Play of the Month is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted regularly from October 1965 to May 1979, before returning for the summer seasons of 1982 and 1983. The producer most associated with the Play of the Month series was Cedric Messina. Thirteen productions were also shown previously or subsequently on BBC2 in the period 1971-73 under Stage 2. Productions were broadcast in colour from November 1969.
Archive status Of the 128 productions, 40 are missing from the archives (except for short sequences in several cases), having been junked in the 1960s and 1970s. One colour production exists only as a black & white telerecording.
4/9 episodes from series one are archived, only the first episode from series two is archived, 2/11 from series three are archived, with one lost transmission surviving in partial footage, 4/9 from series four are archived, 4/8 from series five are fully archived, with one lost broadcast having partial footage, 5/9 from series six are archived, 8/11 from series seven are archived, with one episode ("The Cherry Orchard"), originally transmitted on 19 December 1971 and filmed in colour only surviving as a black and white recording, 7/10 from series eight are archived, and one lost episode having partial footage, 7/9 exist from series nine, with one lost episode having partial footage, 8/9 from series ten are archived, and every episode made from series eleven onwards is archived.
The earliest episode not in the BBC archives is series one episode three, "The Joel Brand Story", originally transmitted on 14 December 1965, and the latest episode not available in the archives is series ten episode eight "The Shadow of a Gunman", originally transmitted on 20 April 1975.
Productions Sourced according to the BBC Genome archive of Radio Times magazines, with archival status from TV Brain.
Legend: AS/A = Archive status/Availability Abbreviations: tr =Telerecording; seq = sequence(s)
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;" |- ! UKTransmissiondate ! Title ! Author ! Producer ! Director ! class="unsortable" | Performers(non-exhaustive) ! class="unsortable" | Notes ! AS/A |- ! colspan="8" data-sort-value="ZZ" |Series One |- id="Luther" | |Luther
|Alec McCowen,Patrick Magee,Geoffrey Bayldon,Ray Barrett,Jerold Wells,Philip Stone,Fulton Mackay,James Cairncross,Douglas Ditta,Peter Purves,Rex Robinson |Adapted from the play. | rowspan="2" |Survives |- id="A Passage to India" | |data-sort-value="Passage to India, A"|A Passage to India | (novel);Santha Rama Rau (play);John Maynard (adaptation)
|Sybil Thorndike,Virginia McKenna,Zia Mohyeddin,Cyril CusackIshaq Bux,Saeed Jaffrey,John Bryans,Doreen Mantle |Adapted from the play of the novel. Repeated on BBC2 29 Jun 1992. |- id="The Joel Brand Story" | |data-sort-value="Joel Brand Story"|The Joel Brand Story |, based on the book by Alex Weissberg; adapted from German by Rudolph Cartier | rowspan="2" | | rowspan="2" | |Cyril Shaps,Zia Mohyeddin,Anton Diffring,Martin Benson,Michael Godfrey,Harold Goldblatt,Pat Gorman,Gertan Klauber,Tutte Lemkow,Peter Howell |Adapted from the book. | rowspan="3" |Lost |- id="Gordon of Khartoum" | |Gordon of Khartoum | (play);David Benedictus (adaptation) |Alan Badel,Charles Carson,John Franklyn-Robbins,Gladys Spencer,Cyril Shaps,Roy Stewart |Adapted from the play The Last Hero. |- id="Where Angels Fear to Tread" | |Where Angels Fear to Tread | (novel);Elizabeth Hart (adaptation)
|Anna Massey,Wendy Hiller,Alec McCowen,Nora Swinburne,André Lawrence |Adapted from the novel. |- id="Lee Oswald - Assassin" | |Lee Oswald - Assassin |Felix Lützkendorf (play);Rudolph Cartier &Reed De Rouen(adaptation)
