherine Parr
   Teacher/Buffet attendant: Alexander John
   Colin/Paul: Elizabeth Lindsay
Repeated 21st July 1981


18th July 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: I'll Walk Beside You by Robert Holles
Lavinia moves home to be near to her son and his wife.
Directed by David Spenser
   Janine: Sarah Badel
   Lavinia: Brenda Bruce
   Russell: John Rowe
   Robbie: Chip Sweeney
   Pauline: Jane Knowles
   Shirley: Theresa Streatfeild
   Christine: Heidi Smith
   Arthur: Marvin Charlton
   Eric: Spencer Banks
   Dr Simon Dreschfield: Alexander John
   Andrew Foster: Sion Probert
   Prof Kaufman/Dr Wixon: John Livesey
   Mrs Haycock/Brenda: Liz Morgan
   Sheila: Aysha Mitchell
   Sue Barkworth: Judy Franklin
   Prof Littlejohn: Crawford Logan
Repeated 20th July 1981


20th July 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Leaving by Stephen Wakelam
Thinking of the future.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Shirley: Gillian Hanna
   Jimmy: Geoffrey Hinsliff
   Brian: Russell Dixon
   Barbara: Judith Barker
   Wendy: Pamela Power
Repeated 26th July 1981


22nd July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Laddie Time by Glenn Chandler
Directed by Marilyn Imrie (aka M. Ireland)
BBC Scotland
   Hugh: David Bannerman
   Hettie: Sheila Donald
   Flo: Jan Wilson
   Bridget: Claire Nielson
   Alice: Phyllis Logan
   Mrs Purdry: Diana Olsson
   Mr Dick: Carey Wilson

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23rd July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Suddenly by David Marshall
Directed by Richard Wortley
   Tom: Neville Jason
   Jean: Norma Ronald
   Liz: Jane Knowles
   Paul: John Bull
   Parrot: Percy Edwards
[A follow on play to "Towards the Sunset Coast" which was broadcast 9/5/80 and 18/6/81 ]
[This play was originally listed for 25th June 1981 but was not broadcast on that date]


23rd July 1981
19.30:
The Man of Destiny (1897) by Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
1796. Northern Italy. Napoleon meets a Lady.
Directed by Pat Trueman
   Napoleon: David Suchet
   The Lady: Paola Dionisotti
   Lieutenant: Davtd Timson
   Guiseppe: John Bott
Repeated from 8th May 1980.
Repeated 13th April 1986, 21st December 1991
[Also broadcast on R4X 2021]
[Also produced by Archie Campbell in 1962 (Light) rptd Home 1964, 1966, 1970 with June Tobin as The Lady]


24th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Ira Plimsoll's Marble Staircase by Tom Elliott (1937-2017)
A seaside fortune told in 1952.
Directed by David Sheasby
BBC Manchester
Contributors
   Leslie: Paul Copley
   Joyce: Sue Wallace
   Arnold: George A Cooper
   Aunt Win: Paula Tilbrook
   Katrina: Gwen Taylor
   Ira Plimsoll/Man in club: Peter Bell
   Sonya: Jane Collins


25th July 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Beverley Brooch by Joanna Marcus adapted by Frank Marcus
The morning after the annual office party.
Directed by John Cardy
   Freddie: Peter Barkworth
   Beverley: Julia Foster
   Otis Oates: Robert Henderson
Repeated 28th July 1981


25th July 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: A Full Account by John Kirkmorris
A shot in the wood.
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Ian Aird: Jeffry Wickham
   Audrey Aird: Sheila Grant
   Sandra Loudon: Jenny Lee
   Peggy Palmer: Diana Bishop
   Billy Dance: Sion Probert
   Insp Betts: John Hollis
   Sgt Tate: Henry Knowles
   Whittaker: Cyril Shaps
Repeated 27th July 1981


27th July 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Happy and Glorious by Laurence Housman
1839: Queen Victoria : the time is ripe to raise the delicate subject of suitable suitors.
Piano: Terence Allbright
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Queen Victoria: Joanna David
   Prince Albert: Tim Woodward
   Lord Melbourne: Jack Mat
   Tudor: David Timson
   Ernest: Michael Cochrane
   Stockmar: Martin Friend
   Nurse: Diana Dishop
   Baroness Lehzen: Pauline Letts
   Lady Jarre: Jane Knowles
   Duchess: Jill Simcox
   Footman: Tano Rea
Repeated 2nd August 1981
[Also broadcast on R4X 2019]
[Also produced by Hugh Stewart in 1951]
[There was a different 1953 production for BBC Light by anon.]


28th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Family Matter by Patrick Riddell
Magic. They lived happy ever after.
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   Jennifer: Wendy Murray
   Her parent: Richard Lomax: Michael Aldridge
   Her parent: Mollie Lomax: Pauline Letts
   Jonathan Laird: Leslie Sands
   Eunice Laird: Marjorie Westbury
   David Earnshaw, a friend: Andrew Secombe
[Also produced by Archie Campbell in 1965 with Jo Kendall as Jennifer, rptd 1967]


29th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Wonderful O (1957) by James Thurber (1894-1961) adapted by Brian Sibley
The island would be a better place without the letter O.
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Littlejack: Frederick Jaeger
   Black: Eric Allan
   Elderly man: Manning Wilson
   Hyde: Leslie Heritage
   Andrews: Peter Wickham
   Andrea: Alison Draper
   Metalsmith/Gardener: Henry Knowles
   Blacksmith: Fred Bryant
   Baker: Gregory de Polnay
   Child/First female/Bird: Olwen Griffiths
   Girl/Next female: Brenda Kaye
Repeated from 20th December 1978


30th July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Jubilee by Victor Pemberton (1931-2017)
What's in a name? The time: 1897 and 1977.
Piano: Mary Nash
Directed by John Tydeman
   Oliver Edginton: Jack Warner
   Madge Smythe: Irene Sutcliffe
   Ben Murray: Derek Seaton
   Susie: Jo Manning Wilson
   Joyce: Penelope Reynolds
   Editor: Neville Jason
   Major Rodney Harrington: Peter Howell
   Clark Gable: Leonard Fenton
   Rudolf Valentino: Timothy Bateson
   Marilyn Monroe: Shirley Dixon
   Clara Bow: Joan Matheson
   Anna Pavlova: Elizabeth Bell
   Air India: Valerie Murray
   Yuri Gagarin: Amos Pizzey
Also with Frank Singuineau, Alaric Cotter
Repeated from 3rd June 1977
[First broadcast date in 1997 was just before the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II]


31st July 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Double Talk(1). Cracking Up by Valerie Georgeson
From Joyce's point of view.
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
   Joyce: Judith Barker
   Bill: Roy Barraclough
   Darren: John Talbot
   Cheryl: Karen Brassington
   Mrs Fitt: Mary Cunningham
   Mr Fitt/Trevor: John Branwell
   Dianne: Susan Tract
   Terry: Nick Maloney
   Betty: Ann Bye
   Anthony Greer: Colin Meredith
   Joe Golly: Simon Molloy
["the first of two connected plays"- unable to trace the second].


There was no Radio Times covering the period 1st August 1981 to 7th August 1981.


1st August 1981
14.30
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Walking the Dog by Roger McGough.
No details available.
Repeated 4th August 1981


1st August 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: A Case to be Answered by Jill Hyem. (1937-2015)
Director: Kay Patrick.
BBC Manchester
   Tom: Clive Francis
   Jan: Sue Wallace
   Maggie: Mary Wimbush
   Liz: Deborah Makepeace
   Shoppers: Dinah Handley and ???
Repeated 3rd August 1981


3rd August 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The Broken Neck by Peter Tegel.
Music by Ilona Sekacz.
Produced by Richard Wortley
   Roger: Michael Spice
   Jane: Frances Jeater
   Claudia: Annabelle Lanyon
   Andrew: George Pensotti
   Meg: Margery Mason
   David: John Livesey
   Alice: Penelope Lee
   Tom: Stephen Garlick
   Belinda: Ann Portus
   Felix: Nicholas Courtney
   Sa Majeste: Sonia Fraser
   Sam Higgs: Alan Dudley
   Mrs Courney: Katharine Page
   Sasha: Sandor Eles
   Snake: David Timson
   The Monn's Voice: Nicole Tibbels
   Angie: Joanna Mackie
   Coco: Theresa Streatfeild
   Gloria: Patience Tomlinson
Repeated 9th August 1981


4th August 1981
15.02:
The Red and the Black (1830) by Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle (1783-1842), Translated by C. K. Scott Moncrieff, dramatised by D G Bridson.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol.
Part 1 of 7
No details available for part one. Cast in Parts 2 to 7:
Abbe Castenede: Roger Snowdon
Abbe Chas Bernard: Haydn Andrews
Abbe Chelan: Hedley Goodall
Abbe Pirard: Malcolm Hayes
Academician: Christopher Scott
Amanda: Rosalind Adams
Caylus/Coachman: Stephen Garlick
Chevalier de Beauvoisis: Alexander John
Conde Altamira/ Frilair: Nicholas Courtney
Croisenois: Jon Glentoran
Elise/Adolphe: Debby Comming
Examiner/Stewart: John Livesey
Fouque: Norman Eshley
Guillaume/Valenod: Esmond Rideout
Gunsmith: John Webb
Jailer: David Timson
Julian Sorel: Andrew Hall
M de Renal: John Franklyn-Robbins
Magistrate: Alan Dudley
Marquis de la Mole: Cyril Shaps
Marquise de La Mole: Margaret Robertson
Mathilde's cousin: Amanda Murray
Mathilde de la Mole: Margo Gunn
Mme de Renal: Deborah Paige
Mme Derville: Marilyn Le Conte
Mme la Margchal: Pauline Letts
Mme Valenod: Margaret Robertson
Napoleon: Edward de Souza
Narrator: William Squire
Norbert: Sion Probert
Pere? Sorel: Jerold Wells
Prince Korasoff: John Rye
Queen Marguerite: Theresa Streatfeild
Student/Bishop/Antoine: Andrew Hilton
Pt2:11/8/81 Pt3:18/8/81 Pt4:15/8/81 Pt5:22/8/81 Pt6:28/8/81 Pt7:4/9/81
All parts repeated after five days.


5th August 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: An English Lesson by Paul Thain.
A London school and Ireland.
Director: Margaret Etall
   Michael: Paul Ridley
   Arnold: Crawford Logan
   Danny: Haydn Jones
   Norma: Theresa Streatfield
   Headmaster: Alexander John
   Mr. Jarvis/Pablo: Sion Probert
   Allan: Anthony Mcevoy
   Tony: Brian Bovell
   Mary: Christine Absalom
   Mark: Spencer Banks
   Arvind: Art Malik (His First Professional Role)
   Alison: Patience Tomlinson
   Mick: Stephen Garlick


6th August 1981
15.02
Afternoon Theatre: The Wheel of Time (1892) by Henry James (1843-1916).
No details available.
[There was possibly a new production in 1983 rptd 1985 by Graham Gauld with Sarah Badel as Fanny]


7th August 1981
15.02
Afternoon Theatre: Something and Nothing by Peter Russell
No details available.


