BBC Radio Plays, radio 4, 1986
DRAMA ON BBC RADIO 4 IN 1986
Repeats on 4X and R7 are only listed below when positively identified- the lack of credits on most listings for these stations means many repeats which are not given below. Short plays in the children's programme segments are also omitted due to lack of clear credits.
Stephen Shaw
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1st January 1986
12.30-13.00
The Blue Train by Agatha Christie, dramatised by Michael Bakewell
Part 1 of 6: On board the Blue Train to the Riviera are some valuable rubies. And Hercule Poirot.
Director: David Johnston.
Katherine Grey: Janet Maw
Rufus Van Aldin: Robert Beatty
Ruth Kettering: Avril Clark
Derek Kettering: Anthony Smee
Major Knighton: Michael Deacon
Mirelle: Judy Buxton
Lady Tamplin: Gwen Cherrell
Lenox: Moir Leslie
Dr Harrison: Peter Woodthorpe
Krassnine: John Church
Olga: Tessa Worsley
Papopolous/ Gendarme: Ronald Herdman
Zia: Jane Leonard
Scattergood: Garard Green
Additional actors in later episodes:
Hercule Poirot: Maurice Denham(2)
Mason: Pauline Letts(2)
Chubby: Jonathan Owen(2)
Monsieur Caux: Adrian Egan(2)
Pavett/Servant: David Learner(2)
Train conductor: Richard Durden(2)
Mr Goby: Brian Smith(3)
Monsieur Carrege: Gordon Reid(3)
Comte de la Roche: Nigel Graham(4)
Monsieur Caux: Adrian Egan(4)
George: Edward de Souza(4)
Hipolyte: Andrew Branch(4)
Zia: Jane Leonard(5)
Waiter: Jamie Roberts(5)
This episode was first broadcast on 29th December 1985. The dates for subsequent episodes below are for first broadcast- each was repeated after 3 days:
Pt2:5/1/86 Pt3:12/1/86 Pt4:19/1/86 Pt5:26/1/86 Pt6:2/2/86
1st January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: A Woman of No Importance by Alan Bennett
Reminiscing about the world of office work and canteen gossip.
Directed By: Richard Wortley
Margaret Schofield: Patricia Routledge
Repeated from 10/4/85
[Patricia Routledge also appeared in the tv version of 1982, repeated 1984, 1992 and 2000, directed by Giles Foster -it was the first tv monologue written by Bennett. His "Talking Heads" series was to follow from 1988.]
[No connection with the Oscar Wilde play of the same name broadcast on radio in 1991 and 1992]
1st January 1986
21.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Blues in Thirds by David Luck
Which of the brothers to marry becomes a problem.
Directed By: Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester.
Denis/Albert/Morice: Nigel Anthony
Barbara: Joanne Zorian
Dad: David Ross
Repeated from 31st December 1985
2nd January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Ski-lark by Elizabeth Morgan
Two women must discover if they are being wooed by men who want their bodies, their clothes or their nationality.
Directed by Gerry Jones.
Jane: Elizabeth Morgan
Anne: Marise Hepworth
Susie: Alison Elliott
Alexei: Crawford Logan
Emile: David Learner
Mike: John Church
Stefan: George Parsons
Jean: Melinda Walker
Policeman: Brian Smith
John: Adrian Egan
Repeated on 28th July 1987
3rd January 1986
15.00 :
The Screech Owls (1829) ("Les Chouans") by Honore de Balzac (1799-1850), dramatised by Joan O'Connor
1 of 4: The Royalist and the Republican.
A conflict of personal feelings and political belief, when the restoration of monarchy is being contested.
Directed by Jane Morgan
Marie de Verneuil: Anne Louise Lambert
the Marquis de Montauran: Andrew Seear
Commandant Hulot: Philip Voss
Corentin: Hugh Dickson
Abbe Gudin: Richard Durden
Francine: Natasha Pyne
Madame du Gua: Avril Clark
Marche a Terre: Robin Summers
Adjutant Gerard: Trevor Nichols
Captain Merle: David Learner
Sergeant Gudin: Christopher Scott
Innkeeper/first guard: Ronald Herdman
Innkeeper's wife: Pauline Letts
Additional actors in parts 2,3,4:
Comte de Beauvan: Christopher Benjamin(2)
Capt Beau-Pied: Gordon Reid(2)
Pille-Miche: Shaun Prendergast(2)
Driver: Alan Thompson(2)
Maid: Jane Leonard(2)
Father Lambolle: Garard Green(3)
Second guard: Adrian Egan(3)
d'Orgemont: Peter Woodthorpe(3)
Barbette: Tessa Worsley(3)
Big Cibot: John Church(3)
Jacques: Rusty Livingstone(4)
also with Elaine Claxton and Jamie Roberts
Part2:5 & 10/1/86 Part3:12 & 17/1/86 Part4:19 & 24/1/86
1986 episodes broadcast on Sunday and repeated following Friday.
Series first broadcast commencing 29/12/85
4th January 1986
14.00-15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: The Green Isle of the Great Deep (1944) by John Keir Cross (1914-1967)(pseudonym Stephen MacFarlane) from the novel by Neil M. Gunn (1891-1973)
1 of 2.
An allegorical tale about Freedom, Legend, and Totalitarianism.
Producer Stewart Conn
BBC Scotland
Presenter: Duncan McIntyre
Young Art: Gwyneth (Gwyn) Guthrie
Old Hector: Alex MacKenzie
Agnes: Sheila Latimer
Tom: Paul Young
Morag/Mavis: Mary Riggins
Willie: Ian Gilmour
Dougal/The Staner/Voice: James Crampsey
Coastwatcher/Manmar/Merk: Bryden Murdoch
Robert: Henry Stamper
Mary: Effie Morrison
Merk: Bryden Murdoch
Axle: Alex McAvoy
Additional cast in part two:
Questioner: Tom Watson
Tom: Paul Young
The Head: Ian Gilmour
Vice-Head: Martin Heller
All broadcasts were in two parts- date of part one is quoted: First broadcast 22/1/66, repeated 7/5/67 and 4/4/73.
[The book was written in Highland dialect. Characters and locations are repeated from an earlier book "Young Art and Old Hector (1942).]
[The Great Deep can be found in the Bible book of Genesis (7.11). The Green Isle is (before this story) a Celtic paradise.]
4th January 1986
20.30 :
Saturday-Night Theatre: Poor Bessie by Jack Gratus
A lady tours Wiltshire looking for a husband- is her choice a good one?
Directed By: Brian Miller
BBC Bristol.
Bessie Mundy: Penelope Nice
Henry Williams (1872-1915): Jon Croft
Uncle Herbert/Mr Crabbe: Edward Desouza
Aunt Fanny: Anne Jameson
George: Trevor Nichols
Mr Wheaton/Dr French: George Parsons
Mrs Millgate/Librarian: Pauline Letts
Mrs Crabbe: Gwen Cherrell
Mrs Tuckett: Peggy Ann Wood
Mr Lillington/Insp Neil/Judge: John Church
Mrs Stone/Alice: Tessa Worsley
Mr Annesley/Dr Spilsbury: Alan Thompson
Also with Jared Morgan and Jamie Roberts
Repeated 6th January 1986
5th January 1986
14.30 :
The Afternoon Play: Nymphs and Satyrs Come Away by Peter Luke
Virginia Woolf observes a most curious relationship.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
Lytton Strachey: Jack Shepherd
Melinda Walker: Dora Carrington
Dominic Jephcott: Raph Partridge
Virginia Woolf: Tessa Worsley
Repeated from 30/12/85
[The title is a variation on "Nymphs and shepherds, come away" which was from a 17th Century play which was a variation of the Don Juan story.]
6th January 1986
12.27-13.00:
Brogue Male, written by Paul Bassett Davies and John Gerald Collee
A parody of 1930's action-adventures.
2 of 4: The Mandrake Connection
[The following is stated in Radio Times and is not true...
Tale 2: Producer Hyram X. Chuzzlewit
Tale 3: Producer Walter Q. Pecksniff
Tale 4: Producer Woodford P. J. Bumble Jr]
Directed by Sutherland A. Nixon
Sir Digby Spode: Richard Johnson
Hubert Carstairs: Royce Mills
Lady Gwendoline: Angela Down
Badger: Geoffrey Bayldon
Pringle: Arnold Diamond
The Caretaker: David Garth
Bruno Kransky/Max Pratt: Phillip Voss
Count Laszlo Stroganoff: Stephen Greif
The quivering Scotsman / the subservient Sherpa: P. Bassett Davies
Archie McLhoonie: Roy Kinnear
Actors in later episodes:
Hermione: Erica Eirian(3)
Kumar/ U Po Kwin: Jon Glover(3)
the Dentist: Robert Harley(3)
the Proprietor: Christopher Barr(3)
Tale1:30/12/85
Tale3:13/1/86 Tale4:20/1/86
Above are dates of first broadcast- all episodes repeated the following day.
6th January 1986:
20.15 :
The Monday Play: David and....who's Goliath? by Paul Abbott
Can anyone help a 14 year old come to terms with his broken home?
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester.
Terry: Niall O'Brien
David: Jason Littler
Father: Kenneth Farrington
Debbie: Kelly Hampson
Janet: Julie Corrigan
Angela: Ann Aris
Mr Barnes: Alan Partington
Teacher: Neil Adams
Landlady: Rosalie Williams
Nurse: Sue Johnston
Dr Brennand: Christopher Douglas
Joan: Diane Whitley
Jack: David Ross
Repeated 12th January 1986
7th January 1986
11.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Without Fire by Wally (K) Daly (1940-2020)
Sometimes giving up smoking may cause more problems.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
Phillip: Paul Daneman
Sarah: Norma Ronald
Barry: Richard Durden
Doreen: Jane Leonard
Managing Director: Bernard Brown
Doctor: Graham Blockey
Sandy: Tessa Worsley
Repeated 8th January 1986, and 25th August 1987
7th January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Tansy by Ruth Goring.
Restoring an inherited derelict cottage can affect you.
Directed by Richard Wortley.
Tansy: Cindy Shelley
Martin: Neville Jason
Joanna: Tessa Worsley
Solicitor: Edward de Souza
Tom: Geoffrey Matthews
Landlord: Brian Smith
Repeated 14th November 1987
8th January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Anglers by Neil Shenton.
Not everyone agrees with the way the angling club is being run.
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester
Frank: David Ross
Dennis: Roy Barraclough
Javed: Kaleem Janjua
Jimmy: Louis Emerick
Terry/Jump Leads: Chris Larner
9th January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Anthony by Andrew Rissik (Part 1 of a trilogy "A Man Alone")
Apparent success is spoiled by memories of a past friendship.
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer.
Philip Tremayne: Ronald Pickup
Anthony: Benedict Taylor
Laura: Tessa Peake-Jones
Philip's father: Patrick Troughton
Mr Tomkin: George Baker
Philip as a boy: Barnaby Rhys-Jones
Anthony as a boy: Thomas Amlot
Bookseller/porter: Brian Smith
Consultant: Richard Durden
Repeated 3rd August 1986
[The other two plays in the trilogy are:
2. Jennifer-16/1/86, 10/8/86
3. Harriet- 23/1/86, 17/8/86
Please see first date mentioned for details]
[winner Giles Cooper Award 1986]
11th January 1986
20.30 :
Saturday-Night Theatre: Man of the People by Allen Saddler
At some point even the luckiest and most successful face an obstacle.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol.
Horatio Bottomley: Patrick Mower
James: Chip Sweeney
Lord Charlie/counsel: George Parsons
Lottie/Florence: Maggie Tarver
Nellie/Actress: Elizabeth Lindsay
Eliza/Patty: Debbie Hurst
O'hagan/Bigland: Edward De Souza
Chairman/Jim /judge: Gregory de Polnay
Cox/Hicks: Gregory Phillips
Peggy: Tessa Worsley
Elias/MacDonald: David Garth
Wild KC: Peter Woodthorpe
Repeated 13th January 1986
13th January 1986
20.15 :
The Monday Play: A Day Off (1933) by Storm Jameson (1891-1986) dramatised by Elaine Feinstein
George has missed three visits- after 5 years of weekly visits.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
Lena: Brenda Bruce
George: Ian Lindsay
Young Lena: Vicky Ireland
Lena's mother: Avril Clark
Kate: Karen Drury
Lena's young love: David Haig
Ernst: Adrian Egan
Mrs Schlegel: Pippa Sparkes
Woman in tea shop: Pauline Letts
Lily: Gwen Cherrell
Also with Brian Smith and Jamie Roberts
Repeated 19th January 1986.
14th January 1986
11.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Illusion by Reinhard Lettau (1929-1996) dramatised by Simon Yates
The village is not as it looks.
Directed by Gerry Jones
Col Morozov: John Rowe
Sgt Petrov: Nigel Anthony
Popov: Shaun Prendergast
Repeated 15th January 1986
14thJanuary 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: The Last of a Dyin' Race by Christina Reid
When Lizzie dies her daughter in law wants a cremation without ceremony. What of the tradition of a farewell with a really good wake?
Directed by Susan Hogg
BBC Northern Ireland.
Sarah: Leila Webster
Agnes: Sheila McGibbon
Johnnie: Peter Adair
Madge: Maureen Dow
Dave: Peter Quigley
Florence: Heidi Reid
Female mourner: Catherine Gibson
Male mourner: Michael Duffy
Sergeant: B J Hogg
Undertaker: David Coyle
Joe: Derek Halligan
Sharon: Frances Quinn
Young female mourner: Olivia Nash
Repeated on 25th June 1987
[A Giles Cooper award winner]
[The play was commissioned by Ulster TV, who granted permission for this BBC radio adaption. The play appeared first on BBC Radio (on TV on 9 Aug 87). Radio Times gave no credit to Ulster TV. The TV production also had the actor Sheila McGibbon playing Agnes.]
15th January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Gwyn by Elizabeth Wainwright
Gwyn has dealt with life's tragedies- so far.
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester.
Gwyn: June Barry
Alan: Nigel Pivaro
Sandra/Checkout girl: Julia Ford
Karen/Woman in supermarket: Pamela Buckle
Kath: Judith Barker
Doyle: Malcolm Raeburn
Bob: Malcolm Hebden
Bernie: Daniel Coll
Ron: Robert Keegan
Mr Roberts: Randal Herley
Repeated 22nd July 1987
16th January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Jennifer by Andrew Rissik (Part 2 of a trilogy "A Man Alone")
Memories of the past disrupt a quiet happy writing period.
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer.
Philip Tremayne: Ronald Pickup
Jennifer: Brenda Blethyn
Philip's father: Patrick Troughton
Henderson: Peter Woodthorpe
Priest: Brian Smith
Consultant: Richard Durden
Repeated 10/8/86
[The other two plays in the trilogy are:
1. Anthony 9/1/86, 3/8/86
3. Harriet- 23/1/86, 17/8/86
Please see first date mentioned for details]
18th January 1986
14.00 :
The Afternoon Play: My Aim is True by Mark Brennan
A new life is growing inside Alison.
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester
Alison: Rosalyn Elvin
Robert: Anton Lesser
Robert's secretary: Diane Whitley
Librarian: Barbara Marten
Other librarian: Malcolm Raeburn
Maria: Marcella Evaristi
Repeated from 8th November 1984
[Mark Brennan took the title from Elvis Costello's debut album on which track 5 is "Alison" which includes the words "My aim is true".]
18th January 1986
15.30-16.15:
The Saturday Feature: The Reluctant Storyteller by Derek Wilson
What did Holmes and Watson think of Conan Doyle?
Producer: Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
Introduced by: Derek Wilson
Sherlock Holmes: Mark Wing-Davey
Dr Watson: Andrew Hilton
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Bruce Douglas
Dr Budd/Edalji: Edward de Souza
Dr Roylott: Esmond Rideout
Old lady: Sybil Ewbank
Repeated 22nd January 1986
18th January 1986
20.30 :
Saturday-Night Theatre: Fall Guy by Peter McKelvey
A first time smuggler is mistaken for a more professional criminal.
Director: Peter King
Swanee: Trevor Nichols
Amy: Melinda Walker
Superintendent: Garard Green
Mrs Grant: June Tobin
Colin: Gordon Reid
Rattan: Alan Thompson
Mike: Shaun Prendergast
Night club manager: Stanley Page
Norman: John Church
Gower: Christopher Scott
Gary: Robin Summers
Belle: Tessa Worsley
PR girl: Jane Leonard
Repeated 20th January 1986
20th January 1986
20.15 :
The Monday Play: Some Kind of Hero by Les Smith
Poetry by Linton Kwesi Johnson
The Private has a difficult life in the army which is no easier as he awaits court martial for shooting his commanding officer.
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester.
Private James: Tony Armatrading
Sgt Hayes: Michael Tudor Barnes
Capt Howard: John Rye
Dr Savori: Eileen Pollock
Newscaster: Phil Sayer
Repeated 23rd March 1987
[Not related to the post-Viet Nam 1982 film of that name]
21st January 1986
11.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Glasshouse by Matthew Solon
Directed by Martin Jenkins
Blair: Richard Pearson
Anabel: Pauline Letts
Greg: Michael Jenner
Repeated from 15th January 1985
[No connection with the 1975 radio play of that name]
21st January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Clocking Out by John McKenzie
Directed By: Patrick Rayner
Doug: Vincent Friell
his father: Russell Hunter
Also with Freddie Boardley, Ian Briggs, Tamara Kennedy, John Shedden and Gerda Stevenson
[First broadcast on Radio Scotland]
22nd January 1986
15.00-15.47:
The Afternoon Play: Figures by Colin Haydn Evans
Ann's new house had a history. She sat in the room that had been locked for a long time and waited.
Directed by Ian Cotterell
Ann: Anna Massey
Ralph Symons: Blain Fairman
Rebecca Symons: Jill Lidstone
Peter Fuller: Jon Strickland
Alex Slade: Michael Bilton
Repeated from 15th February 1984
22nd January 1986
21.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Contemplative Life by Marcia Kahan
Directed by Cherry Cookson
Brother James: Alan Rickman
Brother Lawrence: Michael Aldridge
Abbot: David Garth
Sub-Prior: Brian Smith
Brother Jerome: Colin Starkey
Brother Gregory: David Sinclair
Brother Eugene: Trevor Nichols
Brother Leo: John Webb
First broadcast on Radio 3 on 1st September 1985
[Inspired by Robert Browning 's poem "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister"]
23rd January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Harriet by Andrew Rissik (Part 3 of a trilogy "A Man Alone")
After 15 years of settled marriage and career, changes bring into focus the realities of life.
Director: Jeremy Mortimer
Philip Tremayne: Ronald Pickup
Jennifer: Brenda Blethyn
Harriet: Jane Leonard
Alan: James MacPherson
Philip's father: Patrick Troughton
Anthony: Benedict Taylor
Mr Tomkin: George Baker
Philip as a boy: Barnaby Rhys-Jones
Consultant: Richard Durden
Repeated 3rd August 1986
[The other two plays in the trilogy are:
1. Anthony - 9/1/86, 3/8/86
2. Jennifer-16/1/86, 10/8/86
Please see first date mentioned for details]
25th January 1986
14.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Autumn Sunshine by William Trevor (1928-2016)
Bereavement is eased by reuniting with an estranged daughter - for a short while.
Piano: Philip Hammond
Technical presentation by Colm Flanagan
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
Canon Moran: John Welsh
Deirdre: Deirdre Donnelly
Harold: Tony McEwan
Una: Susie Kelly
Carley: Kevin Flood
Emma: Roisin Donaghy
Thomas: Mark Mulholland
Linda: Stella McCusker
John: John Hewitt
Slattery: Ian McElhinney
Publican: Catherine Gibson
Mrs Roche: Margaret D'Arcy
Newscaster: Paddy Scully
First broadcast on Radio 3 on 2nd November 1982, repeated 26/5/83.
Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2003.
[First broadcast, with a different cast, as a tv program (BBC2) in 1981 rpt 1983, directed by Rodney Bennett.]
[1982: Giles Cooper Award ]
25th January 1986
20.30 :
Saturday-Night Theatre: Campari for the Fishes by Teresa Collard
Six months before her marriage Clare sees a face she knows and the mystery begins.
Directed by Christopher Venning
Clare Dawson: Elizabeth Bell
Mark Saunders: Michael Ross
John Maynard: Steve Hodson
Vicar: Garard Green
Mrs Thomas: Teresa Collard
Mr Thomas: Crawford Logan
Sylvia: Carole Boyd
Padre: David Marrick
Philip: George Parsons
Jonathan: Charles Whaley
Dirk: Peter van Dissel
Helda: Nicolette McKenzie
Cissie: Gwen Cherrell
Henry: Adrian Egan
Erica: Margot van Der Burgh
Alan Bridgeman: John Golightly
Repeated 27th January 1986
26th January 1986
14.30 :
The Afternoon Play: The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs by David Edgar abridged by Madeline Sotheby
A defence barrister is arrested and held in solitary confinement.
Directed by Gordon House.
A BBC World Service Drama production
Albie Sachs: Simon Callow
Snyman: Geoffrey Matthews
Sergeant/Swanepoel: Alfred Hoffman
White constable/Samols: Paul Herzberg
Wagenaar/third voice: Adrian Egan
Freeman: Charles Dance
Rossouw: Hector Ross
Vlok: John Burgess
Coloured constable/Danny: Alton Kumalo
McIntyre/Cameraman: David Savile
Kraal: Peter Craze
Girl: Jenny Twigge
(First broadcast on BBC World Service 29/6/79)
First UK radio broadcast on Radio 3, 21st June 1979, repeated 16/8/79
First Radio 4 broadcast 2nd November 1985.
[Also made into a tv programme on BBC2 in 1981 directed by Kevin Billingham]
[Original source material with the same title was written by Albie Sachs]
26th January 1986
21.00 :
Jude the Obscure (1895) by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) dramatised by Elizabeth North
A tale of frustration, loss and disappointment.
1 of 6: Marriages Remain
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
Jude Fawley: Michael Pennington
Widow Edlin: June Barrie
Aunt Drusilla: Constance Chapman
Annie: Hazel Ellerby
Young Jude/Father Time: Jesse Lawrence
Phillotson: John Normington
Farmer Troutham: Esmond Rideout
Arabella: Elva Makins
Carter: Mark Straker
Tiler: Richard Wasley
Additional cast in later parts:
Policeman: Nicholas Blane(2)
Jack Stagg: Gregory Phillips(2)
Miss Fontover: Stella Riley(2)
Freckles: Kim Hicks(2)
Tinker Taylor: Brian Jackson(2)
Warden/Curate: Jack Harding(2)
Students: Andrew Black(2)
Landlady: Alexa Romanes(3)
Shepherd: Melvyn Bedford(3)
Girls: Abigail Docherty and Adele Griffiths(3)
Parson: Anthony Morse(3)
Man: Ian MacFarlane(4)
Gillingham: John Church(4)
Child: Debbie Papworth(4)
also with Richard Morgan. David Sharp and Hubert Tucker(4)
Sue Bridehead: Elizabeth Garvie(5)
Woman: Barrie Shore(5)
Dr Vilbert: John Linstrum(5)
Auctioneer: Jerold Wells(5)
Woman: Judy Gibson(6)
Doctor: Brian Gear(6)
Pt2:2/2/86 Pt3:9/2/86 Pt4:16/2/86 Pt5:23/2/86 Pt6:2/3/86
All parts were rebroadcast after five days.
[This was Hardy's last completed novel]
27th January 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Old-Tyme Disco by Bruce Stewart (1925-2005)
The editor of a small press weekly is haunted by figures from his past.
Electric organ: Andrew Christie
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
Tom Faraday: John Franklyn-Robbins
Fr Culper: Maurice Denham
Laura: Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Bert Cox: Christian Rodska
Al McGray: Henry Stamper
Mireille: Melinda Walker
Waitress: Natasha Pyne
Carter: Shaun Prendergast
Repeated 2nd February 1986
28th January 1986
11.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Another Crack of the Whip by N. J. Warburton
Harry dislikes the lion's halitosis, but can he enjoy a more mundane job?
Directed by Matthew Walters
Miss Leadbetter: Margaret Courtenay
Ormrod: David Learner
Harry: Ronald Herdman
Cyril: Alan Thompson
Debbie: Elaine Claxton
Repeated 29th January 1986
28th January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: A Thorn in Paradise by Robert Birmingham
Returning to your birth country with a foreign wife can put strains on a marriage.
Directed by Clive Brill
Ossie: Trevor Thomas
Patricia: Jane Leonard
Gaboe: Calvin Simpson
Dr Cooper: Richard Durden
Marcella: Isabelle Lucas
T-Phie: Angela Wynter
Doctor/Mrs Pemberton: Tessa Worsley
Judge: Eric Stovell
Tom: Ronnie Cush
Nurse: Gillian Roberts
Mr Pemberton: Peter Howell
Repeated 4th August 1987
29th January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: The Missing Links by John Antrobus
Marriage approaches for Maurice - what will happen to Sebastian?
Directed by Gerry Jones. .
Maurice: Jim McMananus
Sebastian: John Antrobus
[Previously produced for ITV in 1961, directed by Cyril Coke, with Brian Wilde as Sebastian]
30th January 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Two Stops on the Piccadilly by Peter Simpkin
When a man's son is blinded in an attack how far will he go to seek revenge?
Directed by Peter King
Martin: William Marlow
Dave: Gary Love
Brian: David Milner
Ken: Glyn Grimstead
Kid: Jonathan Caplan
Syme: Alex Marshall
Judy: Rosalind Adams
Mrs Jackson: Theresa Streatfeild
Mr Jackson: Christopher Godwin
Sgt Jones: Andrew Secombe
Journalist: John Livesey
Inspector: Alan Dudley
Don Milton: Crawford Logan
Passenger: Jill Lidstone
Radio DJ: Haydn Wood
Sergeant: George Parsons
Repeated from 25th March 1982
1st February 1986
14.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Mr Luby's Fear of Heaven by John Mortimer (1923-2009)
The lecturer is enjoying a small sherry - then, suddenly, he is somewhere else.
Directed by John Tydeman
English guide: Leslie Heritage
French guide: Gilles Dattas
Italian guide: Leonardo Pierroni
German guide: Michael Wolf
Japanese guide: Yasuko Nagazumi
Jennifer: Deborah Paige
Her mother: Norma Ronald
Her father: Michael Shannon
Nun: Gigi Gatti
Miss Waterlow: Madi Hedd
Dr Benjamini: Robert Reitty
Lewis Luby: John Gielgud
Tommy Fletcher: Peter Woodthorpe
Sophie: Hana Maria Pravda
First broadcast on Radio 3 on 19th February 1976, repeated 12th August 1976, and also repeated 27th August 1991.
First Radio 4 broadcast on 15th September 1984.
BBC7 broadcast the 1976 version in 2006.
There was a new production on Radio 4 in 2008 directed by Jeremy Mortimer (John M's son), and starring Jeremy Irons as Lewis.
1st February 1986
20.30 :
Saturday-Night Theatre: Balloons by Ivor Wilson
Flying to Berlin during WW2, a bomber pilot talks about his wife of three years.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester.
Colin Lee: Robert Rawson
Johnson/Rear gunner: John Davies
Navigator: Christopher Ravenscroft
Chuck: Raymond Gardner
Mary Ellwood: Barbara Marten
Flt Sgt Morris/Flt engineer: Gerry Kersey
Principal/Mr Lee: James Tomlinson
Mrs Lee/Cpl Barclay: Ann Aris
Kelly/Mid-upper gunner: Tom Sharkey
Instructor/Radio operator: Paul Elsam
Repeated 3rd February 1986
3rd February 1986
20.15 :
The Monday Play: The Parachute by David Mercer (1928-1980), adapted by Denys Hawthorne (1932-2009)
Someone has to test a new parachute.
Directed By: Jane Morgan
Werner: Kenneth Branagh
Father: Jack May
Mother: Rowena Cooper
Anna: Tessa Wojtczak
Klaus: James McPherson
Helmut: John Hollis
Koepfer: Shaun Prendergast
Holz: Hugh Dickson
Schact: Adrian Egan
Also with Pauline Letts, Rusty Livingstone, Natasha Pyne, Gordon Reid, Edward De Souza, Robin Summers and Alan Thompson
Repeated 9th February 1986
[Originally written for tv (tv director Anthony Page)- BBC1 1968, 1969, BBC2: 1976, 1980, BBC1: 1988]
4th February 1986
11.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Parting by Owen Holder (1921-2016)
Separation means "who gets what".
Directed by Ian Cotterell
Nan: Natasha Pyne
John: Richard Durden
Haycock: Garard Green
Gladys: Pauline Letts
Wilfred: Alan Thompson
Repeated 5th February 1986
4th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: The Pact by Henry Comor(1930-2002)
Ageing can bring difficulties, depression and despair.
Directed by Graham Gauld
Tom: John Church
Jessie: Gwen Cherrell
Waiter: Terry Raven
Repeated 30th June 1987
5th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Looking for Marilyn by Ken Jones
Frank urgently needs to locate his missing wife.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol.
Frank: Blain Fairman
Edna: Thomasine Heiner
Dr Ross: Alexander Davion
Ed/Policeman: April Johnson
Willy: John Church
Farber/Randy: Adrian Egan
Marilyn: Toria Fuller
John/Nick: Dan Russell
6th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Old Alliances by Trevor Royle
1936 is not a good year for a colonial planter to retire home.
Directed by Patrick Rayner
BBC Scotland.
Andrew Proctor: Michael Elder
Jenny Wauchope: Siobhan Redmond
Duncan Reid: Benny Young
Oliphant: Paul Young
Planters: Iain Agnew and Robert Ellis
Clubmen: Andrew Dallmeyer and Sandy Neilson
Repeated on 25th January 1987
8th February 1986
14.00 :
The Afternoon Play: No Ice on the Wall by David H.Godfrey
John is a general porter at the hospital, and the recovery of patients owes more to him than he realises.
Directed by: Gerry Jones.
John: Ronald Herdman
Tony: Nigel Anthony
Roger: Michael Deacon
Agnes: Jennifer Pierce
Peter: Henry Knowles
Phillipa: Sushila Anand
Geoff: John Hollis
Tom: Robert Trotter
Gran: Gladys Spencer
Rathbone: John Gabriel
Repeated from 28th September 1978
Repeated 3rd August 1989
8th February 1986
20.30 :
Saturday-Night Theatre: Pure Angel by Eric Docherty
Vienna, 1889: Mary's mother is concerned when her daugher's lover takes Mary off to his hunting lodge. Her life may be in danger.
Directed By: Tim Suter
Helen Vetsera: Anna Cropper
Baron Krauss: Benjamin Whitrow
Alexander Baltazzi: Robert Lang
Count Taaffe (1833-1895): Peter Woodthorpe
Hanna: Melinda Walker
Schmidt: Graham Blockey
Stockau/Inn-keeper: George Parsons
Paar/Albin: Brian Smith
Bayer/Official: Jamie Roberts
Agnes: Elaine Claxton
Szeps: Trevor Nichols
Mizzi: Natasha Pyne
Repeated 10th February 1986
[The events recalled in this play led eventually to WW1. Evidence tending to indicate what happened was not made public until 2015, well after this play.]
[The events were filmed several times, notably 1936 (Mayerling) and 1968 (Mayerling) ]
9th February 1986
19.00-19.30:
Lord of Misrule by Gareth Jones
1 of 9: 1745: Gruffydd returns to Wales hoping to regain his lands.
Directed by Adrian Mourby
BBC Wales.
Gruffydd: Philip Madoc
Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788)/ Padrig Jonathan/ Thomas Jenkins: Gareth Armstrong
Talbot/ Horseman: Graham Blockey
Hywel Bevan: Robert Blythe
Buddug: Di Botcher
Iolo: John Davies
Morgan Brewer/ Constable: Maurice Elliott
Thomas Powell/General Fleming/ Isaac: Gerald James
Sir John Ffowlke: Peter Halliday
Maude Ffowlke: Patricia Kane
Rhiannon Bevan: Lisabeth Miles
Sian: Rhian Morgan
Madlen: Meg Wynn Owen
Actors in later episodes:
Mihangel: Mark Durbin(2)
Jailer/ Dewi Cobbler/ Joshua: David Charles(2)
Sir Lewis Pryse (1716-1779): Philip Bond(3)
Mihangel: Gareth Snook(5)
Rachel: Donna Edwards(5)
Hannah: Adrian T Furse(5)
Old Thomas: Dillwyn Owen(5)
Lissi Gillian: Elisa Thomas(5)
Gwilym Brewer: Dorien Thomas(5)
Please see 16/3/86 below for actors in parts 6 to 9.
P2:16/2/86 Pt3:23/2/86 Pt4:2/3/86 Pt5:9/3/86 Pt6:16/3/86 Pt7:23/3/86 Pt8:30/3/86 Pt9:6/4/86
All episodes repeated 3 days later
[Note different actors play Mihangel and Iolo in different episodes].
[1745 was the Jacobite rising]
[Unrelated to the tv program of that name written by Guy Jenkin]
10th February 1986
20.15-21.45:
The Monday Play: Who's Jimmy Dickenson? by Alan Plater (1935-2010)
Director: Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester.
Sara: Stephanie Turner
Geoff: Sam Kelly
Marian: Sue Jenkins
Randolph: David Fleeshman
Jimmy Dickenson: Jimmy Dickenson
Repeated 16th February 1986
Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2007, 2008, 2009
11th February 1986
11.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Standing on Ceremony by Stephen Shortt
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester
the woman: Pam Ferris
the man: David Troughton
Repeated 12th February 1986
11th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: A Photograph of Lindsay Mowat by Ellen Dryden
Directed by Christopher Venning
Vanessa: Angela Pleasence
Peter Mailing: Alan Rowe
Eleanor: Isabel Dean
Mrs Pritchard: Norma Ronald
Cat: Olwen Griffiths
Repeated from 7th January 1982
12th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: A Day in September by Hugh Jenkins (Lord Jenkins) (1908-2004)
Directed by David Johnston.