|Tony Bill,Dora Reisser,Robert Ayres,John Alderson,Donald Sutherland,Callen Angelo,David Bauer,Glenn Beck,Reed De Rouen,Harold Goldblatt,David Graham,David Healy,Paul Maxwell,Warren Mitchell,Shane Rimmer,Tony Sibbald |Adapted from the play.Oliver Wake "Lee Oswald - Assassin (1966)", BFI Screenonline, December 2003 |Survives |- id="Make Me an Offer" | |Make Me an Offer | (book);David Heneker & Monty Norman (m/ly) | rowspan="3" | | |Diana Coupland,Peter Gilmore,Judith Bruce,Meier Tzelniker,James Grout,Ivor Salter,Patrick O'Connell,Timothy Bateson |Adapted from the novel.Make Me An Offer, Guide to Musical Theatre websiteMake Me an Offer, BFI Film Forever | rowspan="2" |Lost |- id="Death of a Salesman" | |Death of a Salesman
|Rod Steiger,Betsy Blair,Joss Ackland,Tony Bill,Kenneth J. Warren,David Healy |Adapted from the play. |- id="The Devil's Eggshell" | |data-sort-value="Devil's Eggshell, The"|The Devil's Eggshell |, based on an idea by Alex Comfort. | |Leonard Rossiter,Keith Barron,David Langton,John Phillips,Nicholas Pennell,Bernard Hepton,Burt Kwouk,Michael Culver,Stephanie Bidmead,Anthony Jacobs,Basil Moss,Peter Copley,Godfrey James | |Survives |- ! colspan="8" data-sort-value="ZZ" |Series Two |- id="Defection! The Case of Colonel Petrov" | |Defection! The Case of Colonel Petrov |, based on the book by Michael Bialoguski. | rowspan="5" | | |Nigel Stock,Lee Montague,Charles Tingwell,Jerome Willis,Colin Jeavons,James Bree,Willoughby Gray,George Roubicek,George Pastell,Walter Sparrow,Peter van Dissel |Based on the book The Petrov Story. |Survives |- id="Days to Come" | |Days to Come | (story);Ken Taylor (adaptation) | |Dinsdale Landen,Judi Dench,Bernard Archard,John Quentin,Michael Gough,Alan Rowe,Michael Brennan,Norman Mitchell,Richard Coe,Peter Birrel,Yvonne Antrobus,John Caesar,Geoffrey Cheshire,Martin King,Rex Robinson |Adapted from the novella. | rowspan="4" |Lost |- id="Corridors of Power" | |Corridors of Power | (novel); adapted by John Elliot | |Patrick Allen,Alec Clunes,William Mervyn,Sarah LawsonJoseph Fürst,Tenniel Evans,John Tate,Martin Friend,Donald Pickering,Kenneth Waller,Michael Guest,Morris Perry,Andrew Lodge,Eric Elliott,Peter Thompson |Adapted from the novel. |- id="The Making of Jericho" | |data-sort-value="Making of Jericho, The"|The Making of Jericho
|John Thaw,Neville Smith,Pauline Collins,Peter Jeffrey,Wendy Richard,Donald Gee,John Scott Martin,Reg Lever,Geoffrey Hughes | |- id="The Cabinet Papers" | |data-sort-value="Cabinet Papers, The"|The Cabinet Papers | (book);Anthony Steven (adaptation) | |Maxine Audley,Griffith Jones,Richard Leech,Gerald Sim,Richard Vernon,Llewellyn Rees,David Garth,John Bryans,Iréna Mayeska,Alan Haywood,John Baker |Adapted from the book. |- ! colspan="8" data-sort-value="ZZ" |Series Three |- id="Girls in Uniform" | |Girls in Uniform | (play);Barbara Burnham (translation);Derek Ingrey (adaptation) | rowspan="3" | | |Virginia McKenna,Sonia Dresdel,Rachel Kempson,Francesca Annis,Anna Calder-Marshall,Petra Markham,Jan Chappell,Sally Faulkner,Stephanie Bidmead |Adapted from the play/film. Repeated 6 Jul 1969. | rowspan="2" |Lost |- id="The Moon and Sixpence" | |data-sort-value="Moon and Sixpence, The"|The Moon and Sixpence | (novel);Clive Exton (adaptation) | |Charles Gray,Ronald Hines,Barry Justice,Sylvia Kay,Elisabeth Welch |Adapted from the novel. |- id="Romeo and Juliet" | |Romeo and Juliet
|Hywel Bennett,Kika Markham,John Gielgud,Thora Hird,Michael Gambon,Ronald Pickup,Charles Kay,Edward Burnham,Stephanie Bidmead,Brian Badcoe,David Griffin,Michael Godfrey,Derrick Gilbert |Adapted from the play. | rowspan="2" |Survives |- id="The Parachute" | |data-sort-value="Parachute, The"|The Parachute