8th August 1981
14.30:
Afternoon Theatre: Prayers for Timothy by Hadrian Rogers
Directed By: Peter Windows
BBC Birmingham
   Betsy Boston: Patricia Greene
   Timothy: Terry Molloy
   Joseph Boston: Roger Hume
   Brenda: Bedli Niklaus
   Mr Virgil: John Baddeley
Repeated 11th August 1981


8th August 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Private View by Peter Ling (1926-2006)
Directed by David Johnston
   Sarah: Alexandra Bastedo
   Gil: Sebastian Stride
   Adrian: Keith Smith
   Restaurant manager: Alan Dudley
   Mr Tuffin: Haydn Wood
   Julie Wilkinson: Patience Tomlinson
   Tom Wilkinson: Christopher Scott
   Martin Cass: George Parsons
   Bryony Caldwell: Jean Trend
   Jim Hanna: Barry Dennen
   Cleo: Valerie Murray
Repeated 10th August 1981


10th August 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Tonic Water and Ice by Jane Beeson
A man, his wife, and his mother.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Dick: Michael Pennington
   Jan: Francesca Annis
   Alice: Avril Elgar
   Julian: Michael Cochrane
   Sonia: Phyllida Nash
   Charles: Noel Howlett
   Dick as a child: Susan Sheridan
Repeated 16th August 1981


12th August 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Loud Sing Cuckoo by Victor Canning (1911-1986)
Directed by Graham Gauld
   Diana: Rosalind Shanks
   Martin: Sean Barrett
   Billy: Elizabeth Lindsay
   Evie: Paddy Turner
   Aunt Lily: Joan Duan
   Peter: Christopher Scott
Repeated 11th May 1983
[The script is held by American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, collection 11237]


13th August 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Tell Me When the Feeling Stops by Colin Haydn Evans
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Dr Balkin: Gabriel Woolf
   Chris/Disc jockey: Christian Rodska
   Liz/Ward sister: Diana Bishop
   Mrs Shelley: Margot Boyd
   Cathy: Angela Phillips
   Mr Fellows/Clive Standish: Tim Bentinck
Repeated 12th November 1983

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13th August 1981
19.30:
Miss Havisham's Wedding Day by Carolyn Sally Jones
Bengal, 1777. Ester Havisham is 13 years old. (Miss Havisham is from Dickens's Great Expectations)
Directed by Ronald Mason
   Ester: Elizabeth Proud
   Mr Havisham: Michael Williams
   Mrs Havisham: Maxine Audley
   Mrs Chumley: Margery Mason
   Mr Wadsworth: David March
   Dr Beck: Peter Baldwin
   Aunt Pocket: Georgine Anderson
   Jack Gill: Leonard Fenton
   Annie: Joan Matheson
   Harry as a child: Neil Nisbet
   Harry, a young man: Brian Carroll
   Meg Arthur: Diana Payan
   Stephen Compeyson: Kenneth Fortescue
   Matthew Pocket: Gordon Dulieu
   Seaman/servant: John Church
Repeated from 11th February 1980


14th August 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: In Spite of Capricorn by Edward Dicks
Directed by Anton Gill
BBC Birmingham
   Alma Foster: Naomi Buch
   Victor Foster: Martin Friend
   Phyllis Newson: Mary Law
   Hugo Mason: Roger Hammond
   Mrs Bodley: Hilary Sesta
   Gerry Oliver: Peter Wickham
   John: Brian Haines
   Police Sergeant: Richard Beale
[This is the sole credit in the BBC Programme Database for Edward Dicks]


15th August 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Trouble at Hive Nine by Mike Parker
The bees form a workers union.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Queen Bee: Thora Bird
   Equerry: Phillp Voss
   Albert: Peter Baldwin
   Arthur: John Hollis
   Fred: Gordon Gostelow
   Sydney: Bill Monks
   Einstein: Gerald Cross
Repeated from 22nd May 1979


15th August 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Factory by J. G. O'Malley
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
   Bruddy Murphy: Liam O'Callaghan
   Toe Graham: Michael Duffy
   Pat O'Neill: Louis Rolston
   Malachy Moran: Niall Buggy
   Phil Murray: John Hewitt
   Sheelagh Murray: Stella McCusker
   Una Murphy: Angela Harding
   Mrs Murphy: Trudy Kelly
   Fr Conlon: Harold Goldblatt
   Mr Webster: Eric Erskine
   Mrs Lacy: Catherine Gibson
   Tim-Pat Garrihy: Mark Mulholland
   Villagers: John Keyes, Peter Henry, Aingeal Crehan
Repeated 17th August 1981


17th August 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Rare Blood by Leigh Jackson (1950-2003).
The night before the wedding- where can the bride be?
Director: Cherry Cookson
   Kate: Geraldine James
   Judith: Maureen O'Brien
   Kate's father: Stephen Murray
   Kate's mother: Pauline Letts
   James: George Baker
   Peter: William Nighy
   Kahn: Sam Dastor
Also with John Webb, Christopher Scott, Theresa Streatfeild, George Parsons and Margaret Robertson
Repeated 23rd August 1981


18th August 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Marriage Bond by Sue Krisman
Directed by Enyd Williams
   Gwyneth: Jan Edwards
   Harry: Sion Probert
   Megan: Christine Pritchard
   Manny: Dewi Morris
   Anna: Victoria Clowes
[This is the only credit for Sue Krisman in the BBC Programme Index]


19th August 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: A Question of Divorce by Posy Coltof
A woman recalls her husband's unfaithfulness.
Producer John Cardy
Narrator: Charlotte Cornwell
[This is the only credit for Posy Coltof in the BBC Programme Index]


20th August 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Innocent Victim by R. D. Wingfield (1926-2007)
Threatening phone-calls.
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Bobbins: Lee Harrington
   Tyrrell: Edward Judd
   Wendy: Frances Jeater
   Det-Insp Morrow: David Lodge
   Mrs Furley: Peggy Paige
   Ruth: Christine Absolom
   Hilda: Diana Bishop
   Barman: Ronald Herdman
   Det-Sgt: Nicholas Courtney
   Holy Joe: Derek Pollitt


20th August 1981:
19.30-21.30:
She Stoops to Conquer, or The Mistakes of a Night (1773). by Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774)
Music by Michael Steer, musicians: John Trusler, Stuart Deeks, Mark Gooding, Kevin Peek and Michael Steer.
Set in 1778
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   Mr Hardcastle: Leslie Sands
   Mrs Hardcastle: Elizabeth Spriggs
   Miss Hardcastle: Judi Dench
   Miss Neville: Sarah Badel
   Tony Lumpkin: Wayne Sleep
   Diggory: Henry Knowles
   Pimple: Karen Archer
   Sir Charles Marlow: Anthony Newlands
   Young Marlow: Michael Williams
   Charles Hastings: Peter Wickham
   Jeremy: Andrew Branch
   Landlord Stingo: Fred Bryant
   Shabby Fellows: Eric Alan, Alaric Cotter, Bill Monks
Repeated from 5th June 1978
[Recorded in binaural stereo to be listened to on headphones]


21st August 1981:
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Last of the Sun by Kay McManus
The last of the fledglings has flown the nest.
Directed by Jane Morgan
   Beth Stanton: Pauline Letts
   Ian: Adam Godley
   Jane Harper: Amanda Murray
   Michael Harper: David McAlister
   Pip: Eva Griffiths
   Mrs Peters: Anthea Askey
   Adam: Christopher Scott
   Maggie: Clare Austin
   Sally: Patience Tomlinson
   Tony: Crawford Logan
   John Stanton: Jack May
   Paul Summerfield: Rex Robinson
   Dr Tom Saunders: Michael Spice


22nd August 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Backlog by Tim Perry
It is time that Ralph moved into a nursing home.
Directed by Brian Dean
   Peggy: Dora Bryan
   Ralph: Ray Mort
Repeated 25th August 1981


22nd August 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Goodbye to an Old Friend (1973) by Brian Freemantle adapted by Bruce Beeby
Is an asylum seeker what he claims to be?
Directed by Margaret Etall
   Adrian Dodds: George Parsons
   Sir Jocelyn Binns: Garard Green
   Viktor Pavel: Gordon Whiting
   Alexandre Bennovitch: David Graham
   Foreign Secretary: Nicholas Courtney
   Kaganov: Alan Dudley
   Minevsky: John Webb
   Heirar: Gordon Reid
   Valentina: Margaret Robertson
   Anita: Patience Tomlinson
   Miss Aimes: Diana Bishop
Repeated 24th August 1981


24th August 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: A Man in the Garden by Rachel Wyatt
Directed by Michael Heffernan
   Rosemary: Maureen O'Brien
   Caroline: Rosalind Ayres
   Michael: James Laurenson
   Geoff: Liam Neeson
   Man in the garden: Allan McClelland
   Maggs: Elizabeth Proud
   Joe: David Timson
   Prison official: Spencer Banks
   Women in the bar: Katherine Parr and Patience Tomlinson
Repeated 30th August 1981


26th August 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Fr Valentine's Day by Raymund Fitzsimons
Directed by Graham Gauld
   Fr Valentine: Richard Hurndall
   Fr Walsh: John Levitt
   Fr O'Toole: Bryan Murray
   Ursula: Hilda Kriseman
   Philomena: Amanda Murray
Repeated from 10th January 1979



27th August 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Hallelujah! by Ray Jenkins (1953-2023)
Directed by Peter King
   Bill Ford: Derek Martin
   Mirry Ford: Deidre Costello
   Jo Bill: Keith Emin
   David Barham: Haydn Wood
   Pat Waller: Anne Raitt
   Mathur: Dalawar Chaudhry
   Brooks: Darren McGrath
   Tom: George Parsons
   Villain: Sion Probert


28th August 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Picture Beyond the Canvas by Gerald Kelsey (1919-2006)
Directed by Graham Gauld
   Charles: Anthony Daniels
   Paul: Henry Knowles
   Stefan: Haydn Wood
   Camille: Jill Connick
   Grant: Kerry Shale
   Philippe: Philip Denver
   Madame: Catherine Wilmer
   Ruth: Christine Absalom
   Albert: George Parsons
Repeated 23rd June 1983


29th August 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Steak and Microchips by Geoffrey Beevers
Humans rely totally on their computers.
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   Hypercomputer: John Livesey
   Zaza: Theresa Streatfeild
   George: Geoffrey Beevers
   Barbara: Rosalind Adams
   Jones: Judy Franklin


29th August 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Englishman Abroad by Christopher Douglas
The English cricketer in Australia.
Directed by Jane Morgan
   Douglas Jardine (Capt): Michael Cochrane
   Gubby Allen: Robert East
   Bob Wyatt: Haydn Wood
   The Nawab of Pataudi: Sam Dastor
   Harold Larwood: Michael Kitchen
   Bill Voce: David Threlfall
   Bill Bowes: Peter Joyce
   Maurice Leyland: John Church
   Pelham Warner(Manager): Robert Lang
   Perrin: Patrick Barr
   Higson: John Bott
   Bill Woodfull (Captain): Edmund Pegge
   Donald Bradman: Christopher Blake
   Jack Fingleton: Nick Tate
   Vic Richardson: Damon Sanders
   Stan McCabe: Peter Dahlsen
   Tim Wall: Graham Faulkner
   Oxlade: Philip Dunbar
   Jeanes: Gordon Reid
   Jack Ryder: Gordon Gostelow
   Allan Kippax: Michael McStay
   Alf Noble: Martin Friend
   Gaumont British News: Christopher Douglas
   Arthur Carr (Notts Capt): Stephen Thorne
   Commander O'Sullivan: Michael Spice
   George V: Brian Haines
Repeated from 6th September 1980
Repeated 4th October 1992
[Also broadcast on R7 2009]


31st August 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Toad of Toad Hall (1929) by A. A. Milne (1882-1956), dramatised from 'The Wind in the Willows' (1908) by Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932)
Incidental music by Harold Fraser-Simson, arranged by Peter Hope.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
   Toad: Derek Smith
   Rat: Bernard Cribbins
   Mole: Richard Goolden
   Badger: Cyril Luckham
   Marigold: Tina Heath
   Nurse: Diana Bishop
   Alfred: Brian Haines
   Chief weasel: William Fox
   Chief Stoat: Fraser Kerr
   Chief ferret: William Sleigh
   Judge: Hugh Paddick
   Usher: Terry Scully
   Policeman: Ronald Herdman
   Phoebe: Kate Binchy
   Washerwoman: Jo Manning Wilson
   Frightened ferret: Sam Dastor
   Brave weasel: Nigel Graham
   Duck: John Forrest
   Turkey: Andrew Rivers
Repeated from 21st and 23rd April 1973
Repeated 1976, 1979, 1981, 1990
[Richard Goolden played Mole in the 1930 and 1931 London stage productions.]