Paul, the Narrator: Hugh Jenkins
the young Paul: Stephen Garlick
Sylvia: Natasha Pyne
Bert Payne: David Learner
Connie Watson: Lolly Cockerell
Mr Hammond: Peter Howell
Mr Macpherson: Gordon Reid
Sir John: Edward Desouza
Mr Slocombe: George Parsons
Mrs Marney: Maureen Morris
Parson: Richard Durden
13th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: In a Dry Place by John Antrobus
Paul obtains a grant to visit Brazil and intends to write a play.
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer.
Paul Looney: Oliver Cotton
Colonel Jeffry: Richard Vernon
Lars Olson: David March
Neal: Robin Summers
Suzanne: Avril Clark
Beany: Christopher Scott
Lydia: Jane Leonard
Porter/Waiter: Bruce Taylor
Repeated 11th August 1987
15th February 1986
14.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Dear Janet Rosenberg, Dear Mr Kooning by Stanley Eveling (1925-2008)
An author exchanges letters with a fan.
Directed by John Tydeman
Janet Rosenberg: Angela Pleasence
Mr Kooning: Anthony Haygarth
Mrs Rosenberg: Shirley Cooklin
(First broadcast on Radio 31st May 1970 and 7th June 1970.)
[Also produced on stage (1969) and for ITV (1970) ]
15th February 1986
20.30 :
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Sleepers of Fallow's Cross By Rod Beacham
Research at a psychological research unit.
Directed by Gerry Jones
Dr Alec Renfrew: Michael Deacon
Dr Alison Wylie: Jane Knowles
Dr Vicky Lutyens: Wendy Murray
Dr Tim Beal: Gareth Armstrong
Liz: Rosalind Thomas
Max Wellings: Edward de Souza
Harvester: Rod Beacham
Michael Pynsent: Graham Blockey
Simon Nash: Garard Green
Dr Gordon Wales: George Parsons
Annie/Mother: Pauline Letts
Repeated 17th February 1986
17th February 1986
20.15 :
The Monday Play: Camphor and Rhubarb by Carolyn Sally Jones
1839: The relationship between Queen Victoria and Lady Flora Hastings.
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester.
Queen Victoria: Janet Maw
Lady Flora Hastings: Colette O'Neil
Duchess of Kent: Patricia England
Baroness Lehzen: Miriam Margolyes
Sir John Conroy: Bosco Hogan
Lord Melbourne: Noel Johnson
Lady Portman: Rosalind Knight
Sir James Clark: Christopher Kent
Lady Tavistock: Valerie Windsor
Lord Hastings/Greville: Jamie Roberts
Repeated 23rd February 1986
[The events of this play took place only a year after the Coronation, when Victoria was inexperienced and headstrong].
18th February 1986
11.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Listening to Sean by Philip Marriott
Two people get on well together, then a third person comes into the picture.
Directed by David Johnston
Sean: Joe McPartland
Frank: Jamie Roberts
Carol: Liza Rider
Mrs Price: Anne Jameson
Repeated 19th February 1986
18th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Embroideries by Juliet Ace
Director: Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
Andrew Good: Stephen Thorne
Alison Good: Elizabeth Proud
David Good: Graham Blockey
Jonathan Good: Julian Firth
The Whisperers: June Barrie, Juliet Ace, Trevor Nichols, Paul Nicholson
Repeated 27th January 1987
19th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Marie by Brian McAvera
Belfast 1968.
Directed by Penny Gold
BBC Northern Ireland
Marie: Maggie Shevlin
James: Desmond McAleer
Eddie: Derek Halllgan
Mum: Trudy Kelly
Mr Prentice: Ian McElhinney
Josie: Libby Smith
Bill/Announcer: Niall Cusack
Sam/Commentator: George Shane
Frank: Paul Harden
Jim: Neil Irwin
Repeated from 14th March 1984
20th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Going East by John Graham
What could go wrong with a married man taking his girlfriend for a week in Moscow...
Directed by Glyn Dearman.
Clive Pritchard: Dinsdale Landen
Mary Pritchard: Carole Boyd
Verity: Melinda Walker
Alexander Mozhaisky: Alan Downer
Celia: Ann Beach
Sir Gerald: Gordon Reid
Foreign Secretary: Peter Howell
Miss Wotherspoon: Tessa Worsley
Young Russian: Shaun Prendergast
Newsreader: Elaine Claxton
22nd February 1986
14.00 :
The Afternoon Play: 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 from 29th October 1981
22nd February 1986
20.30 :
Saturday-Night Theatre: Mrs Morgenstern's Bad Bargains by David Bean
1810- Portugal: The Peninsular War. A 16 year old officer must march 30 men to the front lines. A camp follower joins them.
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester.
Biddy Morgenstern: Sandra Clark
Sgt Tobias Wainwright: Christian Rodska
Lt 'Bunty' Burgoyne: Nicholas Fry
Second officer: Stephen Boxer
Pte Arthur Snell: John Davies
Pte Potts: Paul Elsam
Rifleman Kilroy/Jiminez: Shaun Prendergast
Second Lt Giles Furlong: Robert Rawson
Sergeant: Tom Sharkey
Repeated 24th February 1986.
24th February 1986
20.15 :
The Monday Play: Inukshuk by Rachel Wyatt
An inukshuk is a cairn, built by the Inuit people (as markers and signs).
Directed by Patrick Rayner
Jessie: Irena Mayeska
Knowlton: Phil Brown
Harry: Kerry Shale
Gowan: Michael Crossman
Chris: Elaine Claxton
Mary: Frances Jeater
Jutanie: Trevor Nichols
Soosie: Tessa Worsley
Repeated 2nd March 1986.
[Canadian based Rachel Wyatt taught English to the Inuit]
[Humanoid figures are more properly called Innunnguaq and may mark a meeting place- but in error called Inukshuk]
25th February 1986
11.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Red Shoes by Juliet Ace
Returning to a seaside holiday resort may be a chance to repair a difficult marriage.
Directed by Penny Gold
Elizabeth: Anna Massey
Vernon: Martin Jarvis
Boy: Spencer Banks
Girl: Sandra Berkin
Fay: Natasha Pyne
Repeated 26th February 1986
25th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: The Red Telephone Box by Ken Whitmore
Detective Inspector Cockfoster tries to keep his head.
Director: Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
Chief Insp Cockfoster: Bob Grant
Det Sgt Frogman: Christian Rodska
Dobell: John Hollis
Mrs Victrola: Patricia England
Dr Lamb: Ronald Herdman
Peter: Finetime Fontayne
Angela: Dorcas Morgan
Belinda Ruby: Sally Edwards
Repeated 28th April 1987
Also broadcast on Radio 4X in 2020.
26th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: By a Roman Road by John Kirkmorris
Clive has difficulties in business and family life.
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
Clive: Michael Kitchen
Nan: Joanne Pearce
Alan: And Peter Howell
Repeated 10th June 1987
27th February 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Wish You Were Here by Lee Gallaher
Lonely and isolated Paul rings a former girlfriend at 3am.
Directed by Susan Hogg
BBC Northern Ireland.
Paul: Sean Barrett
Kate: Christine Kavanagh
1st March 1986
14.00 :
The Afternoon Play: The Stranger in My Head by Bill Lyons
When his wife requires hospital treatment a husband has to come to terms with his own conflicting emotions.
Directed by Jane Morgan.
Her: Marian Diamond
Him: Tom Wilkinson
Madge: Sonia Fraser
Mrs Morton: Eva Stuart
Nurse: Theresa Streatfeild
Repeated from 14th May 1982
1st March 1986
20.30 :
Three of Swords by Mike Dorrell
Was there even a murder? The only clue is a tarot card.
Directed by Adrian Mourby
Inspector Mal Rees: Mike Hayward
Flaherty: Gareth Armstrong
Marshall: Howell Evans
Sheila: Myfanwy Talog
Kay: Beth Morris
Rachel: Slan Owen
Big Dave/Alan: Philip Rowlands
Walker: Gareth Snook
Steiner: John Linstrum
O'Shea: Martin Gower
Carl Edwards: Sian Probert
Repeated 3rd March 1986
3rd March 1986
20.15 :
Taken Out by Greg Cullen
Relatives visit the graves of those who fell in battle.
Directed by Adrian Mourby..
Peter: Roger Wooster
Christine: Louise Osborn
Joan: Tessa Gearing
Barry: Ian Kerry
Lyn: David Coslett
Also with Peter Acre, Graham Blockey and Brian Smith of the BBC Radio Drama Repertory Company
Repeated 9th March 1986
[Originally staged in 1985, it was rewritten for a new stage production in 1987]
4th March 1986
11.00 :
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Mrs Donaldson at 60 by Constance Cox (1912-1998)
Sixty is a good time to start a new life.
Directed by David Johnston
Mrs Donaldson: Dulcie Gray
Rory McNeill: Okon Jones
Malcolm Booth: Martyn Read
Eileen Booth: Natasha Pyne
Mr Ransom: Brian Smith
Woman in shelter: Pauline Letts
Repeated 5th March 1986
[There was an later production of 4x30m in 1991, part 1 had the same cast and director. Parts 2-4 were produced/directed by Tracey Neale and retained Dulcie Gray as Mrs Donaldson.]
[Also broadcast on BBC World Service as 4x30m in 1992]
4th March 1986
15.00 :
The Penrhyn Summer by Alison Leonard
Britain's longest industrial strike has left memories behind even after 80 years.
Directed by Adrian Mourby
BBC Wales
Madeleine: Alexandra Mathie
Geraint: Philip Rowlands
Joe: Mark Draper
Mrs Lloyd-Evans: Nesta Harris
Also with Derek Richards
Repeated from 31st January 1985.
[After short strikes in 1874 and 1896, the great strike ran for three years from 1900.]
5th March 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Prams in the Park by Tony Dennis
Flat sharing, sharing memories. There are fun memories, and some unpleasant ones.
Directed by Penny Leicester
Alice: Nichola McAuliffe
Cindy: Karen Archer
Hazel: Jane Leonard
Brian: Okon Jones
Wayne: Mark Thomas
Mum: Colette Oneil
Father: Ronald Herdman
Ken, the MC: Gordon Reid
6th March 1986
15.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Gifts by Ruric Powell (1932?-2017)
Leaving school for college can be stressful.
Directed by Graham Gauld.
Simon: John McAndrew
Margaret: Anne Ridler
Frank: John Pullen
Kate: Jane Leonard
Dr Carstairs: Denys Hawthorne
Mr Kaufman: Garard Green
Mr O'Leary: Ronald Herdman
8th March 1986
14.00 :
The Afternoon Play: Mountain Ashes by Alan England
Recently widowed Phil seeks peace by hiking with a friend.
Directed By: Peter King
Phil: Brian Cox
Arnold: Paul Copley
Repeated from 25th October 1984
8th March 1986
20.30 :
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Hanoverian Handicap by John Wyke
A race is on to produce at least one Hanoverian heir to the throne of England.
Directed by David Johnston.
George III: David March
Queen Charlotte: Avril Clark
the Prince Regent: Roger Hammond
Frederick, Duke of York: John Warner
William, Duke of Clarence: Steve Hodson
Ernest, Duke of Cumberland: Michael Hadley
Edward, Duke of Kent: Colin Fisher
Princess Caroline of Brunswick: Jean Trend
Princess Augusta: Frances Jeater
Princess Sophia: Elizabeth Proud
Princess Charlotte: Anne Rosenfeld
Princess Mary of Saxe-Coburg: Elaine Claxton
Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen: Tessa Worsley
Prince Leopold: Jamie Roberts
Duke of Wellington: Richard Durden
Lord Liverpool: Eric Stovell
Lord Malmesbury: Shaun Prendergast
Madame de St Laurent: Pauline Letts
Signor Bergami: David Learner
Colonel Summers: Alan Thompson
Repeated 10th March 1986
9th March 1986
21.00 :
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni translated and dramatised by R. B Amos
17th Century - Milan, Italy:
1 of 4: A Marriage Will Not Take Place.
Will the planned marriage proceed as planned?
Directed by John Cardy.
Narrated by Richard Bebb
Renzo Tramaglino: Peter Acre
Perpetua: Denise Bryer
Mayor of Lecco: Arnold Diamond
Count Attilio: Christopher Douglas
Lucia Mondella: Jenny Funnell
Don Rodrigo: Terrence Hardiman
Tonio: Simon Hewitt
Agnese: Anne Jameson
Don Abbondio: John Moffatt
Griso: Michael Robbins
Gervaso: Trevor Nichols
Menic: Mia Soteriou
Fr Cristoforo: Gabriel Woolf
Also with Gwen Cherrell, David Sinclair, Brian Smith and Alan Thompson
Additional actors in later parts: please see the date of first broadcast below.
This episode repeated 14th March 1986
Part2:16/3/86 Part3:23/3/86 Part4:30/3/86
All 1986 episodes repeated after 5 days.
[There was an earlier 4 part production in 1965 by Eileen Cullen]
[There was a later four part production in 1992 by Tracey Neale]
10th March 1986
20.15 :
The Monday Play: A Plague of Goodness by Wally K. Daly
Will Britain permit entry to a powerful American evangelist?
Director: Martin Jenkins
Grant D. Rascovitch: Lee Patterson
Elly, his wife: Carole Boyd
Jerry Lancombe, Jr: Peter Marinker
The Minister: Donald Hewlett
Cindy: Annabelle Lanyon
Simpson: Andrew Branch
Brigadier: Allan Cuthbertson
President: Chris Barrie
Head of the CIA: Paul Maxwell
American Cardinal: David March
Archbishop: Edward de Souza
Air Force Chief: Garard Green
Bomber pilot/Mafia thug: David Learner
TV producer: Ronald Herdman
CIA Operative/Mafia thug: Shaun Prendergast
American policeman/Waiter: John Church
Glaswegian/TV announcer: Jamie Roberts
Mafia Godfather: Gordon Reid
Repeated 16th March 1986
11th March 1986
11.00
Thirty-Minute Theatre: A Classical Education by L A. Barlow
A teacher rediscovers herself when she coaches a pupil.
Directed by Gerry Jones
Miss Pringle: Carole Boyd
Max Tillotson: John McAndrew
Ivy Tillotson: Shirley Dixon
Ken Tillotson: Jim McManus
Mr Bean: Gregory de Polnay
Mr White: Okon Jones
Headmaster: George Parsons
Repeated 12th March 1986
11th March 1986
15.00
The Afternoon Play: Still Life by Tony McHale
After 20 years of marriage a sudden problem leads to a reassessment.
Directed by Peter King
Stuart: Trevor Nichols
Catherine: Avril Clark
Elizabeth: Melinda Walker
Ralph Devren: Brian Smith
Policeman: Gordon Reid
Fireman: Alan Thompson
12th March 1986
15.00
The Afternoon Play: Down to Earth by Neil Shenton
When viewed from the vantage point of a window-cleaning cradle the world seems a strange and foreign place.
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester.
Cyril: Bob Grant
Baz: Neil Caple
13th March 1986
15.00
The Afternoon Play: Mild and Bitter by Michael McStay
The Bowls Trophy- and a marriage- are in play.
Directed By: Jane Morgan
Bob: Michael Graham Cox
Alf: Neville Smith
Herbert: George Raistrick
Terry: Trevor Nichols
Fred: Nigel Graham
Jack Humbert: Edward de Souza
Lizzie: Monica Grey
Noreen: Elaine Claxton
Phyllis: Thelma Whiteley
Pauline: Tessa Worsley
Hilary: Pauline Letts
Col Findlater: Peter Howell
Also with Richard Durden, Ronald Herdman, Gordon Reid and Brian Smith
[A different play with this title was broadcast in July 1979 in which Michael McStay was an actor]
15th March 1986
16.45-17.00:
The Fosdyke Saga. Adapted from a newspaper cartoon by Bill Tidy and John Junkin
The early years of the Fosdyke family in their climb from the depths of Insanitary Cottages.
Producer: Alan Nixon
Rebecca Fosdyke: Stephanie Turner
Jos Fosdyke: Philip Lowrie
Victoria Fosdyke: Miriam Margolyes
Tom Fosdyke: David Threlfall
Albert Fosdyke: Enn Reitel
Roger Ditchley: Christian Rodska
Ben Ditchley: Colin Douglas
[There were many episodes and series, with repeats- this is the only appearance in this listing but there were other episodes in 1986.]
15th March 1986
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Back of the Tiger by Jack Gerson.
Dallas 1963. In a downtown bar Alec McBride learns the truth about the President's murder. From then on he is a marked man.
Directed by Peter King.
Alec McBride: Martin Cochran
Marinker: Bob Sherman
Sonia Sandrup: Gaye Baynes
Hayward: Ed Bishop
Clyde Anson: Bruce Boa
Billy Sandrup: Stuart Milligan
Roselli: Gary Waldhorn
Dorrie: Nancy Gair
Schuyler: Tom Hunsinger
Dorfmann: Don Fellows
Senator Newberry: Paul Maxwell
Repeated 22nd November 1993
16th March 1986
19.00-19.30:
Lord of Misrule by Gareth Jones
6 of 9: The Conjurer's Gamble
For episode one please see 9th February 1986 above.
Directed by Adrian Mourby
BBC Wales.
Gruffydd: Philip Madoc
Iolo: Loan Meredith
Sir John Ffowlke: Peter Halliday
Madlen: Meg Wynn Owen
Mari: Beth Morris
Rhiannon Bevan: Lisabeth Miles
Mihangel: Gareth Snook
Talbot: Graham Blockey
Horseman/ Ringmaster/ Servant/ Gwilym Brewer: Dorien Thomas
Tollgate keeper: David Charles
Landlord/ Barnabas/ Old Thomas: Dillwyn Owen
Landlord's daughter: Gillian Elisa Thomas
Actors in later episodes:
Amaranth: Helen Roberts(7)
Hannah: Adriant Furse(8)
Hywel Bevan: Robert Blythe(8)
Rachel: Donna Edwards(9)
Col Johnes: James Benson(9)
Pt7:23/3/86 Pt8:30/3/86 Pt9:6/4/86
All episodes repeated 3 days later
16th March 1986
21.00 :
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni translated and dramatised by R. B Amos
2 of 4: The Angel of Death
For episode one please see 9th March 1986 above.
Directed by John Cardy.
Renzo Tramaglino: Peter Acre
Lucia Mondella: Jenny Funnell
Agnese: Anne Jameson
Visconti: Denis Quilley
Princess Gertrude: Patricia Hodge
Don Rodrigo: Terrence Hardiman
Egidio: David McAlister
Father Superior: James Thomason
Friar: Alan Thompson
Grand Chancellor Ferrer: John Church
Agent Provocateur: Adrian Egan
Landlord: Bernard Brown
Landlady: Owen Cherrell
Criminal Notary: David Garth
Count Attilio: Christopher Douglas
Nibbio: Simon Hewitt
Also with Graham Blockey, Bernard Brown, Christopher Douglas, Adrian Egan, Ronald Herdman, David Sinclair, Alan Thompson and Hadyn Wood
Additional actors in later parts: please see the date of first broadcast below.
This episode repeated 21st March 1986
Part3:23/3/86 Part4:30/3/86
All 1986 episodes repeated after 5 days.
17th March 1986
20.15:
Remembrance by Graham Reid
Two people visiting their sons graves become attracted to each other.
Directed by Susan Hogg.
BBC Northern Ireland
Bert: Geoffrey Matthews
Theresa: Doreen Hepburn
Deirdre: Maggie Shevlin
Joan: Ann Hasson
Victor: Ian McElhinney
Repeated 23rd March 1986
18th March 1986
11.00:
The Ornamental Pear Tree by Harry Barton
Mervyn covets an ornamental tree.
Doorbell music arranged by Henry Dagg
Producer Peter Kavanagh
BBC Northern Ireland
Victoria: Maggie Shevlin
Emma: Doreen Hepburn
Myma Fogarty: Sarah Jones
Geoffrey: Derek Halugan
Mervyn Fogarty: B J Hogg
Repeated 18th March 1986
18th March 1986
20.30-21.00:
The Rabbit Woman of Godalming by Brian Sibley
Researched by Ursula Powys Lybbe
1726- the tale of Mary Toft who gave birth to a rabbit.
Directed by John Theocharis
The Hon Samuel Molyneux: Robert Lang
Mary Toft: Jane Leonard
Mr St Andre: Ronald Herdman
Mr Ahers: Garard Green
Jonathan Swift: Rlchard Durden
Parson: Peter Woodthorpe
Manningham: John Church
Balladeer: David Timson
Also with James Macpherson, Alan Thompson and Tessa Worsley
Repeated on 15th April 1987
19th March 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Too Long an Autumn (1985) by Jimmie Chinn (1940-2011)
Residents of a rest home can become attached to each other.
Directed by Gerry Jones.
Maisie May: Brenda Bruce
Arnold Windrush: John Rowe
Ursula Windrush: Tessa Worsley
Miss Tate: Jennlfer Piercey
Chris: Jim McManus
Dora Coxhall: Pauline Letts
Dad/Norman: Ronald Herdman
20th March 1986
15.00:
Autumn Love by Stewart Love
Having to apply for your own job at 50 is disspiriting and family support can mean so much.
Directed by Ronald Mason
BBC Northern Ireland.
John: Denys Hawthorne
Mary: Trudy Kelly
Tom: Tom Cromie
Phillip: Lianne O'Malley
Alison: Geraldine Hughes
Optician/woman/girl: Stella McKusker
doctor/principal: Anthony Finigan
Orthdonist: Maurice O'Callaghan
Teacher/Man: Dan Gordon
Repeated 22nd September 1987
22nd March 1986
14.00:
The Afternoon Play: Jack Squaler's Time by Nick McCarty
A grandparent is asked for a loan so that his grandchildren can marry.
Directed by Philip Martin
BBC Birmingham.
Harry: Emrys James
Jean: Moir Leslie
Bet: Mary Wimbush
Tony: Kim Durham
Tom: Roger Hume
Else: Joyce Gibbs
[Previously a tv play on ITV- 1972]
22nd March 1986
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Maigret's Special Murder ["Maigret et son mort" 1948] by Georges Simenon (1903-1989), dramatised by Malcolm Stewart from the translation by Jean Stewart (1964).
Maigret hunts for killers in Paris.
Directed by Matthew Walters.
Maigret: Bernard Hepton
Lucas: Edward De Souza
Janvier: Jame Roberts
Mme Maigret: Caroline John
Judge Comeliau: Peter Howell
Chief of Police: Garard Green
Albert/Sgt Lequeux: Adrian Egan
Dr Paul/Chevrier: Eric Stovell
Irma/Maria: Elaine Claxton
Lodging-house keeper: John Church
Cafe proprietor/Taxi driver: Gordon Reid
Clairvoyant/Nine: Avril Clark
Jo/Police Sgt: Trevor Nichols
ferdy/marchand: Ronald Herdman
Colombani: Richard Durden
Repeated 24th March 1986
[This was book number 56 in the original French, also titled in English "Maigret's Dead Man"]
23rd March 1986
21.00
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni translated and dramatised by R. B Amos
3 of 4: The Convert
Please see 9th March 1986 above for episode one.
Directed By: John Cardy.
Visconti: Denis Quilley
Don Abbondio: John Moffatt
Lucia Mondella: Jenny Funnell
Renzo: Peter Acre
Bortolo: Brian Smith
Agnese: Anne Jameson
Old woman: Sheelah Wilcocks
Nibbio: Simon Hewitt
Cardinal Archbishop Federigo: Arnold Diamond
His chaplain: Garard Green
Parish priest: Manning Wilson
Tailor's wife: Mla Soteriou
Donna Prassede: Gwen Cherrell
Grand Chancellor Ferrer: John Church
Milan councillors: Trevor Nichols, Manning Wilson, Garard Green
Perpetua: Denise Bryer
Additional actors in part 4: please see 30/3/86 below.
This episode repeated 28th March 1986
Part4:30/3/86
24th March 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Mr Alfred, MA, The Writing on the Wall (1972) by George Friel (1910-1975) adapted for radio by David Campbell and Carol Sharp
Mr Alfred's life slowly disintegrates.
Directed by Stewart Conn
BBC Scotland.
Mr Alfred: Roy Hanlon
Mrs Provan: Ann Scott-Jones
Senga: Kirsty Miller
Gerald: Joe Mullaney
Stella Carol: Ann Crawford
Mr Briggs: Gerard Slevin
Granny Lyons: Eileen McCallum
Enrico: Tony Roper
Mr Brown: Iain Agnew
Mr Campbell: Bill Henderson
Mr Dale: Jonathan Watson
Smudge: Leonard O'Malley
Dianne: Caroline Paterson
Yvonne: Sandra King
Rose Weipers: Ann Lannan
Mrs Weipers: Harriet Buchan
Tod: Russell Hunter
[Friel changed the book title from "The Writing on the Wall" to "Mr Alfred, MA" when he found the first title had already been used for a novel.]
[Friel worked as a teacher, also the occupation of Mr Alfred].
25th March 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Squiffy Quite Quickly in the Heat by David Marshall
The success of an island holiday depends on your companions and of course yourself.
Directed by Richard Wortley.
Steve: Robert Glenister
Carol: Natasha Pyne
Clive: Richard Durden
Gwen: Frances Jeater
Debbie: Annabelle Lanyon
Repeated 26th March 1986
25th March 1986
14.00-14.45:
Jesus: A Nation in Turmoil by Arthur Scholey
Introduced by Rosemary Hartill
Flute: Sebastian Bell
Directed by Geoff Marshall Taylor
Jesus: Paul Copley
Malachi: Brian Glover
John the Baptist: Bob Docherty
Captain: Brian Glover
Herod/Wedding guest: Michael Deacon
Peter: Dave Hill
Ester/Mary, the mother of Jesus: Narissa Knights
Jorim/Soldier: Graham Blockey
Jethro/Eliakim: Colin Starkey
Judas of Gamala: Geoffrey Matthews
Zealot/Soldier: Joe Dunlop
Andrew/Issachar: Steve Hodson
Judas: Kenneth Shanley
Caleb/Pharisee: David Sinclair
Matthew: Christopher Douglas
Simon: Nigel Graham
Ehab: Bernard Brown
Zich/Jacob: Lee Galpin
Ephraim: David Bradshawe
Previously listed and repeated from "For Schools" 17/9/85 when it was 20 minutes, repeated in "For Schools" 22/1/86 and 29/1/90 (revised)
25th March 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Short Match by A. S. Robertson
Glaswegian young men go for a night out.
Directed by Patrick Rayner
Adam: Pat Doyle
Robert: Don Gallagher
Margaret: Yvonne Gilan
Betty: Joanna Keddie
Frank: James MacPherson
Tom: Billy McColl
Grace: Gaylie Runciman
Cecil: Douglas Sannachan
Repeated 5th May 1987
26th March 1986
14.00-14.45:
Jesus: From Galilee to Jerusalem by Arthur Scholey
Introduced by Rosemary Hartill
See also 25th March 1986 above.
Jesus: Paul Copley
Caiaphas: Patrick Troughton
John: Stephen Petcher
Eliab/Leper: Bernard Brown
Mary of Magdala: Syd Ralph
Simeon: James Grant
Varus/James: David Gooderson
Pharisees: Hugh Dickson and Lee Galpin
Decius: Timothy Bateson
Beggar: David Brabshawe
[Probably broadcast previously in "For Schools" in two 20min parts in 1986- Data not available].
["Galilee" (20 mins) repeated in "For Schools" 5/2/90]
26th March 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Where Are You Jackson Munk? by Philip Rees
Redundancy leads to nightmares.
Narrator Christopher Douglas
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester
Jackson Munk: Sean Barrett
Philippa: Miriam Margolyes
27th March 1986
14.00-14.45:
Jesus: The Last Supper and the Arrest by Arthur Scholey
Introduced by Rosemary Hartill
See also 25th March 1986 above.
Jesus: Paul Copley
Caiaphas: Patrick Troughton
Simon/Priest: Nigel Graham
Landlord/Corporal: Brian Smith
Captain/Priest: John Church
Philip/Priest: Colin Starkey
Messenger: Jamie Roberts
Servant/Maid: Mary Wimbush
Severus: David Sinclair
Joseph: John Angove
Annas: Leonard Fenton
Pilate: Willlam Eedle
Witness: Garard Green
["The Arrest" (20 mins) was broadcast in "For Schools" on 19th September 1985, and 26th February 1986]
["The Last Supper" also probably broadcast in "For Schools" as 20 mins in 1985/1986 and probably 1990. Data not available].
27th March 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Men! by Howard Wakeling
His wife leaves home with the cat and the instructions for the washing-machine.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
Oliver: David Haig
Dan: Tom Georgeson
Adrian: Trevor Nichols
Warren: Scott Cherry
Rex: Garard Green
Hector: Gordon Reid
Martin: Jamie Roberts
28th March 1986
14.00-14.45:
Jesus: Crucifixion and Resurrection by Arthur Scholey
Introduced by Rosemary Hartill
See also 25th March 1986 above.
Music composed by Peter Howell of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Jesus: Paul Copley
Caiaphas: Patrick Troughton
First soldier/Corporal: Brian Smith
Second soldier: Lee Galpin
Jacob: Alan Thompson
Becca: Anne Jameson
Cleophas: Graham Blockey
Mary Cleophas: Jill Lidstone
Thomas: Shaun Prendergast
Voice: David Bradshawe
["The Crucifixion" (20 mins) was broadcast as "For Schools" on 12th March 1986 repeated 19th March 1990].
["Resurrection" (20 mins) was broadcast in "For Schools" on 19th March 1986, repeated 26th March 1990]
29th March 1986
14.00:
The Afternoon Play: A View from the Fence by Peter Liney
Sometimes a view in the exact centre of opinions can be hard to maintain.
Directed by John Tydeman.
Roger: Martin Jarvis
Melanie: Rosalind Ayres
Vicky: Helena Breck
David: Trevor Nichols
Arthur: Garard Green
Repeated from 23rd May 1985
29th March 1986
20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: A Hundred Years Old (El Centenario - 1910) by Serafin (1871-1938) and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero (1873-1944) translated by Helen Granville-Barker (died 1950) and Harley Granville-Barker (died 1946).
Surely nothing must be allowed to spoil the old man's 100th birthday?
Music arranged and played by John Bull
Directed by David Johnston.
Papa Juan: Lockwood West
Currita: Jane Leonard
Trino: Sean Arnold
Dona Marciala: Helena McCarthy
Don Evaristo: Manning Wilson
Dona Filomena: Mary Wimbush
Eulalia: Narissa Knights
Carmen Campos: Shirley Dixon
Antonon: Peter Tuddenham
Alonso: Alan Thompson
[First theatre production of this translation was 1929. There have been many radio productions from 1932 onwards and BBC tv productions from 19/6/1938 on (from BFI database- the BBC database has a gap for that period)]
30th March 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Agents and Patients (1936) by Anthony Powell (1905-2000), dramatised by Frederick Bradnum
1932: Life of an adventurous nature in London, Paris and Berlin.
Directed by Graham Gauld.
Blore-Smith: Andrew Branch
Chipchase: Anthony Daniels
Maltravers: Steve Hodson
Mrs Mendoza: Avril Clark
Commander Venables: Noel Johnson
Tour d'Espagne: George Parsons
Colonel Teape: Martin Friend
Reggie Frott: Adrian Egan
Shlumbermayer: Ronald Herdman
Scrubb: Graham Blockey
Pauline de Borodino: Betty Baskcomb
Yoyo: Elaine Claxton
Hedwig: Frances Jeater
Roth: Gordon Reid
Fritzi: Susan Sloman
Herman: David Learner
Repeated from 21st December 1985
[At the time he wrote this Powell was experiencing life as a screenwriter. None of his scripts was filmed.]
[The title reflects the story and is quoted from John Wesley "He that is not free is not an agent, but a patient" - Sermon 62.]
30th March 1986
21.00:
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
4 of 4: The Black Death
Please see the first part, 9th March 1986, above.
Directed by John Cardy.
Narrated by Richard Bebb
Renzo Tramaglino: Peter Acre
Lucia Mondella: Jenny Funnell
Don Rodrigo: Terrence Hardiman
Perpetua: Denise Bryer
Don Abbondio: John Moffatt
Donna Prassede: Gwen Cherrell
Fr Cristoforo: Gabriel Woolf
Agnese: Anne Jameson
Dr Nebbone: Adrian Egan
Chairman of the Tribunal of Health: Bernard Brown
Tribunal members: Graham Blockey and Christopher Douglas
Griso: Michael Robbins
Corpse bearers: Ronald Herdman and David Sinclair
Bortolo: Brian Smith
Also with Adrian Egan, David Learner, Natasha Pyne, Mia Soteriou, Alan Thompson and Tessa Worsley
Repeated 4th April 1986.
31st March 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play The Lady's Not for Burning (1948) by Christopher Fry
1400, the Mayor's parlour.
Directed by Christopher Venning
Thomas Mendip: Nigel Hawthorne
Jennet Jourdemayne: Sarah Badel
Richard: David Marrick
Alizon Eliot: Natasha Richardson
Margaret: Isabel Dean
Humphrey: Christopher Scott
Nicholas: Jamie Roberts
Hebble Tyson, the Mayor: Maurice Denham
Edward Tappercoom, the Justice: Cyril Luckham
Chaplain: John Moffatt
Matthew Skipps: Davld Garth
Repeated 6th April 1986
Also broadcast on BBC World Service in 1993.
There was an earlier radio production by R D Smith in 1967 and in 1973 a different production by Christopher Venning in which Richard Kay played Richard and Geoffrey Bayldon was Hebble..
[the play was previously on BBC TV in 1950 and produced for BBC radio in 1951 by Frank Hauser]
[The play title was famously misquoted (or punned if you wish) by a UK politician, in a speech by playwright Ronald Millar]
1st April 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Steve and Eddie by Johnnie Quarrell
Two 13-year-olds would like to make themselves famous.
Directed by Peter King
Steve: Jake Wood
Eddie: Jack McNicholl
Tramp: Stanley Page
Mother: Alex Marshall
Father: John Church
Shopkeeper: Trevor Nichols
Repeated 2nd April 1986
1st April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: A Distant Star by Owen Holder (1921-2016)
An 80 year old recalls her past, some of which the family are reluctant to face.
