TV series
A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.
Availability
Checked Jul 22, 2026
BBC Play of the Month premiered October 19, 1965. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.
A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
The great actor Edmund Kean is involved in a variety of romantic and other entanglements and wonders where acting ends and real life begins.
Directed by James Cellan JonesGuest stars Anthony Hopkins, Sara Kestelman, Adrienne Corri, Neville Phillips, Barrie Ingham, Robert Stephens, Frank Middlemass, Cherie Lunghi
Episode 2
A portrait of the sordid underbelly of Soviet society during the Russian Civil War.
Directed by Jack GoldWritten by Christopher HamptonGuest stars Michael Byrne, Lisa Harrow, Clive Revill, Paul Rogers, Susan Tracy, Trevor Peacock, Paddy Joyce, Niall Padden
Episode 3
Edward Voysey's highly principled world upturns when he discovers the family business he's inheriting has been defrauding its clients for years because his father has been illegally speculating with their money. To compound matters, he quickly discovers his large, scandal-fearing family knew of the crime but allowed it to continue rather than face the shame of public disclosure.
Directed by Robert KnightsWritten by Harley Granville-BarkerGuest stars Jeremy Irons, Roger Rees, Glynis Barber, John Steiner, Pamela Miles, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Julie Covington, Jeremy Child
Episode 4
Siblings Johnnie and Hester delay the responsibility of becoming adults to the point they lose the purpose of existence.
Directed by Claude WhathamWritten by Athol FugardGuest stars Bill Flynn, Yvonne Bryceland
Episode 5
Kate is secretly betrothed to a struggling journalist, Merton Densher. But she knows her Aunt Maude will never approve of the match, since Kate's deceased mother has lost all her money in a marriage to a degenerate opium addict. When Kate meets a terminally ill American heiress named Millie traveling through Europe, she comes up with a conniving plan to have both love and wealth.
Directed by John GorrieWritten by Denis ConstandurosGuest stars Suzanne Bertish, John Castle, Lisa Eichhorn, Betsy Blair, Elizabeth Spriggs, Rupert Frazer, Alan Rowe, Gino Melvazzi
Episode 6
A woman cannot decide between two men who love her, and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship.
Directed by Philip SavilleWritten by Noël CowardGuest stars Rula Lenska, Clive Arrindell, John Steiner, John Bluthal, Dandy Nichols, Helen Horton, Vincent Marzello, Martha Nairn
Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026
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Available nowSimilar genres and era
Available nowSimilar genres and era
Available nowSimilar genres and era
Available nowSimilar genres and era
Helen MirrenMargery Pinchwife
Anthony HopkinsAlfred Allmers
Eileen AtkinsOlga
Eric PorterMacbeth
Geoffrey BayldonDyadin
Ronald HinesRonny Heaslop
Edward FoxLysander
Stephanie BidmeadLady Capulet
BBC OneUnited Kingdom
BBCUnited Kingdom