31st August 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The Maintenance Man by Richard Harris
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Bob: Ray Brooks
   Chris: Rosemary Martin
   Diana: Elizabeth Bell
   Bob: Peter Baldwin
Repeated 6th September 1981


2nd September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Gone to Ground by John Ashe
When the prisoner is released from prison, the police want the unrecovered goods.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Roly Gilmore: Ian Lavender
   Judge/Georgie: Rex Holdsworth
   Sgt Cordle: Ian MacKenzie
   Supt Rayne: Bill Wallis
   Burke: Eric Lander
   Pete: Daniel Day-Lewis
   Katie: Julia Hills
   Nannie: June Barrie


3rd September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Fringe Benefits by Sheila Hodgson (1921-2001)
A story of part of the Edinurgh Fringe Festival.
Directed by David Johnston
   Mrs MacKinnon: Gwyneth Guthrie
   James: Jack McKenzie
   Tim Hazel: Colin Starkey
   Judianne: Jill Fenner
   Morris: Martin Black
   Sprog: Fiona Black
   Mrs Logan: Mary Riggans
   American poet: Lloyd Quinan
   Boys: William Elliot, Louis Write and Steven Whinnery
   Girls: Sybil Winthrop, Dorothy Taylor and Una McNab


4th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Covering End (1898) by Henry James (1843-1916) adapted by D. A. Bridson
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Mrs Gracedew: Beth Porter
   Captain Yule: Michael Cochrane
   Mr Prodmore: Michael Spice
   Cora: Rosalind Adams
   Chivers: Ronald Herdman
[Originally "Summersoft" (1895), rewritten as "Covering End" and rewritten again as "The High Bid"(1909) ]


5th September 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Double-Page Spread by Carole Boyer
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Becky: Sasha Mitchell
   Susie: Jane Knowles
   Teresa: Barbara Peak
   Miss Smythe: Amanda Murray
   Prefect: Hilary Newcombe
   Matron: Thea Gregsom
   Miss Meade: Margaret Robertson
   Jill: Jane Writing
   Angie: Caroline Nelson
Repeated 8th September 1981


5th September 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Technicolor Time Machine (1967) by Harry Harrison (1925-2012) adapted by Chris Boccher
An historical epic movie - with a difference.
Directed By: Glyn Dearman
   Barney Hendrikson (a film director): Lee Montague
   Professor Hewett (inventor): Richard Pearson
   L. M. Greenspan: John Bay
   Dr Jens Lyn (a philologist): David March
   Ottar (a Viking): Michael Kilgarriff
   Slithey Tove (a film star): Karen Archer
   Ruf Hawk (another film star): Alexander John
   Charley Chang (a scriptwriter): Barry Dennen
   Tex (a stuntman): William Roberts
   Dallas (another stuntman): Crawford Logan
   Amory (a technical advisor): Don Fellows
   Gino (a cameraman): Sean Barrett
   Doody (a musician): Andrew Secombe
   Betty (a secretary): Patience Tomlinson
   Saa (an accountant): John Livesey
Repeated 7th September 1981


7th September 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The Prisoner's Wife by Bill Lyons
Steve blows his redundancy money on a cottage in Somerset.
Directed by Jane Morgan
   Mary: Angela Pleasence
   Steve: Michael Graham Cox
   Estate agent: Nicholas Courtney
   Mrs Mowbray: Pauline Letts
   Barman: Alan Dudley
   Dave Garber: Gorden Kaye
   Mr Black: Michael Spice
   Fiona Black: Sonia Fraser
   Margaret/ Julie: Kathryh Hurlbutt
   Mr Gallagher: Tenniel Evans
   Dominic: Rosty Livingstone
   Henry Mowbray: David Timson
   Mrs Armitage: Rosalind Adams
Repeated 13th September 1981

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9th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Don't I Know You? by Graham Swannell
Directed by John Tydeman
   Howard: Hywel Bennett
   his Mother: Patricia Hayes
   Ruth: Nerys Hughes
   Alice: Rosemary Hale


10th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Are You Listening? by Jacqueline Wilson
Directed by Margaret Etall
   Eileen: Jacqueline Tong
   Mother: Jean Grover
   Father: Alan Dudley
   Cath: Delia Morgan
   Mrs Armitage: Judy Franklin
   Matron: Pauline Letts
   Nurse Bartlett: Rosalind Adams
   Pam: Christine Absalom
   Mick: Stephen Garlick
   Nurse: Diana Bishop


11th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Tidal Race by Christopher Russell
A tanker has gone aground, spilling a lot of oil. The work of a coastguard.
Directed by Brian Dean
   Freddie Leadbetter: Ronald Herdman
   Doug Spiring: Edward Kelsey
   Herbie Summers: Haydn Jones
   Joe Morgan: John Bott
   Ray Briggs: Paul Webster
   Colin Parkes: David Learner
   Margaret Spiring: Diana Bishop
   Sally Hardy: Rosalind Adams
   Les Garficld: Haydn Wood
   David Hardy: David McAlister
   James Westwood: Nicholas Courtney
   Terry Mercer: Spencer Banks
   Helicopter Pilot: John Webb
Repeated 24th March 1983
[Not related to Peter Berry's 1975 play carrying this title]


12th September 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Give the Clown his Supper (1965) by Gerry Jones
It can be hard if you don't win...
Directed By: Martin Jenkins
   Stuart Pendleton: Julian Glover
   Pat: Jennifer Piercey
Repeated 15th September 1981


12th September 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Frame of Deference by Rod Beacham (1940-2013)
A message from a lost astronaut.
Directed By: Peter King
   Billy: Stuart Milligan
   Narrator: Rod Beacham
   Momma: Katherine Parr
   Libida: Alex Marshall
   Macho: Andrew Secombe
   Sebro: Stephen Garlick
   Mini: Patience Tomlinson
   Robec: Alexander John
   Momus: Ellis Dale
   Ortho/Commentator: Stanley Page
   Rolli: David McAlister
   Mary Ellen: Rosalind Adams
   Mission Control: Alan Dudley
   Mission Control: Crawford Logan
Repeated 14th September 1981


14th September 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Strike a Blow and Die by Michael Kittermaster
An early rebellion against harsh cruel Colonial settlers and rulers. 1914- Nyasaland (now Malawi).
Directed by Richard Wortley
   Chilembwe (1871-1915): John Matshikiza
   Smith: Garard Green
   Turnbull: John Livesey
   Metcalfe: Michael Spice
   Dennison: John Webb
   Grant: Alan Dudley
   Hetherwick: Crawford Logan
   Booth: John Rowe
   Bismarck: Lionel Ngakane
   Glossop: Nicholas Courtney
   Chief Kadewere: Willie Jonah
   Kufa: Mel Taylor
   Livingstone: Henry Stamper
   McDonald: David McAlister
   Sharpe: Ronald Herdman
   Bruce: Ceorge Parsons
   Kundecha: Louis Mahone
   Prentice: Haydn Wood
   Kamwana: Troy Foster
Repeated 20th September 1981
[In 1920 Nyasaland, 1,015 Europeans ruled more than 1,226,000 Africans].


16th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Little Weed's Big Day by Chris Curry
An old lorry, a new lad - and three tons of coal to move by nightfall.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Jem Clegg: Ray Mort
   Ben Parker: Colin Meredith
   Cheyenne: Peter Wheeler
   Lightnin': Keith Clifford
   Joe Clog: Alan Rothwell
   Raptash: Kenneth Alan Taylor
   Collie: Bob Mason
   Grandma: Paula Tilbrook


17th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Heligoland by Sam McBratney (1943-2020)
A lodging house.
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
   Sally: Anne Hasson
   Mrs Biddlecombe: Trudy Kelly
   McCafferty: Patrick Magee
   Harper: Derek Halligan
   Mary Fry: Doreen Hepburn
   Mr Cross: Louis Rolston
Repeated 16th November 1985


18th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: A Study in Sin by Michael Robson
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Gemma Yates: Karen Ford
   Hobart: John Pullen
   Griffin: Gabriel Woolf
   Collinge: Timothy Bateson
   Sarah: Peggy Ann Wood
   Louise: Joanne Pearce
   Mrs Norton: Sally Lahee
   Guy: Norman Bowler
   Penhallow: David Ponting
   Desmond: John Abineri
Repeated 24th November 1984


19th September 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: A Triangle Squared by Tessa Krailing (1935-2003)
The author's characters are proving uncooperative.
Directed by John Cardy
   Garfield: Nicholas Courtney
   Angela: Patience Tomlinson
   Peter: David McAlistcr
   Daphne: Denise Bryer
   the Chambermaid: Rosalind Adams
Repeated 22nd September 1981


19th September 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Best of Friends by J. C. W. Brook
Moments in the lives of two schoolfriends.
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   Bill as a boy: Rosalind Adams
   John as a boy: Patience Tomlinson
   Anders: Gordon Reid
   John: Christopher Scoular
   Pait: Andrew Secombe
   Sarah: Angela Down
   Bill: Michael Cochrane
   Christine: Frances Jeater
Repeated 21st September 1981


21st September 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Butterfingers by David Pownall (1938-2022)
How to achieve the required cuts in the Health Service.
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester
   Jerry: Roy Barraclough
   Henry/First Member/ Nurse Robinson: Robert Keegan
   Tosher/Flixton: Christopher Good
   George/Al Geary/Second Member: James Tomlinson
   Dermot/The Thomas/Pedro: Ronald Herdman
   Dr Walton: Henry Moxon
   Dr Phillimore: Geoffrey Beevers
   William/Major: John Branwell
   Chairman/Merrivale: Stanley Page
   Third Member/Nurse: Kathleen Helme
   Delilah: Valerie Murray
   Lidell/Corporal: Stephen Hancock
   Ross: Roger Phillips
   Johnstone: Michael Carter
   Nurse Braces: David Mallinson
Repeated 27th September 1981


22nd September 1981
15.02:
Lost Horizon (1933) by James Hilton (1900-1954) dramatised by Barry Campbell
1 of 3: The Kidnapping
1931.
Directed by Graham Gauld
   Hugh Conway: Derek Jacobi
   Mallinson: Andrew Branch
   Barnard: Alan Tilvern
   Miss Brinklow: Carol Marsh
   Rutherford: John Livesey
   Wyland: Sion Probert
   Hilton: Alaric Cotter
   Sanders: Gary Cady
   Doctor: John Bull
   Chang: Garard Green
   Pianist/ Harpsichordist: Antony Miall
   the High Lama: Alan Wheatley
Pt2:29/9/81 Pt3:6/10/81
[Also broadcast on R7 in 2010, and on R4X 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023]
[There was another Graham Gauld production- also in three parts- in 1966, rptd 1969, with Gabriel Woolf as Conway.]


23rd September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Ring o' Roses by Lisa Evans
A pensioner disappears.
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham
   Christie: Patricia Gallimore
   Sheila: Elspeth Charlton
   Fred: Roger Hume
   Max: Nigel Lambert
   Cicily: Ann Way
   Harry: Don Henderson
   Arthur: Stephen Hancock
   Librarian: Shirley Stelfox


24th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: You Haven't Changed a Bit by Caroline Harrington
Two school friends get together.
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Pru Cartwright: Frances Jeater
   Harry Cartwright: John Rowe
   Elizabeth Bean: Rosalind Adams
   Rodney Bean: Jeffrey Perry
   Amanda Bean: Olwen Griffiths
   Simon: George Parsons
   Jenny: Patience Tomlinson
   Mr Khan: Albert Oses


25th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Dartist by Andrew Lynch
Now there was another dartist in town.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Terry: Michael Angelis
   Tonto: Kenneth Gardnier
   Uncle Tal: Graham Roberts
   Brenda: Helen Worth
   Tommy: David Lincoln
   Arthur: David Casey
   T K Jackson: David Jackson
   Jenny: June Barry
   Landlord: Peter Wheeler
Repeated from 10th March 1979
[This play was listed for 14th December 1978 but was not broadcast on that date due to a vote of confidence in the UK government.].