Piano: Geoffrey Brawn
Directed by Ian Cotterell
Lottie: Joyce Carey
Harold: Richard Pearson
Michael: Jim Norton
Philip: Owen Holder
Dorothy: Gwen Cherrell
also with and Graham Blockey, Anne Jameson, Melinda Walker
2nd April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: IOU by John William Cowell
Financing a holiday with club funds is unwise. Perhaps calling in the police may be unwise also.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
'Boxer' Mills: Christian Rodska
Joy: Barbara Peirson
Warders: Adrian Stokes and Frank Elliott
Recorder: Geoffrey Banks
Prosecutor: John Jardine
Sergeant: Peter Wheeler
Liddle: Arthur Blake
Pam: Elspeth Charlton
[This is the only entry for John William Cowell on BBC Genome]
3rd April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Twister by Ronald Frame
A director casts an unknown for a vital film- was there a reason?
Directed by Patrick Rayner
BBC Scotland.
Sara Peploe: Pippa Guard
Louis Mendel: Barry Morse
Lauri Bishop: Gwen Cherrell
Kravitz: Trevor Nichols
Merelle: Margaret Robertson
Bromfeld: Kerry Shale
Stavros: Peter Woodthorpe
Repeated 10th February 1987
5th April 1986
14.00:
The Afternoon Play: Candide by Voltaire, translated and adapted by Jonathan Myerson
The pupil doubts the masters wisdom.
Directed by Gordon House.
Candide: Mark Payton
Voltaire: Benjamin Whitrow
Dr Pangloss: Alan Bennett
Cunegonde: Helena Breck
Cacambo: Peter Acre
Old woman: Angela Moran
Baron: Graham Blockey
Officer/Inquisitor/Don Fernando: Peter Wickham
Don Issachar/Martin: Geoffrey Matthews
Bulgar King/Jacques/Vanderdendur..: Ronald Herdman
Charity collector/Spanish General .: Brian Smith
Corporal/Jesuit sentry: Jamie Roberts
Baroness/Bulgar Queen: Mary Wimbush
Spanish captain/Monk: Colin Starkey
(First broadcast on BBC World Service)
5th April 1986
19.00-21.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner dramatised by David Wade
The Weirdstone is lost and must be found to defend the land from the forces of evil.
Harp: Kate Wilson
Music specially composed by Michael Ball
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester.
Cadellin/Grinmir: Robin Bailey
Susan: Andrea Murphy
Colin: Mark Kingston
Gowther Mossock: James Tomlinson
Bess: Patsy Byrne
Selina Place: Rosalind Knight
Fenodyree: George Parsons
Durathror: Ronald Herdman
Gaberlunzie/Nastrond: Edward de Souza
Crow/Angharad: Anne Jameson
Repeated as 4 x 30 mins from 26/3/1989
and on BBC R4X in 2017.
(There was an earlier version in six episodes produced by Herbert Smith in 1963)
(There was a later production by Jane Morgan in 2017)
[The sequel play, "The Moon of Gomrath" was broadcast in 1989]
6th April 1986
21.00:
The Evening Play: The Great Feast (1979) by Mannu Bhandari dramatised by William Ash.
Politicians using a crime for their own ends; an official cover up; and a local police officer in the middle trying to do the right thing.
Directed by Penny Gold
Saxena: Zia Mohyeddin
Saxena's wife: Jamila Massey
Da Sahib: Renu Setna
Lakhan Singh: Dev Sagoo
Police chief: Tony Wredden
Mahesh Sharma/Servant: Derrick Branche
Hira: Geoffrey Matthews
Sukul Babu: Kaleem Janjua
Sukul Babu's Asst/Dinesh Joravar: Rashid Karapiet
Binda: Bhasker
Rukma: Souad Faress
Repeated from 26th February 1985
[Original title: "Mahabhoja". The BBC has not credited the translator- the published book credits Ruth Vanita]
7th April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Leocadia (1940) by Jean Anouilh (1910-1987), translated by Timberlake Wertenbaker
The strong memory of a departed loved one is dealt with in a novel manner.
Incidental music by Gordon Langford
Violins: Patricia Calnan and Paul Barritt. Cello: Helen Verney; Harpsichord: Gordon Langford;
Directed by David Johnston
the Duchess: Fabia Drake
Amanda: Janet Maw
Prince Albert: Martin Jarvis
Baron Hector: Lockwood West
Theophile, the butler: Brian Smith
Taxi driver: Christopher Douglas
Theodore, the head waiter: Stephen Thorne
Cafe proprietor: John Webb
Joseph, the vendor: Guy Holden
(First broadcast on Radio 3 on 30th June 1985)
[In different translations the play is also known as "Time Remembered" and "To fool the eye"]
7th April 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: The Jenny Wagon by John Peacock
British Colombia around the 1860's: The death of an official brings British justice to the goldfields to investigate.
Piano: Mary Nash
Technical presentation by David Greenwood, assisted by Paul Pearson and Wilfred Acosta
Directed by Jane Morgan
Fanny: Tessa Worsley
Judge Begbie (1819-1894): Iain Cuthbertson
Davy: Daniel Webb
George: Richard Durden
Pritch: Norman Jones
Martha: Pauline Letts
Arthur: Gordon Reid
Nathaniel: Sam Kelly
Billy: Shaun Prendergast
James: Michael Hadley
Maltravers: Jonathan Tafler
Ten Cents: David Learner
Repeated 12th April 1986, and 16th April 1990
8th April 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Parents' Evening by Diana Griffiths
You can't remember anything about the child whose parents you are talking to.
Directed by Tim Suter.
Charlie Andrews: Heather Bell
Mr Smith: Brian Murphy
Mrs Smith: Tessa Worsley
David Leonard: Michael Hadley
Gwyn: Alan Downer
Mrs Johnstone: Anne Jameson
Sharon: Natasha Pyne
Repeated 9th April 1986
8th April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Angel by John Robert King inspired by a short story by Anton Chekhov
Everybody says that Olive is an angel. She simply cannot stop caring for people.
Directed by Shaun Macloughlin
BBC Bristol.
Olive Plum: June Barrie
Sam: Peter Woodthorpe
Herbert: Stephen Thorne
Reginald: Peter Copley
Mrs Heck: Anne Jameson
Mrs Brewer: Melinda Walker
Albert: Christian Rodska
Timothy: Ben Rodska
[The original story was "Dushechka" - Angel (1899), aka "The Darling". This radio play is heavily adapted.]
9th April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Maud-Evelyn (1900) by Henry James (1843-1916) adapted by Joan O'Connor
Marmaduke welcomes the friendship of the Dedricks. Does he marry their daughter?
Directed by Tim Suter
Marmaduke: Ian Masters
Lady Emma: Caroline Mortimer
Lavinia: Elaine Claxton
Mr Dedrick: Roger Hammond
Mrs Dedrick: Joan Matheson
10th April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Land of Promise by John Percival
England after the War was a 'land of promise'. 16 year old Simon experienced difficulties.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
Mr Gardiner: Julian Glover
Simon: Paul Lockwood
Jewell: Peter Dennis
Sellis: John Abineri
Dodds: Richard Blake
Weeks: Chip Sweeney
Beasley: Conrad Phillips
Young 'un: Paul Russell
11th April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Bishop's Wife by Frederick Bradnum (1920-2001)
The Dean and some of the Chapter ask the nephew and niece of the Bishop's wife about her.
Directed by Graham Gauld
Charlotte: Jenny Funnell
Charles: Adam Godley
Lucinda: Elizabeth Bell
Bishop: John Pullen
Dean: Garard Green
Canon Edwardes: Lewis Stringer
Canon Blunt: Michael Tudor Barnes
Hodge: Bernard Brown
Repeated from 4th June 1985
[No relation to the 1928 Novel / 1947 film with that title]
12th April 1986
19:00
Saturday-Night Theatre: Wayfarers by David Hopkins
A holidaymaker defends the peace of his holiday destination.
Directed by Piers Plowright.
Brian Cherry: Peter Acre
Tony: Michael Hadley
Fr Alban: Manning Wilson
Brother Joseph: Pat Connell
Fr Michael: Joe Dunlop
Fr Peter: Andrew Branch
Mrs Cherry: Pauline Letts
Brother Liam: Denys Hawthorne
Mr Jennison: Ronald Herdman
Chris Horsford: Bill Nighy
Steward: Shaun Prendergast
American tourist:John Church
Repeated 14th April 1986
13th April 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: The Man of Destiny (1897) by Bernard Shaw (aka George Bernard Shaw)(1856-1950)
1796: a lady arrives at an inn in northern Italy and engages in a battle of wits with Napoleon Bonaparte.
Directed by Pat Trueman
Napoleon: David Suchet
The lady: Paola Dionisotti
Lieutenant: David Timson
Giuseppe: John Bott
Repeated from 8th May 1980, repeated 23rd July 1981.and 21/12/1991
Repeated on BBC R4X 2nd May 2021.
[A popular radio play with productions in 1928, 1930, 1937 rpt 1940, different production 1939, 1947, 1962, 1964 rpt 1966 and 1970...There were also tv productions.]
13th April 1986
19.00-20.00:
Joseph Andrews (1742) by Henry Fielding (1707-1754) dramatised by John Scotney.
1 of 4
Music composed and directed by Vic Gammon.
Bassoon: Mary Mobbs; Violin: Mary Carson
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol.
Joseph: Cornelius Garrett
Lady Booby: June Barrie
Parson Adams: John Franklyn-Robbins
Henry Fielding: John Rye
Sir Thomas Booby: William Fox
Mrs Slipslop: Anne Jameson
Mr Peter Pounce: Peter Woodthorpe
Mr Grogblossom: Bill Wallis
Mr Mockgallant: Graham Blockey
Lady Tittle: Tessa Worsley
Lady Tattle: Karen Ford
Actors in later parts:
Dr Cuttle: Peter Copley(2)
Tow-Wouse / Beau Didapper: Ronald Herdman(2)
Mrs Tow-Wouse: Mary Wimbush(2)
Fanny/Betty: Jane Leonard(2)
Lady in the coach: Ingrid Hafner(2)
Coachman: John Church(2)
Robber/Pedlar: Sean Barrett(2)
Squire Booby: Geoffrey Bateman(3)
Mr Wilson: Paul Nicholson(3)
Evil squire: John Abineri(3)
Gammar Andrews: June Tobin(4)
Lawyer Scout: Trevor Nichols(4)
Pamela: Sarah Benfield(4)
Part2:20/4/86 Part3:27/4/86 Part4:4/5/86
All episodes repeated five days later.
Repeated on R4X in 2020.
14th April 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Twopence to Cross the Mersey (1974) by Helen Forrester (June Bhatia)(1919-2011) dramatised by Valerie Windsor
Helen Forrester's autobiographical account of her family's experiences in Liverpool during the Depression.
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester.
Helen: Sarah Badel
Mother: Stephanie Turner
Father: Geoffrey Beevers
Mrs Foster/Grandmother: Daphne Oxenford
Old gentleman: Anthony Wingate
Mr Moritz: Louis Emerick
Policeman: Neil Caple
Nurse: Gilly Coman
Alan: Philip Glancy
Fiona: Sophie Buckley
Avril: Jon Quille
Repeated 19th April 1986
15th April 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Trap by Philomena Ulyatt
For many years she waited for her husband to come home from the mine. Now she waits for her son too....
Directed by Caroline Raphael
old Tom: James Garbutt
young Tom: Shaun Prendergast
the woman: Kathleen Heime
Repeated 16th April 1986
15th April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Didn't He Ramble by Peter Johnson
Terry is determined on succeeding in the world of jazz.
Music played by The Alan Elsdon Jazz Band: Alan Elsdon (trumpet/vocals) Peter Strange (trombone) Randy Colville (clarinet) Jim Douglas (guitar/banjo) Brian Leake(piano) Mick Gilligan (double-bass) Laurie Chescoe (drums)
Directed by Peter King
Terry: Shaun Prendergast
Eleanor: Jane Leonard
Father: Alan Thompson
Mother: June Tobin
Nigel: Trevor Nichols
Guests: Christopher Scott and Elaine Claxton
[The title is the name of a piece of jazz music, a New Orleans post-funeral celebratory tune, famously performed by Jelly Roll Morton]
16th April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Love a la Russe by Shirley Cooklin, based upon a short story by Guy De Maupassant(1850-1893)
No young wife should be totally innocent and totally bored. Lou-Lou is both - and her desperate remedy soon finds her playing with fire.
Directed by David Johnston
Lou-Lou: Moir Leslie
Gena: Natasha Pyne:
Felix: John Church
Raoul: Haydn Wood
Maitre d'hotel: Francis Middleditch
Also broadcast on BBC World Service 1987
[The original short story is not identified]
17th April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Into Injury Time by David Reid
The Head of the PE Department wonders if he can improve his team by "buying" star players...
Directed by Graham Gauld
Keith Turner: Gareth Armstrong
Janet Turner: Jane Knowles
Mr Pike: Carard Green
Mr Daniels: Gordon Reid
Mr Gibbard: Manning Wilson
Elaine Burkett: Natasha Pyne
Les Jefferies: Geoffrey Matthews
Mr Meadows: Frank Singuineau
Byron Meadows: Okon Jones
Akashoda: David Learner
Billings: Francis Middleditch
Brierly: Andrew Branch
Cottell: Stephen Rashbrook
Craddock: Jamie Roberts
Repeated 11th June 1987
20th April 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Albert's Bridge by Tom Stoppard
Clufton Bay is spanned by a huge cantilevered railway bridge which needs painting endlessly.
Directed by Charles Lefeaux
Albert: John Hurt
Bob: Nigel Anthony
Charlie: Alexander John
Dad: Geoffrey Wincott
Chairman: Victor Lucas
Dave: Ian Thompson
George: Anthony Jackson
Fitch: Ronald Herdman
Mother: Betty Hardy
Father: Alan Dudley
Kate: Barbara Mitchell
Fraser: Haydn Jones
First broadcast 13th and 29th July 1967, repeated 20th February 1968, 12th December 1968, 1st January 1971, 3rd August 1973, 1st December 1978. Further repeated 29th June 2007.
Also broadcast on R4X in 2017 and 2020.
[There was a new production, 26th July 1990, by David Hitchinson]
[Broadcast several times on BBC World Service, no indication of which production was used.]
21st April 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Myths and Legacies by Valerie Windsor
A young writer visits a nun to research a book about her cousin - who had a twin brother.
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
Sister Julian: Rosalie Crutchley
William: Daniel Massey
Edward: Patrick Stewart
Edward as boy: Philip Glancy
William as boy: Tamlyn Robins
Julia as girl: Claire Webzell
Father: Peter Laird
Trevor: John Basham
Dora: Jane Leonard
Officer/Lawyer/Waiter: Christopher Kent
McCleod/MO/Second lawyer: Nigel Caliburn
Repeated 26th April 1986 and 20th June 1987
[Giles Cooper 1986 award winner]
22nd April 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Diary of Lorraine Biggs by Andrew Kemball
Directed by Alec Reid
Lorraine Biggs: Kim Clifford
Lorraine's mother: Maggie McCarthy
Doctor: Scott Cherry
22nd April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Midstream by Michael Voysey (1920-1987)
Bernard must cope with the loss of his wife and changes to his life.
Directed by Christopher Venning
Bernard: David Garth
Amy: Moir Leslie
Hilary: Wendy Murray
David: Mark Straker
Repeated from 14th June 1984
23rd April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Trumpet (1936) by Walter De La Mare (1873-1956) adapted by Alan England
Two boys in a church late at night - a dare Philip will not forget.
Directed by Gregor Graham
BBC Scotland
Philip: Timothy Hyam
Dick: Danny Kodicek
Philip as man: Garard Green
Rector: Peter Howell
Rector's wife: Gwen Cherrell
Dick's father: George Parsons
Dick's mother: Elaine Claxton
Mrs Sullivan: Pauline Letts
Repeated 8th July 1987
[The original short story was revised in 1942]
23rd April 1986
20.30-22.00:
Cavalcade (1931) by Noel Coward (1899-1973)
The story of England, and two families, from New Year's Eve 1899 to the dawn of 1930.
Musical director Geoffrey Brawn
Directed by Graham Gauld.
Jane Marryot: Dinah Sheridan
Robert Marryot: John Pullen
Edward: Christopher Good
Joe: Andrew Branch
Fanny: Melinda Walker
Ellen: Carol Marsh
Edith: Janet Maw
Bridges: John Church
Margaret: Sheila Grant
Flo: Gwen Cherrell
George: Garard Green
Cook: Katherine Parr
Mrs Snapper: Pauline Letts
Annie: Natasha Pyne
Edward, as a child: Elizabeth Lindsay
Joe, as child: Jean England
Rose: Josephine Gordon
Edgar: Clifton Todd
Daisy: Elaine Claxton
Connie: Avril Clark
Lord Martlet: David Learner
Uncle George: Ronald Herdman
Stage manager: Eric Stovell
Chorus girls: Audrey Leybourne, Avril Clark, Elaine Claxton
[The first BBC radio production since Felix Felton/Val Gielgud's 1936 production which was repeated up to 1947]
24th April 1986
15.00::
The Afternoon Play: Letter from an Unknown Woman ("Brief einer Unbekannten") by Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) adapted by Elizabeth Troop
'R' is a successful novelist. He regularly received white roses on his birthday. Then, one year, the roses don't appear....
Directed by Richard Wortley
Sophie as a woman: Janet Maw
'R': John Castle
Sophie as a girl: Deborah Makepeace
Sophie as a child: Annabelle Lanym
Kraus: Andrew Branch
Schnitzler: David Learner
Otto: Stephen Rashbroop
John: Manning Wilsoh
Mother: Jennifer Pierce
Mitzi: Susie Brann
Repeated 30th January 1987
[There was an earlier radio production by Frank Hauser in 1953 and several films based upon the story.]
26th April 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Asking Charlie by Christopher Denys
Josh will do anything for love- anything.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester.
Josh: Geoffrey Banks
Jimmy: Colin Meredith
Amie: Ray Mort
Phyllis: Meg Johnson
Mrs Monks: Paula Tilbrook
Mrs Marchbanks: Lesley Nicol
Mrs Chadwick: Judith Barker
Dora: Julie Corrigan
Brenda: Kelly Hampson
Tommy: Martin Greenwood
Constable: Charles Cookson
Joe McLagen: John Graham Davies
Cashier/Nurse: Valerie Windsor
Repeated 28th April 1986
27th April 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: A 40-Year-Old Man by Shusaku Endo (1923-1996) dramatised by Penny Leicester from the translation by Van C. Gessel
Awaiting a serious operation he lies in hospital concerned for the state of his marriage.
Directed by Matthew Walters
Suguro: Denis Lill
Yoshiko: Auriol Smith
Young nurse: Susie Brann
Yasuko: Janet Spencer Turner
Michio: Bernadette Windsor
Young doctor: Stephen Rashbrook
Yasuko's husband/Doctor: George Parsons
Priest/anaesthesist: Garard Green
Old nurse: Pauline Letts
Repeated 5th January 1989
[The author was a Japanese Roman Catholic. He spent some time in hospital including removal of a lung.]
28th April 1986
12.27-13.00:
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre adapted by Rene Basilico
1 of 6: Berlin.... an icy October day.... Alec Leamas waits at the Checkpoint for one of his agents to cross over to the West.
Theme music by Max Harris
Producer John Fawcett Wilson
Alec Leamas: Colin Blakely
Control: Allan McClelland
George Smiley: Michael Turner
American: Kerry Shale
Elvira: Brigitte Kahn
Peter Guillam: Douglas Blackwell
Fawley: Marc Sinden
Miss Thursby: Gwen Cherrell
Miss Larrett: Anne Jameson
Elsie/Air hostess: Sandra Clark
First checkpoint guard: Paul Humpoletz
Second guard: Richard Durden
Third guard/Landlord: Michael Mellinger
Actors in later episodes- please see the episode broadcast date below.
Episode repeated 29th April 1986 and series repeated commencing 12/1/88
Pt2:5/5/86 Pt3:12/5/86 Pt4:19/5/86 Pt5:26/5/86 Pt6:2/6/86
All 1986 episodes were repeated the following day.
28th April 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Dandy Dick (1887) by Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934)
The Dean faces a dilemma.
Directed by John Tydeman
The Dean: Alec McCowen
Georgiana Tidman: Patricia Routledge
Sir Tristram Mardon, Bt: Nigel Stock
Salome: Susan Kyd
Sheba: Melinda Walker
Blore: John Church
Mr Darbey: Richard Clifford
Major Tarver: John Rye
Hatcham: Shaun Prendergast
Hannah Topping: Anne Jameson
Noah Topping: Garard Green
Repeated 26th May 1986, 4th April 1987, 7th May 1989
[There were earlier radio productions: By Peter Watts in 1948; by Brandon Acton-Bond in 1965]
[Also produced for tv in 1948 and 1965]
[Also broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in 2004, 2006 and BBC R4X in 2009, 2012, 2020]
29th April 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Just Impediment by Tony Whittaker
The father of the bride and the father of the groom get together.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
Joyce: Eileen Derbyshire
Denis: John Jardine
Mary: Ann Aris
Harold: Charles Cookson
Sylvia: Dorcas Morgan
Catherine: Julia Ford
Repeated 30th April 1986
29th April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Maid's Room by Shelagh Fraser (1920-2000)
Employment as a maid in London can be harmful to a woman from another land.
Directed by David Johnston
Lara: Carole Boyd
Juana: Mia Sotermu
Dr Grant: Gordon Reid
Miss Harvey: Petra Davies
Mrs Johnson: Gwen Cherrell
Mr Charles: Richard Durden
Mr Randell: Peter Howell
Mrs Greville: Sheila Grant
Repeated 15th February 1987
[As an actress, Shelagh Fraser was often cast in BBC Radio Drama, but this is the only play that she wrote].
30th April 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Hind Leg by Matthew Irwin
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
Madge: Avis Bunnage
Alan: Brian Smith
Eileen: Ann Aris
Arthur: Gerry Kersey
Martin: Brian Trueman
Jenny: Helen Atkinson Wood
[This is the sole credit on the BBC Program database for Matthew Irwin]
1st May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Sun in a Shady Place by Trevor Bentham
Peggy returns to the town where she was born, and learns more about life from her former nanny.
Directed by Tim Suter.
Lena: Hilda Kriseman
Peggy: Penelope Lee
Eileen: Joyce Grant
Eric: Francis Middleditch
Mother: Nan Munro
Ruth: Peggy Pahngo
3rd May 1986
14.00:
The Afternoon Play: Golden Girls by Louise Page (1955-2020)
1 of 2: Five girls train for the Athens Olympics.
Music by Ilona Sekacz
Technical presentation by Mark Decker, assisted by Tony Wass and David Page
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham
Dorcas Ableman: Angela Wynter
Muriel Farr: Alphonsia Emmanuel
Sue Kinder: Sarah Berger
Pauline Peterson: Tammi Jacobs
Janet Morris: Beverley Hills
Laces Mackenzie: Jimmy Yuill
Vivien Blackwood: Patricia Gallimore
Hilary Davenport: Caroline Mortimer
Mike Bassett: Terry Molloy
Noel Kinder: Edwin Richfield
Tom Billbow: Ben Roberts
Golden Girl: Maggie Tarver
Hotel porter/ Director: Garard Green
Waiter/ Clapper/ Photographer/Cross man: Jonty Stephens
Sports commentator: Alan Parry
Part 2 broadcast on 5th May 1986.
3rd May 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Dear Octopus (1938) by Dodie Smith (1896-1990) adapted by Cynthia Pughe.
A couple reach their Golden Wedding anniversary and have a large family gathering.
Directed by David H. Godfrey
Dora Randolph: Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies
Charles Randolph: Robert Harris
Hilda: Monica Grey
Margery: Eva Haddon
Cynthia: Jo Manning Wilson
Nicholas: Martin Jarvis
Hugh: Tim Benttnck
Flouncy: Susan Sheridan
Bill: Elizabeth Lindsay
Scrap: Bernadette Windsor
Belle: Barbara Couper
Kenneth: Garard Green
Edna: Irene Sutcliffe
Laurel: Gretta Gourlet
Fenny: Lisa Harrow
Gertrude: Janet Burnell
Nanny: Margot Boyd
Repeated from 23/12/78
Further repeated 4/9/89
[There have been several radio productions of this play from 1940 onwards and after 1986, by Glyn Dearman in 1995 rpt 1996]
4th May 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd (1911 revised 1914) by D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930)
Marriage in a coal mining family faces severe trials.
Directed by Guy Vaesen.
Mrs Holroyd: Judy Parfitt
Blackmore: Roy Spencer
Jack: Patricia Leventon
Minnie: Helen Worth
Clara: Jane Knowles
Laura: Christine Welch
Holroyd: David Brierley
Grandmother: Joan Matheson
Rigley: Ronald Herdman
Manager: George Woolley
Miners: Christopher Crooks and Peter Bourke
Repeated from 23/6/73, rpt 13/10/79
[This is an expansion by Lawrence of his short story "Odour of Chrysanthemums" ]
[There was an earlier radio production in 1953 rpt 1954]
5th May 1986
12.27-13.00:
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre adapted by Rene Basilico
2 of 6: Alec Leamas tries desperately to cope with life outside the Service.
For Part 1 please see 28/4/21 above.
Theme music by Max Harris
Producer John Fawcett Wilson
Alec Leamas: Colin Blakely
Liz Gold: Janet Maw
Miss Crail: Dilys Laye
Publican: Ron Pember
Tart: Helen Keating
Peter Guillam: Douglas Blackwell
Pitt: Keith Smith
Greengrocer: Brian Smith
Doctor: Peter Howell
Grocer & Delaney: Peter Childs
Pt3:12/5/86 Pt4:19/5/86 Pt5:26/5/86 Pt6:2/6/86
5th May 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Good Morning Blues by John Wain (1925-1994)
For one group of friends the influence of Ulysses Baker, the trumpeter from New Orleans, meant that jazz became their life.
Music played by Alan Elsdon (trumpet), Brian Leake, Andre Beeson, Pete Strange, Laurie Chescoe, Jim Douglas and Dave Green.
Directed by Jane Morgan.
Mary: Julie Covington
James: Bill Nighy
Neil: Nicholas Le Prevost
Peter: Trevor Nichols
Ulysses Baker: Erick Ray Evans
Dominique: Carmen Munroe
Mrs Clifton: Gwen Cherrell
Jean-Paul: Michael Hadley
Roxane: Leila Bertram
Roxane a child: Marian Diamond
Hotel manager: Richard Durden
Jazz club manager: David Learner
Repeated 10th May 1986
6th May 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: A Rose on the Obverse by Timothy Jackson
1982: Britain is at war. A couple wait for news of their son.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
Sarah: Pauline Letts
Jake: Timothy Bateson
Martin: Duncan Donald
Repeated 7th May 1986
[The BBC commissioned this radio adaptation after a stage version of the play was presented at the finals of the Sunday Times’ National Student Drama Festival in 1985.]
6th May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Euphoria by Giles Cole
Her mother called her Euphoria; then she was passed on to the adoption agency. Now Euphoria wants to find her birth mother.
Directed by Ian Cotterill
Euphoria: Deborah Makepeace
Howard: Giles Cole
Martina: Jennifer Piercey
Mr Fox: Manning Wilson
Social worker: Francis Middleditch
Tom: Stephen Rashbrook
Agent: Richard Durden
Ernest: George Parsons
Mary: Jane Knowles
George/ Michael : Alan Downer
7th May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Origami by Jill Hyem (1937-2015)
Pronunciation adviser Masatoshi Tobita
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
Mr Shimojo: Sean Barrett
Helen Bestall: Carole Boyd
Lucy Bestall: Helen Worth
Peter Trent: Christopher Scular
Enid Shelley/ young woman: Kate Lee
Repeated from 29th February 1984
Also broadcast on R4X in 2019
8th May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Ticket by T. D. Webster
1953: Some people will do anything to get a ticket to the Cup Final.
Directed by Peter Windows
BBC Birmingham.
Ken: Alan Parnaby
Eileen: Judith Barker
Arthur: Edward Kelsey
Les: Edward Kelsey
Frank/ Billy: Bert Parnaby
Sally/ Paula: Susie Brann
Mildred: Shirley Stelfox
Cynthia: Patricia Greene
Adrian: Francis Middleditch
Peter/ Landlord: Jamie Roberts
Ted/ Cyril: Keith Clifford
Maureen: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Sylvester: Richard Durden
Vicar: Richard Durden
Fiona/ Nurse: Jayne Dowell
[T D Webster also used the name David Bannister]
10th May 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Death of Robert De Cerilley by Frederick Bradnum (1920-2001)
A Normandy family find for their daughter the 'perfect' husband. Or not.
Directed by Graham Gauld.
Marthe: Jenny Funnell
Robert: Shaun Prendergast
Celie: Pauline Letts
Anne: Paddy Turner
Edith: Ysanne Churchman
Pierre: Hugh Dickson
Jules: George Parsons
Jean: John Church
Claude: Manning Wilson
Guy: Francis Middleditch
Jacques: Robin Browne
President: Lewis Stringer
Prosecutor: Michael Bilton
Inspector: Brian Hewlett
Usher: Richard Durden
Magistrate: Edmund Dehn
Sister: Jennifer Piercey
Liane: Elaine Claxton
Repeated 12th May 1986
11th May 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Hopcraft into Europe by Michael Sadler
When Britain joined the Common Market in 1973 there was a new opportunty to sell British made products in France. France had many attractions.
Directed by John Tydeman.
Stanley Hopcraft: Charles Kay
Mason: Norman Rodway
Madeleine Desmarest: Cecile Chevreau
Guillaume Madeleine's son: Gilles Dattas
Marie-Louise, his girlfriend: Lorna Philippe
Heidi, Hopcraft's girlfriend: Elizabeth Proud
H M Butter: Rolf Lefebvre
Repeated from R4 15th October 1975
First broadcast on Radio 3 on 28th November 1972, rptd 31st December 1972.
[Also produced as a TV play on ITV in 1973 with Arthur Lowe as Mason]
11th May 1986
19.00:
No Highway (1948) by Nevil Shute (1899-1960) dramatised by Brian Gear
1 of 3: Estimated Time to Failure.
1947: A scientist at Farnborough is looking at metal fatigue in the tailpiece of an aircraft.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
Dr Scott: Norman Bowler
Theodore Honey: John Clegg
Capt Samuelson: Alexander Davion
Director: Stephen Churchett
Shirley: Penelope Nice
Elspeth: Abigail Docherty
Penworthy: Jared Morgan
Fisher/Dobson: Roger Leach
Ferguson: Alan Thompson
Miss Corder: Melinda Walker
Cousins: Michael Drew
Actors in later episodes:
Dobson:Roger Leach(2)
Monica Teasdale:Margaret Robertson(2)
Symes: Philip Bond(2)
Ferguson: Alan Thompson(2)
Miss Learoyd: Gwen Cherrell(2)
Sir David Moon: Michael Gough(2)
Prendergast: Conrad Phillips(2)
Chairman: Brian Smith(3)
Russell: Stuart Millington(3)
Hennessey: Arril Johnson (3)
Pt2:18/5/86 Pt3:25/5/86
All 1986 episodes repeated after 5 days
[There was a prior radio production in 1954 by Raymond Raikes, and another in 1963 rptd 1967 by Betty Davies]
[Nevil Shute was an aircraft designer]
12th May 1986
12.27-13.00:
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre adapted by Rene Basilico
3 of 6: Leamas is released from prison. Out in the cold again.
Theme music by Max Harris
Producer John Fawcett Wilson
For episode one please see 28th April 1986 above.
Alec Leamas: Colin Blakely
Ashe: Trevor Baxter
Kiever: Carl Duering
George Smiley: Michael Turner
Peter Guillam: Douglas Blackwell
Tony: Edward De Souza
Prison governor: Alan Thompson
Warder: Ronald Herdman
Chief officer: Robin Summers
Actors in later episodes- please see the episode broadcast date below.
Episode repeated 13th May 1986
Pt4:19/5/86 Pt5:26/5/86 Pt6:2/6/86
12th May 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Dust by Rib Davis
Local councils have to obtain services from the private sector. Can a service supplier run his private life the same way he runs his business?
Directed by Philip Martin
BBC Birmingham.
Ray: Bryan Marshall
Gill: Fleur Chandler
Alison: Joan Walker
John: Geoff Serle
Alec: Dave Mitty
George: Terry Molloy
Guy: Roger Hume
Repeated 17th May 1986
13th May 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Price of Houses by Gwen Cherrell
The Edwardian house in Fenders Lane had a 'For Sale' notice, but when Daisy and Robin purchase it they find it isn't altogether for sale.
Directed by Gerry Jones
Daisy Macauley: Frances Jeater
Robin Macauley: Gareth Armstrong
Mrs Lanning: Sheila Grant
Margaret: Natasha Pyne
Miss Hornbuckle: Margaret Ward
Nevinson: Brian Hewlett
Au pair: Susie Brann
Repeated 14th May 1986
13th May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Jonathon George Can Walk on the Water by Juliet Ace
Kydleigh used to be a grimy fishing port. Now it has become a glamorous film set.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC BristoL
Jonathon: Peter Jeffrey
Rosie: Shirley Dixon
Reporter: Christlan Rodska
Landlady: June Tobin
Landlord: Eric Allan
Voices of Kydleigh: Juliet Ace
Also with June Barrie, William Eedle, Trevor Nichols, Conrad Phillips
14th May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: In His Hands by Paul Bond
A surgeon finds his hands becoming unreliable and finds a solution.
Directed By: Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester.
Robert Silvermann: Jonathan Newth
Hisako: Fiona Walker
Julian Connaught: Christopher Ravenscroft
Harry Jackson/Mooney: Cliff Howells
Audrey/Joanie: Rosalie Williams
Alison: Dorcas Morgan
Sid Benson: James Tomunson
Emma Green: Jonquille Chantrey
15th May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Ties by Eric MacDonald
Marion returns to her mother seeking comfort at a time of loss.
Directed by Gregor Graham
BBC Scotland.
