''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' was a British anthology drama series of short plays shown on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

between 1965 and 1973, which was used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short running length, and which therefore attracted many writers who later became well known.Re-viewing Television History: Critical Issues in Television Historiography, p.85
/ref> It was produced initially by Harry Moore, later by Graeme MacDonald,

George Spenton-Foster George Spenton-Foster (11 November 1926 – 26 December 1993) was a British television director and television producer. For the BBC, Spenton-Foster directed two ''Doctor Who'' stories: ''Image of the Fendahl'' (1977) and ''The Ribos Operation ...

Innes Lloyd George Innes Llewelyn Lloyd (24 December 1925 – 23 August 1991) was a Welsh television producer. He had a long career in BBC drama, which included producing series such as ''Doctor Who'' and ''Talking Heads''. Early life and career Fo ...

and others. ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' began on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

in 1965 with an adaptation of the black comedy ''Parson's Pleasure'' (author,

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...

contributed ''

Emergency – Ward 9 ''Emergency – Ward 9'' is a Dennis Potter television play first broadcast on BBC1 in the ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' series on 11 April 1966. Potter had praised the storylines and sense of urgency of the ITV hospital soap ''Emergency – Ward 10 ...

'' (1966), which he partially recycled in the much later ''

The Singing Detective ''The Singing Detective'' is a BBC television serial drama, written by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon and directed by Jon Amiel. Its six episodes are "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It". The ser ...

'' (1986). In 1967 BBC2 launched the UK's first colour service, with the consequence that ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' became the first drama series in the country to be shown in colour. As well as single plays, the series showed several linked collections of plays, including a group of four plays by

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London ...

named after areas of London in 1972, two three-part Inspector Waugh series starring

Clive Swift Clive Walter Swift (9 February 1936 – 1 February 2019) was an English actor and songwriter. A classically trained actor, his stage work included performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but he was best known to television viewers for h ...

in the title role, and a trilogy of plays by Jean Benedetti, broadcast in 1969, focusing on infamous historical figures such as

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

. Other plays were broadcast by writers like Charlotte and Denis Plimmer (''The Chequers Manoeuvre'', 1968), David Rudkin (''Bypass'', 1972, and ''Atrocity'', 1973)Pebble Mill Studios
/ref> and

Jack Rosenthal Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations. ...

(''And for My Next Trick'', 1972). ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' was cancelled in August 1973. ''

Second City Firsts ''Second City Firsts'' is a British drama anthology series of single plays, broadcast by the BBC, all lasting thirty minutes. Recorded at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham, or sometimes filmed on location, the series was broadcast between 1973 and 19 ...

'', also of 30 minutes duration, fulfilled much the same role.

Archive holdings

Of the original 291 episodes, 241 are missing, one is incomplete and 3 exist on formats inferior to the original.

Productions

Sourced according to the BBC Genome archive of ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves ...

'' magazines, with additional information from the BFI database and TV Brain. All episodes were broadcast on BBC2. Identification of distinct seasons beyond the fifth is tentative.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0212699, title=Thirty-Minute Theatre 1965 British television series debuts 1973 British television series endings 1960s British drama television series 1970s British drama television series BBC television dramas 1960s British anthology television series 1970s British anthology television series Lost television shows English-language television shows

Archive holdings

Productions

See also

References

External links