26th September 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Side-Effects by Connie Bensley
What can happen when a lodger is given notice to leave.
Directed by Clare Taylor
   Tom: John Carson
   Anna: Frances Jeater
   Pam: Patience Tomlinson
   Liz: Theresa Streatfeild
   Simon: Spencer Banks
   Janet: Diana Bishop
   Frank: George Parson
Repeated 29th September 1981


26th September 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Weekend with Willie by Richard Huggett (1929-2000)
Invited to supper by Somerset Maugham.
Directed by David Johnston
   W. Somerset Maugham: David March
   Syrie Maugham: Prunella Scales
   Sir Frederick Maugham: Richard Huggett
   Gerald Haxton: Barry Dennen
   Martin Johnson: Michael Cochrane
   John D. Hackerman: Robert Beatty
   Pierre: Andrew Secombe
   John Maitland: Haydn Wood
   Daphne Maitland: Shirley Cooklin
Repeated 28th September 1981
[Also broadcast on R4X in 2018, 2022]
   
   
26th September 1981
22.15-23.00:
Beautiful for Ever by Ian Linton (or Un Liston??)
1868: The case of the cosmetic to make women Beautiful for Ever.
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham
   Narrator: Michael McClain
   Madame Rachel: Joyce Redman
   Mary Borradaile: Patricia Gallimore
   Sgt Ballantine: Terry Molloy
   Mr Digby Seymour: William Gaunt
   Mr Montague Williams: David Buck
   Mr Straight: Hugh Ross
   Recorder: Stephen Hancock
   Clerk: Tim Brierley
   Foreman of the Jury: Jack Holloway
   Lord Ranelagh: David Vann
   Mr Haynes: Michael Spice
   Miss Leverson: Hedli Niklaus
   Sarah Sutton/Sabina Pilley: Kathryn Hurlbutt
[There were several radio programs around Madame Rachel including a 1968 Saturday Night Theatre "Beautiful for Ever" , by Elizabeth Jenkins.]
[{Possibly by Ian Liston who wrote one play for R4 and was an actor in a play produced by Vanessa Whitburn. This is the only credit in the BBC Programme Database for "Ian Linton" (OR Un Liston)} ]


28th September 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: I Love My Love by Fay Weldon (1931-2023)
A sponsored "life swap"
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Cat: Meg Davies
   Anne: Gabrielle Lloyd
   Derek: David Bradley
   Mark: Christopher Reich
   Lynn: Kay Adshead
   Radio Announcer: Christian Rodska
(First broadcast on R3 on 19th March 1981)


30th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Marriages ("The Marriages" 1891) by Henry James (1843-1916) adapted by Hallam Tennyson
The Colonel, looked after by his daughter, may be thinking of remarrying.
Directed by David Spenser
   Adela: Petra Markham
   Colonel Chart: Gabriel Woolf
   Mrs Churchley: Margaret Courtenay
   Godfrey: David McAlister
   Beatrice: Christine Absalom
   Muriel: Jill Lidstone
   Violet: Jane Knowles
   Phipps: Hilary Sesta
   Porter: George Parsons


1st October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Something Surprising by Rachel Wyatt
Retirement brings life style changes.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Fred: Robin Bailey
   Beattie: Katherine Parr
   Elvie: Josie Kidd


2nd October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Long Ago and Far Away by Ted Allbeury (1917-2005)
Forty years after the war two former Special Operatives hear a familiar voice on Radio 4...
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Johnny: David McAlister
   Anne-Marie: Kate Binchy
   Patrice: Michael N Harbour
   himself: Roy Plomley
   George Carter: Nicholas Courtney
   Lutz: Sion Probert
   René: John Rye
   Jean Paul: George Parsons
Repeated 28th December 1982
[The author was a Special Operative]


3rd October 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Warren by Martyn Wade
The long awaited (or dreaded) date for the birth of their first child approaches...
Director Cherry Cookson
   Kenneth: David Collings
   Pauline: Nerys Hughes
   Assistant/midwife: Wendy Murray
Repeated 6th October 1981


3rd October 1981
20.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Leave it to Psmith (1923) by P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) dramatised by Michael Bakewell
Someone steals a necklace ...
Directed by Peter King
   The Author: John Gielgud
   Lord Emsworth: Michael Hordern
   Lady Constance: Joan Greenwood
   Psmith: Simon Ward
   Baxter: Christopher Godwin
   Freddie: David Troughton
   Joe Keeble: Bryan Pringle
   Beach: Ellis Dale
   Eve: Caroline Langrishe
   Miss Peavey: Zoe Wanamaker
   Cootes: Stuart Milligan
   McTodd: Peter Marinker
   Susan: Alex Marshall
   Briggs: Alan Dudley
   Newspaper employee: Haydn Wood
   Flowered waistcoat: Michael Spice
   Snuff-coloured suit: George Parsons
   Waiter: Ronald Berdman
   Young lady: Patience Tomlinson
   Young man: Spencer Banks
Repeated 5th October 1981 and 23rd August 1986

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4th October 1981
14.30:
Afternoon Theatre: The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning (1908-1980), Dramatised by Eric Ewens
The outbreak of the Second World War
1: The Great Fortune
Directed by John Tydeman
   Harriet: Anna Massey
   Guy: Jack Shepherd
   Yekimov: Aubrey Woods
   Clarence: John Rye
   McCann: Denis McCarthy
   Inchcape: Manning Wilson
   Woolley: Godfrey Kenton
   Sophie: Magdalene Buznea
   Galpin: Hector Ross
   Dobson: Stephen Thorne
   Bella: Kate Coleridge
   David Boyd: David Timson
   Klein: Alan Dudley
   Mrs Ramsden: Betty Hardy
   Miss Turner: Gladys Spencer
   Miss Truelove: Betty Huntley-Wright
Part2: The Spoilt City: 11th October 1981
additional actors:
   Lord Pinkrose: Gerald Cross
   Freddie: Vernon Joyner
Part3: Friends and Heroes: 18th October 1981.
Additional actors:
   Charles Warden: Christopher Good
   Alan Frewen: William Fox
   Archie Callard/Sasha: Peter Pacey
   Gracey: Rolf Lefebvre
   Ben Phipps: Sean Arnold
   Dubedat: Anthony Daniels
   Toby Lush: Nigel Lambert
The trilogy was first broadcast commencing 9th and 15th September 1974, and repeated commencing 1st October 1990.
[A sequel trilogy "The Levant Trilogy" was broadcast commencing 23rd and 29th November 1981]


5th October 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: House Wives by Louise Page
Directed By: Vanessa Whitburn
   Clementine: Juliet Stevenson
   Jessica: Deirdre Doone
   Violet: Kathleen Helme
   Dot: Pauline Letts
   Stephen: Mark Brignal
   Bill: Derek Watson
   David: Richard Derrington
   Returning Officer: Stephen Hancock
[First broadcast on Radio 3, 12th March 1981]


7th October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Driving Through by Peter Whalley (1946-2017)
A life of owning cars.
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester
   George (Narrator): James Tomlinson
   Mother/Sandra: Lorraine Peters
   Father/Solicitor/Garage-Man: Kenneth Alan Taylor
   George (child)/Susan: Susan Sheridan
   Taxi-Driver/Officer: Charles Haggith
   George (adult): Brian Southwood
   Billy/Receptionist: John Talbot
   Mary/Sheila: Anna Lindup
   Audrey: Anne Reid
   Anne: Linda Jean-Barry
Also broadcast on Radio 2, on 8th October 1981


8th October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: You Can't Go Home by Hanif Kureishi
Torn between two cultures.
Directed by David Spenser
   Jameela: Miriam Margolyes
   Amjad: Saeed Jaffrey
   Banoo: Zohra Segal
   Roy: Tony McEwan
   Arshad: Marc Zuber
   Hotel receptionist: Lolly Cockerell


9th October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Moorcock by Henry Livings (1929-1998)
A fictional re-creation of a famous murder mystery.
Music composed, directed by Derek Broadbent
Played by Stephen Lord, John Gillam, Christopher Wood, John Hincley , Dave Cass
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester
   Molly: Judith Barker
   Shaun: Shane Connaughton
   Bill: Robert Keegan
   Tom: Keith Clifford
   Reuben: Roy Barraclough
Repeated 6th October 1983
[The pub was demolished in 1937, the landlord and his son were buried at St Chad's Saddleworth. No-one was charged with murder.]


10th October 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: An End in Sight by Sandra Hale
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Peter: Chris Wilkinson
   Bl'atly (??): Marlene Sidaway
   Linda: Sally Gibson
   Miss Iveson: Lesley Nicol
   Mr Jones: Peter Wheeler
Repeated 13th October 1981


10th October 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: From James to Alice by Patrice Chaplin
Who is sending postcards dating from World War 1?
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Victoria: Morag Hood
   Sylvia: Theresa Streatfeild
   Gerry: John Rowe
   Victoria's mother: Margot Boyd
   Alex: Bill Paterson
   Mary: Patience Tomlinson
   Simon: David McAlister
   Lilly: Kate Harper
   Colin: John Webb
   Alice: Katherine Parr
   George: Crawford Logan
   James Hamilton: Andrew Secombe
   Alice,a girl: Rosalind Adams
Repeated 12th October 1981


11th October 1981
21.02:
Hatter's Castle (1931) by A. J. Cronin (1896-1981). Dramatised by Matthew Walters
1879, Scotland. The hatter is not a pleasant person.
Technical presentation by John Wilkie, Gordon Chalmers and David Quinn
Part 1 of 5
Directed by Stewart Conn
BBC Scotland
   James Brodie: Iain Cuthbertson
   Mrs Brodie: Gwyneth Guthrie
   Narrator: Robert Trotter
   Mary: June Andrews
   Nessie: Jennifer Angus
   Matt: Bill Paterson
   Gran: Sheila Donald
   Agnes: Doreen Cameron
   Denis Foyle: John O'Toole
   Perry: Finlay McLean
   Dron: Finlay Welsh
   Sir John Latta: Brown Derby
Additional actors in later parts:
David Steuart, Isobel Gardner, John Grieve, John Shedden, Iain Cuthbertson, Lawrence Ventre, Lloyd Quinan
Sheila Latimer
Pt2:18/10/81 Pt3:25/10/81 Pt4:1/11/81 Pt5:8/11/81
Each part repeated after 2 days.