Marion: Maureen Beattie
Mother: Edith MacArthur
Kay: Gwyneth Guthrie
Peggy: Rose McBain
Sadie: Mary Riggans
Flora: Vivienne Dixon
17th May 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Where are You. Wally? by Barry Washerman and Patrick Carroll.
A taxi driver who retains money left in his cab talks about it on a radio phone - and his life becomes interesting.
Directed by Ned Chaillet
Hardie: Bill Paterson
Albert: Alfred Molina
Druidstone: Shaun Prendergast
Glenn: Andrew Branch
Broadbent: Edward Desouza
Paul: Paul B Davies
Mrs Rosen: Pauline Letts
Mr Salah: Garard Green
Bertha: Avril Clark
Mrs Poole: Deborah Makepeace
Ros: Jennifer Piercey
Mrs Hardie: Janis Winters
Max: Ronald Herdman
Horace: Louis Mahoney
Girl at ferry: Natasha Pyne
Bobby: Stephen Rashbrook
Repeated on 19th May 1986 and 10th December 1990.
18th May 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: The Browning Version (1948) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)
A teacher leaving his school for another is given a translation of a classic work by one of his pupils.
Directed by Ian Cotterell.
Andrew Crocker Harris: Nigel Stock
Millie Crocker Harris: Barbara Jefford
John Taplow: Stephen Garlick
Frank Hunter: David McAlister
Dr Frobisher: Michael Spice
Peter Gilbert: David Timson
Mrs Gilbert: Christine Absalom
First broadcast 24th December 1982
[Earlier productions: by Mary Hope Allen in 1949 rptd 1950 on Home Service; also one by Archie Campbell on Light Programme in 1956]
[There was also an earlier radio production in 1957, rptd 1958, 1970 and 1972 produced by Norman Wright which was also broadcast on R4X in 2017]
[There was a later production produced by Martin Jarvis in 2011 rptd 2013]
19th May 1986
12.27-13.00:
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre adapted by Rene Basilico
4 of 6: Leamas accepts an offer.
For episode one please see 28th April 1986 above.
Theme music by Max Harris
Producer John Fawcett Wilson
Alec Leamas: Colin Blakely
Peters: Julian Glover
Kiever: Carl Duering
Fiedler: David de Keyser
Els: Helen Cooper
Driver: Peter Birch
Passport controller: Lex Van Delden
Actors in later episodes- please see the episode broadcast date below.
Pt5:26/5/86 Pt6:2/6/86
Episode repeated 20th May 1986 and series repeated commencing 12/1/88.
All 1986 episodes were repeated the following day.
19th May 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Widows (1983) by Ariel Dorfman translated from the Spanish by Stephen Kessler, and dramatised by Gregory Evans.
1942: As bodies turn up in the river, each is claimed by several women.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol.
Captain: John Abineri
Orderly: Steve Hodson
Lieutenant/ Serguei: Graham Blockey
Sofia: Clare Kelly
Alexandra/Irene: Natasha Pyne
Fidelia: Abigail Docherty
Katherina: Tessa Worsley
Yanina/Cecilia: Melinda Walker
Alexis: Miguel Perry
Fr Gabriel: John Church
Hilda: Pauline Letts
Doctor/Judge: Ronald Herdman
Sergeant/Kastoria: Jack Harding
Repeated 24th May 1986
[Although set in Greece to escape Chilean censorship, the play is a portrayal of peasants in Latin America]
[original title "Viudas".]
20th May 1986
11.00:
Thirty Minute Theatre: Letters from Kim by Carole Hayman
Kim has gone to London full of hope.
Directed by Penny Gold
Kim: Janette Beverley
Repeated 21st May 1986
[In 1992 Radio 5 broadcast a 3 x 40m extended version including Kim's further travels.]
20th May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Men of Former Times by Rob Gittins
Turkey 1956: a British archeologist thinks he has made an important discovery.
Directed by Adrian Mourby
BBC Wales
James Holland: Mark Wing Davey
Richard: William Eedle
Investigator: Brian Smith
Man: Steve Plytas
Girl: Amanda Wright
21st May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Up Against the Wall by Allen Saddler (1923- 2011)
An English lecturer encourages a poet he has found.
Music by Sam Richards
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
Pete: Kevin Lloyd
Martin: Roy North
Sue: Avril Clark
Jimmy: Nicholas Collett
Max: Francis Middleditch
Sarah: Deborah Makepeace
Evans: Rex Holdsworth
Compere/ Businessman: Bugs Anderson
Disc jockey: John Telfer
Rockey: Brian Hewlett
Woman: Janice Somers
Man: David Sharp
22nd May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Purely from Principle by Lynne Reid Banks.
Why did her son not turn out to be honest and independant?
Directed by John Cardy.
Joan Wilson: Lynne Reid Banks
Stephen: Philip Barnes
Sharon: Linda Cray
Ramsay: Bernard Brown
Mrs Dawson: Margot Boyd
Lyn: Melissa Katsoulis
Solicitor: Geoffrey Collins
Clerk: Moir Leslie
Magistrates: Jane Wenham
Also with Arnold Diamond and David Sinclair
Repeated from 14th August 1984.
24th May 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle dramatised by Roy Apps
Holmes's attention is drawn to a message in code which leads him to the scene of a murder.
Directed by Brian Miller
Sherlock Holmes: Tim Pigott-Smith
Dr Watson: Andrew Hilton
Douglas: James Aubrey
McGinty: Lee Montague
Insp MacDonald: Bob Docherty
Mrs Hudson: Val Lorralne
White Mason: Edward de Souza
Constable: Jared Morgan
Barker/Marvin: Trevor Nichols
Mrs Douglas: Natasha Pyne
Baldwin: Andrew Branch
Morris: Ronald Herdman
Ettie: Adeen Fogle
Shafter: John Church
Also with Tom Karol and Jared Morgan
Repeated 26th December 1986.
[An earlier production by Robin Midgley in 1960 rptd 1961 and 1968 had Carleton Hobbs as Holmes]
[A later production in two parts by Enyd Williams in 1997 rptd 1998 had Clive Merrison as Holmes]
25th May 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Stones by Shirley Gee
One visitor to the graveyard reads the football results to her husband.
Directed by David Spenser.
Narrators:
John Westbrook and Rolf Lefebvre
Voices:
Jack Carr, Kate Coleridge, Donald Gee, Madi Hedd, Pauline Letts, Peter Williams
Children:
Angel Gale, Joanne Hannington, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Earl Rhodes, Ian Sharrock, Alexander Tusa, Francis Tusa
Repeated from Radio 3: 5th November 1974, repeated 8th July 1975.
[This play was the runner-up in the radio section of the Radio Times Drama Bursary Award.]
26th May 1986:
12.27-13.00:
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre adapted by Rene Basilico
5 of 6: Nothing is ever what it seems.
For episode one please see 28th April 1986 above.
Music By: Max Harris
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
Alec Leamas: Colin Blakely
Fiedler: David de Keyser
Mundt: Wolf Kahler
Control: Allan McClelland
Peter Guillam: Douglas Blackwell
Man from Berlin/Warder: Lutz Liebelt
Secretary: Suzanne Roquette
First guard: Peter Birch
Second guard: Graham Blockey
Third guard: Terry Gurry
Actors in the last episode- please see the episode broadcast date below.
Pt6:2/6/86
Episode repeated 27th May 1986 and series repeated commencing 12/1/88.
All 1986 episodes were repeated the following day.
26th May 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: The Spring of the Beast by Hallam Tennyson (1920-2005)
A relationship of admiration, respect and unspoken love.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
Henry James (1843-1916): John Rowe
Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840-1894): Marian Diamond
Fanny Kemble: Pauline Letts
Lizzie Boott: Elaine Claxton
Francis Boott: John Bluthnal
Frank Duveneck: John Church
Hendrik Anderson: Nick Dunning
Attendant: Francis Middleditch
Lady Carlisle: Sheila Grant
Repeated 31st May 1986
[ Also see Henry James' "The Beast in the Jungle" (1903).]
27th May 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Ode for St Cecilia by Gabriel Josipovic1
I woke up the other day with the sound of your oboe in my ears. It stayed with me all day
Baroque oboe: Richard Earle
Directed by John Theocharis
Sue: Frances Barber
Gerry: Tim Woodward
Telephonist: Elaine Claxton
Repeated 28th May 1986
[There are several musicial works with this title. St Cecilia was the patron saint of music and musicians]
27th May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Close of Play by Ellen Dryden
Edmund's parents make him play his cello at a childrens concert- on the Saturday of a cricket Test Match.
Directed by Patrick Rayner
Edmund: Jonathan Taylor
Felicity: Jill Lidstone
Alan: Michael Hadley
Harriet: Marian Diamond
Mrs Jephcott: Frances Jeater
Rosalind: Rosalind Adams
Orlando: Bernard Brown
Lydia: Pauline Letts
Deirdre: Natasha Pyne
Charles: Eric Stovell
Announcer: Peter Howell
Interviewer: George Parsons
Commentator: Garard Green
28th May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Not That Sort of Beach by Jim Hitchmough
The caravan holiday evolves to a topless beach then a nudist beach- but modesty may be a problem, and there is something in the sand dunes.
Directed by Tony Cliff
Doreen Cooper: Jane Collins
George Cooper: Christian Rodska
Kate Cooper: Suzanne Hitchmough
Sandra Cooper: Carole Diamond
Henshaw: Edward York
Mrs Henshaw: Rosalind Knight
Repeated from 18th July 1984.
29th May 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Strike - Early Doors by Michael Toft
A striking miner has a difference of opinion with his brother on their first picket line.
Directed by Tony Cliff
Ronnie: Paul Copley
Amy: Shirley E Jones
Paul: John Graham Davtes
Debra: Barbara Marten
Albert: Gerry Kersey
Dave: Paul Elsam
Colin: Colin Meredith
Mick: Finetime Fontayne
Norman: Graham Roberts
Greg: Christopher Larner
Harold: Edward Peel
Ken: David Fleeshman
Justina: Sue Jenkins
Betty: Allyson Lee
[The script is held by Rotherham Archives]
31st May 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Missing Day by Derek Kartun (1949-2005)
The records say Tchaikovsky died of cholera. Here is a differing version of events.
Directed by David Johnston
Peter llyich Tchaikovsky: Ronald Pickup
his brother Modest: Ian Ogilvy
Alexander Stenbok-Fermor: Stephen Rashbrook
Sergei, his friend: Jonathan Owen
Count Stenbok-Fermor: Edward Cast
Nikolay Jacoby: George Parsons
Boris Brovtsin: Brian Haines
August Gerke: Brlan Smith
Senator Schreiber: John Gabriel
Senator Mordvinov: John Forrest
Vladimir Gerard: Ronald Herdman
Woman at Grand Hotel: Sheila Grant
Repeated 2nd June 1986
[The several theories of his death were covered in depth in November 1993 rpt December 1994, in a Radio 3 documentary "Pride or Prejudice".]
1st June 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Anyone Can See I Love You by Marilyn Bowering
Musicians Robert Pettigrew, Kenny Ellis and Jimmy Woods
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
BBC Scotland.
Marilyn Monroe: Hetty Baynes
the piano player: Stuart Milligan
Repeated 14th February 1994
[Also broadcast in Canada 1986 and Australia 1987]
[The June 1987 book of this title was a cycle of poems by Marilyn Bowering]
1st June 1986
19.00:
The Man Who Was Thursday (1908) by G. K. Chesterton, dramatised by: Peter Buckman
1 of 4: The Secret of Gabriel Syme
Directed by Glyn Dearman
Gabriel Syme: Michael Hadley
Rosamond: Natasha Pyne
Sunday: John Church
Monday (Secretary): Richard Durden
Tuesday (Gogol): Shaun Prendergast
Wednesday (Marquis de St Eustache): Edward De Souza
Friday (Professor de Worms): Ronald Herdman
Saturday (Dr Bull): Andrew Branch
Lucian Gregory: George Parsons
Buttons/Keeper: Gordon Reid
Policeman: Francis Middleditch
Witherspoon: Peter Howell
Additional cast in later episodes:
Colonel Ducroix: Garard Green(2)
Innkeeper: Gordon Reid(2)
Shopgirl: Deborah Makepeace(2)
Bus conductor/Footman: Stephen Rashbrook(2)
Barmaid: Avril Clark(2)
Waiter/Attendant: David Learner(2)
Dr Renard: Manning Wilson(3)
Woodcutter: Jonathan Tafler(3)
Cab Driver: Tim Reynolds(4)
Pt2:8/6/86 Pt3:15/6/86 Pt4:22/6/86
All 1986 episodes repeated after 5 days.
2nd June 1986
12.27-13.00:
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre adapted by Rene Basilico
6 of 6.
Theme music by Max Harris
Producer John Fawcett Wilson
Alec Leamas: Colin Blakely
Fiedler: David de Keyser
Karden: Alfred Burke
Liz Gold: Janet Maw
Mundt: Wolf Kahler
President of the Tribunal: Hannah Norbert
Fischer: Norman Caro
Erich: Guy Groen
First guard: Peter Birch
Second guard: Stuart Organ
Episode repeated 3rd June 1986 and series repeated commencing 12/1/88
2nd June 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Tumbledown Dick by Peter Buckman
Richard Cromwell (1626-1712), Oliver Cromwell's son has returned to England after 20 years exile in France.
Directed by Graham Gauld
Richard Cromwell: Robert Lang
Mrs Noble: Margaret Rawlings
Margaret: Liza Flanagan
Mr Doubleday: John Levitt
Capt Rolt: Geoffrey Collins
Dr Watts: Timothy Bateson
Deagle: Jonathan Scott
Repeated 7th June 1986
[Graham Gauld produced another quite different program with this title in 1957, based upon a book by Howard Spring.]
[This play is unrelated to the book and earlier radio play written by J R Gregson]
3rd June 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Getting Used to It by Marilyn Morris.
Two unemployed men dream of going abroad, then one of them gets a job.
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester
Dean: John Basham
Lester: Malcolm Raeburn
Mr Mann: Randal Herley
Bingo caller: Bert Gaunt
Mr Lewis: Geoffrey Banks
Bombed bingo player: Paula Tilbrook
Fat Mars: Judith Barker
May: Eileen O'Brien
Arlene: Elizabeth Ritson
Rose: Catherine Doherty
Repeated 4th June 1986
3rd June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Cotswold Order by Robin Brooks
Joss becomes the Archbishop of 'The Cotswold Order of Evangelignites'
Directed by David Johnston
Joss Whatton: Peter Tuddenham
his 'companion': Angela Crow
Wilf: Arnold Diamond
The Rev Witlock: John Church
The Rev Duneen: Nick Brmle
Dorcas: Natasha Pyne
Mrs Bickerslade/Blossom: Sheila Grant
Squire: Bernard Brown
Mannie Cresswell: David Garth
The Rev Pym: Jonathan Tafler
Edie Cummings: Avril Clark
[The character of Joss Whatton is from Robin's earlier play "The Colliers Cathedral" 22/5/84]
4th June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Ring Around the Bath by Michael Judge
Taking part in a radio program about a typical family, it is easy to reveal too much.
Directed by Clive Brill
BBC Northern Ireland.
Jack and Terry Darcy: Ingrid Craigie
Tord Svensson: David Gooderson
Pauline Darcy: Aine MacCartney
Ken Darcy: Peter Quigley
Jack Molloy: Roscoe Hogan
[No connection to a 2003 radio sitcom of this name]
5th June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: A Confidential Agent by Nick McCarty
It's not hard to uncover a secret - the situation is different if you have to reveal it.
Directed by Philip Martin
BBC Birmingham
Liz: Rosemary Martin
Marjorie: Barbara Atkinson
Harry: Edwin Richfield
Dad: Roger Hume
Mr Antrobus/McCann: Terry Molloy
Harry's mum: Joyce Gibbs
Pagett: Dave Mitty
Roland: Gordon Coulson
Harry's wife/Receptionist/Waitress: Jackie Abbey-Taylor
Landlady/Lady at bridge party: Pauline Wattis
[This play was followed by further plays with the same author/characters and title name. The next was "A Confidential Agent - All That Glisters" 23/7/87.]
7th June 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Town that Helped Itself by Ken Whitmore
What limits are there on what a town can do for itself?
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester.
Nigel: Finetime Fontayne
Angela: Sally Edwards
Grimwood: Freddie Jones
Oldfield: Graham Roberts
Miss Chimneys: Rosalind Knight
Foxfield/Harker/Pomegrano: David Fleeshman
Botcher/Grommel/Worplestone: Russell Dixon
Van: Der Merwee/figgis/
Commentator: Peter Wheeler
Queen/Prime Minister/Winifred: Alison Steadman
Repeated 9th June 1986
8th June 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Daybreak by Don Haworth (1924-2007)
Two airmen talk together when returning to their WW2 base. One of them says he used to have a violent father.
Directed by Kay Patrick
Harold: David Threlfall
Fred: Christian Rodska
First broadcast on Radio 3 on 12th January 1984.
Repeated on Radio 4 on 8th September 1984
[1984 Giles Cooper award winner]
9th June 1986
12.27-13.00:
Comedy Playhouse: Split-level Detached by Tom Elliott (1937-2017)
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester.
Joyce: Heather Stoney
Arnold: George A Cooper
Leslie: Roy Barraclough
Aunt Win: Paula Tilbrook
Vicar/Bricklayer: Laurence Kenny
[Roy Barraclough also featured in Elliott's first two theatre plays].
9th June 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: A Personal Affair by Lesley Davies
A daughter may not tell her mother everything about her life.
Directed by Penny Gold .
Lyn: Julia Ford
Tony: Neil Dudgeon
Mum: Barbara Flynn
Dad: Bill Monks
Rosalie: Vicky Ireland
Ann: Lesley Sharp
Mr Ford: Stuart Organ
Miss Bell: Avril Clark
Baz: David Doyle
Jane: Deborah Makepeace
Boy: Sam Smart
Dr Ray: John Church
Lisa: Natasha Pyne
Parky: Ronald Herdman
Repeated 14th June 1986
10th June 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: This Golden Land by Dorothy Osborne
A child is afraid of a move to a new home and a new school.
Directed by Jane Dauncey
BBC Wales
Nona:Susan Sheridan (1947-2015)
Mother: Annest Wiliam (1937-2015)
Father: Alan Towner
Pat: Donna Edwards
Miss Davies: Eleanor Thomas
Ivor Philips: Paul Garside
Children.: Rhiannon James, Anna John, Geraint Lloyd, and Ioan Gruffudd
Repeated 11th June 1986
[Annest Wiliam: Annest is the Welsh equivalent of Agnes. Her parents were Williams but she was Wiliam]
10th June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Funny Boys by Charles Way
Sitting in a far away dressing room Tom recalls a comic partnership.
Music by Christine Blanchard
Directed by Adrian Mourby
Tom Perry: Gary Meredith
Twp: Andrew Rivers
Lucy: Diana Cox
Anwen: Elizabeth Pearce
Bryn: John Lovat
Nurse: Eve Chandler
[Twp is correct and pronounced Tup- in translation it means "stupid"]
[This play was written for and first performed by Gwent Theatre in 1984]
11th June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Summer Attachment by Michael Sharp
Bereavement can lead to a new life with new interests, such as taking on your spouse's allotment.
Directed by Glyn Dearman
Evelyn Ashcroft: Isabel Dean (1918-1997)
Ken Meadows: Bryan Pringle
Jenny: Elizabeth Proud
Mr White: Manning Wilson
Pam: Jennifer Piercey
Man in park: Peter Howell
12th June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: For Personal Reasons by Rod Tinson
Not many men left a good job to take care of a baby.
Directed by Matthew Walters
Robert: Michael Maloney
Simone: Moir Leslie
Helen/Elizabeth: Melinda Walker
Boss: Brian Miller
Dan: Jonathan Tafler
Jenny: Susie Brann
Women on the beach: Barbara Atkinson and Sheila Grant
Repeated 12th May 1987
14th June 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Last Renaissance Man by T. D. Webster
The wife of the partner of a furniture maker is murdered.
Directed by Peter Windows
BBC Birmingham.
Bill Mottram: Michael Pennington
Ambrose Gray: Geoffrey Matthews
Insp Herrick: Terry Molloy
Sgt Cooke: Stephen Hancock
Maurice: Alan Thompson
Suzanne: Hedli Nlklaus
St John: Eric Stovell
Jimmy Brennan: Edwin Richfleld
Davis/Ross: Brian Smith
Madge/Woman at party: Patricia Gallimore
Shopkeeper/Cleaner: Joyce Gibbs
Repeated 16th June 1986
15th June 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: You Are Not Alone in the House by Frederick Bradnum (1920-2001)
Directed by John Tydeman.
Charlotte: Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies
Nolan: Simon Lack
Bolan: Felix Felton
Also with Rolf Lefebvre, Elizabeth Proud, Patricia Gallimore, Edward Kelsey, Ronald Herdman, Patrick Tull, Jane Knowles, Sheila Grant
First broadcast 16th January 1972, repeated 16th April 1972, both on Radio 3.
16th June 1986
12.27-13.00:
Comedy Playhouse: Cut and Blow by Nan Woodhouse
The difficulties encountered by a hair stylist.
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester.
Leila: Jane Hollowood
William: Alan Rothwell
Clothilde: Diane Whitley
Mrs H: Paula Tilbrook
Patsy: Eileen O'Brlen
Fascia: Judith Barker
Dad: Geoffrey Banks
Beryl: Barbara Marten
New client: Ann Aris
Repeated 17th June 1986
16th June 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: The Tinker's Daughter by Patrice Chaplin
Living alone and unloved on a country estate a young woman finds solace where she can- and class difference is no obstruction.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
Meriel: Deborah Makepeace
Papa: Richard Pasco
Mama: Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Amy: Zelah Clarke
Louisa: Sheila Grant
Aunt Charlotte: Pauline Letts
Prince Ferdinand: Sandor Eles
Horace: Brian Smith
Cecilia: Clare Travers Deacon
Soames: Garard Green
Wallace: Ronald Herdman
Repeated 21st June 1986
Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2017
17th June 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Viva by Marcia Kahan.
Viva is an examination interview at Oxford University where the student is asked questions about their research. Can family and friends help or hinder the process?
Directed by Cherry Cookson
Molly: Alison Steadman
Dr Troy: William Fox
Oliver: Hugh Dickson
Nick: Michael Jenner
Helen: Susie Brann
Molly's father: Manning Wilson
Prof Coleridge: George Parsons
Prof Beveridge: Avril Clark
Prof Smedley: Stuart Organ
Dr Oppenheimer: Jennifer Piercey
Dr Potts: Anthony Newlands
Repeated 18th June 1986 (Radio 4), 20th August 1987 (Radio 3), and 8th January 1989 (Radio 4)
[Marcia Kahan went to Somerville at Oxford University]
17th June 1986
15.00: The Afternoon Play: Diary of a Suburban Housewife by Sandra Clayton
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham
Anne: Jill Meers
Martin/Scottish vet: Graham Padden
Young Peter: Neil Coker
Susan: Maggie Tarver
Margaret/Operator: Patricia Gallimore
Col Fernihough/Vet/Telephone engineer: Terry Molloy
Al/Waiter: John Dixon
Betty/Receptionist: Diana Davies
Jeremy/Young man: Kim Durham
Herbert/Graham Tyler/Stables proprietor: Roger Hume
Repeated from 1st March 1984, and 3rd November 1984
[No relation to the book by Dorothy Blake]
18th June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The List by Scott Cherry
A "wedding presents list" (the gifts the couple ask for) causes numerous difficulties.
Directed by Jeremy Howe.
Denise: Sue Broomfield
Mike: Stephen Rashbrook
Ruth: Cynthia Grenville
Tony: David March
Betty: Avril Clark
19th June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Swiss Banker by Peter Simpkin
A gambler with criminal connections must give up gambling if he wishes the return of his wife- then there is a racehorse and life becomes more difficult.
Directed by Peter Kavanagh .
Dave: Stuart Organ
Angus: Gordon Reid
Joseph: Richard Durden
Mandy: Deborah Makepeace
Rose: Pauline Letts
Ted: Manning Wilson
Carol: Emily Dean
Gordon: Shaun Prendergast
Solicitor/Official: Peter Howell
Tote Office girl/Dave's girlfriend: Avril Clark
Trainer: Michael Hadley
Vincetti: Edward de Souza
Also with Janet Key
21st June 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Charity at Home by Dave Simpson
How charitable is a "proper business" which organises giving to charity?
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester.
John Davenport: Geoffrey Banks
Beryl Davenport: Ann Rye
Bob Johnson: Robert Keegan
Phil Johnson: John Basham
Julia Davenport: Diane Whitley
Carol Johnson: Julia Ford
Graham Meers: Christopher Kent
Dr Baker: Malcolm Hebden
Mrs Jenkins: Lesley Staples
Instructor: Paul Slack
Surgeon: Renny Krupinski
Repeated 23rd June 1986
22nd June 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Henry's Past by Caryl Churchill
Directed by John Tydeman
Henry: Michael Bryant
Alice: Sheila Allen
Paulina: Pauline Letts
Sylvy: Jane Knowles
Geoffrey: John Carson
Lydia: Helen Worth
First broadcast on Radio 3 on 5/12/72, rptd 11/6/74
23rd June 1986
12.27-13.00:
Comedy Playhouse: Departures by Chris Curry
One mans reaction to retirement.
Directed By: Tony Cuff
Ted: Geoffrey Banks
Frank/Carlos: Russell Dixon
Mick: Brian Southwood
Chas/Gant: Peter Wheeler
Wally: Robert Keegan
Peters: Adrlan Stokes
Evelyn: Paula Tilbrook
Ida Braithwaite: Rosalie Williams
Repeated 24th June 1986
23rd June 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Land Lovers by Antoine O Flatharta
A visit to America reveals the circumstances of his cousin's death twelve years ago.
Producer Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester
Joanne: Margaret Robertson
Brendan: Stephen Brennan
Teacher/Taped voice: Allan McClelland
Stewardess/Ephrata Cloiseter woman: Elaine Claxton
Immigration officer/Amish man: Manning Wilson
Attendant/Nick: Blain Fairman
Drunk/Gettysburg guide: Garard Green
Larry: Ed Bishop
Eleanor: Irena Mayeska
Stephen: Michael Crossman
Repeated 28th June 1986
24th June 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Full Fathom Five by Michael Robson
Ambition: to purchase a dinghy.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol.
Matthew Forgan: Hugh Dickson
Mary Latimer: Ingrid Hafner
Freddie Sandbach: Trevor Nichols
David: Jonathan Waterman
Repeated 25th June 1986
[The title is a Shakespearean reference and has been widely used. It has references to the sea and a father.]]
24th June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Special Subject by Melville Jones
A mother wants her son to have a better education than she achieved.
Clarinet: Roger Bennett (1935-2005)
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol.
Marion: Karen Ford
Peter: John Church
Richard: Ianundsay
Tom: Juuan Firth
Harriet: Pauline Letts
David: Bill Wall1s
Vicar: Gordon Reid
Jim: Alan Coveney
25th June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Therapists by Mark Beeson
Songs by Ilona Sekacz
A moorland farmhouse offers therapy and seems to have its own crises.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Sir James Canthium: Edward De Souza
Caroline: Jane Knowles
Timothy: Jonathan Tafler
Harmony: Melinda Walker
Energy: Helena Breck
Nature: Sheila Grant
Body: William Eedle
Augusta: Deborah Makepeace
Raven: Shaun Prendergast
Otter: Trevor Nichols
[Commissioned by BBC Editor Tim Suter, later adapted for theatrical presentation.]
26th June 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Footballers' Wives by Helen Kluger
The players' partners gather at an exclusive bar as the Cup Final draws closer.
Script editor: Tim Suter
Director Jeremy Mortimer
(In association with Tight Assets Theatre Company)
Debbie: Gillian Bevan
Angie: Christine Kavanagh
Maureen: Helen Kluger
Stella: Tessa Peake-Jones
Max: Michael Simpkin
Glenys: Janthea Williams
Interviewer: Andy Smith
28th June 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Generations by Mervyn Jones
The son of a miner does well for himself.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Daniel Jones: Anthony Hall
Idris Jones: Douglas Blackwell
Morfydd Jones: Elizabeth Morgan
Laura: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Penny Jones: Elaine Claxton
Richard Brownell: Manning Wilson
Irving Sterzinger: Tim Reynolds
Amanda Brownell: Avril Clark
Chairman of meeting: Brian Hewlett
Students: Stuart Organ, Stephen Rashbrook, Elaine Claxton
Repeated 30th June 1986
29th June 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: The Rocking Horse Winner (1926) by D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) dramatised by Liane Aukin(1936-2016)
The boy rides the rocking horse in search of an answer. But there is a price.
Directed by David Spenser.
Hester Carter: Diana Bishop
Oscar Cresswell: Moray Watson
Paul Carter: Adam Godley
Bassett: Sean Barrett
Edward Carter: Rod Beacham
Miss Wilmot: Joan Matheson
Joan Carter: Katherine Hughes
[Named in the original text, Sansovino was a real horse, which won the 1924 Epsom Derby]
[Possibly the first Lawrence story to be filmed? In 1949, 91 mins, with John Mills- at least three further film versions followed.].
[Liane Aukin was a professional psychotherapist.]
29th June 1986:
19:00:
Poet's Pub (1929) by Eric Linklater (1899-1974) dramatised by Elizabeth Proud
1 of 3: 1920's. Prelude With Cocktails. A poet is hired to run a country inn.
Directed by Gerry Jones.
Saturday Keith: Crawford Logan
Quentin Cotton: Neville Jason
Lady Mercy Cotton: Isabel Dean
Professor Benbow: Philip Voss
Van Buren: David Healey
Wesson: John Rowe
Joan Benbow: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Nelly Bly: Natasha Pyne
Holly: John Hollis
George/O'Higgins: Gordon Reid
Lady Porlett: Jennifer Piercey
Mrs Waterhouse: Margaret Ward
Additionhal actors in parts 2 and 3:
Miss Horsfall-Hughes: Pauline Letts(2)
Lady Keith: Sheila Grant(3)
Colin Keith: Simon Cuff(3)
Commissioner: Garard Green(3)
AA man/Young man: Shaun Prendergast(3)
Neale: Jonathan Tafler(3)
Landlord/Grant: John Church(3)
Part2:6/7/86 Part 3:13/7/86
All 1986 parts repeated after five days.
[The tale was earlier filmed, in 1949]
[The story was originally commissioned by Allen Lane for Penguin Books]
30th June 1986
12.27:
Comedy Playhouse: Museum Pieces by David Luck
The sculpted eyes seemed to follow you.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
Walter: Sam Kelly
Hector: Ronald Herdman
Peak: Peter John
Lady Eunice: Rosalind Knight
Repeated 1st July 1986
30th June 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Syrup of Figs by Jo Heaton.
At the start of term one of the pupils seems to be playing a game of some sort by letter.
Directed by Patrick Rayner
Ann: Susie Brann
Isobel: Hetty Baynes
Jo: Lorna Heilbron
Wendy: Naomi Capron
Veronica: Sue Broomfield
Fiona: Elaine Claxton
Miss West: Emma Piper
Franky: Diana Martin
Mother Superior: Pauline Letts
Matron: Melinda Walker
Sister Catherine: Tessa Worsley
Sister Margaret: Anne Jameson
Sister Christina: Avril Clark
Repeated 27th September 1986
1st July 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: What a Saga by Diana Souhami
The many domestic problems include a crazy cat and a daughter with expectations.
Directed by Clive Brill
June Bloom: Prunella Scales
Marjorie Bloom: Deborah Makepeace
Lewis Bloom: Peter Woodthorpe
Mrs Goatley: Kate Williams
Mr Withers: Peter Howell
Cat: P Scales
Repeated 2nd July 1986 and 17th July 1988
1st July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Two Minutes to the Top of the Hour by Michael Bartlett
A middle of the road programme controller at a small radio station has a progressive DJ to come to terms with. Friendly Radio Sarum.
'Radio Sarum' music composed and played by Steve Hellaby
Singers: Kim Goody, Steve Hellaby, Sonia Jane, Mo Turner
Directed by Glyn Dearman.
Stuart Bligh: Sean Arnold
Andy Duggan: Stevan Rimkus
Dennis Briggs: John Church
Penny: Natasha Pyne
Gwen Bligh: Avril Clark
Eric Nolan: Sean Barrett
Steve: Russell Keith-Grant
Mark: Shaun Prendergast
2nd July 1986
15.10-15.47:
The Afternoon Play: Outpatient by Rhys Adrian (1928-1990)
Waiting in outpatients can lead to conversations.
Directed by John Tydeman
Edward Gerety: Michael Aldridge
Martin Smith: Andrew Sachs
Mrs Jenkins: Sylvia Coleridge
the Nurse: Margot Boyd
First broadcast on Radio 3 on 8th May 1985.
(1985 Giles Cooper Award winner)
3rd July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Model Answers, or Tarzan and the Cross-eyed Baby by Juliet Ace
An invigilator and a student ponder the questions on an A level sociology paper in relation to themselves.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol.
Jane: Elizabeth Proud
Harry: Marcus D'Amico
Mum: June Barrie
Dad: Paul Nicholson
Joanie: Carole Boyd
Tom: Geoffrey Bateman
Henry: Thomas Reeves
Freddie: Thomas Henderson
Repeated from 7th August 1984.
5th July 1986
14.00:
The Afternoon Play: Winter Journey by Ronald Frame
Winter, 1963, the Tomlinsons cross Europe.
Directed By: Patrick Rayner.
Laura: Jane Asher
Simon: Tim Pigott-Smith
the child Annoelle: Annabelle Lanyon
the adult Annoelle: Melinda Walker
Also with Graham Blockey, Arnold Diamond, William Eedle, Narissa Knights, Tessa Worsley and Tammy Ustinov
Repeated from 17th November 1985.
[First broadcast on Radio Scotland]
[Jane Asher was 1986 Sony Award-winner for Best Performance by an Actress ]
5th July 1986:
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Charlie Muffin by Brian Freemantle dramatised by Geoffrey M. Matthews
Charlie's determined to come out of it alive and rich.
