These plays were not broadcast under the Play for Today banner but have been considered as part of the cycle to varying degrees. Some were commissioned for the strand but not billed as such. The Black Stuff was never billed as a Play for Today and did not even appear on the same channel as Play for Today. Some of the later plays were commissioned for Play for Today but appeared after that strand had ended.¹ Others can be argued about!

THE BLACK STUFF (2 Jan 1980 – BBC2)

wr. Alan Bleasdale
pr. David Rose
dr. Jim Goddard
(The Black Stuff was never billed as a Play for Today, and indeed debuted on BBC2, not in the BBC1 Play for Today strand, but it is often mentioned in press pieces about Play for Today and was repeated on BBC4 on 17 November 2020 as part of a Play for Today repeat run.)
The Black Stuff was released on DVD by the BBC in 2003 (as part of Boys from the Blackstuff)

BEING NORMAL (27 Jul 1983)

wr. Brian Phelan
pr. Alan Shallcross
dr. Peter Smith

GUNFIGHT AT THE JOE KAYE CORRAL (3 Aug 1983)

wr. Alan Shinwell
pr. Bob McIntosh
dr. Ken Grieve

A RING OF KEYS (10 Aug 1983)

wr. Frank Ash
pr. Bob McIntosh
dr. Baz Taylor

BAZAAR AND RUMMAGE (17 Aug 1983)

wr. Sue Townsend
pr. Terry Coles
dr. Richard Stroud

FLOATING OFF (24 Aug 1983)

wr. Stephen Davis
pr. Erika Bond
dr. Nick Renton

STAN’S LAST GAME (25 Oct 1983)

wr. Willis Hall
pr. Terry Coles
dr. Gavin Millar

SUBMARINERS (1 Nov 1983)

wr. Tom McLenaghan
pr. Innes Lloyd
dr. Paul Seed

MARTIN LUTHER – HERETIC (8 Nov 1983)

wr. William Nicholson
pr. David M. Thompson
dr. Norman Stone

ONE OF OURSELVES (22 Nov 1983)

wr. William Trevor
pr. Kenith Trodd
dr. Pat O’ Connor

AN ENGLISHMAN ABROAD (29 Nov 1983)

wr. Alan Bennett
pr. Innes Lloyd
dr. John Schlesinger
An Englishman Abroad was released on DVD by the BBC/2Entertain in 2009 (as part of Alan Bennett at the BBC)

THE AERODROME (13 Dec 1983)

wr. Robin Chapman (book Rex Warner)
pr. Kenith Trodd
dr. Giles Foster

ORWELL ON JURA (20 Dec 1983)

wr. Alan Plater
pr. Norman McCandlish
dr. John Glenister

TERRA NOVA (13 Nov 1984)

wr. John Bruce (story Ted Tally)
pr. Innes Lloyd
dr. John Bruce

THE LONG MARCH (20 Nov 1984)

wr. Anne Devlin
pr. Keith Williams
dr. Chris Parr

PUNTERS (27 Nov 1984)

wr. Stephen Wakelam
pr. Andrée Molyneux
dr. Chris Menaul

STARS OF THE ROLLER STATE DISCO (4 Dec 1984)

wr. Michael Hastings
pr. Michael Wearing
dr. Alan Clarke Essay by David Rolinson; Alan Clarke section.
Stars of the Roller State Disco was released on DVD and blu ray by the BFI in 2016 (as part of Alan Clarke at the BBC)

TALK TO ME (11 Dec 1984)

wr. William Humble
pr. Innes Lloyd
dr. Tony Smith

MORE LIVES THAN ONE (18 Dec 1984)

wr. John Peacock
pr. Alan Shallcross
dr. Michael Darlow

THE LAST EVENSONG (8 Jan 1985)

wr. Trevor Baxter
pr. Alan Shallcross
dr. Jon Amiel

BIRD FANCIER (15 Jan 1985)

wr. Mal Middleton
pr. Terry Coles
dr. Bill Hays

THE EXERCISE (22 Jan 1985)

wr. Tim Rose Price
pr. Roger Pine
dr. Gareth Davies

FOUR DAYS IN JULY (29 Jan 1985)

wr. Mike Leigh
pr. Kenith Trodd
dr. Mike Leigh
Four Days in July was released on DVD, as part of Mike Leigh at the BBC, by the BBC/2Entertain in 2009

BRIGADISTA (5 Feb 1985)

wr. Terence Hodkinson
pr. Bob McIntosh
dr. Chris Lovett

The Black Stuff and Four Days in July were available on BBC Store but it closed on 1 November 2017. Note that some titles that were previously available via BBC Store, and some others, are now available to buy to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.