12th October 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The Prague Trial 79
Prepared for the stage by Patrice Chereau and Ariane Mnouchkine
Translated and adapted by Christopher Hampton.
Introduced by John Mortimer
Readings in English by Flora Robson and in Czech by Julius Tomin
October 1979- a dramatic reconstruction of the trial.
Appeal summary by Glenda Jackson
Directed by Martin Jenkins
   Dana Nemcova: Gwen Watford
   Jin Dienstbier, a Journalist: Peter Jeffrey
   Otta Bednarova: Mary Wimbush
   Dr Vaclav Benda: Clifford Rose
   Petr Uhl an engineer: Robert Lang
   Vaclav Havel: George Cole
   Counsel for the Defence: Lindner: David Hare
   Counsel for the Defence: Penka: Bruce Stewart
   Counsel for the Defence: Tichy: Ronald Harwood
   Counsel for the Defence: Lzicar: Peter Barnes
   Counsel for the Defence: Klouza: Christopher Scott
   The Prosecutor: Brian Haines
   The Tribunal:Judge Kaspar: Ian Richardson
   The Tribunal:Female member: Jenny Lee
   Relative:Onclrej Dienstbier: Robert Powell
   Relative:Anna Sabatova: Angela Pleasence
   Relative:Marketa Nemcova: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Witness:Albert Cerny: Alec McCowen
   Witness:Irma Hrabalova: Pauline Letts
   Witness:Anna Kastakova: Lolly Cockerell
   Witness:Mrs Valova: Eve Karpf
   Witness:Doctor: Jane Knowles
Also taking part Howard Brenton and Christopher Hampton
[First broadcast on R3, 26th October 1980]


14th October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Chicken on the Road by Bob Wilson
A hitch-hiker seems to know all about the driver.
Directed by Peter King
   Driver: Kenneth More
   Youth: Michael Kitchen
   Garageman: Martin Friend
   Girl: Amanda Murray
   Secretary: Alex Marshall
   Lorry driver: Leonard Fenton
   Policeman: John Church
Repeated from 12th December 1979
[Also broadcast on R2 on 15th October 1981


15th October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Clagthorpe Viva by Bruce Bedford
A contestant for the TV Quiz Show Superbrain.
Director Peter Kosminsky
   Harold: John Duttine
   Narrator: Jack May
   Mam: Linda Polan
   Grandad: George A Cooper
   Trish: Penelope Freeman
   Magnus Magnusson: Himself
   Father: John Rapley
   Mr Potter: Bryan Pringle
   Eddy: Sean Arnold
   Bus conductor: Brian Miller
   Old crone: Jean Hastings
Repeated 7th May 1985 and 15th August 1985


16th October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: T.B.C. by Paul Bond
Eddie visits the Day Ward....
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Dolly: Meg Johnson
   Jimmy: Colin Meredith
   Sister: June Barry
   Alice: Lorraine Peters
   Eddie: Enn Reitel
   Sheila: Sue Jenkins
   Roger Pinkey: Brian Southwood
   Daisy: Shope Shodeinde
   Percy: Geoffrey Banks
   porter: Charles Foster
   McAndrew: Robert McIntosh
   Iqbal: Sam Dastor


17th October 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: A Small Desperation by Peter Lowe
A confrontation between age and experience.
Directed By: Ian Cotterell
   with Michael Hordern and Michael Maloney
Repeated from 3rd June 1980
[One of the prize-winners in a 1980 BBC Radio Medway play competition.]


17th October 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Zack (1920) by Harold Brighouse (1882-1958)
Zack Munning was the despair of his mother.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Mrs Munning: Marlene Sidaway
   Sally Teale: Sue Jenkins
   Paul Munning: Ray Barraclough
   Virginia Cavender: Rosalind Shanks
   Zachariah Munning: Bob Mason
   Martha Wrigley: Angela Curran
   James Abbott: Geoffrey Banks
   Joe Wrigley: James Tomlinson
   Thomas Mowatt: David Fleeshman
   Harry Shoebridge: Jack Carr
Repeated 19th October 1981 and 20th March 1982
[Previously produced by Frederick Bradnum in 1950]


19th October 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The Dark Horse by Michael Abbensetts (1938-2016)
"A black MP? Why not?"
Directed by Penny Gold
   Blake Grant: Malcolm Fredericks
   Annabelle: Angela Bruce
   David Gold: David Swift
   Jim Daker: Paul Hardwick
   Margaret: Sara Kestelman
   Mr Chase: Anton Phillips
   Lockstey: Trevor Laird
   Hakim: Rudolph Walker
   Mr Rawlings/Policeman: John Livesey
   Inspector/Man in flat: Hugh Dickson
   Victor: Trevor Butler
   Black youth: Brian Bovell
   Returning Officer: Nicholas Courtney
Repeated 25th October 1981
[The UK's first "black" MP was not elected until 1987. Her party disowned her ("suspended the whip") in 2023.]


20th October 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Winner Takes the Kitty by R. D. Wingfield (1928-2007)
Directed by Anton Gill
   Kitty: Pat Ashton
   Stanley: Derek Francis
   Harry: Bob Hoskins
   George: Derek Deadman
   Johnny: Don McKillop
   Fred: Brian Croucher
   Sybil: Irene Sutcliffe
Repeated 13th October 1976


20th October 1981
12.27-12.55
Lord Peter Wimsey: Have his Carcase (1932) by Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957) adapted by Alistair Beaton
1 of 6: The Evidence of the Corpse
Producer Martin Fisher
   Narrator John Westbrook
   Lord Peter: Ian Carmichael
   Harriet Vane: Maria Aitken
   Inspector Umplety: Nigel Stock
   Haviland Martin: Warren Clarke
   Mrs Weldon: Isabel Dean
   Julian Perkins: Richard O'Callaghan
   Saunders: John Webb
   Mr Hearn: Alexander John
Additional actors in parts 2-6:
Alan Dudley, Andrew Secombe, Betty Marsden, Carole Harrison, Deidre Costello, Haydn Wood, Judy Franklin, Malcolm Ingram, Norman Bird, Patrick Newell, Ronald Herdman, Rosalind Ayres, Spencer Banks, Peter Tuddenham
Pt2:27/10/81 Pt3:3/11/81 Pt4:10/11/81 Pt5:17/11/81 Pt6:24/11/81
1981 episodes repeated the following day.
[Also broadcast on R7 2010 and R4X 2012, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022]


21st October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Chairman's Statement: Rationalisation of Resources by Don Webb
The reasons given for redundancy.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Robin Williams: Christopher Saul
   Rachel Williams: Susan Tracy
   George Knott: Malcolm Hebden
   Jenny Barr: Sandra Clark
   Arthur Miller: Keith Clifford
   
   
22nd October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Worlds Apart by Dave Simpson
A school-leaver without a job.
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
   Marion Marion: Beverly Foster
   Mother: Stella Tanner
   Joyce: Karen Petrie
   Clerk/Shop assistant: Dinah Handley
   Clerk: Colin Meredith
   Charlie: David Ross
   Manager: Alan Partington
   Pete: Mark Shepherd
   Dave: Colin Meredith
   
   
23rd October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Broken Wings, Bright Stars by Mike Walker
Brazil. The Developers move in.
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Tomas: Gary Cady
   Jose: Michael Spice
   Froggy: Steve Hodson
   Fr Mouzinho: Eric Lander
   Maria: Pauline Letts
   Torres/Man at cockfight: Martyn Read
   Jorge: Anton Phillips
   Juan/Javari: Crawford Logan
   Carlos/Workman: John Webb
   Bar girl: Jill Lidstone
   Cop: Ronald Herdman
   Indian girl: Patience Tomlinson
Repeated 23rd February 1985.


24th October 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: I Can Give You Everything But Love by Karl Barry
Is honesty always the best policy.
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham
   Rose: Hedli Niklaus
   Joey: Nigel Lambert
   Arthur: Haydn Jones
   Julia: Elizabeth Revill
Repeated 27th October 1981


24th October 1981
20.15:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Suez (1977) by Royce Ryton (1924-2009).
November 1956: The British Prime Minister sent troops into the land around the Suez Canal.
Directed by David Spenser
   Anthony Eden: Peter Barkworth
   Lady Eden: Sarah Badel
   Col Nasser: David Buck
   the Israeli Ambassador: Gwen Watford
   John Foster Dulles: Peter Marinker
   Reporter: Philip Sully
   Lance Elsworthy: Anthony Byde
   Egyptian Ambassador: Neville Jason
   British Ambassador in Cairo: Patrick Barr
   Selwyn Lloyd: William Fox
   Anthony Nutting: Jeremy Clyde
   American Ambassador: Garrick Hagon
   Earl Mountbatten: John Westbrook
   Hugh Gaitskell: Geoffrey Collins
   Herbert Morrison: John Bott
   Tory backbencher: Roger Hammond
   Other MPS.: Alexander John, Godfrey Kenton, John McAndrew


26th October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: I Married You For Fun ["Ti ho sposato per allegria" (1966)] by Natalia Ginsburg (1916-1991), translated (1969) from the Italian by Henry Reed
After one week of marriage can it be that they will come to repent at leisure?
Directed by John Tydeman
   Giuliana: Zoe Wanamaker
   Pietro's mother: Patricia Routledge
   Pietro: Patrick Drury
   Vittoria: Elizabeth Proud
   Ginestra: Rowena Roberts
Repeated from 7th and 13th January 1980
[Also translated as "I Married You to Cheer Myself Up," 2008]


26th October 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: Attics and Cellars by Valerie Windsor
1868, India - marriage and return to England.
Music and special effects by Ilona Sekacz
Ondes Martenot played by John Morton
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
   Eleanor: Valerie Georgeson
   Lytton Manderbill: John Rowe
   Mrs Cooper: Pauline Letts
   Hester: Lesley Nicol
   Eleanor's mother: Ann Rye
   Cecilia: Sue Jenkins
   James: Brian Southwood
   Vicar/ Doctor/Coroner: Anthony Benson
   Church commissioner/Police officer: Stuart Richman
   Lady at employment agency: Delia Corrie
Repeated 1st November 1981

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28th October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: It's My Baby Too by Jean Nelson
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Lottie: Sonia Fraser
   Sarah: Sarah Sutton
   Jack: Christian Rodska
   David: Ray Llewellyn
   Mrs Brown: Daphne Heard
   Interviewer: Peter Woodward


29th October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Silent Crying by Bill Lyons.
She feels useless and lonely but she's not completely defeated yet.
Directed by Jane Morgan
   Her: Marian Diamond
   Him: Tom Wilkinson
   Australian woman: Thelma Whiteley
   Madge: Sonia Fraser
   Mrs Morton: Eva Stuart
   Jill: Christine Absalom
   Radio Brighton announcer: Diana Bishop
Repeated 22nd February 1986


30th October 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Face Value by Roy Kendall (1943-2020)
Directed by Margaret Etall
   Joy: Ann Windsor
   Max: Michael Aldridge
   Morris: Alan Mason
   Mrs Whitehead: Pauline Letts
   Georgina/Miss Wilcox: Stella Force


31st October 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Boot. Boot. Wallop, Wallop. Nut by Al Hunter (1957-2007)
Directed by Anton Gill
BBC Birmingham
   Old Robbie: Alan Devereux
   Ted: Mike Dowling
   Young Robbie: Colin Meredith
   Copper: Michael Spice
   Reporter: Terry Molloy
   Robbie's Mum/Magistrate: Patricia Gallimore
Repeated 3rd November 1981


31st October 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Hessian (1972) by Howard Fast (1914-2003) dramatised by Ramsay Williams
Set in 1781. During the American War of Independence. Futility.
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham
   Evan Feversham: Derek Jacobi
   Alice Feversham: Patricia Gallimore
   Squire Hunt: Ian Hogg
   Sarah Heather: Hedli Niklaus
   Raymond Heather: Steve Hodson
   Sally Heather: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Jacob Heather: Shaun Ley
   Hans Pohl/Saul Clamberham: Kerry Shale
   Rodney Stephan/Colonel St August: Blain Fairman
   John Dorset/Hessian Officer: John Livesey
   General Packenham: Noel Johnson
   Salem Alan: Sion Probert
   Jenny Perkins/Annie Heather: Liza Ross
   F Hessleman / Bosley Crippitt: Harry Towb
   Billy/Jeb: Jonathan Owen
   Abigail Hunt: Shirley Stelfox
   Hessian Sergeant: Crawford Logan
Repeated 2nd November 1981
[Hessian: German auxiliaries in the British service.]


