BBC Play of the Month

Season 5

1969 · 8 episodes · 5h 41m in all

Episodes

1. 1

   1. The Heiress

   12 Oct 1969

   A naive young woman falls for a handsome young man who her emotionally abusive father suspects is a fortune hunter.

2. 2

   2. Charley's Aunt

   23 Nov 1969

   Charley and Jack pressure classmate Fancourt to pose as Charley's aunt Donna Lucia. Their purpose is to have a chaperone for their amorous visits with Amy and Kitty, niece and ward of crusty Stephen Spettigue. Complications begin when Fancourt, in drag, becomes the love object of not only old Spettigue but also Jack's grandfather.

3. 3

   3. The Marquis

   14 Dec 1969

4. 

   4. Three Sisters

   18 Jan 1970 · 129 min

   In a small Russian town at the turn of the century, Olga, Irina, Masha, and their brother Andrei live but dream daily of their return to Moscow, where life is charming and stimulating meaningful. But for now, they exist in a malaise of dissatisfaction. Soldiers from the local military post provide them some companionship and society, but nothing can suffice to replace Moscow in their hopes. Andrei marries provincial Natasha and begins to settle into a life of much less meaning than he'd hoped. Natasha begins to run the family her way. Masha, though married, yearns for the sophisticated life and begins a dalliance with Vershinin, an army officer with a sick and suicidal wife. Even Irina, the freshest, most optimistic of the sisters, begins to waver in her dreams until, finally, tragedy strikes.

5. 5

   5. In Good King Charles's Golden Days

   15 Feb 1970

6. 

   6. Separate Tables

   15 Mar 1970 · 95 min

   The stories of several people are told as they stay at a seaside hotel in Bournemouth.

7. 7

   7. Howards End

   19 Apr 1970

   A businessman thwarts his wife's bequest of an estate to another woman.

8. 8

   8. The Rivals

   15 May 1970 · 117 min

   A glittering "fancy-dress" comedy that bubbles over with the wit and humour of Richard Sheridan, and characters like Mrs Malaprop and Sir Anthony Absolute, "the very pineapple of perfection".