Skip to content
Streambay
Performance poster
TV series

Performance

Latest episode

S7 E1 · King Lear

About Performance

Performance is a drama TV series that premiered on BBC Four on October 5, 1991. It has 7 seasons and 33 episodes so far and has ended. The latest episode, Season 7 Episode 1 "King Lear", aired on March 21, 1998.

An anthology series of various plays and dramatic performances.

  • Drama

Last updated

Episodes

33 episodes · 7 seasons

Series 1

1991 · 6 episodes · Last episode: 35 years ago

Performance Series 1 release dates →
  1. E6

    6. The Trials of Oz

    Finale

    Dramatization of the famous 1971 trial in which the editors of the British underground magazine "Oz" were charged with obscenity.

  2. E5

    5. Top Girls

    Marlene celebrates her new position as MD of Top Girls Appointment Agency by giving a dinner party for five oddly assorted women from centuries past.

  3. E4

    4. Old Times

    A married couple are visited by a friend from their past, who causes them unease and even embarrassment.

  4. E3

    3. Nona

    An adaptation of Roberto Cossa's Argentinian drama, the play focuses on a family desperately struggling against inflation and unemployment while trying to assuage the insatiable appetite of their 100-year old grandmother.

  5. E2

    2. Uncle Vanya

    When Vanya's brother-in-law declares his intention to sell the family's house, polite facades begin to crumble and long repressed feelings start to emerge with devastating consequences.

  6. E1

    1. Absolute Hell

    Black comedy set in Soho, London, right after WW2. Half of the fun is seeing a slew of very familiar faces kick up their heels as gay men, lesbians, party-girls, drunks, and drag queens.

Series 2

1992 · 5 episodes · Last episode: 33 years ago

Performance Series 2 release dates →
  1. E5

    5. Six Characters in Search of an Author

    Finale

    Originally set in a theatre, this new version of Luigi Pirandello's classic play takes place in a film studio in 1950 and is recorded in black and white. A family carrying a great personal tragedy of shame and despair have come to the studio to find somebody who can describe their experiences and explain what they've done to each other.

  2. Performance S2 E4 still E4

    4. After the Dance

    David and Joan's life has been one continuous party, but their marriage is loveless. Suddenly a young girl appears in their world and announces that she's in love with David and wants to change his life for ever. Critics called it Terence Rattigan's most serious and truthful play, but it has not been seen for 50 years.

  3. E3

    3. Roots

    Beatie returns to her family home in Norfolk, having been "educated" in cultural and political matters by Ronnie, the boyfriend she lived with in London. Through trying to pass on the things she's learnt to her uninterested family, she discovers her own voice and views—which are no longer just an echo of Ronnie's.

  4. E2

    2. A Doll's House

    Years ago, Nora Helmer committed a forgery in order to save the life of her authoritarian husband Torvald. Now she is being blackmailed, and lives in fear of her husband finding out.

  5. E1

    1. Tales From Hollywood

    Among the residents of Los Angeles during the 1940s were Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Bertolt Brecht and, according to this play, the Austro-Hungarian dramatist Odon Von Horvath, our guide to the sun-soaked boulevards and the bizarre cultural collisions of wartime Hollywood.

Series 3

1993 · 5 episodes · Last episode: 32 years ago

Performance Series 3 release dates →
  1. Performance S3 E5 still E5

    5. The Changeling

    Finale

    Just days before her wedding, Beatrice-Joanna has a chance encounter with Alsemero, and realizes that she has met her one true love. To marry the man she loves, she persuades the love-struck henchman De Flores to murder her fiancé, but does not anticipate the tragic consequences of her actions.

  2. E4

    4. The Entertainer

    The play uses the metaphor of the dying music hall tradition, specifically fictional music hall star Archie Rice, to comment on the moribund state of the British Empire in the 1950s.

  3. E3

    3. Hedda Gabler

    Hedda Gabler is a beautiful woman married to the solid and respectable academic George Tesman. Then an old flame, the dreamer Eilert Lovborg, turns up on the scene with tragic results.

  4. E2

    2. The Maitlands

    It is early summer in the secluded seaside village of Betworthy. But there is a strained atmosphere in the once-prosperous Maitland household, because the family has fallen on hard times. Performance presents the first production for 60 years of the witty and tragic family drama by Ronald Mackenzie.

  5. E1

    1. Suddenly Last Summer

    Mrs Venable's grief at the loss of her beloved poet son Sebastian turns to rage against her niece Catharine, his last companion and witness of his gruesome death. Determined to erase the memory of Sebastian's loss, she tries to persuade her pet doctor to perform a lobotomy on Catharine.

Series 4

1994 · 5 episodes · Last episode: 31 years ago

Performance Series 4 release dates →
  1. E5

    5. The Mother

    Finale

    Paddy Chayefsky's 1954 play set in the Bronx tells the story of a recently widowed 66-year-old seeks a job after 40 years if being a homemaker.

  2. E4

    4. Summer Day's Dream

    In 1975, after a nuclear war, the nations have combined to set up a World Government. An old man who lives quietly in the country finds his peace threatened by a visit from three World Government figures.

  3. Performance S4 E3 still E3

    3. The Deep Blue Sea

    A woman unhappy in her passionless marriage leaves her husband for a younger and more ardent lover.

