Sunday Night Theatre

Sunday Night Theatre

1950 10 Seasons 134 Episodes ⭐ 3.5 Drama

Sunday Night Theatre was a long-running series of televised live television plays screened by BBC Television from early 1950 until 1959. The productions for the first five years or so of the run were re-staged live the following Thursday, partly because of technical limitations in this era, and the theatrical basis of early television drama. Some of the earliest collaborations between Rudolph Cartier and Nigel Neale were produced for this series, including Arrow to the Heart and Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Sunday night drama slot was subsequently renamed The Sunday-Night Play which ran for four seasons between 1960 and 1963. ITV transmitted its own unrelated run of Sunday Night Theatre between 1971 and 1974.

Sunday Night Theatre was a long-running series of televised live television plays screened by BBC Television from early 1950 until 1959. The productions for the first five years or so of the run were re-staged live the following Thursday, partly because of technical limitations in this era, and the theatrical basis of early television drama. Some of the earliest collaborations between Rudolph Cartier and Nigel Neale were produced for this series, including Arrow to the Heart and Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Sunday night drama slot was subsequently renamed The Sunday-Night Play which ran for four seasons between 1960 and 1963. ITV transmitted its own unrelated run of Sunday Night Theatre between 1971 and 1974.

Seasons & Episodes

EP 1

Hindle Wakes

EP 2

Rope

Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family t

EP 3

Twelfth Night

Viola and Sebastian are lookalike twins, separated by a shipwreck. Viola lands in Illyria, where she disguises herself l

EP 4

Cheapside

EP 5

Trespass

EP 6

The Scarlet Pimpernel

A noblewoman discovers her husband is The Scarlet Pimpernel, a vigilante who rescues aristocrats from the blade of the g

EP 7

The Indifferent Shepherd

EP 10

The Seagull

This quintessential Chekhov drama--his first success--is both comic and tragic. A group of friends and relations gather

EP 11

The Lady's Not for Burning

EP 16

Promise of Tomorrow

Marius Goring stars as Tommy Savidge, a crippled poet who longs to compose verse dramas but is forced to write trashy pl

EP 17

Othello

EP 21

The Title

EP 24

The Admirable Crichton

A group of people are shipwrecked when their yacht runs around on a South Pacific island. The usable hierarchy in a uppe

EP 30

Dark Tribute

EP 31

Adventure Story

The story of Alexander the Great, a compulsive conqueror.

EP 33

The History of Mr. Polly

EP 36

Vanity Fair

EP 40

Party Manners

EP 48

The Secret Sharer

A ship's captain must conceal a stowaway from his crew.

EP 49

An Enemy of the People

A scientist stands against an entire town when he discovers their medicinal spa is polluted.

EP 1

A Phoenix Too Frequent

EP 2

The Scarlet Pimpernel

During the French Revolution, a mysterious English nobleman known only as The Scarlet Pimpernel (a humble wayside flower

EP 3

David Garrick

EP 4

Release

EP 5

Counsellor at Law

Successful attorney has his Jewish heritage and poverty-stricken background brought home to him when he learns his wife

EP 6

The Skin Game

Two forces battle over the future of an English village. On one side, a factory owner wants to move out the locals and t

EP 8

Julius Caesar

The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to

EP 9

Julius Caesar/II

The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to

EP 13

The Voysey Inheritance

EP 15

Shout Aloud Salvation

EP 16

The Life of King Henry V (Part One)

In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.

EP 17

The Life of Henry V (Part Two)

In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.

EP 31

The Silent Village

EP 32

Albert

A group of Allied prisoners of war use a dummy to cover their attempts to escape a German camp.

EP 43

Escape

EP 3

The Prisoner

EP 8

The Wanderer

EP 9

The Wild Duck

A loving family's world is shattered by an old friend's arrival, carrying a dark secret.

EP 12

Dial M for Murder

A London businessman concocts an intricate plan to murder his unfaithful wife for her money.

EP 13

Mourning Becomes Elektra

EP 18

Love and Mr. Lewisham

EP 19

Martine

EP 29

Arrow to the Heart (I)

EP 31

Her Royal Highness

EP 32

The Same Sky

The theme of Romeo and Juliet reworked in an orthodox Jewish household where Jeff who is a Christian falls in love with

EP 40

Strange Orchestra

EP 46

The Merry Wives of Windsor

EP 47

No Cross, No Crown

EP 5

Number Three

A group of nuclear scientists face a moral dilemma when they discover that as well as making electricity, their governme

EP 6

Our Marie

EP 7

The Hero

EP 11

As You Like It

After the overthrowing of Duke Senior by his tyrannical brother, Senior's daughter Rosalind disguises herself as a man a

EP 12

As You Like It/II

After the overthrowing of Duke Senior by his tyrannical brother, Senior's daughter Rosalind disguises herself as a man a

EP 15

L'Aiglon

EP 16

Moonshine

EP 17

Take Away the Lady

EP 19

The Lady From The Sea

A lighthouse keeper's daughter lives her opportunistic marital life, until her past lover re-appears.

EP 29

The Duenna

EP 32

Sounding Brass

EP 35

The Confidential Clerk

A young man becomes confidential clerk to a rich financier - who may be his father.

EP 38

The Return of Peggy Atherton

EP 39

The Bridge

EP 48

Crime and Punishment

A man is haunted by a murder that he's committed.