Directed by Matthew Walters
Charlie: Philip Jackson
Kalenin: Sandor Eles
Willoughby: Peter Howell
Giinther: David Learner
Snare: Andrew Branch
Harrison: Stephen Rashbrook
Alexei Berenkov: Peter Woodthorpe
Janet: Marcia King
Wilberforce: Manning Wilson
Cuthbertson: Barrie Cookson
Ruttgers: Don Fellows
Keys: John Church
Brayley: Richard Durden
Edith: Jennifer Piercey
Repeated 7th July 1986, 20th May 1989, 24th August 1991 and 23rd August 1993
[There was a sequel play on Radio 4, "Clap Hands Here comes Charlie" 25/8/91]
[There were 16 Charlie Muffin novels, 1977-2013]
6th July 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Conversation from the Engine Room by N. J. Warburton
The school caretaker and a pupil are lonely.
Directed by John Tydeman.
Marriott: Colin Douglas
Fox: Hugh Dickson
Miss Murdoch: Avril Clark
Robert: Roy Merchant
Also with the music teacher and children of St Gildas' School, North London
Also broadcast on Radio 4X on 27/8/2017 and 7/1/2020
(Joint First Prize winner Radio Times Drama Awards 1985)
7th July 1986
12.27-13.00:
Comedy Playhouse: Parachutes and Greenhouses by Brian Thompson
Barry has a degree in Comparative Religions and can't get a job.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester.
Barry: Tony Robinson
Carole: Brigit Forsyth
Col Crockett: John Arthur
Mrs Weldon: Rosalie Williams
Dick/Prof Moult: Geoffrey Banks
Doug/Track announcer/Police Constable: Peter Wheeler
Repeated 8th July 1986
7th July 1986
20.15: :
The Monday Play: Homo Faber by Max Frisch (1911-1991) dramatised by Jane Beeson (1930-2006)
1950s. Faber distrusts emotions and believes only in the calculable. Then his plane crashlands in the Mexican desert. He experiences a series of events- perhaps coincidences.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
Faber: Michael Pennington
Sabeth: Sylvestra Le Touzel
Hanna: Elizabeth Bell
Hencke: Christian Rodska
Lewin: Ed Bishop
Joachim: Eric Allan
Hostess: Lesa Lockford
Marcel: David Learner
Captain: John Church
Ivy: Bonnie Hurren
Technician: Graham Blockey
Doctor: Richard Durden
Hardy: William Hope
Williams: William Eedle
Repeated 12th July 1986
[the Latin title translates as "Man the Maker". The BBC do not indicate who translated their German source.]
8th July 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Pairing Off by Alma Cullen
Chiropodist meets book dealer with corns.
Directed by Marilyn Imrie (1947-2020)
BBC Scotland.
Angus Doig: Andrew Keir
Jeannette Lamont: Juliet Cadzow
Repeated 9th July 1986
[The 2020 stage play by Cullen, spelled "Paring Off" has three characters with different names to the above two, and no book shop -but the same general theme.]
8th July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Personal Effects by Tom Gallacher
A Scottish writer has been named as "next of kin" of someone he does not know, and a trunk is delivered with the mans "personal effects".
Directed by Gregor Graham
BBC Scotland
Howard Murray: David Ashton
Mr Lafayette: John Shedden
Alun: Sandy Neilson
Bruno: Paul Birchard
Bernard Cunningham: James MacPherson
Mrs Cunningham: Pat Williams
Tricia Singleton: Susan Raasay
[Raasay is the correct spelling of the actress' name. This is her only appearance in the BBC Program Index].
9th July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Old Ladies at the Zoo by David Ashton
They go to the zoo each week and talk with each other.
Directed By: Jane Morgan
Bruno: Peggy Mount (1915-2001)
Lily: Liz Smith (1921-2016)
Repeated 7/10/87
[Joint prize-winner Radio Times Drama Awards 1985]
Also broadcast on BBC World Service 1987.
Also broadcast on BBC7 2004
Also broadcast on BBC R4X 2013.
10th July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play : When Taps Run Dry by Nick Fisher
Someone is tapping her phone.
Directed by Richard Wortley.
Julie: Susie Brann
Lizzie: Elaine Claxton
John: Andrew Branch
Bannister: Peter Howell
Mason: Michael Hadley
Mother: Pauline Letts
Woman at athletics centre: Deborah Makepeace
Gordon: Shaun Prendergast
Phone-call man: Eric Stovell
Telephone operator: Jonathan Tafler
12th July 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Remaining Strangers by Barbara Ann Villiers
Directed by Richard Wortley
Myra Lacey: Maureen O'Brien
Helen Willmott: Marian Diamond
Dilys Spencer: Pauline Letts
St John Spencer: Manning Wilson
Beryl Lacey/Janet: Tessa Worsley
Leonard Lacey: John Hollis
Felix Willmott: Gordon Reid
Jo: Jane Leonard
Repeated 14th July 1986
13th July 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Hiroshima: The Movie by Michael Wall (1946-1991)
Forty years after Hiroshima was bombed a film is being made there.
Directed By: Jeremy Mortimer
Paul: Bill Paterson
Sachiko: Megumi Shimanuki
Bruce: Robin Summers
Commentator: Blain Fairman
Ex-prisoner of war: David Sinclair
Japanese man: Togo Igawa
Paul's mother: Gwen Cherrell
Also with Naoko Mori, Kenjiro Hori, Midori Matsumoto and Daisuke Shinoda
(1986 Sony Award winner for Best Drama Production and Giles Cooper Award winner for one of the six best radio plays of 1985)
First broadcast on 6th August 1985, rptd 11th November 1985
Also broadcast on BBC World Service in 1995
Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2003
14th July 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Naming the Names by Anne Devlin
A young woman has locked her thoughts away to protect herself. A new person in her life unlocks her mind but can she be saved?
Directed by Susan Hogg
BBC Northern Ireland.
Finn: Fiona Victory
Henry Kirk: Desmond McAleer
Jack McHenry: Kenneth Cranham
Insp McBride: Gerald McSorley
Miss Macken/Grandmother: Trudy Kelly
Mrs O'Hare: Gwendoline Stewart
Mr McCoy: Kevin Flood
Sharleen: Leanne O'Malley
Young girl: Geraldine Hughes
Repeated on 19th July 1986
15th July 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Blue Moon by Gurmeet Kasba
In her realm of fantasy, the Queen battles with Tilly for the life and soul of Cas.
Directed by David Johnston.
Cas: Orlando Wells
Tilly: Patricia Gallimore
the Queen: Isabel Dean
Guardian: Edward de Souza
Mummy: Natasha Pyne
Daddy: Michael Hadley
Mrs Forbes: Sheila Grant
Guard/Motorbike man: Jonathan Tafler
Repeated 16th July 1986
15th July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Gemma's Children by Dorothy Gharbaoui
When their father and mother are from differing cultures do children have an identity crisis?
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
Gemma: Brid Brennan
Ibrahim: Kaleem Janjua
R'Himo/Hotel proprietress: Zohra Segal
Neil Jameson: Des McAleer
Menana: Elaine Claxton
Mr Illingworth: John Church
Rashid/ Moroccan boy: Jill Lidstone
Nadia: Sandra Clark
Debbie: Natasha Pyne
Mustapha/Airport voice: Andrew Branch
Gemma's mother: Catherine Gibson
16th July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: In Time of War by Hugh Jenkins(1908-2004)
An elder statesman remembers the years of the last war.
Directed by David Johnston
Paul, the Narrator: Hugh Jenkins
the young Paul: Stuart Organ
Sylvia: Natasha Pyne
Connie Watson: Lolly Cockerell
Bert Payne: David Learner
Julia: Glynis Brooks
Polly: Deborah Makepeace
Harry Loughton: Brian Hewlett
Queen WAAF: Isabel Dean
George Conway: Gordon Reid
Medical Officer: John Church
Pub landlord: George Parsons
Party chairman: Francis Middleditch
[Lord Jenkins was an MP 1964-1979)
17th July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Kedgeree Grief by Tina Pepler
After a death, grief can take time to surface.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
Frieda: Val Lorraine
Arthur: Jerold Wells
Dan: Tom Karol
Emmy: Heather Baskerville
Rowena: Sarah Jane Bickerton
Undertaker: Hubert Tucker
Foot-end man: David Sharp
19th July 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Shadows in the Sun by J. R. Devlin
A package holiday - but one traveller is not there to relax or have fun.
Directed by Philip Martin
BBC Birmingham.
Alekos: Michael Hadley
Bob/Yiannis: Ronald Herdman
Ada: Joyce Gibbs
Norman: Dave Mitty
Mavis: Barbara Atkinson
Mannos: Terry Molloy
Zarkos: Edwin Richfield
Costas: Manning Wilson
Vassilis: George Parsons
Demitrios: Kim Durham
Andreas: Jonathan Owen
Stefana/Tour guide: Carina Wyeth
Repeated 21st July 1986
20th July 1986
14.30::
The Afternoon Play: King Canute by Barry Collins
Redundancy- buy racehorse - play trombone...
Brass band: Besses 0' Th' Barn Brass Band
Trombone: Derek Southcott (1946-2018)
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester.
Harold Smith: Bernard Hill
Maureen: Judith Barker
Landlady: Rosalie Williams
Sister/Samaritan: Sally Edwards
Doctor/Inspector: Paul Webster
Racing announcer/Radio presenter: Peter Wheeler
Repeated from 10th March 1985, repeated 28th August 1985
20th July 1986
19.00
The Light That Failed (1891) by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) dramatised by Frederick Bradnum
1 of 3: There are British troops in the deserts and on the river. Further south is General Gordon, fighting for dear life, in a town called Khartoum.
Directed by Graham Gauld
Dick Heldar: Steve Hodson
Torpenhow: Stuart Organ
Maisie: Natasha Pyne
Neilsen: Peter Pratt
Williams: Peter Howell
Beeton: Ronald Herdman
Madam Binat: Mary Wimbush
Binat: George Parsons
Sarah: Chrys Salt
Doctor: Brian Smith
Georges: Manning Wilson
Tommy: Alaric Cotter
Sergeant: John Bull
Additional cast in later episodes:
Bessie: Anne Rosenfeld (2)
Lunn: John Forbes Robertson (2)
Mrs Beeton: Josephine Gordon
Alfie Beeton: Elizabeth Lindsay (3)
George: John Gabriel (3)
Lieutenant: Michael Claughton (3)
Arab: Jonathan Owen (3)
Part 2: 27/7/86, Part 3: 3/8/86
All parts repeated after 5 days.
[A play with this title, by A R Rawlinson, produced by John Tydeman, was broadcast in 1969]
[The novel was the first novel written by Kipling...]
21st July 1986
11.00:
Munchausen by Colin Mclaren from the 1785 book by Rudolf Erich Raspe (1736-1794)
A narrative of the marvellous travels and campaigns of Baron Munchausen
Music composed by Elizabeth Parker, BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Directed by Judith Bumpus (1939-2010) and Piers Plowright (1937-2021)
Baron: Robin Bailey
Raspe: David de Keyser
Rummage: Jonathan Moore
First figure in landscape: Glynn Edwards
Second figure in landscape: Fanny Carby
Old man/Postilion: Peter Woodthorpe
God/King George: John Church
Landlady/Second lady: June Tobin
First lady: Avril Clark
Count/Halley: Brian Smith
Lieutenant: Graham Blockey
Repeated from 18th December 1985
[Raspe probably heard first hand tales told by Hieronymus Karl Friedrich, Freiherr von Munchhausen (1720-1797) but some tales have other older sources. The collection has been expanded and rewritten many times since. The 1785 book (16 tales) was expanded by Raspe in 1786 (total then 21 tales).]
21st July 1986
20:15
Voyages by Ted Moore
1939, north-east England. Lizzie Scott, three months pregnant and widowed eight hours, joins her relatives
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester.
Narrator Christian Rodska
Lizzie: Valerie Georgeson
George: Arthur Blake
Alice: Val McLane
Bess: Denise Welch
Joan: Barbara Peirson
Percy: Edward Wilson
Sister: Belinda Chapman
Town hall officer: Adrian Stokes
Sergeant: Peter Wheeler
Repeated 26th July 1986
22nd July 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Last Two Hours of Anthony Anderson by Brett Usher (1946-2013).
When investigating the circumstances of her husband's slightly mysterious death, Evelyn uncovers some aspects of his past which are truly unexpected.
Directed by Gerry Jones.
Evelyn Anderson: Sarah Badel
Anthony Anderson: Brett Usher
Ben: Simon Hewitt
Mrs Anderson: Pauline Letts
Sheila: Elaine Claxton
Ann: Eva Griffith
Repeated 23rd July 1986
22nd July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: No Get-out Clause by Tony McHale (aka Anthony John Wright)
Sell the first fix cheap. But there's a price to pay...
Electronic music composed and played by David Chilton
Directed by Peter King
Amison: Peter Vaughan
Lindo: Norman Beaton
Barry McGuin: Robin Summers
Melody: Judith Jacob
Mike Munday: Trevor Nichols
Gerry Rye: David Sinclair
First detective: Simon Hewitt
Second detective: Brian Smith
Repeated from 21st May 1985
23rd July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Farewell the Tranquil Mind by John Graham
The infidelities of an MP and his wife.
Directed by Glyn Dearman
Patrick Fielding-Wright, MP: Moray Watson
Beatrice Fielding-Wright: Tessa Worsley
Geoffrey Pargeter: Stuart Organ
Erica: Jenny Funnell
Mr Thorogood: Brett Usher
Policeman: John Church
Reggie Seagrave: Tim Reynolds
Nurse: Natasha Pyne
Floor Manager: Derek Hollis
Also broadcast on BBC World Service 1988
[No relationship to the work by R F Delderfield]
[The title is taken from a line in Othello - Shakespeare]
24th July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: How Genghis Khan Became the Pilot of a Hot Air Balloon by Tony Butler
A winged mermaid by his shoulder helped Martin survive. What would help his son?
Special radiophonic music composed by Elizabeth Parker
Directed by Richard Wortley.
Martin: John Rye
Deirdre: Jane Wenham
Genghis Khan: Peter Woodthorpe
the Mermaid: Deborah Makepeace
Alexander: Stephen Rashbrook
Melissa: Clare Travers Deacon
Man: Tim Reynolds
Woman: Jennifer Piercey
26th July 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: A Darkening of the Moon by James Follett
Although the characters are fictional, the play is based upon James Follett's experiences.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
Young Stephen: Graham Blockey
Adult Stephen: Blain Fairman
Donna: Bonnie Hurren
Penny: Jenny Funnell
Mike: Shaun Prendergast
Dr Kaplan: William Eedle
Mother: June Barrie
Father: George Parsons
Carol: Tessa Worsley
Mrs Keith: Melinda Walker
Mary: Sarah Benfield
Nurse: Natasha Pyne
Dr Scranton: Paul Nicholson
Shrimpton: David Learner
Repeated 28th July 1986
Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2004, 2005
27th July 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: A Kind of Hallowe'en by Gerry Jones (1931-2005)
A man awakens beside the grave of Dylan Thomas.
Directed By: Martin Jenkins
Narrator: Jim Norton
Man: Ray Smith
Psychiatrist: Peter Jeffrey
Orderly: Sean Barrett
Welshman/Policeman: Haydn Jones
Fisherman: Christopher Douglas
Barman/Doctor: David Garth
Landlord: Brian Carroll
American man: Willliam Hope
American woman: Maggie McCarthy
Old blind man: Cyril Shaps
Ladies at party: Helena Breck and Ellen McIntosh
Pianist: Martin Goldstein
First broadcast on Radio 3 on 3rd March 1985 and 31st July 1985
[Society of Authors' 1985 Sony Award for best new radio script]
28th July 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Conflict of Doves by David Buck (1936-1989)
The 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.
Directed by Martin Jenkins.
Adolf Hitler: John Castle
Leni Riefenstahl: Cheryl Campbell
Joseph Goebbels: Nigel Anthony
Avery Brundage: Don Fellows
Richard Strauss: Michael Gough
Rudolf Hess: Brian Hewlett
Reinhard Heydrich: Stuart Organ
Julius Streicher: John Hollis
Carl Diem: David Buck
von Tschammer und Osten: Bernard Brown
Werner March: Manning Wilson
Willi: Tim Reynolds
Max: Jonathan Tafler
Catering expert: Peter Howell
Anatole/Statistician: Andrew Branch
Repeated 2nd August 1986
Also broadcast on BBC R4X 2017, 2021
29th July 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Hidden Depths by Alexandra Melnick
Divorce can leave a void that needs to be filled.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
Christine: Maggie McCarthy
Ann: Meunda Walker
Kenneth: Trevor Nichols
Bob: John Church
Steven: Jonathan Tafler
Repeated 30th July 1986 and 2nd June 1987
29th July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Ring of Truth by Michael Davies (1929-2014)
Two children search for a missing father.
Directed by Adrian Mourby
BBC Wales.
Ben: John Davies
Shelagh: Sue Jones-Davies
Gran: Patricia Kane
Dodi: Millie Davies
David Bromham: John Prior
Aunt Angy: Susan Mansell
Uncle Gar: Robert Blythe
Mrs Bromham: Dilys Price
Busker/Driver: Brinley Jenkins
[A popular title, used by many programmes- completely different to the play of the same name by Andrew Goreing broadcast 12/4/88]
30th July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Soldier Boy by Paul Abbott
When a new relationship is formed how do you tell the other party about an earlier child?
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester.
Gareth: Cliff Howells
Maggie: Judith Barker
Barry: John Branwell
Staff nurse: Pearce Quigley
Student nurse: Julie Corrigan
31st July 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Keeping in Touch by Owen Holder (1921-2016)
Eve is entertaining people who in the past have betrayed her. It seems to be a gesture of reconciliation....
Directed by Ian Cotterell.
Eve: Elizabeth Bell
Maurice: John Rye
Robert: Michael Hadley
Lucas: Peter Marinker
George: Geoffrey Beevers
Su: Frances Jeater
Rose: Kate Coleridge
2nd August 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Missing Persons by David Hopkins
Michael feels he is being watched - then people go missing.
Directed by Peter King.
Michael Brennan: Shaun Prendergast
Sgt Major Baker: Gordon Reid
Major Morgan: Garard Green
Skilton: Francis Middleditch
John Gallagher: George Parsons
Clive Johnson: Tim Reynolds
Peter Brennan: Jonathan Tafler
Maureen Brennan: Avril Clark
Rosamund Morgan: Pauline Letts
Bryan Geer: Peter Howell
Smithson: Richard Durden
Abby: Alex Marshall
Arthur Benson: Edward de Souza
Police sergeant: Manning Wilson
TV announcer: Deborah Makepeace
Repeated 4th August 1986
4th August 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Nettle Beer by William Grant
Redundancy and the hidden economy.
Directed by Tim Suter.
Philip: Derek Newark
Ethel: Tessa Worsley
Louise: Elaine Claxton
Martin: Keith Drinkel
Repeated 9th August 1986
5th August 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Cess and Tot by James Robson
When the gravedigger dies, his grave must be dug by two refuse collectors.
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester.
Cess: Derek Smith
Tot: John Branwell
Head Sirrags: Keith Clifford
Vicar: Russell Dixon
Repeated 6th August 1986
5th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Will and Lou's Boy by Rose Tremain
It is 1948, a time for hope.
Directed by Penny Gold .
Dougie: Jonathan Tafler
Will: Bryan Pringle
Lou: Rosemary McHale
Iffy: Natasha Pyne
Peppy: Jonathan Burn
Pat: Samantha Bond
Wedeburn Wicklens: Stephen Rashbrook
Mick: Allan McClelland
6th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Valley of Trelamia by Peter Redgrove (1932-2003)
John writes about interesting phenomena and found something of interest in Trelamia's Valley in Cornwall.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol.
John: James Aubrey
Rose: Maggie Tarver
Clemence: Sarah Badel
Mrs Treviles: June Barrie
Joshua: John Church
Barman/Policeman: Graham Padden
Young man: Mark Audley
Also broadcast on R4X in 2016/2018
[Keat's poem Lamia references a snake form for Lilith]
[The opening poem "When I set out for Lyonesse" was Thomas Hardy, 1870].
[Peter Redgrove was trained in psychology (Jungian), and lived in Cornwall. Most of his papers including draft, script and notes for this play are at Sheffield University. He wrote a number of poems.]
7th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Troubled by the Scenery by Howard Wakeling
Returning to an old haunt may not offer the peace and content you want.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
Sheila: Gwen Watford
Lally: Gudrun Ure
Mami: Sian Thomas
Bobs: Leila Bertrand
Repeated from 23rd October 1984
9th August 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Dark River (1942) by Rodney Ackland (1908-1991)
Guests assemble at a house on the Thames, while in the outside world there is the Spanish Civil War and a possible larger conflict to come.
Directed by Matthew Walters
Catherine Lisle: Jane Asher
Alan Crocker: Dermot Crowley
Mrs Merriman: Isabel Dean
Gwendoline Mulville: Julia Goodmak
Stanley Maltby: Neale Goodrum
Mervyn: Danny Kodicek
Mr Veness: Rodney Ackland
Edmund Reade: Robert Beatty
[There was an earlier radio production by E J King Bull in 1950]
10th August 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: A Man Alone: Jennifer by Andrew Rissik
See 16/1/86 above.
1. Anthony - 9/1/86, 03/8/86
3. Harriet- 23/1/86, 17/8/86
10th August 1986
19.00:
The Tortoise and the Hare (1954) by Elizabeth Jenkins (1905-2010) dramatised by Hallam Tennyson
1 of 3.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
Narrator: Isabel Dean
Evelyn Gresham: Charles Kay
Blanche Silcox: Gwen Watford
Cecil Stonor: Joanna McCallum
Paul Nugent: Edward de Souza
Gavin Gresham: Danny Kodicek
Mrs Malpas: Sheila Grant
Primrose Nugent: Susie Brann
Corinne Leeper: Avril Clark
Tim Leeper: Jonny Lee Miller
Marcia Plender: Pauline Letts
Sir Joshua: Gordon Reid
Additional actors in parts 2 and 3:
Imogen Gresham: Maureen O'Brien(2)
Clifford Leeper: Richard Durden(2)
Zenobia Bankes: Melinda Walker(2)
Cecil Stonor: Joanna McCallum (3)
Part2:17/8/86 Part3:24/8/86
Repeated 15th August 1986
All parts repeated five days after first broadcast.
11th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Ploughboy Monday by David Pownall
Harold decides to become a ploughboy, with a single-minded approach.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
Harold: Jason Littler
Vera: Judith Barker
George: Geoffrey Hinsliff
Grunnidge: Geoffrey Banks
Stan: Colin Meredith
Perkins: Gabriel Paul Gawin
Valerie: Lesley Nicol
Haywood/Rice: Malcolm Hebden
Cook: Ruth Holden
Yates: James Tomlinson
Match judge: Randal Herley
Brough/Manley: Paul Webster
First broadcast 9/11/85 and 11/11/85
Also broadcast on R4X 2013
(Giles Cooper Award winner for one of the six best radio plays of 1985)
[Ploughboy: "a boy who guides the animals pulling a plough" ]
11th August 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: A Schoolboy Dreaming of Africa by Chris Barlas
A colonial state is about to become independent. But a political extremist, believes that independence is a trick and a revolution is needed.
Directed by Peter King.
Theo Ntoko: Alton Kumalo
David Myers: Francis Middleditch
Major Stead: Brian Cox
Seamas Mgang: Leo Wringer
Jerry Kelway: Garard Green
Grace Kelway: Jennifer Piercey
Hugh Pepper: Shaun Prendergast
Nonni Mopipi: Joy Lemoine
George: Jabu Mbalo
Mrs Ntoko: Peggy Phango
Joseph: Kwesikay
Mr Spaull: Peter Howell
Repeated 16th August 1986
12th August 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Unofficial Guide by Shirley Barrie (1945-2018)
How reliable is a holiday romance?
Directed by Penny Gold
Claire: Natasha Pyne
Guy: Stuart Organ
Mother: Pauline Letts
Woman tourist: Deborah Makepeace
Courier: David Learner
Hotelier: Tim Reynolds
Marion: Sheila Grant
Repeated 13th August 1986
[Canadian Shirley Barrie lived in the UK from 1972-1985]
12th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Rollo Descending by Colin Haydn Evans
Rollo is tired of being a success. Everyone sees him in that role.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
Rollo: Richard Pasco
Louise: Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Peter: William Eedle
13th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Dancing into the Night by Peter Liney
Martin thinks he is too old to party.
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
Martin: Mark Jones
Sophie: Susie Brann
Danny: Mick Ford
Julia: Avril Clark
Sheila: Deborah Makepeace
Scottish girl: Gaylie Runciman
Argumentative girl: Natasha Pyne
Rugby player: Shaun Prendergast
American: Jonathan Tafler
Aggressive man: Stephen Rashbrook
Police constable: Tim Reynolds
14th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: A Twist of Lemon by Alex Renton
Heroin does not improve your life.
Directed by Penny Gold
Miles: Julian Firth
Rachel: Jill Baker
Sir Charles McEwan: Christopher Benjamin
Lady McEwan: Thelma Whiteley
Johnny Staveley: David Shirley
Michael Redfern: George Parsons
Victor: Brian Hewlett
16th August 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Do It Yourself by David Halliwell (1936-2006)
A package delivery has the police baffled.
Producer: Philip Martin
BBC Birmingham.
Marcus Lithgow/Fred Binns: Terry Molloy
Jasmine: Lois Daine
Kelda Mackye/Maggy Ferguson: Nell Brennan
Dr Streeter: Saeed Jaffrey
Vera Quinton: Gillian Goodman
Inspector Bright/Mr Binns: Edwin Richfield
Mrs Streeter/Norma Rimmell: Hedli Niklaus
Nightclub singer/Psychiatrist: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Tim/Christian: Rob Swinton
Edgar Brenton: Trevor Harrison
Matthews: Alan Devereux
Walker/Pedro: John Dixon
Pianist: Harold Rich
Repeated 18th August 1986
17th August 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: A Man Alone- Harriet by Andrew Rissik.
see 23/1/86 above.
18th August 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Free by Nick Dear
Ransom paid, kidnap victim released- but life does not just return to normal.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Michael, the father: Timothy West
Jeannie, the wife: Elizabeth Bell
Greg, the son: Paul Brightwell
Katrina, the daughter: Deborah Makepeace
Gail, the mother: Pauline Letts
Repeated 23rd August 1986
19th August 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Vi Leaving by Dave Sheasby (1940-2010)
A retirement presentation after 35 years service.
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester.
Vi: Patsy Byrne
Susan: Etleen O'Brien
Janet: Lesley Nicol
Gary: David Fleeshman
Bernard: Paul Beringer
Hargreaves: Malcolm Hebden
Repeated 20th August 1986.
19th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Talk to the Pear Tree by James Pettifer
A job in government security can affect the relationships between an employee and their families.
Directed by Caroline Raphael.
Helen: Julia Swift
Peter: Peter Wight
Jake: Stuart Organ
Makely: Richardtate
Mr Hollom: Manning Wilson
Sarah/Mrs Allsop: Susie Brann
Hislop: Shaun Prendergast
[Dr Pettifer's work was related to Military Intelligence]
20th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Three Points of Contact by Charles Ryder
An unemployed sociologist has ideas to change delinquents. Can he prove his theories on a trip to Wales?
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester.
Mr Jackson: James Tomlinson
Jerry: Nicholas Fry
Barry: Pearce Quigley
Norris: Derek Hicks
Spud: Simon Bleakley
Rescuer: Laurence Kenny
[Three points of contact is a climbing rule].
21st August 2021
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Simple Pleasures by Jane Gerson
The effects of learning you need an operation - and how those around you respond.
Directed By: Jeremy Mortimer.
Hannah: Elaine Claxton
Jamie: Jonathan Tafler
Owen: Stuart Organ
Rose: Judy Elrington
Tessa: Clalre Vousden
Dr Hawkins: Sheila Grant
Adrian/Nigel: Clive Panto
Alex/Mr Andrews: Stephen Rashbrook
23rd August 2021
19.00-21.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Leave it to Psmith (1923) by P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) dramatised by Michael Bakewell
Love shimmers, skulduggery lurks. Someone steals that necklace....
Directed by Peter King.
the Author: John Gielgud
Psmith: Simon Ward
Lord Emsworth: Michael Hordern
Lady Constance: Joan Greenwood
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 Herdman
Young lady: Patience Tomlinson
Youngman: Spencer Banks
First broadcast 3/10/81 and 5/10/81,
[There was a 2x1 hour production by Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres broadcast in 2020- dramatised by Archie Scottney]
[This was the last of four Psmith stories written by Wodehouse]
24th August 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Going East by John Graham
See 20th February 1986 above.
25th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Reluctant Debutante (1955) by William Douglas Home (1912-1992)
1955: It is the season to find a suitable husband for eligible daughters. A mother must do everything correctly and not make any mistakes.
Directed by Glyn Dearman.
Sheila Broadbent: Anna Massey
Jimmy Broadbent: Terence Alexander
Mabel Crosswaite: Prunella Scales
Jane: Helena Bonham Carter
David Hoylake-Johnston: Nicholas Farrell
David Bulloch: David Parfitt
Clarissa: Tara MacGowran
Mrs Edgar: Anne Jameson
First broadcast 25/12/85
[An earlier radio production was Tony Luke's production of 1966 with Rex Harrison broadcast on the Light Programme and the Home service.]
[Anna Massey created the role of Jane on the UK and Broadway stages]
25th August 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: The Beano by Rony Robinson, retold by Ray Gosling (1939-2013)
1914: A brewery's last day-trip to the seaside - ten days before the outbreak of the First World War.
Band: Besses 0' Th' Barn conductor Alec Evans
Musical Director: Chris Reason
Technical presentation: David Fleming-Williams, Moira Furmage and Phil Gott
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester.
Mr Holles: Frank Windsor
Flossie: Geoffrey Hinsliff
Bess: Diane Whitley
Ada: Judith Barker
Edna: Lesley Nicol
Mrs E/Mrs Holies: Valerie Windsor
Mr Owen: Malcolm Raeburn
Miss Tidmarsh: Eileen O'Brien
Mr Shepherd: Malcolm Hebden
Girl: Bryonie Pritchard
Mr Wagstaff: Randal Herley
Lizzie: Sonia Ritter
Percy: Chris Larner
Station Master: Chris Hawes
Albert: Norman Mills
Spaldy: Graham Roberts
Monkey: Lee Quarmby
Spud: Niall O'Brien
Tommy: James Swan
Repeated 30th August 1986
[Rony (short for Goronwy) Robinson broadcast daily on Radio Sheffield from 1984 to 2020]
[Besses band also played in the play "King Canute" broadcast 20/7/86]
26th August 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Maps by Simon Persighetti
Two airport cleaners imagine they are bishops.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol.
Chungo: John Matshikiza
Leca: Christopher Asante
Erica: Eva Haddon
David: Graham Blockey
David (as a boy): Alexander Evans
His mother: Avril Clark
Hostess: Shireen Shah
Repeated 27th August 1986
[This play is the only entry for Simon Persighetti in the BBC Programme Database.]
26th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Maydays by Catherine Lucy Czerkawska
A lone round-the-world yachtsman is lost. His family recall their lives together.
Directed by Gregor Graham
BBC Scotland.
Lottie: Grace Glover
Neil: Paul Young
Emma: Terry Cavers
Also with Sheila Donald, Ann-Louise Ross, John Shedden and James MacPherson
27th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Southport Sunday by Roger Crawford
A family outing to the zoo has few attractions - but there is a surprise.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester.
George: Nigel Anthony
Penny: Eileen O'Brlen
Doris: Sheila Fay
Denzil: Ken Jones
28th August 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: What's Got Into You? by Elaine Morgan (1920-2013)
A couple should discuss and agree their future plans before the future makes the choices for them.
Directed by Adrian Mourby
BBC Wales.
Eira: Myfanwy Talog
Bryn: Ioan Meredith
Jim: Michael Gardiner
Dora: Patricia Kane
Stan: Owen Garmon
Repeated from 15th January 1985
30th August 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Looneys by John Antrobus
A former Star is declining into drink when his home is forcibly entered and he and his family are hostages.
Music: Piano: Martin Goldstein, flute: Carol Brown
Directed by Gerry Jones.
Arnold Gosport: Robert Stephens
Mother: Sheila Grant
Roger: Jonathan Tafler
Katey: Jenny Funnell
Digby: Edward de Souza
Brian: John Antrobus
Eric: Ronald Herdman
Helen: Kate Percival
Policeman: Gordon Reid
Repeated 1st September 1986
31st August 1986
14.30:
Globe Theatre: Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw.
London 1912: A flower seller has her pronunciation altered, which has consequences.
Directed by John Tydeman .
A BBC World Service/Radio 4 production
Professor Higgins: Simon Cadell
Eliza Doolittle: Imelda Staunton
Alfred Doolittle: James Grout
Mrs Higgins: Rachel Gurney
Colonel Pickering: Edward Hardwicke
Mrs Pearce: Brenda Peters
Mrs Eynsford Hill: Pauline Letts
Clara Eynsford Hill: Elaine Claxton
Freddy Eynsford Hill: Richard Clifford
Mrs Higgins's maid: Anne Pearson
Also with Andrew Branch, Garard Green and David Learner
Repeated 20th April 1987, 27th December 1988, 9th April 1994
Also broadcast on BBC7 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
[There have been several radio and tv productions of this play. There was a later production by Emma Harding in 2017, repeated 2021.]
31st August 1986
19.00:
Nostromo by Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) dramatised by Jacek Laskowski
1 of 6: The Silver of the Mine: The democratic government of the South American state of Costaguana is under threat. The mine caused the death of his father, but he is determined to persevere with his inheritance.