2nd November 1981
12.27-12.55
What Ho! Jeeves: Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (1954) by P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) adapted by Richard Usborne
1 of 6: The New Moustache
Producer David Hatch
   Jeeves: Michael Hordern
   Bertie Wooster: Richard Briers
   Stilton Cheesewright: James Villiers
   Lady Florence Craye: Liza Goddard
   Policeman: David Tate
Additional actors in later parts:
Ann Davies, Ballard Berkeley, Diana King, Jonathan Cecil, Norman Bird, Vivian Pickles
Pt2:9/11/81 Pt3:16/11/81 Pt4:23/11/81 Pt5:30/11/81 Pt5:7/12/81
[Series first broadcast commencing 21st and 23rd May 1979]
[Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2003]


2nd November 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The Conservatory by Brian Thompson
Duncan has a new conservatory.
Music composed by Paul Todd
Directed by Alan Ayckbourn
Producer Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
   Duncan: Russell Dixon
   Marjorie: Susan Uebel
   Edward: Robin Bowerman
   Ellen: Carole Boyd
   George: Robin Herford
Repeated 8th November 1981


4th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Congress by Malcolm Bradbury(1932-2000)
A European congress.
Technical presentation by Jock Farrell Assisted by Marsail MacCuish And Vanessa Ellner
Directed by Richard Wortley
   the Russian Leonov: Antony Sher
   the translator Eva: Susan Kodicek
   the American Korn: Don Fellows
   Desk girl: Patience Tomlinson
   German customs man: Wolf Kahler
   German guide: Crawford Logan
   German girl assistant: Georgina Green
   Manager: Alan Dudley
   Herr Brinkman: Michael Spice
   French translator: Olivier Pierre
   Professor Criminale: George Pravda
   Continental speaker: Ronald Herdman
   P?oto-caller: John Livesey
   Tour guide: Rosalind Adams


5th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Roaring Boys by Ron Hutchinson
After he settles in England, his mother comes to stay.
Directed by Roger Pine
BBC Birmingham
   Sammy: Denys Hawthorne
   Gran: Doreen Hepburn
   Brian: Tony McEwan
   Jean: Diana Bishop
   Mac: Sean Barrett
   Andy: Nigel Anthony
   Annie: Caroline Hunt
   Bell: Sean Caffrey
   Shay: Dusty Young
   Des: Edward Clayton
   DC Mill: Ralph Lawton
Repeated from 30th September 1977


6th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Some Sunny Day by David Bannister (aka T D Webster)
A soldier wounded in action returns to his former job. Things have changed.
Directed by Roger Pine
BBC Birmingham
   Lilian: Pauline Letts
   Elizabeth: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Hugo: Roger Hume
   Mr Laing: Michael Spice
   Ken: Terry Molloy
   Michael: Jonathan Owen
   Malcolm: John Asbury
   Headmaster: Terence Coates
   Miss Sutherland: Patricia Gibson
Repeated 11th August 1984


7th November 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Not Cricket by Peter Whalley (1946-2017)
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Dr Brown: Geoffrey Banks
   David: Peter Biddle
   Jill: Kate Lee
   Desmond: Christopher Godwin
   Kevin: Russell Dixon
   Terry: Malcolm Tierney
Repeated 19th July 1983


7th November 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Operation Lightning Pegasus by Alick Rowe (1938-2009)
What really happened at the fall of Troy?
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin.
BBC Bristol
   Agamemnon: Timothy West
   Andromache: Joy Harrison
   Hector: Neil Stacy
   Achilles: Henry Stamper
   Patroclus: Nicholas Courtney
   Melops: Christian Rodska
   Philicus: Ronald Herdman
   Menelaus: Sion Probert
   Odysseus: Hugh Dickson
   Helen: Norma Ronald
   Paris: Tim Bentinck
   Priam: Andrew Hilton
   Cassandra: Rosalind Adams
   Diomedes: Geoffrey Bateman
   Harpist: Valerie Aldrich-Smitb
Repeated 9th November 1981, 7th August 1982, 30th January 1993, 30th October 1993
[Also broadcast on R7 in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and on R4X in 2012, 2014]


9th November 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The House of Learning by Martyn Wade
A fictional glimpse into the life of Francis Bacon.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Sir Francis Bacon: Freddie Jones
   Rawley: Nigel Hawthorne
   Lady Alice: Mary Wimbush
   Robert: William Nighy
   Medina: Philip Voss
   Timothy: Lockwood West
   Sylvia: Rosalind Adams
   Dr Harvey: Ronald Herdman
   Francisco: John Bull
   Old lady: Katherine Parr
Repeated 15th November 1981


11th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Deadline by William Smethurst (1945-2016)
An inexperienced reporter sets his sights high.
Music composed and played by Stephen Hancock
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham
   Terry: John Wheatley
   Peter: Simon Mollot
   Liz: Sue Wallace
   Sam: Paul Webster
   Wrigley: Keith Clifford


12th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Mother Care by Tim Aspinall (1935-2000)
A teenager is about to become a mother.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
   Rose: Petra Malcolm
   Kay: Elizabeth Bell
   James: John Rowe
   Jo: Jenny Twigge
   Pat: Judith Arthy
   David: John Abineri
   Jean: Sarah Benfield
   Librarian: Steve Hodson
   Harry: Rupert Graves
   Terry: Cornelius Garrett
   Bus conductor: Tim Bentinck


13th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Brag by C. S. Lincoln
Directed bv Stewart Conn
BBC Scotland
   John: Gregor Fisher
   Jake: Peter Lincoln
   Nancy: Maureen Beattie
   Captain: Russell Hunter
   Voice: Finlay McLean


14th November 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Goneril with a White Beard by Margaret Robertson
The ghost of an actress wishes to play the role of Lear.
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   Sarah Siddons: Mary Morris
   William Kent: David March
   Jeremy: John Warner
   Liz: Frances Jeater
   Chris: David McAlister
   Fiona: Pauline Letts
   Aubrey: Crawford Logan
   Deputy Stage Manager: Margaret Robertson
Repeated 17th November 1981
[The title is taken from King Lear Act 4]


14th November 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: A Voice in My Hand by Charlotte Hastings (1909-2003)
Directed by Graham Gauld
   Anna Beauregard: Flora Robson
   The Voice: Marius Goring
   Charles: Georce Baker
   Julius: Jack May
   Miss Collyer: Carol Marsh
   Anthony: Gary Cady
   Rosalind: Stella Forge
   Seraphine: Patience Tomlinson
   Bruno: Crawford Logan
   Fr Martin: Michael Spice
Repeated 16th November 1981


15th November 1981
21.02:
Uncle Silas by J. Sheridan Lefanu dramatised by Joan O'Connor
England in the 1860s
1 of 3: Austin Ruthyn and his Daughter
Directed by Kay Patrick.
BBC Manchester
   Maud: Kate Lee
   James: Gary Lucas
   Dr Bryerly/Dyke: Stuart Richman
   Mrs Rusk: Pauline Jefferson
   Monica: Delia Corrie
   Austin Ruthyn: Lewis Stringer
   Mary Quince: Linda Gardner
   Madame de la Rougierre: Joyce Latham
   Dudley/Biddleston: George Parsons
   Branston: George Hagan
   Man at the coach: Nick Maloney
   Post boy/Tom: John Talbot
Additional actors in parts 2 and 3:
   Uncle Silas: Peter Vaughan(2)
   Wyat: Kathleen Helme(2)
   Hawkes: Kenneth Alan Taylor(2)
   Milly: Anne Rosenfeld(2)
   Meg: Eileen O'Brien (2)
   Lord Ilbury: Ian Hastings(2)
   Grimston/Dr Jolks: Charles Foster(2)
   Monica: Delia Corrie (3)
   Sarah: Joanne Zorian (3)
Pt2:22/11/81 Pt3:29/11/81
All parts repeated after two days
[There was also a production in 1953 rptd 1955 by Mary Hope Allen]
[There was a production in 1995 by Enyd Williams with Graham Crowden and Joan Sims- this was the version repeated on BBC7/R4X]


16th November 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The Abbess of Crewe by Muriel Spark (1918-2006) dramatised by Pauline Spender
A satire on the Watergate affair (1972-74). Sister Felicity's thimble goes missing.
Directed by David Spenser
   Sister Alexandra: Sian Phillips
   Sister Gertrude: Margaret Robertson
   Sister Walburga: Pauline Letts
   Sister Mildred: Theresa Streatfeild
   Sister Felicity: Rosalind Adams
   Sister Bathildis: Jill Lidston
   Sister Winifred: Angela Phillips
   Fr Boudouin: Gary Cady
   Fr Maximillian: Nicholas Courtney
   Police officer: Spenser Banks
Repeated 22nd November 1981, 11th October 1982


18th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Bitter Peach by James Douglas
Husband and wife have differing ideas.
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
   Rachel: Susan Sheridan
   Sarah: Elizabeth Lindsay
   Jane: Deirdre Donnelly
   Chris: Derek Hallican


19th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Intersection by Stephen Fagan
He meets his father for the first time in ten years.
Directed by Margaret Windham
   the Father: John Le Mesurier
   Chris: Frank Grimes
   Woman: Jane Knowles
   George: Christopher Scott
   Bernie: Stephen Garlick
   Joe: Haydn Wood
   Hughie: Alan Dudley
[Also broadcast on Radio 4 Extra in 2012,2013, 2015, 2018, 2021]


20th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: A Superhero for our Times by Chris Allen
Radiophonic music by Paddy Kingsland of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Gerry Kipling: Barry Foster
   Celia Kipling: Sonia Fraser
   Simon Pendry: Brian Carroll
   Bob Pendry: Tony Chambers
   Therese: Emily Richard
   Brian Parker: Basil Moss
   Melvyn Dennis: Peter Forest
   Mr Marriott/Chairman: John Church
   Prof Maitland: John Bott
   Dr Beavan: Graham Callan
Also with Marie Collett, Judy Franklin, Haydn Wood Sion Probert, Brian Haines, Astley Jones, Stuart Blake, Roy Montague and Simon Richmond


21st November 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Slender Voice by Leszek Prorok (1919-1984). translated by Marcus Wheeler
Poland. A student goes missing.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
   Instructor: Eric Allan
   Barbara: Josie Kidd
   Yvonne: Alison Draper
   Victor: Andrew Branch
   Joe: Peter Wickham
   Martin: Joe Dunlop
   Carl: John Bull
   Boy: Crispin Gillbard
   Marlene: Karen Archer
   Director: Manning Wilson
   Norman: Peter Craze
   Frank: John Shrapnel
   Girl: Kate Binchy
Repeated from 1st May 1979


21st November 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: We Will Know Them by Gordon McKerrow
1916: Life was not easy in a World War 1 pacifist movement.
Directed by Penny Gold
   Molly: Francesca Annis
   Lydia: Fiona Walker
   Joan: Caroline Mortimer
   Catherine: Pauline Letts
   Molly's mother: Hilda Kriseman
   Molly's father: Michael Spice
   Mr Street/Mr Tennant: Sion Probert
   Clifford Allen: David McAlister
   Inspector Cole/Constable: Ronald Herdman
   Landlord/Triburialchairman: Alexader John
   Army captain: Andrew Secombe
   Policeman/Sergent: John Webb
   Major/MP: Roger Hammond
   Librarian: Spencer Banks
   Voice of the press: Danny Schiller
   Teddy: Richard Derrington
Other parts played by Diana Bishop, Judy Franklin, John Livesey and Theresa Streatfeild
Repeated 23rd November 1981

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22nd November 1981
18.15-18.45:
A Walk in the Dark by Chris Boucher (1943-2022)
1 of 5: Aboard the Carthena, on its way to Southampton
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Partridge: Patrick Mower
   Sergeant Dunne: Geoffrey Matthews
   Ruth Cobb: Helen Atkinson Wood
   Martin Lennister: David McAlister
   Captain of Carthena: Nicholas Courtney
   Australian driver: Anthony Jackson
Additional cast in later episodes:
Alan Dudley, Crawford Logan, Derek Pollitt, Gary Cady, Gregory de Polnay, Heather Bell, John Hollis, John Rowe, John Warner, Martin Friend, Michael Godley, Michael Tudor Barnes, Patience Tomlinson, Peter Tuddenham
Ep2:29/11/81 Ep3:6/12/81 Ep4:13/12/81 Ep5:20/12/81
All parts repeated after three days.
[Also broadcast on R4X in 2020 and 2022]