EP 1

The Gift

EP 10

Ambrose Applejohn's Adventure

EP 16

It Never Rains

EP 20

The Comedy of Errors

Two identical twins and their two servants (also identical twins) are separated in a ship-wreck. When, years later, they

EP 26

Three Sisters

In a small Russian town at the turn of the century, three sisters (Olga, Irina, and Masha) and their brother Andrei live

EP 28

The Promised Years #3: The Small Victory

EP 32

Captain Banner

EP 37

The Moon in the Yellow River

EP 38

Troilus and Cressida

During the Trojan War, a Trojan warrior is distraught when his lover takes up with a Greek.

EP 39

Troilus and Cressida/II

During the Trojan War, a Trojan warrior is distraught when his lover takes up with a Greek.

EP 40

The Last of the De Mullins

EP 42

Ninety Sail

EP 45

The Silent People

EP 46

Waiting for Gillian

The carefully-controlled marriage of James Manning begins to collapse when he realizes his wife is having an affair with

EP 49

The Whiteoak Chronicles #1: Young Renny

EP 50

Nineteen Eighty-Four

In a totalitarian future society, Winston Smith, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in lo

EP 51

Stand Still Time

EP 5

The Creature

A scientist searches for the Yeti in a Himalayan fastness, and is soon at odds with an adventurer who wants to find the

EP 8

Candida

The idealist Reverend Morell tries to unite Socialism and Christianity.

EP 11

The Merchant of Venice

A rich merchant, Antonio is depressed for no good reason, until his good friend Bassanio comes to tell him how he's in l

EP 12

The Merchant of Venice/II

A rich merchant, Antonio is depressed for no good reason, until his good friend Bassanio comes to tell him how he's in l

EP 16

Midsummer Fire

EP 18

It Could Happen Only in Paris

EP 21

Romeo and Juliet

In Shakespeare's classic play, the Montagues and Capulets, two families of Renaissance Italy, have hated each other for

EP 23

The Legend of Pepito

EP 24

Holiday for Simon

EP 33

The Powder Magazine

EP 35

A Life in the Sun

EP 38

The Scarlet Pimpernel

A noblewoman discovers her husband is The Scarlet Pimpernel, a vigilante who rescues aristocrats from the blade of the g

EP 42

The Makepeace Story #1: The Ruthless Destiny

EP 43

The Makepeace Story #2: A New Generation

EP 44

The Makepeace Story #3: Family Business

EP 47

Idiot's Delight

A group of disparate travelers are caught are thrown together in a posh Alpine hotel when the borders are closed at the

EP 50

The Devil Came from Dublin

EP 51

The Devil's General

A veteran hero of the German army finds himself at odds with the Nazi regime.

EP 2

The Weeping Madonna

EP 6

The White Falcon

An examination of the fatal romance between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

EP 11

The Mayerling Affair

The Austro-Hungarian empire is rocked by scandal when Crown Prince Rudolf and his mistress Mare Vetsera are found dead a

EP 16

The Seat of the Scornful

EP 20

Shout Aloud Salvation (II)

EP 22

Epitaph

EP 24

Desert Duel

EP 27

The Fugitive

EP 31

The Cold Light

Crystof Wolters is German born but working in and owing allegiance to Britain. The play is concerned with how and why he

EP 34

Siding 273

EP 37

You Touched Me

When Hadrian seeks permission to marry, is it for love or for an inheritance?

EP 39

Henry Irving

EP 40

One Morning Near Troodos

EP 53

Clive of India

A portrayal of the life of the eighteenth century soldier and politician, particularly focusing on his victory at the Ba

EP 8

Myself a Stranger

EP 10

Twelfth Night

Viola and Sebastian are lookalike twins, separated by a shipwreck. Viola lands in Illyria, where she disguises herself l

EP 13

Requiem for a Heavyweight

An over-the-hill heavyweight boxing champion who suffers from the ravages of years of head trauma is exploited by his ma

EP 23

The Lass of Richmond Hill

The Prince of Wales, contrary to strict royal protocol, falls in love with a commoner, Maria Fitzherbert, and plans to m

EP 25

Edward, My Son

Arnold Boult is determined to make his son a success at all costs. He commits arson, causes two suicides, and bribes peo

EP 26

Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Before becoming one of America's greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln had a long career as a businessman, lawyer, govern

EP 28

The Magnificent Egotist

EP 42

The Mulberry Bush

EP 50

The Trial of Mary LaFarge

EP 51

Who Cares?

EP 19

Irving Berlin

EP 21

The Great Adventure

EP 26

View Friendship and Marriage

EP 28

Statue of David

EP 32

The Shadow of Doubt

EP 34

The Lady from the Sea (II)

EP 44

The End of the Equation

EP 45

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Mistaken identity, unrequited love, and the supernatural are combined in Shakespeare's classic set in the woods of Greec

EP 46

The Lower Depths

In a Russian slum, various residents play out their lives, dreaming of better things or settling for their lot. Among th

EP 50

The Laughing Woman

EP 1

The Stone Ship

EP 19

The Fortrose Incident

EP 21

When in Rome

EP 28

Farewell My City

EP 30

A Small Revolution

EP 38

Crime Passionnel

EP 47

The Velvet Alley

Will Ernie Pandish finally find success as a writer?

EP 49

Maigret and the Lost Life

Maigret, that most human of French detectives, sets out to solve the mystery surrounding the brutal murder of a girl who

EP 50

Echo from Afar

Popular Cast

Oliver MacGreevy
Oliver MacGreevy