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
Charles Gould: John Bennett
Emily: Susan Engel
Nostromo: Kenneth Cranham
Father/Jefe: Garard Green
Chief Engineer: Ronald Herdman
Sir John/Bernhardt/Col Sotillo: Gordon Reid
Fr Roman/Hernandez: John Church
Dr Monygham: John Rowe
Don Pepe: Norman Jones
Captain Mitchell: Edward de Souza
Don Jose Avellanos: Peter Howell
Antonia: Sylvestra Le Touzel
Fr Corbelan/Captain: Richard Durden
General Montero/Harris/Fuentes: Eric Stovell
Giorgio Viola: Maurice Denham
Teresa: Pauline Letts
Ramirez/Soldier: Robin Summers
Paquita/Linda: Deborah Makepeace
Bonifacio/ General Barrios Hirsch: Shaun Prendergast
Man/ Scarfe/ Basilio/Major: David Learner
Additional actors in later parts:
Martin Decoud: Nicholas Farrell (2)
Pedro Montero: Struan Rodger(3)
Giselle: Jane Leonard (6)
Mr Holroyd: Wllliam Hootkins(6)
Woman: Natasha Pyne (6)
Pt2:7/9/86 Pt3:14/9/86 Pt4:21/9/86 Pt5:28/9/86 Pt6:5/10/86
All 1986 episodes repeated after 5 days
1st September 1986
20.20:
Good Lads at Heart by Peter Terson (1932-2021)
A group of offenders attends a drama session with two inexperienced drama teachers.
Directed by Philip Martin (1938-2020)
BBC Birmingham.
Governor: Michael Croft
Mr Hardacre: Graham Davies
Mr Hunter: Peter Campling
Miss Finch: Jackie Phillips
Les Dukes: Sam Rumbelow
Garvey: Lawrence Good
Scotty: Stephen Melville
Naylor: Ian Potter
Horricks: Tristram Sturrock
Caldwell: Peter Welton
Fleggie: Ben Walden
Docherty: Jim Doran
Williams: Ian Morgan
Bates: Michael Bushell
Smith: Paul Noon
Chalkie: Mark Johnson
Mavison: Dean Byfield
Kemp: Jonathan Wingrave
with members of the National Youth Theatre.
Repeated 6th September 1986
2nd September 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Basil Developments v Richards by Stephen Lavell
A development company takes over a large block of flats but one sitting tenant decides to sit.
Directed by Peter King.
Simon Richards: Trevor Nichols
Leonard Guinness: Edward Desouza
John Mossels: Gordon Reid
Miss Trimble: Jennifer Piercey
Dr Edward Dutch: Manning Wilson
Voice: Ellis Dale
Anthony Hibble: George Parsons
Repeated 3rd September 1986
[The real firms known as Basil Developments were completely unassociated with this fictional play].
2nd September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Sacrifice by Berlie Doherty
A folk duo come under stress as one is off to join a weekend gathering of young people at a remote location.
Music for piano and violin composed and directed by Mick Wilson
Musicians Mick Wilson, Julian Kelly, Gerry Doherty
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
Ruth: Moir Leslie
Paul: Neil Caple
Andrew: Philip Glancy
Tom: Graham Blockey
McNab: Ronald Herdman
MC: Peter Faulkner
[First appeared as a reading in "Morning Story" in 1981]
3rd September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Happy Ever After... ? by Wally K. Daly (1940-2020)
A 21st wedding anniversary is a time for surprises.
Directed by Martin Jenkins..
Phillip: Paul Daneman
Faye: Norma Ronald
the priest: Sean Barrett
Norman: Edward de Souza
Brenda: Deborah Makepeace
Mr Ridgley: Gordon Reid
James: Ronald Herdman
Managing director: Bernard Brown
4th September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Trophy by Margaret Jones
Directed by Tim Suter.
Elaine: Jackie Smith-Wood
Cynthia: Jennifer Piercey
Harry Freeman: Steve Hodson
Jacob Freeman: Manning Wilson
The Bennet girl/Child: Karen Ascoe
6th September 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Paradise and No Adam by Keith Goodall
The tale of a murder many years ago feeds the imagination of a girl whose mother has a lover.
Music by Chris Reason
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester.
Jenny: Sonia Riter
Gran: Clare Kelly
Sara: Carole Nimmons
David: Ian Redford
Lucy: Julia Ford
John: Pearce Quigley
Repeated 8th September 1986
7th September 1986
14.30:
Globe Theatre: The Seagull by Thomas Kilroy based on the play by Anton Chekhov.
1896 Ireland.
Directed by David Hitchinson.
A BBC World Service/Radio 4 production
Isobel Desmond: Anna Massey
Aston: Alan Rickman
Constantine: Dominic Guard
Lily: Fiona Victory
Dr Hickey: T P McKenna
Pauline: Kate Binchy
Peter: Alan MacNaughtan
Mary: Maggie McCarthy
James: Sean Barrett
Gregory: Tony Doyle
Jack: Breffni McKenna
Repeated 18th April 1987
[This transplanted version was first staged in 1981]
[There was a 1968 production of The Seagull on Radio 3 by Charles Lefeaux, repeated 1969 (R3), 1971 (R4), and 1973 (R4).]
8th September 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: The Well of Life by Peter Tegel
The Master Race might have started at 'The Well of Life' .
Directed by Richard Wortley
the Director: Edward de Souza
Max: Steve Hodson
The Children: Rusty Livingstone, Deborah Makepeace, Susan Sheridan, Clio Tegel, Bernadette Windsor
Old man: Garard Green
Old women: Joan Matheson and Katherine Parr
Brown mothers: Avril Clark and Natasha Pyne
Racial assessors: George Parsons and Gordon Reid
Repeated 13th September 1986
9th September 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Friends by Lakviar Singh
Listening to his sons school problems reminds a father of his own school days.
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham.
Roly: Neil Coker
Anna: James Neale Kennerley
the adult Roly: John Dixon
Smiga: Andy Hockley
Mr Allerton/Cafe owner: Geoff Serle
Father: Badi Uzzaman
Schoolboys: David Hannah, Adrian Lester, Paul McClean, Tony Turner
Repeated 10th September 1986
9th September 1986
15.00-16.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Case of the Cool Canary by Sarah Maxwell
A private detective and his former wife are employed to protect an heiress from gangsters.
Directed by Glyn Dearman.
Dick George: Francis Matthews
Dora: Margaret Robertson
Louie, butler: Nigel Anthony
Mugsy, a gangster: Harry Towb
Blore, Dick's valet: Edward De Souza
Charlie, a hoodlum: Alan Tilvern
Ruth-Ann Rogers/Lucille Lamont: Lisa Jacobs
Pasta, the dog: Ronald Herdman
Also broadcast on BBC World Service 1987
Also broadcast on R4X in 2020
Later stories: The Case of the Substitute Spouse (Feb 1989) and The Case of the Vanishing Vamp (July 1992)
10th September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play : The Child by Olwen Wymark (1932-2013)
Caring for people with learning disabilities brings its pains and its pleasures which outsiders seldom understand.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Gemma: Miriam Margolyes
Lily: Mary Wimbush
Nina: Jane Wenham
Policeman: Danny Schiller
Policewoman: Lolly Cockerell
Repeated from 24th October 1979
[Winner of 1979 Giles Cooper Award]
11th September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Prisoner by Veronica Richards
Directed by Stuart Owen.
Bernadette: Wendy Morgan
Anne: Alyson Spiro
Sally: Natasha Pyne
Policemen: Andrew Branch
Policewoman/Prisoner: Elaine Claxton
Other prisoners and warders: Avril Clark and Pauline Letts
13th September 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Hamburg Connection by Barry Hill
Directed by Graham Gauld.
Sir Geoffrey: John Rye
Miles: David Learner
Helga: Elaine Claxton
Hawkins: John Hollis
Mel: Leslie Heritage
Todd: Bruce Stewart
Helen: June Spencer
Linda: Avrll Clark
Inspector: Eric Stovell
Security man: Stephen Rashbrook
Receptionist: Polly Mountain
Repeated 15th September 1986
14th September 1986
14.30
Globe Theatre: All My Sons (1946) by Arthur Miller (1915-2005)
1946- Larry is missing in action. A desire to keep a company in business may have led to his death.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
A BBC World Service/Radio 4 production
Joe Keller: Harry Towb
Kate Keller, his wife: Constance Cummings
Chris Keller, their son: Garrick Hagon
Ann Deever: Beth Porter
Frank Lubey: Brian Hewlett
Dr Jim Bayliss: John Church
Sue Bayliss: Carole Boyd
Lydia Lubey: Maggie McCarthy
Bert: Adrian Meyers
George Deever: Tom Hunsinger
Repeated 25th May 1987
[There have been several radio productions of this play]
[Based upon an investigation in 1941-43 when an aircraft manufacturer arranged for defective engines to be passed suitable]
15th September 1986
20.15
The Monday Play: Moll by Gilly Fraser
When times are hard you earn a living as best you can.
Directed by Penny Gold
Moll: Elizabeth Bell
Colin: John Bennett
Kelly: Lesley Sharp
Moll's mother: Mary Wimbush
Marjorie: Avril Clark
Mr Braithwaite: Gordon Reid
Sally/First woman at party: Elaine Claxton
Interviewer/Second woman at party: Helena Breck
Girl on bus: Dona Croll
Barbara: Shireen Shah
Third woman at party: Maggie McCarthy
MP: Garard Green
Repeated 20th September 1986
16th September 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Curtain Call by Jeremy Tiptaft
Two men go to a boarding-house in the South East of England in the off-season.
Directed by David Johnston
First gent: George Cooper
Second gent: David Garth
Mr Wintner: Brian Smith
Mrs Wintner: Tessa Worsley
Repeated 17th September 1986
16th September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: A Few Kind Words by Rib Davis
A retired miner seeks help with his life.
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Birmingham
Tommy: Emrys James
Jenny: Patricia Gallimore
Roy: Terry Molloy
Louise: Jayne Dowell
Repeated from 18th December 1984
17th September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Plucking Post by Denise Robertson (1932-2016)
There is a kestrel flying over the home.
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester.
Sara: Brigit Forsyth
the Narrator: Jill Balcon
Geoff: Wyllie Longmore
Sheila: Elizabeth Mansfield
Lewis: Piers Henschel
Mr Beckett: James Tomlinson
Angela: Hannah Lavender
Simon: Adam Davies
[A plucking post is an elevated spot where a bird of prey removes inedible bits from its prey].
18th September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Golden Oldies by Roderick Graham (1934-2015)
A golden wedding with the children coming back home.
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
BBC Scotland.
Andrew: Callum Miu
Jean: Ann Scott-Jones
Hugh: Carey Wilson
Susan: Jennifer Black
Fiona: Gerda Stevenson
Bill: Paul Birchard
Willie: Tom Watson
Nettie: Mary Riggans
Jimmie: Paul Young
Chas: Martin Black
Marie: Janette Foggo
20th September 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Bohemians by David Nathan based on Henri Murger (1822-1861)'s "Scenes de la vie de boheme" (1851)
"A series of social studies" (Murger). Youthful freedoms before maturity. Bohemia is a district of Paris.
Music: Piano: David Timson; Viola: Gustave Clarkson; Flute: Michael Hirst
Directed by Ian Cotterell.
Rudolf: Clive Francis
Schaunard: David Timson
Durand: John Webb
Mouton: Clive Panto
Musette: Tina Marian
Marcel: Christopher Scoular
Bernard: Timothy Bateson
Colline: Christopher Good
Waiter: Richard Huw
Phemie: Polly James
Benoit: Kerry Francis
Mimi: Miriam Margolyes
Maurice: Giles Cole
Mariette: Carole Boyd
Juliet: Fiona Walker
Repeated from 7th and 9th May 1983
[Murger's book inspired the two operas entitled La Boheme].
21st September 1986
14.30:
Globe Theatre: Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921) by Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936) translated from the Italian by John Linstrum adapted by Barry Campbell.
Six people interrupt the rehearsal of a stage play to announce they are six characters created by an author who has abandoned them.
Directed by Walter Acosta.
A BBC World Service/Radio 4 production
the Producer: Charles Gray
the Mother: Yvonne Bryceland
the Father: Emrys James
the Step-daughter: Cherie Lunghi
The son: Valentine Pelka
Madame Pace: Katherine Parr
Leading actor: David Sinclair
Leading actress: Carole Boyd
Stage manager: Peter Howell
An actress: Avril Clark
An actor: Peter Wickham
Repeated 2nd May 1987
22nd September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Secretary Bird (1968) by William Douglas Home(1912-1992)
His wife says she is leaving him after 15 years of marriage.
Directed by Ian Cotterell.
Hugh Walford: Michael Aldridge
Liz Watford: Sheila Gish
John Brownlow: Edward de Souza
Mrs Gray: June Tobin
Molly Forsyth: Melinda Walker
Repeated from 27th December 1985
22nd September 1986
20.00:
The Monday Play: Welcome to the Times by Dave Sheasby (1940-2010)
Corruption and greed.
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester.
Fledge: Malcolm Hebden
Dawlish: Nick Stringer
Slatterthwaite: Bert Pamaby
Celia: Debra Burton
Joe: Graham Roberts
Barmaid/Girl in park: Carrie Davies
Kennedy: Colin Starkey
Mrs Slatterthwaite: Rosalie Williams
Mr Slatterthwaite: Roy Barraclough
Woman on bus: Daphne Oxenford
Commissionaire: Randal Herley
Hilton: Peter Woodthorpe
Kramer: Brian Southwood
Baxter-French: Sean Barrett
Duggie: Fine Time Fontayne
Singer: Ray Ashcroft
Repeated from 24th JUne 1985
[Dave Sheasby lived in Sheffield]
23rd September 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: An Impression of Mr Darcy by Martyn Wade
A hotel is home to two courses- IT and Jane Austin.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
Barbara: Barbara Flynn
Kevin: Robert Glenister
Elizabeth Bennet: Elizabeth Rider
Mr Darcy: Richard Durden
Mr Wickham: George Parsons
Miss Rattenbury: Jennifer Piercey
Chairman/Lecturer: Garard Green
Repeated 24th September 1986
23rd September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: False Pretences by Steve May
A weekend poetry course at Cuppling College.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Biggin: Anthony Jackson
Trish: Liza Ros
Bullneck Bullivant: Neville Smith
Emily: Sheila Grant
Roger: Eric Stovell
Heather: Susie Brann
Policeman: Tim Reynolds
Real Biggin: Richard Durden
24th September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Send for Major Valentine by James Parkinson and John Owen
Hitler and Mussolini are getting above themselves.
Directed by David Johnston..
the Major: Timothy West
Miles Bottomley: Jonathan Owen
Sir James: Edward de Souza
Minister: Manning Wilson
Postcard vendor: Ronald Herdman
Scotsperson: Gordon Reid
Briggs: Shaun Prendergast
Tamara: Sheila Grant
Forster: Francis Middleditch
Jenkins: Andrew Branch
[Typescripts of plays by Parkinson and Owen are held by Liverpool University - D947/2005]
25th September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Cow in a Cabbage Patch by Jenny Sinclair
Two cousins meet after a long time and recount their past- especially the effect their mothers had upon their lives.
Directed by Cherry Cookson.
Jane: Jennie Linden
Kate: Carole Boyd
Edie: Pauline Letts
Avril: Eva Stuart
the Vicar: Manning Wilson
27th September 1986
14.00:
The Afternoon Play: Syrup of Figs by Jo Heaton
Repeated from 30th June 1986- please see above.
27th September 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Marge by David Parker
How an unemployed teacher returns to teaching.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
Marge: Sally Eldridge
Ralph: Denis Lill
Mr Makepiece: Geoffrey Banks
Mother: Rosalie Williams
Mick: Andrew Hay
Joe: Christopher Ravenscroft
George: Clive Lucas
Sharon: Julia Ford
Bruce: Simon Bleackley
Heather: Marva Alexander
Repeated on 29th September 1986.
28th September 1986
14.30:
Globe Theatre: The Miser (1668) by Moliere (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin 1622-1673) translated by Miles Malleson (1888-1969)
A greedy man seeks to increase the cash he has.
Directed By: Peter Kavanagh.
A BBC World Service/Radio 4 production
Harpagon: Michael Hordern
Frosine: Eleanor Bron
Seigneur Anselm: T. P. McKenna
Elise: Julia Swift
Valere: Nicholas Farrell
Cleante: Jonathan Tafler
La Fleche: Shaun Prendergast
Jacques: Christopher Godwin
Manane: Elaine Claxton
Justice: Peter Woodthorpe
Monsieur Simon: Ronald Herdman
Repeated 4th May 1987 and 6th January 1992
[Original French title was L'Avare]
[Several plot elements are borrowed from Plautus (fl 200 BC), smaller elements are taken from French plays of 1655 and 1665]
29th September 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: The Holy Experiment by Fritz Hochwalder (1911-1986) translated and adapted by Basil Ashmore (1915-1998)
18th Century- South America: The Jesuits see the Indians as people, not slaves.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
Father Provincial: Alan Dobie
Don Pedro de Miura: Peter Jeffrey
Senor Querini: Alfred Burke
Father Oros: Edward De Souza
Mynheer Cornelis : David March
Fr Hundertpfund: Peter Howell
Candia: Ronald Herdman
Naguaru: John Church
Bustillos: Gordon Reid
Fr Clarke: Brian Hewlett
Arago/Acatu: George Parsons
Villano: John Hollis
Sergeant: Francis Middleditch
Bishop: Manning Wilson
Queseda/Barrigua: Stuart Organ
Catalde: Richard Durden
Repeated 4th October 1986
[Original title "Das Heilige Experiment" (1942)]
[Also retold in two tv plays, one on BBC (1956), one on ITV (1958), both called "The Strong Are Lonely". The tv plays were double translated- German to French to English]
[There was another radio play "The Holy Experiment" by William Fox, broadcast in the 70's about a similar situation in North America with the Quakers and William Penn, but is otherwise unrelated.]
30th September 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Blow the Wind by Bernard Edwards
1914. A ship race- Steam vs Wind. The brother of the sailing ship captain died in a similar race earlier.
Technical presentation by Alex Mcdonald with Hywel Jones and Alistair McGhee. Directed by Adrian Mourby.
BBC Wales
Capt David Parry: Gareth Thomas
Morgan Roberts: Jonathan Tafler
Tommy Twice: Douglas Blackwell
Owen Cadwallader: Meredith Edwards
Mrs Roberts: Gwenyth Petry
Mr Morris: Dorien Thomas
Repeated 1st October 1986 (advertised only for the repeat as a binaural broadcast)
30th September 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Burning the Ballroom Down by Colin MacDonald.
Life turns out to be like a country song.
Musicians Madelaine Taylor, Geordie Jack and Gordon Davidson
Studio presentation by Ian Cowie, Richard Kent and Graeme Taylor
Directed by Stewart Conn
Anna: Ann Louise Ross
Frank Carter: Alexander West
Neil Cherry: Freddie Boardley
Henry Glassburn: Ian Briggs
Johnny: Ross MacKay
(First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland)
1st October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Don't Cry by David Ashton
Directed by Jane Morgan.
Billie: Caroline Hutchison
Christine: Joanna Hole
2nd October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Shrubbery with Violence by Simon Moss
Bank robbers have a perfect hiding place.
Directed by Gerry Jones.
Raymond: John Rye
Stanley: Mark Straker
Brian: Jim McManus
Major Maxwell: Allan Cuthbertson
Ms Merryweather: Jennifer Piercey
Judith: Karen Ascoe
Hargreaves: Jonathan Tafler
Det Insp Wolf: Geoffrey Matthews
Det Sgt Tucker: Andrew Branch
Policeman/Reporter: James Goode
4th October 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Regency Buck (1935) by Georgette Heyer (1902-1974) dramatised by Neville Teller
1811: Judith Taverner claims her rights, her fortune and perhaps her happiness.
Directed by David Johnston.
Judith Taverner: Elizabeth Proud
her brother, Peregrine: Simon Shepherd
Bernard Taverner: Gary Cady
Lord Worth: Steve Hodson
Mrs Scattergood: Avril Clark
Fitzjohn: David Learner
Henry: Stuart Organ
Beau Brummell: Edward de Souza
Charles Audley: Steven Pacey
Prince Regent: Roger Hammond
Harriet Fairford: Deborah Makepeace
Lord Ashley: John Church
Lady Sefton: Rachel Gurney
Mrs Beauchamp: Natasha Pyne
Lord Worcester: Ronald Herdman
Mr Skeffing: Gordon Reid
Sir Geoffrey Fairford: Binky Baker
Repeated 6th October 1986
Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2007, 2008, 2009, and on BBC R4X in 2015
5th October 1986
14.30:
Globe Theatre: An Enemy of the People (1882) by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) translated by Michael Meyer
Discovering a town's income source is dangerous. It may be in the public interest but not everyone welcomes disclosure.
Directed by Gordon House .
A BBC World Service/Radio 4 production
Dr Thomas Stockmann: Michael Williams
Peter Stockmann: John Moffatt
Hovstad: Ronald Pickup
Mrs Stockmann: Jane Wenham
Petra: Deborah Makepeace
Billing: Davld Timson
Aslaksen: Ronald Herdman
Morten Kiil: Davld Garth
Captain Horster: Edward De Souza
Eiliff: Susan Sheridan
Morten: Elizabeth Lindsay
Townspeople: Andrew Branch, Avril Clark, Richard Durden, Sheila Grant, Michael Hadley, Garard Green, David Learner, Peter Howell, Shaun Prendergast, George Parsons, Eric Stovell
Repeated 23rd May 1987
[Several radio and tv productions of this play in several translations.]
[Original title " En folkefiende"]
5th October 1986
21.00-21.30:
Father Brown: The Perishing of the Pendragons (1914) by G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) dramatised by John Scotney
A story of an admiral, two cannibals and a family curse.
Directed by Alec Reid
BBC Bristol.
Father Brown: Andrew Sachs
Flambeau: Olivier Pierre
Admiral: Edward Kelsey
Sir Cecil Fanshaw: Brian Hewlett
Tregear: Keith Kraushaar
Tommy/Walter: James Goode
Repeated 8th October 1986
Also broadcast on BBC7 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009.
[The story was in the collection "The Wisdom of Father Brown"]
6th October 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Expeditions by Lee Gallaher
Directed by Jeremy Howe
BBC Northern Ireland.
Karen: Sarah Badel
Mulqueen: Robert Stephens
Rachel: Pamela Lane
Paul: Richard Durden
Girl: Brid Brennan
Taxi driver: Ronald Herdman
Edward Lovett Ruddell: William Hootkins
Repeated 11th October 1986
7th October 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Before the Roses by Stephen Shortt
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester
Derek: Andrew Livingstone
Janet: Diane Wirtley
Repeated 8th October 1986
7th October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Holiday of a Lifetime by Stephen LavelL
Two Americans are touring Europe with an Englishman as their guide.
Directed by Kathryn Porter
Jerry: Barry Morse
Mary: Mary Wimbush
Jane: Tessa Worsley
also with Elaine Claxton, Andrew Branch, Gordon Reid
8th October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: There's Rosemary, That's for Rememberance by Helen Walker
Directed by Tim Sutter.
Lydia: Avril Clark
Tamara: Deborah Joel
Khetha: Lionel Ngakane
John: Stuart Organ
Alexander: Andrew Walker
Young Lydia: Astra Sheridan
9th October 1986
15.00-16.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Baby Alarm by Peter Thomson
A baby can be stressful.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
Ros: With Karen Archer
Tom: Bill Nighy
Danny: Jim Barclay
the child: Vicky Ireland
Repeated from 23rd July 1985
[A 30 minute play with this name and a similar story but differently named characters was made by Martin Jameson in 1998]
11th October 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Never Come Back (1941) by John Mair (1913-1942) dramatised by Walter Hall
1939. The Cafe Royal. Political intrigue.
Directed by Gerry Jones.
Desmond Thane: Gareth Armstrong
Anna Raven: Natasha Pyne
Foster: Michael Deacon
Samuels/March: Ronald Herdman
Fat: John Hollis
O'Brien: Shaun Prendergast
Chairman: Colin Douglas
Committee members: Brian Hewlett
Shadwell: David Timson
Dr Vescott/Committee member: Edward De Souza
Poole: Gordon Reid
Emily March/Girl in pub: Elaine Claxton
Matron: Sheila Grant
Repeated 13th October 1986
12th October 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: The House on Highbury Hill by Piers Paul Read
Not everyone who goes to a seminary becomes a priest.
Music composed by Julian Slade
Piano: Philip Challis
Directed by John Tydeman
Narrator John Rye
Casimir, a young man: Richard O'Callaghan
Mrs Anderson, a friend of his mother .: Betty Huntley-Wright
Ethel, her eldest daughter: Maria Aitken
Marigold, her second daughter: Pauline Collins
Mrs Hendrikson, a philanthropic widow: Gladys Spencer
George, a priest: David Valla
Another priest, an Irishman: Sean Barrett
Woman: Jane Knowles
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 16/9/71
First broadcast on Radio 4 on 26/11/75
12th October 1986
19.00:
French Leave by Shirley Cooklin, based on a story by Guy De Maupassant
Directed by David Johnston
Rosalie: Patsy Rowlands
Albert Caravan: John Warner
Madame Caravan: Monica Grey
Granny: Kathleen Helme
Marie Louise: Moir Leslie
Regine: Jane Wenham
Fred: Clive Panto
Chenet: Henry Stamper
Mme Lebaudin: Sheila Grant
Priest: Michael Bilton
Bonassot: William Eedle
Repeated from 4th January 1984
12th October 1986
21.00-21.30:
Father Brown: ["The Arrow of Heaven" *see note at entry end] by G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) dramatised by John Scotney
Father Brown's first trip to the United States.
Directed by Alec Reid
BBC Bristol.
Father Brown: Andrew Sachs
Customs officer: Tim Reynolds
Barnard/First journalist: Ed Bishop
Harris/Second journalist: Guy Gregory
Wendley /Third journalist: Andrew Branch
Norman Drage: Sean Prendergast
Merton: Richard Durden
Peter Wain: Johnny Myers
Matt Crake: Harry Towb
Repeated 15th October 1986
* [Radio Times did not give the title of the play for 12th or 15th October 1986 broadcasts but the character names fit with "The Arrow of Heaven"]
[Included in the short story collection "The Incredulity of Father Brown"]
Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and on BBC R4X in 2020.
13th October 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: The News from Ireland by William Trevor (1928-2016)
Ireland, 1847. There are tales of suffering in the famine-stricken countryside.
Piano: Mary Nash
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester.
Fogarty: Cyril Cusack
Anna Maria Heddoe: Moir Leslie
Mr Pulvertaft: Peter Howell
Mrs Pulvertaft: Pauline Letts
Emily Pulvertaft: Elaine Claxton
Charlotte Pulvertaft: Karen Ascoe
Adelaide Pulvertaft: Susie Brann
George Arthur Pulvertaft: ????
Miss Fogarty: Kate Binchy
Cready: Marcella Riordan
Brigid Martin: A Stanley
Erskine: Denys Hawthorne
Repeated 18th October 1986
[William Trevor was born in Ireland. There was a Pulvertaft family line in Ireland, originally from Lincolnshire. There is no record of a response from William Trevor when the family wrote to him in 1986.]
14th October 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Bright Blue Sky by David Marshall
A Yorkshireman in Spain.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Trevor: Brian Glover
Phil: Hugh Dickson
Hilary: Sandra Clark
Melissa: Jennifer Piercey
Repeated 15th October 1986
14th October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Mr Parker Comes to Town by Roger Wood
1932 Burnley, Lancashire. An unexpected visitor to town from the West.
Directed by Martin Jenkins.
R L Parker: Alan MacNaughtan
Ellen Duerden: Stephanie Turner
Maureen: Janette Beverley
Billy: Jason Littler
George: Christopher Scott
Walter: David Timson
Sarah: Anna Jane Casey
Mrs Tatum: Paula Tilbrook
Mrs Hollins: Anne Jameson
Stanley J Ormerod: David Garth
Tommy: David Learner
Repeated from 5th September 1985
15th October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Rock Scorpion by Sheila Hodgson
Spain ended its 17-year-old blockade of Gibraltar in 1985.
Directed by David Johnston.
Jim Yates: Andrew Burt
Doris George: Charlotte Mitchell
Peter Carradine: Edward de Souza
Gerald Saxon: Peter Howell
Isabella: Mia Soteriou
Tony Arcos: Stephen Rashbrook
Guide: Gordon Reid
16th October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Midweek by Michael Voysey
Loneliness brings together two people.
Directed by Graham Gauld.
Catherine: Jill Balcon
Brian: Martin Starkie
Sheila: Deborah Makepeace
17th October 1986
15.00-16.00:
Goodbye Mr Chips by James Hilton dramatised by Margaret Simpson
1 of 2: A retired schoolmaster relives his memories.
Directed by Graham Gauld
Mr Chipping: John Church
Mrs Wickett: Katherine Parr
Kathie: Lolly Cockerell
Dr Merivale: Lewis Stringer
Wetherby: Godfrey Kenton
Lucy: Hilda Schroder
Rowden: Alaric Cotter
Barker: John Bott
Whitby: John McAndrew
Meldrum: John Forbes-Robertson
Bryce: Haydn Wood
Brookfield boys: Adrian Breeze, Matthew Emerson, Ian Land
Mission boys: Paul Beardshaw, Colin McDonagh, Stuart Sampson
Additional actors in part two:
Sutton: Gordon Reid
Ralston: Nigel Anthony
Chatteris: Walter Hall
Staefel: Graham Faulkner
Williams: Christopher Scott
Wadham: Harold Reese
Deakin: John Gray
Midwife: Sonla Fraser
Linford: Arthur Haycraft
Brookfield boys: Adam Bass, Adam Landor
Part 2: 24th October 1986
Repeated from 4th October 1980
Repeated 18th May 1991
18th October 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Between the Gates by Hugh Stoddart based on the book by George Lee
13th Century - the relationship between the Holy Roman Emperor and his chancellor.
Music composed by Mia Soteriou and played by Tom Finucane
Additional vocals: Mia Soteriou and Danny Schiller
Directed by Jane Morgan.
Peter della Vigna: Nicholas Farrell
Emperor Frederick: Edward De Souza
Guy of Gloucester: Brett Usher
Bishop of Exeter: Peter Howell
Henry III: Stuart Organ
Isabella: Karen Ascoe
Kate: Avrel Clark
Richard: Francis Middleditch
Minstrel: Danny Schiller
Edgar: Jonathan Tafler
Marquis of Trebaldo: Tim Reynolds
Suleim: Mia Soteriou
Hereth: Gordon Reid
Michael Scott: Eric Stovell
Also with Andrew Branch, Ronald Herdman, Kevin Lloyd and Stephen Rashbrook
Repeated on 20th October 1986
[The book of this title was credited to E G Lee (Ernest George Lee), published by Hale, 1955]
19th October 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: 221B by M. J. Read
Sherlock Holmes has disappeared at the Reichenbach Falls. Dr Watson, in nostalgic mood, revisits Holmes old home.
Directed by David Hitchinson
A BBC World Service production
Dr Watson: Nigel Stock
Visitor: Christopher Scott
Also broadcast on R4X in 2020
19th October 1986
19.00:
How an Umbrella Changed Everything by Shirley Cooklin based on an idea by Guy De Maupassant
Paris 1938: A new umbrella is needed.
Accordion: Gordon Langford
Directed by David Johnston
Charles Oreille: Nigel Lambert
Mme Oreille: Sheila Grant
Paul Plimpotin: Aubrey Morris
Louise Bonnet: Gwen Cherrell
M Dupont: Bernard Brown
Denise: Jenny Funnell
Shop assistant: Anne Jameson
Insurance company director: Arnold Diamond
Stallholder: Colln Starkey
First office boy: Phllip Rowlands
Second office boy: Wayne Jackman
Repeated from 27th February 1985.
19th October 1986
21.00-21.30:
Father Brown: The Mistake of the Machine by G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) dramatised by John Scotney
Father Brown makes his way across America.
Directed by Alec Reid
BBC Bristol.
Father Brown: Andrew Sachs
O'Connor: P McKenna
Usher: Don Fellows
Prisoner: Brian Haines
Todd: Ed Bishop
Butler: Manning Wilson
Voice of convict: Stuart Organ
McGurk: Billy Boyle
Repeated 22nd October 1986
Also broadcast on BBC7 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and on BBC R4X in 2020.
[The story was in the collection "The Wisdom Of Father Brown"]
20th October 2021
20.15:
The Monday Play: The Crossing-keeper's House by Dawn Lowe Watson
A severe snowstorm strands Laura in a complete stranger's house in a remote part of East Anglia.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
Adrian: Richard Pasco
Laura: Jennie Stoller
Coleby: Gordon Reid
Valerie: Avril Clark
Van driver: Ronald Herdman
Repeated 25th October 2021
21st October 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: A Son from Soho by Tony McHale
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
Mary: Anne Kristen
Karen Gibson: Karen Ascoe
Graham: Stuart Organ
Repeated 22nd October 2986
21st October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Passing Away by Ellen Fox
Jean is made redundant.
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
Jean: Marian Diamond
mother: Patricia Hayes
Norma: Kate Binchy
Isobel: Mona Hammond
Iris: Natasha Pyne
Susan: Susie Brann
Matron/Canteen woman: Sheila Grant
Bert: Eric Stovell
Len: John Church
22nd October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: A Sense of Sin by James Douglas
There is a rat in the bank.
Directed by Clive Brill
BBC Northern Ireland.
Charlie Quay: Stephen Rea
Bridie Bierce: Stella McCusker
Jamie Donnellan: Nlku Toibin
Trixie/Georgina/Biddy Meldon: Doreen Hepburn
Petey/Matty Meldon/Jacky Ferren: Louis Rolston
P J Doherty/Thadeus P Dobson .: J. G Devlin
Mammy/Mrs Doherty: Catherine Gibson
Fr Hegarty: Anthony Finigan
Voice: Maurice O'Callaghan
23rd October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: An Honest Crust by Jane Coles
It is difficult to succeed in a TV career.
Directed by Matthew Walters
Dan: Geoffrey Beevers
Pamela: Avril Clark
Nick: Bill Nighy
Jenny: Janine Duvitski
Head of dept: Edward de Souza
Jack: Robin Summers
Sadie: Karen Ascoe
Simon Rudd: Tim Reynolds
25th October 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Margaret Clitherow by William Keenan
1586 Yorkshire- when Jesuits were considered to be traitors.
Banquet music by The York Waits
"Dies Irae" sung by Clifton Cathedral Choir
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol.