23rd November 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: The Levant Trilogy by Olivia Manning (1908-1980), Dramatised by Eric Ewens
World War 2.
1 of 3: The Danger Tree
Directed by John Tydeman
   Guy Pringle: Jack Shepherd
   Simon Boulderstone: Tim Woodward
   Dobbie Dobson: Stephen Thorne
   Bill Castlebar: Geoffrey Beevers
   Jake Jackman: Peter Craze
   Aidan Pratt: John Livesey
   Edwina Little: Frances Jeater
   Angela Hooper: Sheila Grant
   Colin Gracey: Hugh Dickson
   Toby Lush: Nigel Lambert
   Major Cookson: Alan Dudley
   Lord Pinkrose: John Warner
   Sgt Ridley: Michael Spice
   Major Hardy: John Westbrook
   Corporal Vincent/Crosbie: Stephen Garlick
   Major Lister: Nicholas Courtney
   Peter Trench: David McAlister
   Lord Lisdoonvara: Anthony Hyde
   Arnold/Blair: George Parsons
Additional cast in parts 2 and 3:
   Harriet Pringle: Anna Massey
   Mona Castlebar: Rosalind Adams
   Mortimer: Theresa Streatfeild
   Phil: Judy Franklin
   Dr Shafik: David March
   Allain/Maj Brody: Michael Tudor Barnes
   Sister Metrebian: Eve Karpf
   Hertz: Spencer Banks
   Ross: Peter Wickham
   Hatai: Stefan Kalipha
   Beltado: Geoffrey Matthews
   Jolly: Pauline Letts
Part2:30/11/81 Part3:7/12/81
Each part repeated after six days.
[A continuation of The Balkan Trilogy, broadcast 4, 11, and 18 October 1981 ]


24th November 1981
11.05::
Thirty-Minute Theatre: An Empty Glass by George Parsons
Memories of the deceased may not all be good.
Directed by John Cardy
   Emily Hunter: Shelagh Fraser
   May Little: Avril Elgar
   Stephanie Bardsey: Ann Firbank
   Adam: James Windsor
   Roger Monk: David McAlister
   Brian Itchen: Ronald Herdman
   Fran: Stella Forge
   James: Andrew Secombe
also with John Livesey


25th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Going Down with the Slip by Karl Barry
The business is not doing well.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
   Raine: Andy Rashleigh
   Sam Ginn: Brian Peck
   Reggie Murd: Geoffrey Banks
   Peggy Williams: Anne Cunningham
   Sarah Ginn: Ann Rye
   Len Amiss: John Jardine
   Josh Pollott: Keith Clifford


26th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Love of a Good Woman by Peter Whalley (1946-2017)
A study of self-interest.
Directed by Roger Pine
BBC Birmingham
   Tony: Terry Molloy
   Jan: Kathryn Hurlbutt


27th November 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Only Goodnight by Maureen Duffy
Edith Somerville looks back over her life (Fiction).
Directed by David Spenser
   Edith Somerville: Mary Wimbush
   Violet Martin: Rosalind Adams
   Cameron: Gary Cady
   Ethel Smyth: Jean Trend
   Yates: Stephen Thorne
Also with by Michael Tudor Barnes, Jill Lidstone, John Livesy and Theresa Streatfeild


28th November 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Thirty Minutes by Leonard Green
A friendship with the babysitter.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin.
BBC Bristol
Directed By: Shaun MacLoughlin.
   Charles: Gabriel Woolf
   Catherine: Kay Adshead
Repeated 1st December 1981


28th November 1981
20.30-21.58:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Irony of Fate or I Hope You Enjoyed Your Bath (1975) by Emil Braginsky (1921-1998) and Eldar Ryazanov (1927-2015) , translated by Robert Daglish and adapted by Glyn Dearman
Lukashin ends up in Leningrad airport under the illusion he is still in Moscow.
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Narrator Hugh Dickson
   Zhenya Lukashin: Ian Lavender
   Nadya Sheveleva: Penelope Wilton
   Ippolit Zhenya: Edward de Souza
   Marina Dmitrievna: Katherine Parr
   Pavel: George Parsons
   Misha: Michael Spice
   Sasha: Ronald Herdman
   Galya: Deirdre Edwards
   Valentina: Eve Karpf
   Tatiana: Wendy Murray
   Olga Nikolayevna: Margot Boyd
Repeated 30th November 1981
[The 1975 tv film version won a USSR State Prize in 1977[
[Loosely based on Ryazanov's 1971 play "Once on New Year's Eve"]


2nd December 1981
15.02-15.50:
Afternoon Theatre: Two Plus One by Josephine Hacon
A wife has an affair which her husband deals with.
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Julia: Gwen Watford
   Edgar: George Cole
   David: John Rowe
Repeated 24th February 1982


3rd December 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Lifeboat by Nick Darke (1948-2005)
The lifeboat is called out in a storm.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Derek: Vernon Joyner
   Jean: Theresa Streatfeild
   Jackson: Jack Watson
   Field: Adrian Cairns
   Peeler: Spencer Banks
   Coppy: Haydn Wood
   Brian/Aristotle: Gary Cady
   Jack: Conrad Phillips
   Leadwell/Alex: Michael Tudor Barnes
   Ivan: Ian Cross
   Willy: Phillip Manikum
   Master: Norman Bowler
   Peter: Crawford Logan
   Joan: Hilary Newcombe
   Betty: Tracey Miller
[This program was broadcast just 16 days before the Penlee Lifeboat disaster on the North Cornish coast.]


4th December 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: To Kill a Town by Derek Raby
Directed by Margaret Etall
Tom Hunt: James Villiers
   Alan Sims: Neville Jason
   Dyson: Stephen Garlick
   Max Wade: John Warner
   Larson: Clifford Norgate
   LAndlord: Patrick Westwood
   Boatman: Ian Frost
   Captain: Ronald Herdman
   Naval officer: Andrew Secombe
   Rogers: Robert Cawdron
   Auntie: Katherine Parr
   Mrs Stevenson: Alison Draper
   Stewardess: Wendy Murray
   Wireless operator/visitor: Andrew MacLacslan
also with Jill Lidstone and Michael Garner


5th December 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Supersaver by Peter Gibbs
Some time in the future when things have got even worse.
Directed by John Tydeman
   Eric: Richard Briers
   the Girl: Wendy Richard
   Mr Gale: Ronald Kerdman
   Mr Horobin: Michael Tudor Barnes
   the announcer: John Marsh
also with Jean Trend and John Livesey
Repeated 8th December 1981
[This play won the Prix Futura at the Berlin Festival]


5th December 1981
20.30-21.58:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Autonomous Murder Complex by Frederick Bradnum (1920-2001)
The dreams of a former soldier become even more of a nightmare.
Directed by Jane Morgan
   Harry Meadows: Robin Ellis
   Dowager Countess Mary: Pauline Letts
   Lady Monica: Frances Jeater
   Hilda Gertsand: Catherine Willmer
   Attwell: William Nighy
   Joanna White: Bridget Turner
   Patience Meadows: Tamsin Collison
   Alf: John Livesey
   Diana: Stella Force
   Thanet: Ronald Herdman
   Judith Smart: Rosalind Adams
   Inspector Oaks: Stephen Thorne
   Det-Supt Miles: Hugh Dickson
   Det-Sgt Davies: Alan Dudley
Also with Stephen Garlick, Crawford Logan, Andrew Secombe, Theresa Streatfeild and Patience Tomlinson
Repeated 7th December 1981
[Bradnum endured psychological scars (periods of paranoia) after his WW2 experiences.]


6th December 1981
21.02-22.00:
Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding (1707-1754) adapted by Hallam Tennyson (1920-2005)
1 of 6: Gentleman, Foundling and Bastard
Music composed by Ilona Sekacz
Director Martin Jenkins
   Tom Jones: Anton Lesser
   Sophia Western: Kathryn Hurlbutt
   Squire Allworthy: Clifford Rose
   Squire Western: Peter Jeffrey
   Henry Fielding: Martin Jarvis
   Mrs Wilkins: Hilda Schroeder
   Bridget Allworthy: Frances Jeater
   Blifil/Sgt Johnson: Michael Spice
   Parson Supple/ Captain: Nicholas Courtney
   George Seagrim: Brian Haines
   Thwackum/Magistrate: Hugh Dickson
   Goody Seagrim: Celia Ryder
   Molly: Helen Worth
   Master Blifil/1st Soldier/Gypsy witness: Andrew Secombe
   Goody Brown: Pauline Letts
   Mrs Honour: Elizabeth Morgan
Additional actors in later parts:
Annette Crosbie, Charles Gray, Crawford Logan, David Gooderson, David McAlister, Eva Stuart, Fred Bryant, George Parsons, Hugh Dickson, Jill Balcon, John Warner, Katherine Parr, Patience Tomlinson, Petra Davies, Robert Lang, Ronald Herdman, Sarah Badel, Sean Barrett, Spencer Banks, Steve Hodson
Pt2:13/12/81 Pt3:20/12/81 Pt4:27/12/81 Pt5:3/1/82 Pt6:10/1/82
Each of the above episodes repeated after two days.
Series also repeated commencing 25th December 1988
[Also broadcast on BBC7]


9th September 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Madam's Good Girl by Jack Klaff
She can only just afford to keep her servant
Directed by Peter King
   Margaret: Estelle Kohler
   Sue: Helen Bourne
   Bella: Peggy Phango
   Radio voice: Jack Klaff
   M'Kemel: John Matshikiza
[Jack Klaff was born in South Africa]


10th December 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Cardboard Christmas Cut-Outs by Brian Thompson
Ron has to find a Santa Claus.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
   Annie: Noreen Kershaw
   Ron: Christian Rodska
   Coulter: John Arthur
   Professor Gwent: Geoffrey Banks
   Stanley Chattermole: Cyril Shaps
   Chairman: Peter Wheeler
   Janice: Gilly Coman
   

11th December 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: A Rather Nasty Crack by David Wade.
An inheritance may be a disaster.
Directed by Ian Cotterell
   Emma Fry: Frances Jeater
   Harold Fry,: Michael Spice
   Freddie Parkin: John Warner
   Elizabeth Parkin: Judy Franklin
   Mr Parrot: Alan Dudley
   Mr Rossini: Ronald Herdman
   Cousin Tom: Michael Tudor Barnes
Also with Stella Force, Steve Hodson, Crawford Logan, Katherine Parr and Andrew Secombe


12th December 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Tremor by John Tarrant
A hole appears in the floor of Mel's barn.
Directed by David Johnston
   Mel: David McAlister
   Evis: Theresa Streatfeild
   Arnie: Spencer Banks
   Raoul: Stephen Thorne
   Tayo/Newsreader: Andrew Secombe
Repeated 15th December 1981


12th December 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: A Man of Too Much Honour by Elizabeth Holford
Riots, looting, arson. Bristol 1831.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
   Colonel Brereton: Alan Moore
   Milford Law: Howard Goorney
   Prosecutor: Hedley Goodall
   Herapath: Christian Rodska
   Ludlow: Roger Snowdon
   Pinnev: Rex Holdsworth
   Emma: Patience Tomlinson
   Mrs Milford: Ursula Hanray
   Lionsworth: Andrew Secombe
   Davis: Mark Buffert
   Warrington: Stephen Garlick
   Gage: Gary Cady
   Wetherell: Esmond Rideout
Repeated 14th December 1981


14th December 1981
20.00:
The Monday Play: In and Out the Union Jacks by Ginnie Hole
A daughter becomes involved with an extremist.
Director: Richard Wortley
   Jake: Michael Harbour
   Paul: Christopher Fairbank
   Ray: Michael Spice
   Anna: Petra Davies
   Mel: Kathryn Hurlbutt


16th December 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Turret Before Sunset by John Kirkmorris
Directed by Cherry Cookson
   Turret: Robert Lang
   Gwen: Miranda Forbes
   Hamp: Michael Cochrane
   Leo: Cyril Shaps
   Hilary: Wendy Murray


