The Wednesday Play is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction also featured. The series gained a reputation for presenting contemporary social dramas, and for bringing issues to the attention of a mass audience that would not otherwise have been discussed on screen.
"Cathy Come Home" is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 Radio Times readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a 2000 industry poll rated it as the second-best British television programme ever made. Filmed in a gritty, realistic drama documentary style, it was first broadcast on 16 November 1966 on BBC1. The play was shown in the BBC's The Wednesday Play anthology strand, which often tackled social issues.
Land and Freedom is a 1995 film directed by Ken Loach and written by Jim Allen. The film narrates the story of David Carr, an unemployed worker and member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, who decides to fight in the Spanish Civil War for the republicans, a coalition of Socialists, Communists and Anarchists against a nationalist coup d'etat. The film won the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
Anthony Samuel Selby was an English actor. He was best known for his roles as Clive Mitchell in EastEnders, Corporal Percy Marsh in Get Some In!, and Sabalom Glitz in Doctor Who.
Trevor Griffiths is an English dramatist.
Tony Garnett was a British film and television producer, and actor. Best known for his thirteen-year association with director Ken Loach, his work as a producer continued into the 21st century.
Days of Hope is a BBC television drama serial produced in 1975. The series dealt with the lives of a working-class family from the turmoils of the First World War in 1916 to the General Strike in 1926. It was written by Jim Allen, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach.
Duggie Brown was an English comedian and actor. He was the younger brother of actress and singer Lynne Perrie.
Bill Dean was a British actor who was born in Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire. He took his stage name in honour of Everton football legend William 'Dixie' Dean.
"Just Another Saturday" is the 15th episode of fifth season of the British BBC anthology TV series Play for Today. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 13 March 1975.. "Just Another Saturday" was written by Peter McDougall, directed by John Mackenzie, produced by Graeme MacDonald, and starred Jon Morrison and Billy Connolly.
James Allen was an English socialist playwright, best known for his collaborations with Ken Loach.
Family Life is a 1971 British drama film directed by Ken Loach from a screenplay by David Mercer. It is a remake of In Two Minds, an episode of the BBC's Wednesday Play series first transmitted by the BBC in March 1967, which was also written by Mercer and directed by Loach.
"The Spongers" is the 14th episode of eighth season of the British BBC anthology TV series Play for Today. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 24 January 1978. "The Spongers" was written by Jim Allen, directed by Roland Joffé, produced by Tony Garnett, and starred Christine Hargreaves, Bernard Hill, Peter Kerrigan, and Paula McDonagh.
Big Flame was "a revolutionary socialist feminist organisation with a working-class orientation" in the United Kingdom. Founded in Liverpool in 1970, the group initially grew rapidly, with branches appearing in some other cities. Its publications emphasised that "a revolutionary party is necessary but Big Flame is not that party, nor is it the embryo of that party". The group was influenced by the Italian Lotta Continua group.
"Up the Junction" is an episode of the BBC anthology drama series The Wednesday Play directed by Ken Loach and produced by James MacTaggart. It was first broadcast on 3 November 1965 on BBC 1. The play was adapted by Nell Dunn and (uncredited) Ken Loach from Dunn's short story collection of the same name. It tells the stories of three young women living in North Battersea and Clapham and, to a lesser degree, their boyfriends.
"In Two Minds" is a television play by David Mercer commissioned for The Wednesday Play anthology drama series. First transmitted on 1 March 1967, it was directed by Ken Loach and produced by Tony Garnett and features Anna Cropper in the lead role.
Kenneth Charles Loach is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialism are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty, homelessness, and labour rights.
"The End of Arthur's Marriage" is a television satirical musical drama that was an episode in The Wednesday Play series first broadcast on 17 November 1965. It was an early work of director Ken Loach, and the script was written by poet Christopher Logue. It is unusual in Loach's catalogue for the surrealism, and the director later said that he believed himself to have been "the wrong man for the job". Main actor Ken Jones had previously worked with Loach on Wear a Very Big Hat and 3 Clear Sundays and later featured in the controversial 1969 play The Big Flame.
"The Rank and File" is the 21st episode of first season of the British BBC anthology TV series Play for Today. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 20 May 1971. "The Rank and File" was written by Jim Allen, directed by Ken Loach and produced by Graeme McDonald. It is included in the Ken Loach at the BBC boxset released in 2011, although the recording is of unusually poor quality for a DVD release.
Sally Hibbin is a British independent film producer, known for her work on low budget films with directors like Ken Loach and Phil Davis as well as producers like Sarah Curtis and Rebecca O'Brien. She has produced various British independent films and some television productions.
