Play of the Week

Episode 1

Henry IV

Mon, Sep 26, 1960

Henry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions and help suppress the uprising.

Episode 2

The Dybbuk

Mon, Oct 3, 1960 104 mins

A young bride is possessed by a dybbuk, a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person, on the eve of her wedding.

Episode 3

Legend of Lovers

Mon, Oct 10, 1960

A modern French version of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Episode 4

The Velvet Glove

Mon, Oct 17, 1960

The story of a Mother Hildebrand, head of a convent school, who is ordered by her bishop to dismiss a teacher.

Episode 5

Duet for Two Hands

Mon, Oct 24, 1960

A pianist has lost both of his hands in a tragic accident. A respected surgeon performs the impossible by grafting the hands of a recently-hanged killer onto the disabled musician. The musician's new hands prefer murdering to playing sonatas.

Episode 6

Seven Times Monday

Mon, Oct 31, 1960

Episode 7

Two by Saroyan: 'Once Around the Block' and 'My Heart's in the Highlands'

Mon, Nov 7, 1960 103 mins

Two plays by William Saroyan portraying writers stymied, inspired, frustrated, excited, listful, wistful, slothful, awed, unnerved, perhaps corrupted and perplexed by the promise and let-down writing holds for them.

Episode 8

The Iceman Cometh: Part 1

Mon, Nov 14, 1960

The denizens of Harry Hope's saloon are forced to face up to the uncomfortable realities of their lives.

Episode 9

The Iceman Cometh: Part 2

Mon, Nov 21, 1960

The denizens of Harry Hope's saloon are forced to face up to the uncomfortable realities of their lives.

Episode 10

Highlights of New Faces

Mon, Nov 28, 1960

Episode 11

Uncle Harry

Mon, Dec 5, 1960

A pleasant man plans to do away with his two spinster sisters.

Episode 12

Rashomon

Mon, Dec 12, 1960

Several different accounts of the same incident tell quite different stories about what happened.

Episode 13

Emmanuel

Mon, Dec 19, 1960

Episode 14

Bogus Green

Mon, Dec 26, 1960

Episode 15

A Clearing in the Woods

Mon, Jan 2, 1961

A young woman who is suicidal has visions of herself at different ages - each incarnation trying to give her life meaning.

Episode 16

The Potting Shed

Mon, Jan 9, 1961

The daughter of a famous atheist claims to have had a vision of God.

Episode 17

Black Monday

Mon, Jan 16, 1961

Episode 18

New York Scrapbook

Mon, Jan 23, 1961

Humorous musical revues of life in New York City.

Episode 19

He Who Gets Slapped

Mon, Jan 30, 1961

A bitter clown endeavors to rescue the young woman he loves from the lecherous count who once betrayed him.

Episode 20

Four by Tennessee

Mon, Feb 6, 1961

The four Tennessee Williams plays are: "I Rise in Flame, Cried the Phoenix", "Hello from Bertha", "The Lady of Larkspur Lotion" and "The Purification".

Episode 21

The Sound of Murder

Mon, Feb 13, 1961

A tape-recorder plays an important part in a murder plot.

Episode 22

The Magic and the Loss

Mon, Feb 20, 1961

Episode 23

No Exit/The Indifferent Lover

Mon, Feb 27, 1961

In "No Exit", three people who hate each other find themselves sharing a room in Hell - forever. "The Indifferent Lover" is almost entirely a monologue for a middle-aged woman concerned by her lover's growing distant from her.

Episode 24

The Old Foolishness

Mon, Mar 6, 1961

Episode 25

Therese Raquin

Mon, Mar 13, 1961

An unhappy wife plots murder.

Episode 26

The Wooden Dish

Mon, Mar 20, 1961

Episode 27

A Cool Wind Over the Living

Mon, Mar 27, 1961

Episode 28

Waiting for Godot

Mon, Apr 3, 1961 93 mins

Two derelicts, Vladimir and Estragon, occupy themselves as they wait for 'Godot' to make an appearance on Pozzo's estate.

Episode 29

In a Garden

Mon, Apr 10, 1961

Episode 30

The Wingless Victory

Mon, Apr 17, 1961 120 mins

Episode 31

Close Quarters

Mon, Apr 24, 1961

Episode 32

All Summer Long

Mon, May 1, 1961