Margaret (1556-1586): Elizabeth Proud
Henry May: Stephen Thorne
John Clitherow: Steve Hodson
Thomas Clitherow: Jack Watson
Jane: Miranda Forbes
Earl of Northumberland: Geoffrey Bateman
Earl of Huntingdon: Bill Wallis
Sheriff: Geoffrey Matthews
Fr Mush: Patrick Malahide
Agnes Teshe: Angela Phillips
Mrs Yoward: Daphne Heard
Judge: Peter Copley
Jailer: James Cairncross
Fr Wreakes: John Abineri
Henry Clitherow: Rupert Graves
Anne Clitherow: Gillie Gratham
Jan: Petra Leah
Woman: Jo Anderson
Repeated from 8th May 1982
26th October 1983
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: The Spanish Gardener (1950) by A.J.Cronin (1896-1981) dramatised by Michael Robson
A new job and a new life in Spain- and his son finds friendship with the new gardener.
Directed by Walter Acosta .
A BBC World Service production
Garcia: Adrian Egan
Magdalena: Lucy Woolley
Alan Burton: Peter Wickham
Fr Thomas: David Garth
Carol Burton: Elaine Claxton
[There was an earlier radio production by Hugh Stewart in 1964]
26th October 1986
19.00:
Pendennis (1848-1850) by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) dramatised by Peter Buckman
1 of 8: 19th Century England: Arthur has little money. He falls in love and then goes to University.
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
the Writer: Hugh Dickson
Arthur Pendennis: Dominic Guard
Major Pendennis: Edward De Souza
Harry Foker: John McAndrew
Captain Costigan: Ronald Herdman
Bows: Danny Schiller
Emily Costigan: Veronica Quilllgan
Helen Pendennis: Jennifer Piercey
Dr Portman: Manning Wilson
Morgan: Gordon Reid
Mrs Rummer: Sheila Grant
Miss Rummer: Susie Brann
Laura Bell: Deborah Makepeace
Actors in later episodes- please refer to the date of first broadcast.
Ep2:2/11/86 Ep3:9/11/86 Ep4:16/11/86 Ep5:23/11/86 Ep6:30/11/86 Ep7:7/12/86 Ep8:14/12/86
All 1986 episodes were repeated after five days.
26th October 1986:
21.00-21.30:
Father Brown: The Curse of the Golden Cross (1925) by G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) dramatised by John Scotney
Directed by Alec Reid
BBC Bristol.
Father Brown: Andrew Sachs
Mr Tarrant: Peter Marinker
Lady Diana Wales: Natasha Pyne
Leonard Smyth: Peter Wickham
Steward/Vicar /Voice: Terry O'Brien
Driver: Jonathan Tafler
Doctor: Eric Stovell
Professor Smaill: Tim Reynolds
Repeated 29th October 1986
Also broadcast on BBC7 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 also on BBC R4X in 2020.
[The story was in the collection "The Incredulity of Father Brown"]
27th October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Boilerhunters by Arthur McKenzie
The members of a Geordie working men's club go to Blackpool for some fun.
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester
Patter: Tim Healy
Ivy Patterson: Barbara Marten
Ronnie Homer: Arthur Blake
Camilla Horner: Lizzie McKenzie
Sgt Craft: Ronnie Johnson
Danny: Stephen Hancock
Walt: Geoffrey Banks
Duncan: Gabriel Paul Gawin
Vince: David Whitaker
Charlie: John Hollis.
George: Peter Wheeler
Ruth: Anne Jameson
Harry: James Garbutt
Kirsty Patterson: Elizabeth Lindsay
Donna Patterson: Sonia Ritter
Christine: Belinda Chapman
Anne: Barbara Peirson
Carolyn: Jane Lowe
Violet: Paula Tilbrook
Elsie: Jacqueline Dutoit
Irene: Meg Johnson
Maeve: Ann Rye
Jean: Pamela Buckle
Vivienne: Lesley Nicol
Taxi driver: Erik Collinson
Man in hotel: Robert Wells
First broadcast 12th and 14th October 1985
27th October 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Blood Rains by Mike Walker
Malaya, 1960: Jungle, Leeches, hidden snipers. Young soldiers - sometimes mistakes were made.
Music composed and played by David Chilton and Nick Russell-Pavier
Directed by Peter King
Lin Parker: Megumi Shimanuki
Andrew Ryan: Norman Jones
Brian Parker: Peter Howell
Paul Parker: Chris Chescoe
Laura Ryan: Elaine Claxton
Baby: Sarah King
Riley: Mannlng Wilson
Lin's father: Garard Green
Sergeant: Eric Stovell
Bank teller: Alex Marshall
Receptionist: Susie Brann
Repeated 1st November 1986
[There were no snipers in Malaya in 1960- the date should be at least couple of years earlier- by 1960 the "insurgents" had fled to Thailand.]
28th October 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: There's a Werewolf on the Landing by Raymund Fitzsimons
1930's- contrasting hard reality with fever induced fantasies.
Directed by Gerry Jones
Narrator Edward De Souza
Paul: Susan Sheridan
Tom: Danny Kodicek
Father: John Hollis
Mother: Jennifer Piercey
Nurse: Elaine Claxton
Doctor: Manning Wilson
Bill: Johnny Lee Miller
Repeated 29th October 1986 and 10th July 1988
28th October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Dragon Bone Man by Julia Stoneham
1919- India- the problems of a tea planter..
Piano: Antony Miall
Directed by Graham Gauld.
Dora: Elizabeth Proud
Henry: Richard Durden
May: Anne Clements
Lizzie: Andrea Kealy
Letchemi: Rita Wolf
Kasim: Terry Raven
Sula: Pauline Letts
Minna: Heather Emmanuel
Mary: Avril Clark
Sutton: George Parsons
Charles: Andrew Branch
The Dragon Bone Man: David March
29th October 1986
15.00-15.47:
The Afternoon Play: Beauty and the Bounders by Douglas Hankin
Lilian Baylis entertains her Old Vic audience with the story of her life.
Directed by David Johnston.
Lilian Baylis (1874-1937): Polly March
Bounders - and others - played by Susie Brann, Sheila Grant, John Church, Paul Gregory, Tim Reynolds and Eric Stovell
30th October 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Songs from a Tall Larch by David Stafford
Mrs Osborne lives with her memories - and her parrot.
Directed by Ian Cotterell
Mrs Osbome: Pauline Letts
Edward: Manning Wilson
the parrot: Gladys Spencer
Gillian: Avril Clark
James: Eric Stovell
With Karen Ascoe, Garard Green and Gordon Reid
1st November 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Hey, Are You Anybody? by Don Fellows
The fanclub organiser wants a meeting for the members to meet her during her visit to England.
Directed by Peter King.
Ronnie Nutley: Trevor Nichols
Lara Hayward: Margaret Robertson
Rab Forrest: Don Fellows
Jessie Nutley: Alex Marshall
Buddy: Harry Ditson
Jill: Natasha Pyne
Vikki: Shaun Prendergast
Myrtle: Karen Ascoe
Everett Everhardt: Edward Desouza
Mr Ambrose: Richard Durden
Repeated 2nd November 1986
1st November 1986
23.30-00.00:
Circus Circus by Bill Brennan
It's 1951, receipts are down, and someone is killing off the performers.
Producer Mark Robson.
Hector: Graeme Garden
Betty: Brenda Blethyn
Charlie: Gregor Fisher
Raymond: Garard Green
Mrs Umberto: Jennifer Piercey
Bimbo: Phil Nice
Mirabella: Amanda Swift
Moto: Neil Mullarkey
2nd November 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: A Dance by the Light of the Moon by Robert Carver
Chambers
When children find an injured airman in the woods, they fail to identify his situation as reality.
Directed by Gordon House .
Flt Lt Peter Anstruth: David Timson
Julie Chambers: Bernadette Windsor
James: Susan Sheridan
(First broadcast on BBC World Service)
2nd November 1986:
19.00:
Pendennis (1848-1850) by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) dramatised by Peter Buckman
2 of 8: The major may have to fight a duel.
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
the Writer: Hugh Dickson
Arthur Pendennis: Dominic Guard
Major Pendennis: Edward de Souza
Captain Costigan: Ronald Herdman
Harry Foker: John McAndrew
Bows: Danny Schiller
Emily Costigan: Veronica Quilligan
Helen Pendennis: Jennifer Piercey
Morgan: Gordon Reid
Madame Fribsby: Joan Matheson
Smirke/Garbetts: Tim Reynolds
Dr Portman: Manning Wilson
Laura Bell: Deborah Makepeace
Mr Tatham: George Parsons
Wagg: Eric Stovell
Marquis of Steyne: Peter Howell
First Miss Finucane: Natasha Pyne
Second Miss Finucane: Susie Brann
Hobnell: Jonathan Tafler
Young ladies: Elaine Claxton, Karen Ascoe
Boy: James Goode
Actors in later episodes- please refer to the date of first broadcast of that episode.
Ep1-26/10/86; Ep3:9/11/86 Ep4:16/11/86 Ep5:23/11/86 Ep6:30/11/86 Ep7:7/12/86 Ep8:14/12/86
All 1986 episodes were repeated after five days.
2nd November 1986
21.00-21.30:
Father Brown: The Actor and the Alibi (1926) by G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) dramatised by John Scotney
Father Brown finds himself in the midst of a School for Scandal.
Directed by Alec Reid
BBC Bristol.
Father Brown: Andrew Sachs
Inspector Bagshaw: Bill Wallis
House manager/Waiter: Jonathan Scott
Mundon Mandeville: Peter Jeffrey
Mrs Mandeville: Sheila Gram
Ashton Jarvis: David Brierley
Mrs Sands: Pauline Letts
Miss Maroni: Karen Ascoe
Norman Knight: Charles Baillie
Lady Miriam Talbot: Fleur Chandler
Repeated 5th November 1986
Also broadcast on BBC7 in 2009.
[The story was in the collection "The Secret of Father Brown"]
3rd November 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Mirrors in the Mind by Valerie Georgeson
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
Sylvia: Frances Jeater
John/Sir John: Denys Hawthorne
Peter/Valentine: Michael Hadley
Grant: Francis Middledrrch
Susan/Lady Bluehose: Julia Ford
Funfair man/Squire Brutus: Peter Barton
With Howard Ward, Tim Dantay, Valerie Georgeson and Sunny Ormonde
Repeated on 8th November 1986
4th November 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Time Mabel Became an Anchoress by Janette Walkinshaw
Directed by Piers Plowright
Gladys: Irene Hanlon
Phil: Crawford Logan
Mabel: Eileen Nicholas
Radio DJ: James Goode
First pilgrim: Andrew Branch
Second pilgrim: Avril Clark
Mr Smith: John Forrest
TV interviewer: Marcus Bell
American pilgrim: Stuart Organ
Cheerleader: Richard Durden
Psychologist: Tim Reynolds
Magazine editor: Suzie Brann
Woman on the stairs: Deborah Makepeace
Repeated 5th November 1986
4th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Forever Blowing Bubbles by Patrice Chaplin
Success often carries a price.
Directed by Tim Suter.
Deb: Angela Pleasence
Lucy: Margaret Wolftt
Chris: Steven Harrold
Jamie: Chris Chescoe
Paul: John Eldan
James: Denis Lill
Derek/Dr Katz: Andrew Branch
Anthea/Dr Gill: Elaine Claxton
5th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Something to Say by Richard Everett.
Directed by Glyn Dearman
Ruth: Maggie McCarthy
David: Sean Barrett
Stephan: Gary Cady
Gwen: Avril Clark
6th November 1986
15.00:
The Dwarves (Chapter 13 of Crome Yellow) (1921) by Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), dramatised by Peter Mackie
The more unpleasant aspects of mankind intrude upon the quiet country life of Sir Hercules and his wife.
Harpsichordist: Marlene Fleet
Violinist: William Hand
Director: Philip Martin
BBC Pebble Mill
Narrator: Garard Greene
Hercules: David Learner
Filomena: Claire Faulconbridge
Sir Henry/Count Titimalo: Ronald Herdman
Ferdinando: Eric Stovell
Ferdinando/Hercules as boys: Silas Gregory
Lady Sarah/Servant: Hedli Niklaus
Charles/Geoffrey: Tony Turner
Jenkins: Alan Devereux
Simon: Rob Swinton
Gregory: Alex Jones
Sebastian: John Dixon
[Crome is a place, not a reference to the metal Chrome]
[Chapter 13 is 8 pages long]
Repeated 16th October 1987.
8th November 1986
19.00-20.30:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Ice by James Follett (1939-2021)
A very large sheet of ice may be drifting from the Antarctic to New York. A collision would be destructive.
Directed by Alec Reid.
BBC Bristol
Narrator Sean Barrett
Julia Hammond: Carol Drinkwater
Glyn Sherwood: Anthony Hyde
Oaf: Eric Allan
Captain Hagan: Ed Bishop
Admiral Pearson: Don Fellows
US President: Alan Tilvern
Angus Brill: Brian Hewlett
Walter Krantz: Peter Marinker
TV reporter: Kim Wall
Maguire: Bruce Boa
Stevens: Jonathan Tafler
Steward: Peter Howell
Mason: Andrew Branch
Lt Klein: David Goodland
Greaser: Stephen Hattersley
Chief Engineer: Paul Gregory
TV announcer: Rachel Gurney
Repeated 10/11/1986
Also broadcast in three 30 minute parts on 7th, 14th and 21st December 1987.
Also broadcast (as 1 x 90 minutes) on BBC7 in 2008 and 2009.
9th November 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Felix Randal by Jimmy McGovern
A fictional account of the background to the poem "Felix Randal".
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester.
Hopkins: Hugh Ross
Felix: John Keegan
Mary: Marcella Riordan
Fr Clare: T. P. McKenna
Repeated from 15th October 1985
[Poet: Gerard Manley Hopkins 1844-1889, the poem was written in 1890. The farrier Felix Spencer (renamed in the poem) died of TB.]
9th November 1986
19.00:
Pendennis (1848-1850) by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) dramatised by Peter Buckman
3 of 8: Blanche arrives.
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
the writer: Hugh Dickson
Arthur Pendennis: Dominic Guard
Maj Pendennis: Edward de Souza
Harry Foker: John McAndrew
Morgan: Gordon Reid
Laura Bell: Deborah Makepeace
Helen Pendennis: Jennifer Piercey
Sir Francis Clavering: Richard Durden
Lady Clavering: Avril Clark
Blanche Amory: Karen Ascoe
Madame Fribsby: Joan Matheson
Mirobolant: Shaun Prendergast
Capt Strong: John Church
Col Altamont: George Parsons
Dr Portman: Manning Wilson
Mrs Blenkinsop: Pauline Letts
Actors in later episodes- please refer to the date of first broadcast of each episode.
Ep1:26/10/86 Ep4:16/11/86 Ep5:23/11/86 Ep6:30/11/86 Ep7:7/12/86 Ep8:14/12/86
All 1986 episodes were repeated after five days.
9th November 1986
21.00:
A Matter of Honour (1986) by Jeffrey Archer dramatised by Brian Sibley
1 of 7: The Kremlin - It is imperative that the original "Tsar's Icon" be found.
Directed by Glyn Dearman.
Adam Scott: Michael York
Alexander Romanov: Simon Ward
Lawrence Pemberton: Tom Chadbon
Brezhnev: Czeslaw Grocholski
Zaborski: John Church
Petrova: Jill Lidstone
Heidi: Helena Breck
Konstantinov: George Roubicek
Goering: Garard Green
Gerard Scott: Manning Wilson
Mrs Scott: Pauline Letts
Wainwright: Eric Stovell
Also with Sheila Grant, Ronald Herdman, Gordon Reid and Jill Simcox
Additional actors in later episodes:
Sir Morris: Richard Vernon(2)
Actor: Poskonov Vladeksheybal(2)
Bischoff: David March(2)
Sedgewick: Richard Durden(2)
Pastor: Ronald Herdman(2)
Cashier: Elaine Claxton(2)
Harold Wilson: John Bird(2)
Busch: Harry Towb(3)
Snell: William Fox(3)
Matthews: Brian Hewlett(3)
Poskonov: Vladek Sheybal(3)
Roget: Andrew Branch(3)
Also with Susie Brann, Deborah Makepeace, Stuart Organ, George Parsons and Jonathan Tafler.
For actors in epsidoes 4 onwards please see 30th November below.
Ep2:16/11/86 Ep3:23/11/86 Ep4:30/11/86 Ep5:7/12/86 Ep6:14/12/86 Ep7:21/12/86
All 1986 episodes repeated three days later.
[Published in 1986 the book was quickly dramatised for radio. In 1987, Archer won an unrelated libel case, and then served a prison sentence in 2001 for perjury in the libel case.]
10th November 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Men's Group by Peter Tegel
We're men trying to take a deep look at ourselves....
Directed by Richard Wortley
Ben: With William Nighy
Kate: Maggie McCarthy
Mike: Spencer Banks
Annie: Margot Boyd
Jim: Stephen Pinner
George: Alex Jennings
Jock: Bill Leadbitter
Chris: Alaric Cotter
Dan: George Pensotti
Davy: Jeremy Flynn
Doctor: Michael Bilton
Barbara/Carol: Carole Boyd
Jenny: Madi Hedd
Don/Ambulance driver: David Peart
Joan: Pauline Siddle
(First broadcast 18/12/1983 on Radio 3)
11th November 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: A Dog Called Sam by Carol Bruggen
Sam means something special to Reg, so his family try to tolerate him.
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester
Betty: Val Windsor
Reg: John Jardine
Heather: Diane Whitley
Eddy: Robert Garrett
PC Lacey: Christopher Hawes
Repeated 12th November 1986
[Unrelated to the childrens book by Janice Boland of this title]
11th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Remind Me to Tell You by Michael Payne
A ghostwriter of an autobiography wants to know everything but the subject wishes to keep some things private.
Piano: Tom Steer
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester.
Julia Harvey: Renee Asherson
'Duckie': Anne Jameson
Ruth Pepper: Valerie Windsor
12th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Saying Goodbye to Sylvia by Gillian Slinn
A married couple are parted when one goes into a hospice.
Directed by Mary Clyne
BBC Pebble Mill.
Sylvia: Barbara Jefford
Henry: William Gaunt
Katie: Fleur Chandler
Dr Adams: Gillian Goodman
Mr Bailey: Edwln Richfield
Sister: Judith Pearson
Nurse: Maggie Tarver
13th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Antibodies by George Tarry
The village school has a new headmistress.
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Pebble Mill.
Elaine: Amanda Murray
Tom: Terry Molloy
Sophie: Natasha Knight
The Rev Walter Daniels: Alan Thompson
Alison Smith: Maggie Tarver
Janet Robinson: Shirley Stelfox
Eddy: Paul McClean
Judy: Hilary Martin
Matthew: Jonathan Smith
Johnny: Michael Rawling
Arthur Jones: Peter Brookes
Dave Bingham: Mark Audley
Dave's friends: Neil Coker and David Hannah
Repeated from 11th June 1985
15th November 1986
14.00:
The Afternoon Play: Mischief (1925) by Ben Travers (1886-1980) adapted by Peter King
Don't neglect your wife.
Music composed and played by Ed Welch (piano) with Ron Aspery
Directed by Peter King.
Reggy: Freddie Jones
Elly: Melinda Walker
Henry: Ian Lavender
Diana: Penelope Wilton
Louise: Anne Jameson
Willy: Richard Vernon
Algy: Brett Usher
Mrs Easy: Elizabeth Bell
Berty: Trevor Nichols
Rector: Peter Howell
Mr Hole: George Parsons
Muriel: Alex Marshall
Miss Frisby: Sheila Grant
The Henley Set: Natasha Pyne
Jennifer Piercey: Francis Middleditch
Repeated 31st August 1987
[Winner of the 1987 Sony Radio Award for Best Drama Production]
15th November 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Blue Moves by Mark Brennan
The search for a girl after a one night affair.
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester.
John Valentine: Christopher Ravenscroft
Lise: Elizabeth Rider
Ford: Alan MacNaughtan
Sarah, the girl: Joan Walker
Amis: Malcolm Raeburn
Sarah Valentine: Jenny Funnell
Pomo actor/Policeman: Howard Ward
Repeated 17th November 1986
16th November 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: One Thing More or Caedmon Construed by Christopher Fry (1907-2005)
Written for Chelmsford Cathedral and for radio.
7th century poet Caedmon.
Music composed and arranged by Graham Elliott
Singers: Mia Soteriou and the Choirs of Chelmsford Cathedral and The New Hall Convent
Harp: Imogen Barford
Directed by Michael Bakewell and Jane Morgan.
Caedmon: Terrence Hardiman
the Venerable Bede: Bernard Hepton
the Abbess Hilda: Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Joddy/Prior: Sylvester Morand
Kern/Precentor: George Raistrick
Widow Win: Fanny Carby
Overman: Norman Jones
Novice nun/Girl: Geraldine Alexander
Person in dream: Stephen Thorne
Young Man/Monk: Terence Budd
Also With David Goodland, Paul Gregory, Peter Howell, Shaun Prendergast, Tim Reynolds and Jonathan Tafler
Repeated 23rd August 1987
[Typescript with handwritten notes by the author held by the V&A, London- NB the V&A have closed the department until 2024.]
16th November 1986
19.00:
Pendennis (1848-1850) by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) dramatised by Peter Buckman
4 of 8: Pen needs an income.
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
the writer: Hugh Dickson
Arthur Pendennis: Dominic Guard
Warrington: Crawford Logan
Harry Foker: John McAndrew
Maj Pendennis: Edward de Souza
Capt Costigan/Mr Bacon: Ronald Herdman
Morgan: Gordon Reid
Bows: Danny Schiller
Capt Shandon: Sean Barrett
Lady Clavering: Avril Clark
Blanche Amory/Mary: Karen Ascoe
Doolan: Tony Clarkin
Mrs Shandon: Sheila Grant
Mr Bungay: Tim Reynolds
Mrs Bungay: Pauline Letts
Percy Popjoy/Porter: Andrew Branch
Wagg/Cutts: Eric Stovell
Actors in later episodes- please refer to the date of first broadcast of that episode.
Ep1:26/10/86 Ep5:23/11/86 Ep6:30/11/86 Ep7:7/12/86 Ep8:14/12/86
All 1986 episodes were repeated after five days.
17th November 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Scenes from an Execution by Howard Barker
The State commissions an artist to celebrate a victory, but the artist is not sympathetic.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Galactia: Glenda Jackson
the Doge of Venice: Freddie Jones
Carpeta: Clive Merrison
the Admiral Suffici: Clifford Rose
the Cardinal Ostensile: Peter Howell
Gina Rivera: Darlene Johnson
The Sketchbook: Brett Usher
Prodo: Davld Sinclair
Supporta: Elizabeth Rider
Dementia: Helena Breck
Sordo: Anthony Hall
Official: Peter Acre
Lasagna: Mark Straker
Pistaccio: Brett Usher
First sailor: Anthony Hall
Second sailor: Mark Straker
Third sailor: David Sinclair
Man in next cell: Jon Strickland
(First broadcast on Radio 3 on 14th October 1984, repeated on 1st May 1985, 9th October 1985)
(Winner of the 1985 Prix Italia for the Best Drama)
18th November 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Positive Approach by Louise Spencer
Will a computer-dating agency find someone you even like?
Directed by Glyn Dearman
Sally: Wendy Morgan
Shirley: Avril Clark
Angela: Jennifer Piercey
Gail: Jill Lidstone
Colin: David Learner
Mike: Michael Maloney
Trevor: Trevor Nichols
Alistair: Stuart Organ
Repeated 19th November 1986, 2nd April 1988
18th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Fairy-feller's Master-stroke by Mick Mangan
1986: A young girl is becoming unhappy with her father and is attracted to pictures by an artist who killed his father in 1843.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
the artist, Richard Dadd: Patrick Troughton
Judith Anderson: Sara Mair-Thomas
Mrs Anderson: Vicky Ireland
Alison: Karen Ascoe
Art teacher: Natasha Pyne
Mr Marshall: Stuart Organ
Mr Anderson: Geoffrey Beevers
Schoolboy: James Goode
[The unfinished painting "The Fairy-feller's Master-stroke" by Richard Dadd (1819-1887) is at the Tate in London; there is also a watercolour version in Cambridge]
19th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Frog Princess by Anne Goring
A Princess - bewitched as a baby- is transported to an industrial city.
Directed by Matthew Walters
Wicked godmother: Pauline Letts
Brenda: Patricia Routledge
Mrs Stansfield: Constance Chapman
the Narrator: Nicholas McArdle
Cora Cutthroat: Deborah Makepeace
Charles: Brian Hewlett
Repeated 26th August 1987
20th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Gresford Chickens by Alison Leonard
Forgiving a beaten enemy may be difficult.
Directed by Adrian Mourby
BBC Wales.
Maria: Pauline Letts
Gabi: Christine Pritchard
Owain: Ioan Meredith
Philip: Ian Saynor
22nd November 1986
14.00:
The Afternoon Play: A Cuckoo in the Nest (1925) by Ben Travers (1886-1980) adapted by Peter King
In 1925, a landlady puts a couple into the same room by mistake.
Music composed and played by Ed Welch (piano) with Ron Aspery
Directed by Peter King.
Mrs Bone: Joan Hickson
Major George Bone: Freddie Jones
Peter Wykeham: Ian Lavender
Margaret Hickett: Phoebe Nicholls
Mrs Spoker: Margaret Tyzack
Barbara: Yvonne Antrobus
Hickett: Brett Usher
The Rev Sloley Jones: Ellis Dale
George: James Kerry
Alfred: Henry Stamper
Noony: Timothy Bateson
Gladys: Alex Marshall
Garage: James Bryce
Newsagent: Maggie McCarthy
Pansy, the dog: Percy Edwards
First broadcast 25th December 1983
Repeated 4th March 1984, 26th April 1992
Also broadcast in R4X in 2020
22nd November 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: On Approval by Frederick Lonsdale
How do two ladies decide if their romantic interests are suitable partners?
Directed by David Johnston
Maria Wislack: Dulcie Gray
George, Duke of Bristol: Michael Denison
Helen Hayle: Jill Bennett
Richard Halton: Francis Matthews
Repeated 24th November 1986
[There were many productions of this play on radio and television].
23rd November 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: On May Day by Paul Copley
A large radioactive cloud is drifting over Europe and it is proving difficult to contact a spouse.
Directed by Ned Chaillet.
Nancy: Natasha Pyne
Tom: Christopher Fairbank
Marta: Janis Winters
Eric: Bryan Pringle
Janek: Garard Green
Young Janek: Daniel Kodicek
Oleg: Wayne Howard
Pawel: Peter Howell
Zofia: Deborah Makepeace
Newsreader: Paul Gregory
Young soldier: Kim Wall
Also with: David Goodland, Stephen Hattersley , James Goode and Theresa Streatfeild.
Also repeated as "On Mayday" (one word) on 29th April 1996 and also broadcast on BBC7 on 8th May 2007
[The author was in the Soviet Union at the time of the Chernobyl disaster]
[This is the only credit on BBC Programme Index for Daniel Kodicek]
23rd November 1986
19.00:
Pendennis (1848-1850) by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) dramatised by Peter Buckman
5 of 8.
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
the writer: Hugh Dickson
Arthur Pendennis: Dominic Guard
Lady Clavering: Avril Clark
Blanche Amory/Mary: Karen Ascoe
Harry Foker: John McAndrew
Maj Pendennis: Edward de Souza
Sir Francis Clavering: Richard Durden
Capt Strong: John Church
Col Altamont: George Parsons
Lady Foker: Rachel Gurney
Mrs Bolton: Jennifer Piercey
Lady Ann/Fanny Bolton: Elaine Claxton
George Warrington: Crawford Logan
Emily Costigan: Veronica Quilligan
Capt Costigan/Footman: Ronald Herdman
Bows: Danny Schiller
Sam Huxter: Stuart Organ
Actors in later episodes- please refer to the date of first broadcast.
Ep1:26/10/86 Ep6:30/11/86 Ep7:7/12/86 Ep8:14/12/86
All 1986 episodes were repeated after five days.
24th November 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play (1982): Fly Away Home by William Humble
Directed by Peter King.
Tim: Hywel Bennett
Anna: Stephanie Turner
Robbie: Trevor Nichols
Andy: Simon Williams
Matthew: Thomas King
Repeated 3rd January 1987
25th November 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Runaway by Pat Davis
How to convince your wife to return home after she has left.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
George: Peter Baldwin
Beth: Frances Jeater
Melanie: Avril Clark
Gerald: Colin Starkey
Repeated 26th November 1986
25th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Power Play by Dorothy Gharbaoui
The struggle for independance in work, marriage and family.
Directed by Jeremy Howe
BBC Northern Ireland
Philippa Barr: Linda Wray
Hal Barr: Eoin O'Callaghan
Ted Barr: Michael Deacon
Stephen Patterson/Waiter: Allan McClelland
Lesley: Aingealgrehan
Jim Arnott/Police sgt: B J Hogg
George Maxwell: Aiden Grennell
Sally Whitten: Roma Tomelty
Ruby: Ann Forsythe
26th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: London Belongs to Me by Norman Collins (1907-1982), dramatised by Colin Davis
The ups and downs of a household in the London of 1938.
1 of 4: An Old-fashioned Christmas
Directed by Enyd Williams .
Mr Josser: Norman Bird
Mrs Josser: Liz Smith
Mrs Vizzard: Kate Williams
Connie: Peggy Aitchison
Mrs Boon: Charlotte Mitchell
Percy Boon: Jim McManus
Doris Josser: Rosalind Ayres
Ted Josser: George Parsons
Cynthia Josser: Natasha Pyne
Uncle Henry: Gordon Gostelow
Doreen: June Barry
Mr Squaies: Gordon Reid
Blonde: Annejameson
Storyteller/Bill: Robert Daws
Additional actors in later parts:
Mrs Jan Byl: Pauline Letts(2)
Mr Barks: Peter Woodthorpe(3)
Monty: Brian Smith(3)
Inspector: Graham Blockey(3)
Mrs Marble: Anne Jameson(4)
Mr Veritter: Garard Green(4)
St Peter: John Church(4)
Prosecuting Counsel: David Garth(4)
Part2:3/12/86 Part3:10/12/86 Part4:17/12/86
(First broadcast on BBC World Service)
[There was an earlier production in 8 parts by Martyn C Webster of an adaption by Howard Agg in 1957 on the BBC Home and Light services. Also a 1948 film and an ITV series...]
27th November 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: A Pebble's Rattle by Jane Beeson
A study of the friendship between two women in their 40s.
Directed by Cherry Cookson
Min: Ann Bell
Julia: Rosemary Martin
Gabe: George Roth
Anna: Eva Haddon
Simon: David Goodland
Voices: Susie Brann, Tim Reynolds, Stephen Hattersley
29th November 1986
14.00:
The Afternoon Play: Rookery Nook (1923) by Ben Travers (1886-1980) adapted by Peter King
A newly married man leaves his wife caring for his mother-in-law while he goes to stay with his sister-in-law.
Music composed and played by Ed Welch (piano) with Ron Aspery
Directed by Peter King.
Gerald Popkiss: Ian Lavender
Clive Popkiss: Brett Usher
Gertrude Twine: Anne Jameson
Harold Twine: John Grillo
Mrs Leverett: Elizabeth Bell
Putz: Carl Duering
Conrad the dog: Percy Edwards
Clara Popkiss: Helena Breck
Rhoda Marley: Melinda Walker
Poppy Dickey: Jenny Funnell
Chumpton villager: David Garth
Rector: Colin Starkey
Baby: Thomas King
Repeated from 24th and 26th August 1985
Also broadcast on BBC R4X in 2020
29th November 1986
19.00:
Jeppe of the Hill (1722) by Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754) freely adapted by Hector Macmillan (1929-2018) from the translation by Oscar James Campbell (1879-1970)
The peasant wakes up in the bed of the Baron.
Music by Robert Pettigrew and Robert Handleigh
Directed by Stewart Conn
BBC Scotland.
Jeppe: John Shedden
Nille, his wife: Maureen Beattie
Widow Shoemaker: Anne Downie
Baron Nilus: David McKail
Factor: Derek Anders
Secretary: Ralph Riach
Valet: Michael MacCallum
Senior doctor: James Cairncross
Junior doctor: James MacPherson
Repeated 1st December 1986
[Originally a play written in Danish as "Jeppe paa Bjerget"]
30th November 1986
14.30:
Scottish Drama: Fancy You Minding That by Liz Lochhead
Three generations of women recall men in their lives.
Song composed and sung by Angie Rew
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
BBC Scotland
Valerie: Phyllis Logan
Ina: Jennifer Piercey
Kate: Catherine Clarke
Museum attendant: Ann Scott Jones
Anna: Melinda Walker
Claudette: Vivienne Rochester
30th November 1986
19.00:
Pendennis (1848-1850) by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) dramatised by Peter Buckman
6 of 8: A trip to the Continent
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
the Writer: Hugh Dickson
Arthur Pendennis: Dominic Guard
Major Pendennis: Edward de Souza
Sam Huxter: Stuart Organ
Laura Bell: Deborah Makepeace
Helen Pendennis: Jennifer Piercey
Dr Portman: Manning Wilson
Capt Costigan: Ronald Herdman
Morgan: Gordon Reid
Bows: Danny Schiller
Fanny Bolton: Elaine Claxton
Dr Goodenough: Eric Stovell
George Warrington: Crawford Logan
Actors in later episodes- please refer to the date of first broadcast.
Ep1:26/10/86 Ep7:7/12/86 Ep8:14/12/86
All 1986 episodes were repeated after five days.
30th November 1986
21.00
A Matter of Honour (1986) by Jeffrey Archer dramatised by Brian Sibley
4 of 7: Geneva - 16 June 1966
Directed By: Glyn Dearman.