For researchers interested in these plays and their archival status, we strongly recommend the BBC drama research guide available here from Kaleidoscope.

Updates:
30 October 2015: corrected titles: ‘Kay’ to ‘Kaye’ and ‘Ring of Keys’ to ‘A Ring of Keys’.
8 Jun 2015: simplified layout; added producer credits; checked archival status; added DVD availability; minor text corrections.
25 February 2017: added The Black Stuff to clarify its status; checked latest BBC Store release information, adding The Black Stuff release information; amended opening paragraph to reflect changes; amended page title to include 1980 in order to reflect changes.
18 March 2017: updated Four Days in July online release information.
14 October 2020: updated DVD/blu ray release information; updated BBC Store status; added Amazon note.
16 October 2020: added link to Alan Clarke section.
19 November 2020: added reference to 17 November 2020 repeat of The Black Stuff. Moved text from the page’s introduction to the listing for The Black Stuff to accompany that information; adjusted page’s introduction as a result; fixed italicisation coding error.

1. There are various forms of evidence for this, which we will consider when covering each play. But as an example: Kaleidoscope note the existence of the first edit of Terra Nova, and observe that “The VT clock says this play was made for ‘Play for Today’.” Simon Coward, Richard Down and Chris Perry (editors), The Kaleidoscope British Television Drama Research Guide 1936-2011 (Dudley: Kaleidoscope Publishing, 2011), first combined digital edition, p. 2504. ↩

These plays were not broadcast under the Play for Today<\/em> banner but have been considered as part of the cycle to varying degrees. Some were commissioned for the strand but not billed as such. The Black Stuff<\/em> was never billed as a Play for Today<\/em> and did not even appear on the same channel as Play for Today<\/em>. Some of the later plays were commissioned for Play for Today<\/em> but appeared after that strand had ended.^{1<\/a><\/sup> Others can be argued about!<\/p>\n}

THE BLACK STUFF<\/u> (2 Jan 1980 – BBC2) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Alan Bleasdale
\npr. David Rose
\ndr. Jim Goddard
\n(The Black Stuff<\/em> was never billed as a Play for Today<\/em>, and indeed debuted on BBC2, not in the BBC1 Play for Today<\/em> strand, but it is often mentioned in press pieces about Play for Today<\/em> and was repeated on BBC4 on 17 November 2020 as part of a Play for Today<\/em> repeat run.)
\nThe Black Stuff<\/em> was released on DVD by the BBC in 2003 (as part of Boys from the Blackstuff<\/em>)<\/p>\n

BEING NORMAL<\/u> (27 Jul 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Brian Phelan
\npr. Alan Shallcross
\ndr. Peter Smith<\/p>\n

GUNFIGHT AT THE JOE KAYE CORRAL<\/u> (3 Aug 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Alan Shinwell
\npr. Bob McIntosh
\ndr. Ken Grieve<\/p>\n

A RING OF KEYS<\/u> (10 Aug 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Frank Ash
\npr. Bob McIntosh
\ndr. Baz Taylor<\/p>\n

BAZAAR AND RUMMAGE<\/u> (17 Aug 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Sue Townsend
\npr. Terry Coles
\ndr. Richard Stroud<\/p>\n

FLOATING OFF<\/u> (24 Aug 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Stephen Davis
\npr. Erika Bond
\ndr. Nick Renton<\/p>\n

STAN’S LAST GAME<\/u> (25 Oct 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Willis Hall
\npr. Terry Coles
\ndr. Gavin Millar<\/p>\n

SUBMARINERS<\/u> (1 Nov 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Tom McLenaghan
\npr. Innes Lloyd
\ndr. Paul Seed<\/p>\n

MARTIN LUTHER – HERETIC<\/u> (8 Nov 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. William Nicholson
\npr. David M. Thompson
\ndr. Norman Stone<\/p>\n

ONE OF OURSELVES<\/u> (22 Nov 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. William Trevor
\npr. Kenith Trodd
\ndr. Pat O’ Connor<\/p>\n

