BBC announces major season of filmed theatre for the summer

BBC Four has announced a dedicated season celebrating post-war British and Irish theatre, bringing 16 acclaimed productions and accompanying documentaries to television and streaming services this summer.

The full collection has become available on BBC iPlayer today (Sunday 26 July), with television broadcasts on BBC Four commencing the same evening at 10pm.

The television run begins with Samuel Beckett’s Not I, featuring a 1990 introduction by Billie Whitelaw in which the actor reflects on her work with the playwright.

Spanning seven decades of playwriting, the selected titles explore themes of class, identity, race, gender and social change. Modern classics including John Osborne’s The Entertainer and Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls sit alongside contemporary works such as Selina Thompson’s Salt, David Ireland’s Cyprus Avenue, and Kwasi Kwei-Armah’s Elmina’s Kitchen.

Several broadcasts will feature contextual introductions from theatrical figures. Miranda Richardson presents An Inspector Calls, Bill Paterson introduces The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black, Black Oil, Michael Frayn introduces Copenhagen, and Siân Phillips provides opening remarks for Under Milk Wood.

The season includes several archive productions returning to television for the first time since their original transmissions, including The Entertainer, Top Girls, and My Night with Reg, alongside long-absent screen versions of Absurd Person Singular and A Taste of Honey.

Accompanying the stage recordings is a slate of documentary programming, featuring interviews and profiles focusing on figures such as John Osborne, Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill, Kwasi Kwei-Armah, J B Priestley, Dylan Thomas, Shelagh Delaney, and John McGrath.

The full list of productions in the season comprises A Taste of Honey, Absurd Person Singular, An Inspector Calls, The Birthday Party, Black Watch, The Cheviot, The Stag and the Black, Black Oil, Copenhagen, Cyprus Avenue, The Deep Blue Sea, Elmina’s Kitchen, The Entertainer, My Night with Reg, Not I, Salt, Top Girls, and Under Milk Wood.