17th December 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Sunrise Over Baldness by J. C. Wilsher
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
   Peter: Kenneth Cranham
   Geoff: Nigel Anthony


18th December 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Hal by Charlotte Hastings
Recorder played by Antony Miall
Songs composed by Nicholas Austin
Directed by Graham Gauld
   Alicia: Jane Knowles
   Julian: Sean Barrett
   Hal: Graham Faulkner
   Mr Pumphrey: John Ruddock
   Canon Climpson: Lockwood West
   Auctioneer: Gordon Dulieu
Repeated from 15th November 1979 and 6th March 1980


19th December 1981
14.30:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Chosen by Gerry Knight
Cryonics and storing people to be revived after death in an emergency.
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
   Dr Zacarius: Peter Woodthorpe
   the Minister: David Waller
   Matthews: Stephen Garlick
   Computer/Strassman: Alan Dudley
   Carla/Girl In shop: Theresa Streatfeild
   Neil/Delegate: David McAlister
Repeated 22nd December 1981 and 28th December 1982


19th December 1981
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Sherlock Holmes v Dracula (1978) by Loren D. Estleman, adapted by Glyn Dearman.
As told by John H Watson. Mr Bram Stoker ignored the role of Sherlock Holmes
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Sherlock Holmes: John Moffatt
   Dr Watson: Timothy West
   Count Dracula: David March
   Professor Van Helsing: Aubrey Woods
   Thomas Parker: Michael Maloney
   Mr Caffyn: Noel Howlett
   Mary Watson: Theresa Streatfeild
   Vampire: Frances Jeater
   Inspector Lestrade: Nicholas Courtney
   Mrs Barton: Katherine Parr
   Ned Bridger: John Hollis
Repeated 21st December 1981
[Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2007, 2010, and on R4X in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2020]

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20th December 1981:
14.30:
Afternoon Theatre: Whistle Down the Wind (1958) by Mary Hayley Bell (1911-2005) adapted by Kenneth Alan Taylor from the screenplay by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall
Three children on a Pennine farm discover a mysterious stranger taking refuge in their barn.
A radio presentation of the Oldham Coliseum Theatre production of November 1981
Directed for the stage by Kenneth Alan Taylor
Produced by Pat Trueman and Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
   Bostock: Russell Dixon
   Aunty Dorothy: Lorraine Peters
   Kathy: Jane Hazelcrove
   Nan: Jessica Taylor
   Charles: Iain Jones
   Eddie: Andrew Hay
   Man: Brian Southwood
   Salvation Army girl/Ruth: Lesley Nicol
   The Rev Reeves: Charles Hagith
   Inspector Teesdale: David Kitchen
   PC Thurstow: Michael Atkinson
   Mr Weaver: Ian Bleasdale
   Raymond: Michael Leigh
   Latecomer: Alison Blake
Disciples: Ursula Bamford, Pip Dewsbury, Natalie Dunn, Sharon Fitton, Megan Gallagher, Michael Gibbons, Michelle Lichtbowne, Patricia Nolan, Alistair Walker
Raymonds gang: Diane Berry, Janette Beverley, Jane Keane, Paul Marshall, Sara Rowbotham, John Thompson
Repeated 28th March 1982
[Note that this is taken from the 1961 film version which used a changed location, different names for the children and had quite a different ending to the book.].


21st December 1981
19.45:
The Monday Play: Knuckle (1974) by David Hare adapted by Walter Hall
Musicians: Mike Steer (electric organ); John Richards (double-bass); Bernard Shaw (percussion)
Musical director Mike Steer
Directed by Dickon Reed
A BBC World Service drama production
   Curly Delafield: James Laurenson
   Jenny Wilbur: Kika Markham
   Grace Dunning: Sheila Grant
   Patrick Delafield: Charles Gray
   Max Dupree: Nigel Anthony
   Barman: Walter Hall
   Porter: Sion Probert
   Compere (Lomax): Alan Dudley


23rd December 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Biggest Sandcastle in the World by Paul Thain
Tyneside, 1981: Building the biggest sandcastle in the world would seem an innocent enough occupation.
Directed by Glyn Dearman
   Archie Booth: Colin Douglas
   Jimmy Redpath: John Hollis
   Tommy Sugden: Geoffrey Matthews
   Betty Booth: Kathleen Helme
   Fred: Brett Margolis
   Mick: James Bate
   Harry: Christopher Fairbank
   Reporter: David Gooderson
   Employment officer: George Parsons
   Television interviewer: David McAlister
   Arthur Ridley: Gordon Faith
   Higgins: Trevor Cooper
   Jackie: Fred Pearson
Repeated 9th June 1982
[1981 Giles Cooper award winner]


24th December 1981
19.30-20.30
300 Murders by Colin Free (1925-1996)
Directed by John Tydeman
   Scobie Dearden: David March
   Maggie Best: Margot Boyd
   Denton Carey: David McAlister
   Capella: Ronald Herdman
   Insp Magee: Alan Barry
[Repeated 30/12/83 on which date it was listed on BBC Genome as "900 Murders"]


25th December 1981
15.15:
Afternoon Theatre: Enquiry (1969) by Dick Francis (1920-2010) dramatised by Barry Campbell.
A jockey loses his licence
Technical presentation: David Greenwood, assisted by David Hitchinson and Diana Barkham
Special effects recorded at Hereford Racecourse and Lethornes, Berkshire
   Kelly Hughes: Tony Osoba
   Lord Gowery: Jack May
   Dexter Cranfield: Philip Voss
   Lord Ferth: Robert Lang
   Charlie West: William Nighy
   Mr Newtonnards: John Ronan
   David Oakley: Michael Graham-Cox
   Tony: David Savile
   Roberta Cranfield: Selina Cadell
   Archie: Michael McKevitt
   Mrs Cranfield: Eva Stuart
   Mrs West: Jenny Twigge
   Secretary: Lolly Cockerell
   Dewar: Gordon Reid
   Grace Roxford: Thelma Whitely
   Jack Roxford: David Sinclair
   Doctor: Brian Carroll
   Derek Hickson: Philip Fox
Repeated from 19th and 22nd October 1979
[Also broadcast on BBC7 2007, 2008, 2010 and R4X 2012, 2014]
[Dick Francis was a champion jockey]


25th December 1981
19.50:
When We are Married (1934) by J. B. Priestley (1894-1984)
1908: Three silver weddings. Perhaps.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
   Ruby Birtle: Angela Curram
   Gerald Forbes: Stephen Boxer
   Mrs Northrop: Kathleen Helme
   Nancy Holmes: Kate Lee
   Fred Dyson: Peter John
   Henry Ormonroyd: George A Cooper
   Alderman Joseph Helliwell: Ronald Baddiley
   Maria Helliwell: Paula Tilbrook
   Cllr Albert Parker: Malcolm Hebden
   Herbert Soppitt: Geoffrey Banks
   Clara Soppitt: Barbara Young
   Annie Parker: Ann Rye
   Lottie Grady: Meg Johnson
   The Rev Clement Mercer: Paul Webster
Repeated 2nd May 1983.
[There was a production for BBC Light in 1955 by Vivian A Daniels (Violet Carson as Maria) who made a different production for BBC Home in 1965 (Thora Hird as Maria)]
[There was also a production in 1994 rptd 1995 (and repeated R7 and R4X) by Matthew Walters with Alan Bennett as Herbert.]


26th December 1981
20.00-21.58
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Sword in the Stone (1938) by T. H. White (1906-1964), dramatised by Neville Teller
Merlyn takes over as Wart's tutor
Original music by Benjamin Britten, played by a section of the English Sinfonia Orchestra conducted by Stewart Bedford
Special sounds by Stewart Robinson of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Directed by Graham Gauld
   Merlyn: Michael Hordern
   Wart: Toby Robertson
   Governess: Pauline Letts
   Kay: Simon Teff
   Sir Ector: Charles Hodgson
   Sir Grummore: Jeffrey Segal
   King Pellinore: David Gooderson
   Archimedes: David Davis
   Mr M: Stephen Thorne
   Madame Mim: Josephine Gordon
   Goat: Steve Hodson
   Hecate: Jill Lidstone
   Falcon: Stella Forge
   Balan: Gary Cady
   Snake: John Warner
   Galapas: Peter Wickham
   Badger: Lewis Stringer
Repeated 28th December 1981
[Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2004]


27th December 1981
14.30:
Afternoon Theatre: The Lion in Winter(1966) by James Goldman (1927-1998)
The Christmas gathering of the Royal Family at Chinon in 1183
Directed By: Ian Cotterell
   Henry II: John Turner
   Queen Eleanor: Barbara Jefford
   Richard Lionheart: Michael Cochrane
   Geoffrey: Clive Francis
   John: Gary Cady
   Philip, King of France: Geoffrey Burridge
   Alais: Phoebe Nicholls
Repeated 19th March 1983 and 4th July 1992


27th December 1981
19.00-19.30:
The Unrest Cure (1911) by Saki (Hector Hugh Munro 1870-1916), freely adapted by Rex Anderson and Nick Higham
Produced by Paul Mayhew-Archer
   Clovis Sangrail: Peter Egan
   James Huddle: Michael Aldridge
   Amelia Huddle: Vivian Pickles
   Sir Flynn O'Toole: Denys Hawthorne
   Harnmond: Patrick Barr
   Maid: Jane Knowles
   Miss Doyle: Diana Bishop
   First navvy,: Sion Probert
   Second navvy: David McAlister
Repeated 30th December 1981 and 28th February 1983.


28th December 1981
19.45:
The Monday Play: The Fighting Cock (1959) by Jean Anouilh (1910-1987), translated by Lucienne Bill
Directed by David Johnston
   The General: John Clements
   Aglae: Sarah Badel
   Sophie: Wendy Murray
   Tarquin Mendigales: James Aubrey
   Baron Henri Belazor: Michael Aldridge
   Bise: Annie Leon
   Toto: Adrian Ross-Magenty
   Lebelluc: John Warner
   Michepaln: Brian Haines
   Doctor: Steve Hodson
   Fr Gregory: Gary Cady
   Milkman: Andrew Secombe
   Milkman's son: Nicholas Barnes
   Marie-Christine: Bernadette Windsor
Repeated 3rd January 1982
[Original title: "L'Hurluberlu ou le Reactionnaire amoureux"]


29th December 1981
11.05:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Distant Relations by Michael Snelgrove
Directed by Christopher Venning
   Bernard: Alan Rowe
   Geoffrey: Geoffrey Bayldon
[Items relating to this play were auctioned in 2017 from the estates of Bayldon and Rowe]


30th December 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: Night Duty(1970) by Chris Hawes
Her first night duty in a geriatric ward, the learning does not come easily.
Directed by Dave Sheasby
BBC Manchester
   Julie Brothers: Sylvia Brayshay
   Mrs Freeman: Tessa Worsley
   Sister Jennings: Maggie McCarthy
   Carrie Kennedy: Veronica ?????
   Radio presenter: Peter Wheeler


31st December 1981
15.02:
Afternoon Theatre: The Terror (1916) by Arthur Machen (Arthur Llewellyn Jones 1863-1947) dramatised by Pat Hooker
Directed by Gerry Jones
   Dr Lewis: Douglas Blackwell
   Secretan: Sam Dastor
   Remnant: Manning Wilson
   Merritt: Danny Schiller
   Llewelyn: Sion Probert
   Thomas Griffiths: Stephen Garlick
   Mrs Roberts: Elizabeth Morgan
   Old Griffiths: Derek Pollitt
   Mrs Griffiths: Heather Bell
   Sgt Jenkins: David Gooderson
   Mrs Cradock: Rosalind Adams
   Soldier: Crawford Logan
   Willie Roberts: Patience Tomlinson


---end---

Compiled 2023 by Stephen Shaw. (..........Many thanks, Stephen - ND)

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