Play for Today - Season 1

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The Long Distance Piano Player

1 - The Long Distance Piano Player

Air Date: October 15, 1970

A man tries to break the world's record for nonstop piano playing

The Right Prospectus

2 - The Right Prospectus

Air Date: October 22, 1970

A couple look for the proper school, not for their children but for themselves.

The Lie

3 - The Lie

Air Date: October 29, 1970

""The Lie"" refers to the 8-year marriage of a couple who are constantly hurting each other.

Angels Are So Few

4 - Angels Are So Few

Air Date: November 5, 1970

A man claiming to be an angel enters the household of a bored housewife and teaches the family a few lessons.

The Write-Off

5 - The Write-Off

Air Date: November 12, 1970

A man is made redundant but can't bring himself to let anyone know, plunging into a web of deceit as he keeps up the charade he is still in work.

I Can't See My Little Willie

6 - I Can't See My Little Willie

Air Date: November 19, 1970

A man has a mid-life crisis in his brother's pub where sees life as a game show

A Distant Thunder

7 - A Distant Thunder

Air Date: November 26, 1970

A newly-appointed knight finds his celebrations cut short by someone who was witness to his treachery during the war.

Hearts and Flowers

8 - Hearts and Flowers

Air Date: December 3, 1970

A TV host and his architect brother attend their father's funeral

Robin Redbreast

9 - Robin Redbreast

Air Date: December 10, 1970

A woman living in a country cottage thinks that someone is trying to get her.

The Hallelujah Handshake

10 - The Hallelujah Handshake

Air Date: December 17, 1970

A petty thief and social misfit finagles his way into a church congregation

Alma Mater

11 - Alma Mater

Air Date: January 7, 1971

A civil servant working abroad revisits his old school

Circle Line

12 - Circle Line

Air Date: January 14, 1971

A cynical student has a radically different view of life from his landlady, leading to conflict. Matters come to a head when he sleeps with her fourteen-year-old brother.

Hell's Angel

13 - Hell's Angel

Air Date: January 21, 1971

A couple are distressed by the changes in their adopted teenage son when he joins a biker gang.

The Piano

14 - The Piano

Air Date: January 28, 1971

An old couple refuse to move when they find out that they can't take their piano with them

Billy's Last Stand

15 - Billy's Last Stand

Air Date: February 4, 1971

Billy, a self-employed coal-shoveller, gains a seedy business partner and competition in the form of a rival coal-shoveller.

The Rainbirds

16 - The Rainbirds

Air Date: February 11, 1971

A man who attempted suicide by jumping out a window is saved only to live in a coma, in which he has fantasies about his relatives and nightmare creatures.

Reddick

17 - Reddick

Air Date: February 18, 1971

Charges that the Rev 'Red' Reddick is exploiting his youth club members leads to an explosive confrontation.

The Foxtrot

18 - The Foxtrot

Air Date: April 29, 1971

An odd menage a trois results when a woman and her lover are visited by her long-lost husband

When the Bough Breaks

19 - When the Bough Breaks

Air Date: May 6, 1971

When an injured baby arrives at the hospital, a social worker looks for the parents

Orkney

20 - Orkney

Air Date: May 13, 1971

A trilogy of plays--A Time to Keep, The Whaler's Return, and Celia--exploring the life of the islanders in the past and present

The Rank and File

21 - The Rank and File

Air Date: May 20, 1971

The story of the Pilkington glass workers strike of 1970

The Man in the Sidecar

22 - The Man in the Sidecar

Air Date: May 27, 1971

A succesful novelist Edith lives with her husband and his friend, but she decides to ask the friend to leave.

Everybody Say Cheese

23 - Everybody Say Cheese

Air Date: June 3, 1971

The story of a disintegrating marriage told through family photos

The Cellar and the Almond Tree

24 - The Cellar and the Almond Tree

Air Date: June 10, 1971