Adam Scott: Michael York
Alexander Romanov: Simon Ward
Lawrence Pemberton: Tom Chadbon
Sir Morris: Richard Vernon
Bush: Harry Towb
Snell: William Fox
Matthews: Brian Hewlett
Valchek: Sean Barrett
Zaborski: John Church
Robin: Jane Leonard
Dean Rusk: Ed Bishop
Brunweld: Don Fellows
Also with Richard Durden, Stuart Organ, and Shaun Pendergast
Additional actors in later episodes:
President Johnson: Bruce Boa(5)
Jim: Tim Reynolds(5)
Betty: Jennifer Piercey(5)
Linda: Karen Ascoe(5)
Banks: Eric Stovell(5)
Piers: James Goode(5)
Stavinsky: Cyril Shaps(6)
Jeanne: Lesley MacKie(6)
Albert Tomkins: Ronald Herdman(6)
Brezhnev: Czeslaw Grocholski(6)
Russian radio announcer: John Hollis(6)
also with Andrew Branch, Avril Clark, George Parsons and Edward De Souza
For actors in episode 7 please see 21st December 1986 below.
Ep1:9/11/86 Ep5:7/12/86 Ep6:14/12/86 Ep7:21/12/86
All 1986 episodes repeated three days later.
1st December 1986
20.15:
Scottish Drama: City Whitelight by John McKenzie
No one ever leaves Centrum.
Directed by Patrick Rayner
BBC Scotland.
Jackie Whitelight: John McGlynn
Harry Two-Tone: Finlay Welsh
Potion-maker: Tom Watson
Gisler: Gerard Slevin
Meg: Jan Wilson
Hector: Finlay McLean
Sarah: Anne Lannan
Grinweasel: Michael Elder
Repeated 6th December 1986
2nd December 1986
11.00-11.33:
Scottish Drama: Three Score and Ten, Sir by Jessie Kesson (1916-1994)
Life can change rapidly when you are old.
Piano: Neil McArthur
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
BBC Scotland
Marj Tildsley: Mary Wimbush
Min: Jane Wenham
Brenda: Maggie McCarthy
Terry: John Hollis
Andrea: Elaine Claxton
Nan Coulson: Helena McCarthy
Miss Bartlett: Isabel Dean
Miss Ellison: Natasha Pyne
Sarah: Jennifer Piercey
Repeated 3rd December 1986
["Jessie scrievit brawly in English an in Scots, her novels, radio plays an poetry are braidly a testimony tae her earlier life." (Jessie was a fine writer in English and in Scots, her novels, radio plays and poetry are largely a testimony of her earlier life. )]
2nd December 1986
15.00:
Scottish Drama: Last Night by Robert Forrest
The fool is given high office. The dreadful hour is near. The slates of your roof shaken loose by helicopters.
Directed by Patrick Rayner
BBC Scotland.
Ian: David Ashton
Sally: Stella Forge
Tim: David McKail
Wull: Callum Mill
Marion: Ann Scott-Jones
Matthew: Benny Young
4th December 1986
15.00: Scottish Drama: Better to Break Your Neck by Colin Douglas (pseudonym of Colin T Currie)
The operation is routine, but a failure to deal with pain and distress is not helpful.
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
BBC Scotland
Agnes Macinnes: Edith MacArthur
the BBC announcer: Bill Jack
Willie: John Shedden
Consultant: Paul Young
Registrar: Jimmy Chisholm
Dr Patel: Brasker
Student nurse: Sharon Maharaj
Gasman: Iain Agnew
Ward sister/Nurse: Juliet Cadzow
Ward sister: Terry Cavers
Staff nurse/Young Agnes: Eliza Langland
Social worker/Nurse: Alison Peebles
Auxiliary/Patient: Ann Scott Jones
Medical registrar: Alexander Morton
Old Mrs Aithie: Gwyneth Guthrie
Operating theatre nurse: Grace Glover
Repeated 28th June 1987
[Colin graduated in medicine and most of his stories deal with medical issues]
6th December 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Buried Alive by Jeremy Thomas
1876, Alfred Nobel has a new housekeeper who slowly changes the direction of his work.
Directed by Matthew Walters
Bertha von Suttner (1843-1914): Nicola Pagett
Alfred Nobel: George Parsons
Auguste: John Grillo
Claudette: Janet Rawson
Luise: Deborah Makepeace
Mme Adam: Rachel Gurney
Government official: David Goodland
Sophie: Susie Brann
Old baroness: Pauline Letts
Repeated 8th December 1986
7th December 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Neverland by Frances Gray
Awaiting the results of an amniocentesis test.
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
BBC Scotland.
Lesley: Lynn Farleigh
Nick: Paul Copley
Denny: Magge McCarthy
Julia/Wendy: Hetty Baynes
Mother: Pauline Letts
Student: Elaine Claxton
Sister: Gwen Cherrell
Pregnant girl: Avril Clark
Proud dad: Jamie Roberts
Doctor: Michael Adley
(Joint winner of the 1985 RADIO TIMES Drama Award)
7th December 1986
19.00:
Pendennis (1848-1850) by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) dramatised by Peter Buckman
7 of 8: The prospect of a career at Westminster
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
the Writer: Hugh Dickson
Arthur Pendennis: Dominic Guard
Major Pendennis: Edward De Souza
Laura Bell: Deborah Makepeace
Fanny Bolton: Elaine Claxton
Sam Huxter: Stuart Organ
Blanche Amory: Karen Ascoe
Lady Clavering: Avril Clark
Frank Clavering: Shaun Prendergast
Capt Strong: John Church
Mrs Bonner: Sheila Grant
Sir Francis Clavering: Richard Durden
Col Altamont: George Parsons
George Warrington: Crawford Logan
Morgan: Gordon Reid
Actors in later episodes- please refer to the date of first broadcast.
Ep1:26/10/86 Ep8:14/12/86
All 1986 episodes were repeated after five days.
8th December 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Mock Manoeuvres by David Mairowitz
Soldiers playing war games in a village come up against a housewife.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Odile Blanchard: Judy Loe
Jean-Francois Blanchard: Clive Merrison
Monsieur D'Arlon: Geoffrey Matthews
Colonel Mathieu: Brett Usher
Monsieur Blanc: Alan Dudley
Corporal Pithier: Eric Stovell
Mme Blanc: Sheila Grant
Mme Meunier: Avril Clark
Mme Columbin: Rachel Gurney
Lt Moran/Soldier: Kim Wall
Accordionist/Soldier: James Goode
Repeated 13th December 1986
[David Mairowitz was a founding editor for the "underground" newspaper "It"]
9th December 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: The Interview by Edward Mason
The school calls in an educational psychiatrist to help a pupil.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
Danny: Alan Cox
the Psychiatrist: Jennifer Piercey
McRee: Gil Sutherland
Stevens: Richard Durden
Boy soldier: Shaun Prendergast
Headmaster: Brian Hewlett
Sam/Choirmaster: John Hollis
Repeated 10th December 1986
9th December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: It's Never Too Late by Jack Gerson (1928-2012)
Middle age and a new partner.
Directed by Peter King
George: Robert Urquhart
Ellen: Gwen Watford
Wilkinson: Jake Wood
Alan: Martin Cochrane
Susie: Natasha Gerson
Iris: Deborah Makepeace
Mrs Cork: Alex Marshall
Mrs Cohen: Sheila Grant
First Lady: Karen Ascoe
Salesman: Eric Stovell
Minister: Richard Durden
11th December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Shout (1929) by Robert Graves (1895-1985) dramatised by Martyn Wade
Radiophonic sounds and music by Roger Limb of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
A man tells of his power to split souls by shouting.
Directed By: Cherry Cookson
Crossley: David Suchet
Richard: Nigel Anthony
Rachel: Janet Maw
David: Geoffrey Beevers
George/Mr Austin: William Eedle
Susan: Deborah Makepeace
Mary: Natasha Pyne
Pauline: Elaine Claxton
Mother: Avril Clark
Cricket Captain: Stuart Organ
Player: Stephen Hattersley
BBC Radio announcer: Peter Donaldson
Repeated 23rd October 1987
13th December 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: Billy Bunter's Christmas Party (1952) by Frank Richards (1876-1961) dramatised by Rob Gittins
The Famous Five spend Christmas with Bunter at Tankerton Hall.
Directed by Adrian Mourby
BBC Wales.
William George Bunter: Hugh Thomas
Bessie: Erica Eirian
Bob Cherry: David Parfttt
Harry Wharton: Simon Hewitt
Quelch/Brown: Philip Bond
Uncle Carter: Ivor Roberts
Squiff: Lee Galpin
Nugent: Paul Wilce
Bull/Smith: Spencer Banks
Hurree Singh: Sam Dastor
Hubert/Mauly: Cornelius Garrett
Repeated 15th December 1986
[This was the fifth book about Bunter and the play was shown on tv in 1952 produced by Joy Harrington]
14th December 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: A Meeting of Minds by Christopher Reason
There are always those who will snigger and sneer.
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Manchester.
Henry: Malcolm Hebden
Maisie: Brigit Forsyth
Jenny: Jane Hazlegrove
James: Chris Larner
Mr Armitage: Anthony Benson
Edie: Eileen O'Brien
Waiter: Christopher Reason
14th December 1986
26th October 1986
19.00:
Pendennis (1848-1850) by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) dramatised by Peter Buckman
8 of 8: Who will become Pen's wife?
Directed by Peter Kavanagh.
the Writer: Hugh Dickson
Arthur Pendennis: Dominic Guard
Major Pendennis: Edward De Souza
Laura Bell: Deborah Makepeace
Lady Rockminster: Rachel Gurney
Morgan: Gordon Reid
Mrs Brixham: Sheila Grant
George Warrington: Crawford Logan
Blanche Amory: Karen Ascoe
Sam Huxter: Stuart Organ
Bows: Danny Schiller
Harry Foker: John McAndrew
Ep1:26/10/86
All 1986 episodes were repeated after five days.
14th December 1986
22.15-23.00:
Clara by Jenyth Worsley
Clara Schumann: 1819-96.
Piano: Marlene Fleet
Producers Vanessa Whitburn and Jillian White
Clara Schumann: Moir Leslie
Robert Schumann: Peter Harlowe
Frederich Wieck: John Church
Johannes Brahms: Tony Turner
Emilie: Patricia Gallimore
Henriette: Hedli Niklaus
Customs official: Cordon Reid
Hauptmann: Richard Durden
Repeated 30th December 1986, 3rd February 1987
15th December 1986
20.15:
The Monday Play: Henry and the Dogs by David Caute
Henry is a complainer.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Henry/Quirk: Richard Kane
Gary: John McAndrew
Sally: Frances Jeater
Dr Jones/Councillor Blood: John Church
Sidney Silver: John Hollis
Salt: David Goodland
Dr Bradley: Rachel Gurney
Mike Maloney/Director: Stephen Hattersley
Council Chairman/Gary's father: Paul Gregory
Wellington Watts: Frank Singuineau
Joe/Statistician/Ted: Kim Wall
Gerald: George Parsons
Rodney Lightfoot: Stuart Organ
Low Heals: Natasha Pyne
High Heals: Avril Clark
Sister/Gary's mother: Sheila Grant
Receptionist/Nurse/Women: Susie Brann
Repeated 20th December 1986
16th December 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Seven Ten Sunday Morning by Keith Wood
Alone in a bedsit, another day of dreams.
Directed by A. J. Quinn.
the young man: Lee Whitlock
Repeated 17th December 1986
16th December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Making of Frankenstein by Ray Hammond
Bill has written a dramatised documentary about Mary Shelley. The finished tv program may differ from his ideas.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol.
Bill: Christian Rodska
Rupert: Norman Eshley
Kate: Natasha Pyne
Lloyd-Jones: Richard Durden
Sue/Ginny: Deborah Makepeace
Agent/Tom: Elizabeth Lindsay
Cameraman: Paul Gregory
Soundman: David Goodland
Production manager: Shaun Prendergast
Shelley: Stephen Hattersley
Also with Steven Harrold
[Related book "The Modern Frankenstein- Fiction Becomes Fact" by Ray Hammond, 1986, incorporating genetics and robotics. The radio play relates to Hammond's 1986 tv programme in the "Everyman" series, "The True Story of Frankenstein"- which had no writer credit in Radio Times. The TV program credited Hammond only as "Script Consultant".]
18th December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Gingerbread House by Ken Whitmore
Step mother does not believe that children should shelter in Four Acre Wood.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester.
Richard: Nigel Anthony
Cynthia: Bonnie Hurren
Harry: Judy Bennett
Kate: Bernadette Windsor
[1986 Giles Cooper award winner]
20th December 1986
19.00:
Saturday-Night Theatre: The Latin Lover by Christopher Denys
Oldham, wartime, and domestic peace is under threat when enemy prisoners of war arrive in the town.
Directed by Tony Cuff
BBC Manchester.
Rachel: Lisa Bowerman
Mrs Chadwick: Judith Barker
Elsie: Clare Kinsale
Dora: Julie Corrigan
Jimmy: Colin Meredith
Henry: John Branwell
Mario: Howard Ward
Parson James: Christopher Ravenscroft
Mrs James: Linda Gardner
Bishop: Simon Carter
Donald: Martin Greenwood
Ronnie: Nlall O'Brien
Billy: Lee Millward
Muriel: Jenny Luckcraft
Doreen: Anna-Jane Casey
Repeated 22nd December 1986
21st December 1986
14.30:
The Afternoon Play: Get Santa by Peter Gibbs
Two businessmen decide to get - Santa Claus.
Directed by John Tydeman
Osborne: Dinsdale Landen
Ron Grist: Barry Morse
Gil Maddocks: John Bluthal
Falklander: John Church
Prof Lungkvist: Ronald Herdman
Mester: Peter Woodthorpe
Ingar: Anne Jameson
Desmond: David Learner
Repeated from 19th December 1985
Also broadcast on R4X in 2020
[No connection with the 2014 film of the same name]
21st December 1986
21.00:
A Matter of Honour (1986) by Jeffrey Archer dramatised by Brian Sibley
7 of 7: Northern France - 19 June 1966.
Directed By: Glyn Dearman.
Adam Scott: Michael York
Alexander: Simon Ward
Lawrence Pemberton: Tom Chadbon
Sir Morris: Richard Vernon
Busch: Harry Towb
Snell: William Fox
Matthews: Brian Hewlett
Poskonov: Vladek Sheybal
Bischoff: David March
Robin: Jane Leonard
Tomkins: Ronald Herdman
Russian ambassador: Harold Kasket
Auctioneer: Jeffrey Archer
Also with Andrew Branch, Elaine Claxton, James Goode, Stuart Organ, Jonathan Tafler, and Manning Wilson
Repeated 24th December 1986.
For episode one please see 9th November 1986 above.
22nd December 1986
19.45:
The Monday Play: The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904) by G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) dramatised by Peter Buckman
A vision of London 80 years after the year the play was written. It is Auberon's turn to be King.
Producer Eric Stovell
Directed by Richard Imison.
G K Chesterton: Roger Hammond
Auberon Quin: David Collings
Wilfred Lambert: Kim Wall
James Barker: Stephen Hattersley
President del Fuego: Manning Wilson
Policeman/Mr Wilson: Stuart Organ
a boy Adam Wayne,: Alexander Goodman
Adam Wayne: Paul McGann
Mr Buck: Aubrey Woods
Mr Mead: Paul Gregory
Mr Bowles: Brian Hewlett
Mr Turnbull: Gordon Reid
Repeated in two parts 27/7/90 and 3/8/90.
[In 1931 the BBC broadcast a production of this play adapted by John Watt and produced by Howard Rose]
[In Japan the book was published as "Chesterton's 1984"]
23rd December 1986
11.00:
Thirty-Minute Theatre: Teddy Bear's Picnic by Paul King
Two robot toys seek dominance in the playroom.
Directed by John Tydeman .
Teddy: Norman Rodway
James: Susan Sheridan
His mother: Ellen McIntosh
Tran, a robot: Bob Sherman
LCD, another robot: Robin Summers
Action man: John Webb
Repeated from 18th December 1984
23rd December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: And There Were in the Same Country by David Bannister
Parents put on a Christmas school play.
Pianos: Stephen Hancock and Anne Vernon
Directed by Peter Windows
BBC Pebble Mill.
Schoolgirl reader: Romy Tennant
Beth: Hedli Niklaus
Ian: Richard Derrington
Anne: Patricia Gallimore
Ben: Terry Molloy
Rowena: Jayne Dowell
Miles: Stephen Hancock
Mrs Green: Jane Frost
Jeremy: Brett Usher
Doris: Penelope Lee
Hugh: Roger Hume
Sue: Charlotte Martin
Maggie: Heather Barrett
Michael: Paul Gregory
[David Bannister is T D Webster who was a teacher / headmaster]
24th December 1986
19.30:
Murder for Christmas: Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938) by Agatha Christie (1890-1976) dramatised by Michael Bakewell
A Christmas family gathering has a fatal result: Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood.
Directed by Enyd Williams .
Hercule Poirot: Peter Sallis
Col Johnson: Manning Wilson
Supt Sugden: Edward de Souza
Simeon Lee: Cyril Luckham
Alfred Lee: Richard Durden
Lydia Lee: Rachel Gurney
George Lee: Gordon Reid
Magdalene Lee: Avrll Clark
David Lee: George Parsons
Hilda Lee: Sheila Grant
Harry Lee: Nicky Henson
Stephen Farr: James Goode
Pilar Estravados: Deborah Makepeace
Tressilian, the butler: Deryck Guyler
Horbury, the manservant: Stuart Organ
Willie, the footman: David Goodland
Repeated 27th December 1990
Also broadcast on BBC R7 in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2015
[This was the 24th in the Poirot written series]
[This play is a spoiler if you haven't read/heard "Three Act Tragedy" broadcast on R4 in 2002 and on BBC7 in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009]
25th December 1986
11.00:
Emma (1815) by Jane Austen (1775-1817) dramatised by John Tydeman
1 of 6
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
Emma: Angharad Rees
Mr Knightley: Alan Moore
Jane Austen: Jean Trend
Mr Woodhouse: Peter Tuddenham
Miss Bates: Constance Chapman
Frank Churchill: Graham Callan
Jane Fairfax: Deborah Paige
Harriet Smith: Juliet Waley
Mrs Weston: Ingrid Hafner
Mr Weston: Edward Cast
John Knightley: Tim Meats
Isabella: Margo Gunn
Mr Elton: Michael Drew
Mrs Elton: Maev Alexander
Mrs Cole: Elizabeth Havelock
Part2:26/12/86 Part3:27/12/86 Part4:28/12/86 Part5:29/12/86 Part6:30/12/86
Repeated from 1983 when the first episode was broadcast 13/2/83, repeated 18/2/83.
[This was the fourth novel by Jane Austin]
[There was an earlier version in 1970 produced by John Tydeman]
[Maev is the actress real name, correct spelling]
25th December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: French Without Tears (1936) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)
1936: A group of men are trying to learn French
Directed by Gerry Jones.
Kenneth Lake: Andrew Branch
Brian Curtis: Peter Wickham
The Hon Alan Howard: Neville Jason
Marianne: Susie Brann
M. Maingot: Manning Wilson
Lieut-Com Rogers: Geoffrey Beevers
Diana Lake: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Kit Neilan: Peter Sowerbutts
Jacqueline Maingot: Rosalind Ayres
Lord Heybrook: Dan Hawcreb
Repeated 14th May 1989, 20th July 1992
25th December 1986:
18.30-19.00:
Paul Temple and the Conrad Case by Francis Durbridge (1912-1998)
Paul Temple is invited by the German police to help trace Dr Conrad's daughter....
1 of 8: The Man from Munich
Producer Enyd Williams
Directed by Martyn C. Webster
Charlie: James Beattie
Sir Graham Forbes: Richard Williams
Herr Breckshaft: Jeffrey Segal
Mrs Weldon: Virginia Winter
June: June Tobin
Gerda: Hilda Schroder
Madame Klein: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
Denis Harper: John Bryning
Elliot France: James Thomason
Elsa, Countess Dekker: Joan Matheson
Dr Conrad: Rolf Lefebvre
Joyce Gunter: Dorothy Smith
Fritz Gunter: George Hagan
Capt Williams: John Bennett
Insp Vosper: Hugh Manning
Insp Digby: Peter Wilde
Paddy: John Hollis
Betty: Jane Jordan Rogers
Also with Jonathan Scott, James Thomas, John Graham, Judy Bailey, John Cazabon, Beatrice Ormonde, Frederick Treves, Ronald Baddiley, John Bodington, Frank Partington, Peggy Gow and Sheila Grant
Ep2:26/12/86 Ep3:27/12/86 Ep4:28/12/86 Ep5:29/12/86 Ep6:30/12/86 Ep7:31/12/86 Ep8:1/1/87
(First broadcast on BBC Light Programme in 1959)
Repeated on BBC R7 in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009
25th December 1986
19.30:
Murder for Christmas: The Nine Tailors (1934) by Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957) dramatised by Michelene Wandor
Lord Peter learns of the theft of the Wilbraham emeralds.
Bells Of Beverley Minster rung by the Beverley and District Bell Ringers Association
Directed by Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Pebble Mill
Lord Peter Wimsey: Gary Bond
Fr Venables: Jeffery Dench
Supt Blundell: Terry Molloy
Tailor: Mary Wimbush
Batty Thomas: Paul Hedli Niklaus
Will Thoday/Harry Gotobed: Peter Tuddenham
Mary Thoday: Elizabeth Proud
James Thoday/Jack Godfrey: Andrew Branch
Mrs Venables: Joyce Gibbs
Hilary Thorpe/Emily: Moir Leslie
Bunter: William Eedle
Cranton: Edwin Richfield
Dr Baines/Potty Peake: David Learner
Coroner/Edward Thorpe/Monsieur Rozier: Gordon Reid
Suzanne Legros/Mrs Coppins: Patricia Gallimore
Deacon/Ezra Wilderspin: Graham Padden
PC Priest/Arthur Cobbliegh: Manning Wilson
Mrs Gates/Mrs Tebbutt: Shirley Stelfox
Repeated 29th August 1987
[This story was the ninth Wimsey novel]
25th December 1986
23.30-00.00:
Project Santa Claus by Steve Punt
A Civil Servant stumbles on an Official Secret
Producer David Tyler.
Michael Downhill: Tony Slattery
Beryl Downhill: Joan Sims
Mr Claygate: David Tate
James: Hugh Dennis
26th December 1986
15.00-17.00:
The Afternoon Play: Peter Pan (1904) by J. M. Barrie(1860-1937). Adapted by Glyn Dearman.
Music by John Crook arranged by Chris Walker
BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Chris Walker
Directed by Glyn Dearman.
Mr Darling/Capt Hook: Robert Lang
Mrs Darling: Joanna David
Peter Pan: Graham McGrath
Wendy Darling: Lucinda Bateson
J M Barrie: Alec McCowen
Nana(a dog): Leonard Fenton
John Darling: James Trevelyan
Michael Darling: Alistair White
Liza/Tiger Lily: Natasha Pyne
Smee: Ronald Herdman
Cecco: John Church
Bill Jukes: Stuart Organ
Cookson: Stephen Hattersley
Starkey: Edward de Souza
Skylights: Manning Wilson
Mullins: Gordon Reid
Noodler: Eric Stovell
Slightly: Wayne Phelan
Curly: Daniel Steel
Nibs: Craig Coughlin
First twin: Nigel Harman
Second twin: David Dawson
Tootles: Spencer Wilton
Repeated 25th December 1987, 25th December 1990
26th December 1986
19.30:
Murder for Christmas: The Valley of Fear (1914) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) dramatised by Roy Apps
1889, Birlstone Manor in Sussex ..
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
Sherlock Holmes: Tim Pigott-Smith
Dr Watson: Andrew Hilton
Douglas: James Aubrey
McGinty: Lee Montague
Insp MacDonald: Bob Docherty
Mrs Hudson: Val Lorraine
White Mason: Edward de Souza
Constable: Jared Morgan
Barker/Marvin: Trevor Nichols
Mrs Douglas: Natasha Pyne
Baldwin: Andrew Branch
Morris: Ronald Herdman
Ettie: Adeen Fogle
Shafter: John Church
Also with Tom Karol, Jared Morgan
[There was a 1960 production by Michael Hardwick repeated 1961 and 1968, and a 1997 production dramatised by Bert Coules repeated in 1998 and on R7 in 2007 and 2020]
27th December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Winslow Boy (1946) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977). Adapted by Ian Cotterell.
A father fights to prove the innocence of his son.
Directed by Ian Cotterell
Arthur Winslow: Michael Aldridge
Catherine Winslow: Sarah Badel
Grace Winslow: Pauline Letts
Ronnie Winslow: John McAndrew
Sir Robert Morton: Aubrey Woods
Violet: Peggy Paige
Dickie Winslow: Michael Maloney
John Watherstone: David Timson
Desmond Curry: Michael Spice
Miss Barnes: Margaret Robertson
First Lord of the Admiralty: Patrick Barr
Mrs Beggs: Gladys Spencer
Attorney-general: Nicholas Courtney
Herbert Ridgeley-Pearce: John Rye
Also broadcast on R4X in 2011 and 2021
[A lot of film, tv, and radio productions of this play.]
[Based upon an incident at Royal Naval College, Osborne in 1908. Characters and sequences have been amended in the play. The actual student was killed age 19 in WW1 and is commemorated at Ypres.]
27th December 1986
19.30:
Murder for Christmas: Death and the Dancing Footman (1941) by Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982) dramatised by Alan Downer
1940 Dorset: A weekend party with guests who have good reasons to loathe one another
Directed by David Johnston.
Chief Det Insp Roderick Alleyn: Nigel Graham
Jonathan Royal: Laurence Payne
Aubrey Mandrake: Steven Pacey
Sandra Compline: Avril Clark
William Compline: Stuart Organ
Nicholas Compline: Stephen Hattersley
Chloris Wynne: Jane Leonard
Dr Francis Hart: Alan Downer
Mme Elise Lisse: Natasha Pyne
Lady Hersey Amblington: Margaret Ward
Troy Alleyn: Elaine Claxton
James Bewling: Peter Tuddenham
The Rev Copeland/Caper: Shaun Prendergast
Det Insp Fox/Thomas: Brian Hewlett
Repeated 8th August 1987, 17th December 1990
Also broadcast on R7 in 2010 and R4X in 2018 and 2021
[This was the 11th Alleyn book]
28th December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: Christmas Holiday (1939) by Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) dramatised by Jeffrey Segal.
1938- a visit to a friend in France.
Piano: Mary Nash
Directed by Graham Gauld
Charley Mason: Peter Rumney
Lydia Berger: Elizabeth Lindsay
Simon Fenimore: Anthony Daniels
Venetia Mason: Monica Grey
Leslie Mason: Jeffrey Segal
Patsy Mason: Jenny Funnell
Mile Ernestine: Carole Boyd
Mme Berger: Mary Wimbush
Robert Berger: George Parsons
Hotel manager: Richard Durden
Detective: David Goodland
28th December 1986
19.30:
Murder for Christmas: Unto the Grave by John Penn dramatised by Melville Jones
A body is found in the pool of a hotel.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
Supt Thorne: John Castle
his wife, Miranda: Tessa Worsley
John Kempton: Stephen Thorne
his wife, Rose: Diana Bishop
Tom Latimer: Jonathan Tafler
Polly Raven: Karen Ascoe
Vern Raven: James Goode
Mrs Fowler: Pauline Letts
Mr Fowler: Alan Dudley
Mrs Blair: Sheila Grant
Mr Blair: Tim Reynolds
Paul Kempton: Kim Wall
Helen Dearden: Eve Karpf
Roy Mortlake: John Hollis
Cassandra Gray: Jennifer Piercey
Canon Hurley: Peter Howell
Mrs Hurley: Rachel Gurney
Alice Hurley: Deborah Makepeace
Sgt Abbott: Andrew Branch
Dr Band: Gordon Reid
Margery Swinson: Jo Manning Wilson
Repeated 22nd and 24th August 1987, 1st March 1993
[The 4th in a series of 6 Thorne books by Penn]
[This series is not connected to the 1951 NBC radio series about an Inspector Thorne by Karl Weber]
29th December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: The Admirable Crichton (1902) by J.M Barrie (1860-1937), adapted by Caroline Raphael
Master and servant are shipwrecked on a desert island.
Directed by Caroline Raphael
Barrie: Alec McCowen
Crichton: Kenneth Cranham
Lord Loam: Richard Pearson
Lady Mary: Sylvestra Le Touzel
Lady Catherine: Jane Leonard
Lady Agatha: Susie Brann
Ernest: Nick Dunning
Treherne: Dominic Jephcott
Brocklehurst: Eric Stovell
Countess of Brocklehurst: Pauline Letts
Tweeny: Elaine Claxton
Repeated 20th July 1987
29th December 1986
19.30:
Murder for Christmas: The Smiler With the Knife (1939) by Nicholas Blake (Cecil Day-Lewis - 1904-1972) dramatised by Barry Campbell
Nigel and his wife come into contact with a group which has plans for the future of Britain.
Directed by Jane Morgan.
Georgia Strangeways: Jackie Smith-Wood
Nigel Strangeways: Simon Cadell
Sir John Strangeways: Jack May
Lord Canteloe: John Rye
Alison Grove: Susie Brann
Peter Braithwaite: Christopher Douglas
Mme Alvarez: Avril Clark
Senor Alvarez: Tim Reynolds
Celia Mayfield: Deborah Makepeace
Major Keston: David Sinclair
Professor Hargreaves Steele: Richard Durden
Mrs Fortescue: Jill Balcon
The Rev Fortescue: Peter Howell
Miss Agg-Thorsby: Pauline Letts
Also with Andrew Branch, John Church, Elaine Claxton, Steven Harrold, Shaun Prendergast, Natasha Pyne, Gordon Reid, Eric Stovell and Jonathan Tafler
Repeated 15th and 17th August 1987, 25th March 1991
[There are 16 novels with Nigel Strangeways- this was book 5]
30th December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: In Praise of Love (1973) by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)
Lydia is dying, She and her husband both know it- but do not know that their spouse knows.
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
First broadcast 19th and 21st April 1980
Repeated 4th May 1981, 28th May 1984.
[There was a new production by Celia de Wolff in 2011]
30th December 1986
19.30:
Murder for Christmas: More Work for the Undertaker (1948) by Margery Allingham (1904-1966) dramatised by Margaret Etall
There seems to be some poisoning going on.
Directed by Brian Miller
BBC Bristol.
Albert Campion: Francis Matthews
Lugg: Geoffrey Matthews
Jas Bowels: George Parsons
Charlie Luke: Tim Meats
Renee Roper: Jennlfer Piercey
Clarence/Capt Seton: Howard Goorney
Henry James/ Glossop: Phillip Manikum
Evadne/Housekeeper: Sheila Grant
Lawrence/Dice: Manning Wilson
Jessica: Rachel Gurney
Rowley/Congreve: Stuart Organ
Dr Smith/Yeo: Paul Nicholson
Voice: James Goode
Repeated 13th August 1988
[This was the 13th Campion novel from 18 novels and 20 short stories by Allingham. Additionally, Allingham's husband completed another and wrote an extra, Mike Ripley completed one and wrote a further seven]
31st December 1986
11.00-12.00
Persuasion (1817) by Jane Austen (1775-1817) dramatised by Michelene Wandor
1 of 3: Old Friends and New Meetings. 1814.
(Square piano (William Rolfe & Sons c.1810) played by Kenneth Mobbs)
Director: Vanessa Whitburn
BBC Pebble Mill
Anne Elliot: Juliet Stevenson
Capt. Frederick Wentworth: Tim Brierley
Jane Austen: Sorcha Cusack
Sir Walter Elliot: Roger Hume
Elizabeth Elliot: Claire Faulconbridge
Mr Elliot: Peter Harlowe
Mary Musgrove: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Charles Musgrove: Alister Cameron
Little Charles: John Abell
Henrietta Musgrove: Alison Dowling
Louisa Musgrove: Jayne Dowell
Mrs Musgrove: Sheila Grant
Lady Russell: Patricia Gallimore
Admiral Croft: Jeffery Dench
Sophia Croft: Tina Gray
Mrs Clay: Hedli Niklaus
Mrs Smith: Carole Boyd
Mr Shepherd: Stephen Hancock
Charles Hayter: Clive Marlowe
Captain Harville: Paul Alexander
Captain Benwick: Tony Turner
Part2:1/1/87 Part3:2/1/87
Repeated commencing 2nd and 7th August 1987 and commencing 21st February 1993.
[Also broadcast on R7 in 2009 and R4X in 2020]
31st December 1986
15.00:
The Afternoon Play: What Every Woman Knows (1908) by J.M. Barrie (1860-1937) adapted by Stewart Conn
The invisible power behind a man's success.
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
BBC Scotland.
Maggie Wylie: Phyllis Logan
John Shand: David Hayman
Teller of the Tale: Tom Fleming
Alick: Wylie Tom Watson
David Wylie: John Shedden
James Wylie: Ray Dunsire
Lady Sybil: Hetty Baynes
Comtesse de la Briere: Vivienne Dixon
Venables: Alan Rothwell
First broadcast 29th and 31st October 1983
[Stuart Conn directed a different production on radio in 1966]
{The play was written before women's suffrage]
31st December 1986
19.30:
Murder for Christmas: Trent's Last Case (1913) by E. C. Bentley (1875-1956) adapted by Alan Downer
Directed by Gerry Jones.
Philip Trent: Martin Jarvis
Mabel Manderson: Helena Breck
Marlowe: Simon Hewitt
Bunner: Brlan Hewlett
Cupples: Manning Wilson
Insp Murch: Alan Downer
Martin: Stephen Thorne
Sir James Molloy: Sean Barrett
Mrs Morgan: Joanna Wake
Figgis: Paul Gregory
Eddison: David Goodland
Williams: Stuart Organ
Abbott: Simon Cuff
Dr Stock: Stephen Hattersley
Repeated 1st and 3rd August 1987
Also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2019
[The first story about Philip Trent - a short series, three books and two short stories]
(....Many thanks for another excellent listing, Stephen - Ed. [21oct21])
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