Thirty-Minute Theatre 59 years old
Thirty-Minute Theatre is an anthology drama series of short plays shown on BBC Television 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. It was initially produced by Graeme MacDonald. Thirty-Minute Theatre followed on from a similarly named ITV series, beginning on BBC2 in 1965 with an adaptation of the black comedy Parsons Pleasure. Dennis Potter contributed Emergency – Ward 9, which he partially recycled in the much later The Singing Detective. 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 named after areas of London in 1972, two three-part Inspector Waugh series starring Clive Swift in the title role, and a trilogy of plays by Jean Benedetti, broadcast in 1969, focusing on infamous historical figures such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
Credits
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Julian Glover He was 30 , now 89 years old | |
| Beryl Reid She was 46 , 77 years old when she died | |
| Shelley Winters She was 45 , 85 years old when she died | |
| Donald Pleasence He was 46 , 75 years old when he died | |
| Frank Finlay He was 39 , 89 years old when he died | |
| Vernon Dobtcheff He was 31 , now 90 years old | |
| Ronald Lacey He was 30 , 55 years old when he died | |
| John Gielgud He was 61 , 96 years old when he died | |
| Alec Guinness He was 51 , 86 years old when he died | |
| Lee Montague He was 37 , now 97 years old | |
| Sheila Hancock She was 32 , now 91 years old | |
| Ken Jones He was 29 , 78 years old when he died | |
| John Wood He was 35 , 81 years old when he died | |
| Kathleen Byron She was 44 , 88 years old when she died | |
| Edward Woodward He was 35 , 79 years old when he died | |
| John Castle He was 25 , now 84 years old | |
| John Standing He was 31 , now 90 years old | |
| James Bolam He was 30 , now 89 years old | |
| Diane Cilento She was 33 , 79 years old when she died | |
| Sylvia Syms She was 31 , now 90 years old | |
| Bill Owen He was 51 , 85 years old when he died | |
| Keith Barron He was 31 , 83 years old when he died | |
| Calvin Lockhart He was 30 , 72 years old when he died | |
| Melvyn Hayes He was 30 , now 89 years old | |
| Hannah Gordon She was 24 , now 83 years old | |
| John Bennett He was 37 , 76 years old when he died | |
| Marius Goring He was 53 , 86 years old when he died | |
| Richard Pearson | |
| John Franklyn-Robbins He was 40 , 84 years old when he died | |
| Patricia Routledge She was 36 , now 95 years old | |
| Earl Cameron He was 48 , now 107 years old | |
| Kenneth Colley He was 27 , now 87 years old | |
| Patrick Allen He was 14 , 55 years old when he died | |
| Esmond Knight He was 59 , 80 years old when he died | |
| Norman Rossington He was 36 , 70 years old when he died | |
| Eleanor Bron She was 27 , now 86 years old | |
| Trevor Bannister He was 31 , 76 years old when he died | |
| Ray Brooks He was 26 , now 85 years old | |
| George Layton He was 22 , now 81 years old | |
| John Barrie He was 48 , 62 years old when he died | |
| Frederick Jaeger He was 37 , 76 years old when he died | |
| John Le Mesurier He was 53 , 71 years old when he died | |
| Johnny Briggs He was 103 , 39 years old when he died | |
| Tim Preece He was 27 , now 86 years old | |
| Terence De Marney He was 57 , 63 years old when he died | as Flanders |
| Christopher Benjamin He was 30 , now 89 years old | |
| Michael Aldridge He was 45 , 73 years old when he died | |
| Michael Standing He was 26 , now 85 years old | |
| Leonard Rossiter He was 38 , 57 years old when he died | |
| Clifton Jones He was 28 , now 87 years old |
Crew
| Name | Job title |
|---|---|
| Christopher Morahan Directing He was 36 , 87 years old when he died | Director |
| Hugh Whitemore Writing He was 29 , 82 years old when he died | Writer |
| Herbert Wise Directing He was 41 , 90 years old when he died | Director |
| Michael Tuchner Directing He was 31 , 83 years old when he died | Director |
| Henri Safran Directing He was 33 , now 92 years old | Director |
| Claude Whatham Directing He was 37 , 80 years old when he died | Director |
| Rudolph Cartier Directing He was 61 , 90 years old when he died | Director |
| Ridley Scott Directing He was 27 , now 87 years old | Director |
| Alan Cooke Directing | Director |
| Philip Saville Directing He was 34 , 86 years old when he died | Director |
| Mike Newell Directing He was 23 , now 82 years old | Director |
| Michael Apted Directing He was 24 , now 83 years old | Director |
| Dennis Potter Writing He was 30 , 59 years old when he died | Writer |
| Simon Langton Directing He was 23 , now 83 years old | Director |
| John Mortimer Writing He was 42 , 85 years old when he died | Writer |
| Jack Gold Directing He was 35 , now 94 years old | Director |
| Richard Martin (director) Directing He was 9 , now 68 years old | Director |
| Waris Hussein Directing He was 26 , now 86 years old | Director |
| Mark Cullingham Directing | Director |
| Douglas Camfield Directing He was 34 , 52 years old when he died | Director |
| Alan Bridges Directing He was 38 , 86 years old when he died | Director |
Thirty-Minute Theatre (59 years)
Ended
- First Air Date: 1965-10-07
- Runtime: [30] minutes
- Number of Episodes: 288