|Alan Badel,Jill Bennett,John Osborne,Isabel Dean,Esmond Knight,Barry Jackson,Norman Jones,Royston Farrell,Stephen Whittaker,Drewe Henley,John J. Carney |Repeated as The Wednesday Play 6 Aug 1969, on BBC2 1 Sep 1976 and 29 Nov 1980, and on BBC1 23 Jun 1988. |- id="Cyrano de Bergerac" | |Cyrano de Bergerac |, translated by Brian Hooker | rowspan="7" | | |Eric Porter,Peter Jeffrey,Suzanne Neve,Simon Brent,Jerome Willis,Harold Innocent,Michael Godfrey,Gertan Klauber,Joseph Greig,Steve Peters |Adapted from the play. | rowspan="5" |Lost |- id="Ghosts" | |Ghosts |, translated by Michael Meyer | |Celia Johnson,Tom Courtenay,Donald Wolfit,Fulton Mackay,Vickery Turner |Adapted from the play. |- id="The Corn Is Green" | |data-sort-value="Corn Is Green, The"|The Corn Is Green | (play);Harry Green (adaptation) | |Wendy Hiller,Ronald Fraser,Stephanie Bidmead,Glyn HoustonJohn Ogwen,Glyn Owen,Mona Bruce |Adapted from the play |- id="The Tempest" | |data-sort-value="Tempest, The"|The Tempest
|Michael Redgrave,Keith Michell,Jonathan Dennis,Ronald Pickup,Tessa Wyatt,John Woodvine,Donald Eccles,James Cairncross,Llewellyn Rees |Adapted from the play. |- id="The Old Ladies" | |data-sort-value="Old Ladies, The"|The Old Ladies | (play);Hugh Walpole (source novel) | |Flora Robson,Athene Seyler,Katina Paxinou |Adapted from the play of the novel. |- id="Man and Superman" | |Man and Superman
|Eric Porter,Maggie Smith,Adrienne Corri,Rachel Kempson,Cyril Luckham,Angharad Rees,Tony Selby,Godfrey Quigley |Adapted from the play. |seqexist |- id="Hay Fever" | |Hay Fever
|Celia Johnson,Anna Massey,Richard Briers,Dennis Price,Charles Gray,Hazel Hughes,Ian McKellen,Vickery Turner,Lucy Fleming |Adapted from the play. Repeated 3 Aug 1969. |Lost |- ! colspan="8" data-sort-value="ZZ" |Series Four |- id="St. Joan" | |St. Joan | | rowspan="9" | | |Janet Suzman,Hugh Walters,Glyn Owen,Richard Hampton,Murray Melvin,John Bryans,Michael Craig,Maurice Denham,Glyn Owen,Ronald Pickup,Jack Watson,Philip Bond,Jerold Wells |Adapted from the play. Repeated 8 Jun 1969. | rowspan="2" |Lost |- id="The Male Animal" | |data-sort-value="Male Animal, The"|The Male Animal | and Elliott Nugent. | |Lee Montague,Anthony Perkins,Toby Robins,Alan Gifford,Jumoke Debayo,Christopher Benjamin |Adapted from the play. |- id="The Seagull (1968)" | |data-sort-value="Seagull, The"|The Seagull |, translated by George Calderon | |Pamela Brown,Robert Stephens,Gemma Jones,Robin Phillips,Niall MacGinnis,Michael Gambon |Adapted from the play. First shown on BBC2 under Theatre 625, 27 Mar 1966. |Survives |- id="Waters of the Moon" | |Waters of the Moon
|Athene Seyler,Vivien Merchant,Kathleen Harrison,Michael Gwynn,Roland Culver,Margaret Leighton |Adapted from the play. | rowspan="2" |Lost |- id="Mary, Queen of Scots" | |Mary, Queen of Scots |, translated by Stephen Spender | |Virginia McKenna,Pamela Brown,Derek Godfrey,Peter Cellier,Fanny Rowe,Walter Fitzgerald,John Harvey,Bernard Hepton,Tony Steedman |Adapted from the play Mary Stuart. |- id="Maigret at Bay" | |Maigret at Bay | (novel);Donald Bull (adaptation) | |Rupert Davies,Helen Shingler,Neville Jason,Gillian Hills,Yootha Joyce,Clive Cazes,Tony Harwood,Geoffrey Morris,Martin Miller,Hans De Vries,Donald Pickering,Murray Evans,Kenneth Benda,Ann Tirard,Geoffrey Cheshire,Robin Scott |Adapted from the novel Maigret se défend. |Survives |- id="Relatively Speaking" | |Relatively Speaking
|Celia Johnson,Donald Sinden,John Stride,Judy Cornwell, |Adapted from the play. |Lost |- id="Julius Caesar" | |Julius Caesar
|Robert Stephens,Frank Finlay,Maurice Denham,Edward Woodward,Anthony Bate,Alan Rowe,Jon Rollason,John Alderton,John Abineri,Terence De Marney,Christopher Guard,Christopher Timothy,Trevor Martin,Brian Vaughan,Christopher Benjamin,Richard Coe,Christopher Denham,Christopher Timothy,Stuart Wilson,Andrew Johns,Duncan Preston |Adapted from the play. Repeated 5 Jul 1970. | rowspan="2" |Survives |- id="An Ideal Husband" | |data-sort-value="Ideal Husband, An"|An Ideal Husband
|Jeremy Brett,Keith Michell,Margaret Leighton,Dinah Sheridan,Susan Hampshire,Penelope Lee,Erik Chitty |Adapted from the play. Repeated 26 Jul 1970. |- ! colspan="8" data-sort-value="ZZ" |Series Five |- id="The Heiress" | |data-sort-value="Heiress, The"|The Heiress |Ruth and Augustus Goetz, from a novel by Henry James