AN ENGLISHMAN ABROAD<\/u> (29 Nov 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Alan Bennett
\npr. Innes Lloyd
\ndr. John Schlesinger
\nAn Englishman Abroad<\/em> was released on DVD by the BBC\/2Entertain in 2009 (as part of Alan Bennett at the BBC<\/em>)<\/p>\n

THE AERODROME<\/u> (13 Dec 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Robin Chapman (book Rex Warner)
\npr. Kenith Trodd
\ndr. Giles Foster<\/p>\n

ORWELL ON JURA<\/u> (20 Dec 1983) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Alan Plater
\npr. Norman McCandlish
\ndr. John Glenister<\/p>\n

TERRA NOVA<\/u> (13 Nov 1984) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. John Bruce (story Ted Tally)
\npr. Innes Lloyd
\ndr. John Bruce<\/p>\n

THE LONG MARCH<\/u> (20 Nov 1984) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Anne Devlin
\npr. Keith Williams
\ndr. Chris Parr<\/p>\n

PUNTERS<\/u> (27 Nov 1984) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Stephen Wakelam
\npr. Andr\u00e9e Molyneux
\ndr. Chris Menaul<\/p>\n

STARS OF THE ROLLER STATE DISCO<\/u> (4 Dec 1984) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Michael Hastings
\npr. Michael Wearing
\ndr. Alan Clarke Essay by David Rolinson<\/a>; Alan Clarke section<\/a>.
\nStars of the Roller State Disco<\/em> was released on DVD and blu ray by the BFI in 2016 (as part of Alan Clarke at the BBC<\/em>)<\/p>\n

TALK TO ME<\/u> (11 Dec 1984) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. William Humble
\npr. Innes Lloyd
\ndr. Tony Smith<\/p>\n

MORE LIVES THAN ONE<\/u> (18 Dec 1984) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. John Peacock
\npr. Alan Shallcross
\ndr. Michael Darlow<\/p>\n

THE LAST EVENSONG<\/u> (8 Jan 1985) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Trevor Baxter
\npr. Alan Shallcross
\ndr. Jon Amiel<\/p>\n

BIRD FANCIER<\/u> (15 Jan 1985) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Mal Middleton
\npr. Terry Coles
\ndr. Bill Hays<\/p>\n

THE EXERCISE<\/u> (22 Jan 1985) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Tim Rose Price
\npr. Roger Pine
\ndr. Gareth Davies<\/p>\n

FOUR DAYS IN JULY<\/u> (29 Jan 1985) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Mike Leigh
\npr. Kenith Trodd
\ndr. Mike Leigh
\nFour Days in July<\/em> was released on DVD, as part of Mike Leigh at the BBC<\/em>, by the BBC\/2Entertain in 2009<\/p>\n

BRIGADISTA<\/u> (5 Feb 1985) <\/b><\/h3>\n

wr. Terence Hodkinson
\npr. Bob McIntosh
\ndr. Chris Lovett<\/p>\n

The Black Stuff<\/em> and Four Days in July<\/em> were available on BBC Store but it closed on 1 November 2017. Note that some titles that were previously available via BBC Store, and some others, are now available to buy to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.<\/p>\n

For researchers interested in these plays and their archival status, we strongly recommend the BBC drama research guide available here from Kaleidoscope<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Updates:
\n30 October 2015: corrected titles: ‘Kay’ to ‘Kaye’ and ‘Ring of Keys’ to ‘A Ring of Keys’.
\n8 Jun 2015: simplified layout; added producer credits; checked archival status; added DVD availability; minor text corrections.
\n25 February 2017: added The Black Stuff to clarify its status; checked latest BBC Store release information, adding The Black Stuff release information; amended opening paragraph to reflect changes; amended page title to include 1980 in order to reflect changes.
\n18 March 2017: updated Four Days in July online release information.
\n14 October 2020: updated DVD\/blu ray release information; updated BBC Store status; added Amazon note.
\n16 October 2020: added link to Alan Clarke section.
\n19 November 2020: added reference to 17 November 2020 repeat of The Black Stuff. Moved text from the page’s introduction to the listing for The Black Stuff to accompany that information; adjusted page’s introduction as a result; fixed italicisation coding error.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n