Plays for Britain

Gangsters

Birmingham is a melting pot of races and every community has a stake in the city's underworld. When former SAS officer John Kline is released from prison after serving a sentence for murder, he becomes the unwilling catalyst in a gang war. Movie screened as part of Play of Today.

Broke

Francis and his wife, Elaine, are proprietors of a struggling window-covering business, agree to install curtains in an exclusive club patronized by Ron, a wealthy friend of theirs. After completing the job, the shop owner has great difficulty collecting payment for the job. His "friend" becomes scarce and Francis finds he has no legal foot to stand on since there is no written record of the informal transaction. With the couple's business floundering due to mounting debts, and their former friend Ron's crass attitude towards their predicament, anger and frustration reach the boiling point.

Unnatural Pursuits

An English playwright sacrifices his health waiting for his play's make-or-break opening on Broadway.

Out

Frank Ross returns from an eight-year prison sentence for a robbery that was thwarted because somebody 'grassed' the gang. Nobody knows who put the finger on him, but Ross is determined to find out and seeks revenge on those who betrayed him. Little by little, Ross pieces together the trail that leads to a dramatic conclusion.

The Long Good Friday

In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.

ITV Playhouse

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

Virtual Murder

Eccentric psychology professor Dr John Cornelius solves technologically-charged crimes with his partner Samantha Valentine, police contact Inspector Cadogan, and his HOD Professor Owen Griffiths.

The Naked Civil Servant

Story of the life of Quentin Crisp, an Englishman who was brave enough to live his life according to his own style even in the hostile days of WW2.

Bloody Business: Making The Long Good Friday

A documentary about the making of The Long Good Friday, including interviews with John Mackenzie, stars Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, producer Barry Hanson and Phil Meheux.

Bloody Kids

Two boys pull a Saturday night prank on the police in a seaside British town.

Lady Chatterley

After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.

The Play on One

A series of television plays, some original, some based on pre-existing plays or novels.

Wolcott

Newly promoted Black detective Winston Churchill Wolcott is transferred to a troubled London borough, where he becomes embroiled in a drug war and police corruption, dealing with cross-racial tensions and a persistent journalist.

Girl

An episode of the BBC drama series Second City Firsts. Jackie is leaving the army. While waiting for her car to arrive, she encounters Corporal Harvey, the woman who used to be her lover.

Runners

When his young daughter disappears, her father refuses to accept that she is dead and sets out on a journey to find her.

Very Like a Whale

Theme of a powerful and respected man tearing his life to pieces.

I Am...

Each hour-long film follows a different woman as they experience “moments that are emotionally raw, thought-provoking and utterly personal”.

Tales from the Darkside

Tales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series created by George A. Romero, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot twist. The series' episodes spanned the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and some episodes featured elements of black comedy or more lighthearted themes.

American Horror Story

An anthology horror drama series centering on different characters and locations, including a house with a murderous past, an asylum, a witch coven, a freak show, a hotel, a farmhouse in Roanoke, a cult, the apocalypse and a summer camp.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

This spooky anthology series for kids recounts ghost stories told by the young members of the Midnight Society as they gather around a campfire. Each episode opens with members of the Midnight Society at their secret spot in the woods, where they prepare their fire and the night's storyteller announces the title of the his or her offering. However, the cameras soon leave the storyteller and switch to the tale being told.

The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents

The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1985 to 1986, and on the USA Network from 1987 to 1989. The series is an updated re-imagining of the classic 1955 series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.