  4. Performance S4 E2 still E2

    2. Measure for Measure

    Modern dress version of Shakespeare's "problem comedy" emphasizing the darker elements of the play and eliminating most of the humor, as Claudio is dragged to the police station on charges of fornication, and given a rectal exam in front of a window.

  5. E1

    1. Message For Posterity

    A Parliamentary committee decides to commission a portrait as a memorial to an ageing Conservative, wartime ex-Prime Minister, Sir David Browning. Bizarrely, they choose anarchic, anti-establishment and equally ageing artist James Player, who appears to stand for the very opposite values and positions to his prospective sitter. During sittings the two men find many opportunities to score political and social points off each. Screened with an with an introduction by Brian Walden, a contemporary of writer Dennis Potter at Oxford and an old Oxford political sparring partner.

Series 5

1995 · 6 episodes · Last episode: 31 years ago

Performance Series 5 release dates →
  1. E6

    6. After Miss Julie

    Finale

    An updated version of Strindberg's play examining class and social differences. Julie, the daughter of an MP, seduces her father's chauffeur, despite his being engaged to the maid.

  2. Performance S5 E5 still E5

    5. Henry IV

    Henry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, regain his father's good opinions and help suppress the uprising.

  3. E4

    4. Bed

    Surreal drama about seven old people living in the same bed.

  4. E3

    3. Landscape

    Beth sits in an armchair to the left of the table, and Duff in a chair at the opposite end. Duff refers normally to Beth but does not appear to hear her voice. Beth never looks at Duff and does not appear to hear his voice.

  5. E2

    2. The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd

    Mrs Holroyd is married to a loutish miner. When a gentlemanly neighbour makes romantic advances to her, she wishes her husband dead. Sooner than she hoped, her wish comes true.

  6. E1

    1. Shadow of a Gunman

    In 1920 as the Irish War of Independence rages, two young men, Donald Davoren and Seamus Shields, share a flat in Dublin. First installment in Sean O'Casey's Dublin Trilogy.

Series 6

1997 · 5 episodes · Last episode: 29 years ago

Performance Series 6 release dates →
  1. E5

    5. Macbeth on the Estate

    Finale

    Shakespeare's play updated to the present day. On a council estate where people survive by dealing drugs and shoplifting, Duncan is the Godfather. Urged by Mrs Macbeth, Macbeth kills Duncan.

  2. E4

    4. Broken Glass

    A Jewish housewife in 1938 Brooklyn loses the use of her legs after reading about Kristallnacht.

  3. E3

    3. Richard II

    The incompetent Richard II is deposed by Henry Bolingbroke and undergoes a crisis of identity once he is no longer king.

  4. E2

    2. My Night with Reg

    A group of English gay men get together to reminisce. They are all coming from a wake for one of their circle who's died of AIDS. It's that terrifying time between the outbreak of AIDS and the development of an AIDS test and as the conversation unfolds it becomes apparent that each man there has had unprotected sex with the deceased.

  5. E1

    1. Company

    At his 35th birthday party Bobby's friends are all wondering: Why isn't he married? Why can't he find the right woman and settle down?

Series 7

1998 · 1 episode · Last episode: 28 years ago

Performance Series 7 release dates →
  1. E1

    1. King Lear

    Finale

    King Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters. But Goneril and Regan have no love for him and instead plot to take all his power from him. In a parallel, Lear's loyal courtier Gloucester favors his illegitimate son Edmund after being told lies about his faithful son Edgar. Madness and tragedy befall both ill-starred fathers.

Cast & crew

  • Elizabeth McGovern

    Elizabeth McGovern

    Beatrice-Joanna

  • Bob Hoskins

    Bob Hoskins

    De Flores

  • Hugh Grant

    Hugh Grant

    Alsemero

  • Sean Pertwee

    Sean Pertwee

    Tomazo

  • Adie Allen

    Adie Allen

    Diaphanta

  • Maynard Eziashi

    Maynard Eziashi

    Jasperino

  • Peter Darling

    Alonso

  • Myrtle Moss

    Nanny

  • Leslie Phillips

    Leslie Phillips

    Vermandero

  • John Quinn

    Sailor

  • David Warner

    David Warner

    Vanya

  • Ian Holm

    Ian Holm

    Astrov

  • Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

    Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

    Yelena

  • Ian Bannen

    Ian Bannen

    Serebryakov

  • Rebecca Pidgeon

    Rebecca Pidgeon

    Sonya

  • Rachel Kempson

    Rachel Kempson

    Mariya Vasilyevna

Performance FAQ

Will there be new episodes of Performance?

Performance has ended, so no new episodes are scheduled. The final episode aired on March 21, 1998.

When did the latest episode of Performance come out?

The most recent episode of Performance, Season 7 Episode 1 "King Lear", aired on March 21, 1998.

How many seasons of Performance are there?

Performance has 7 seasons with 33 episodes in total.

When did Performance first air?

Performance first aired on BBC Four on October 5, 1991.

How do I get notified when new episodes of Performance are released?

Download the Streambay app, follow Performance, and you'll get a push notification the moment each new episode is released.

More like Performance

  • Come Home Love: Lo and Behold poster

    5.4

    S1 · E2868 3 months ago

    Come Home Love: Lo and Behold

    Synopsis: Hung Sue Gan starting from the bottom, established his own logistics company, which is now running smoothly. His only concern now are his three daughters. His eldest daughter has immigrated overseas. His second daughter Hung Yeuk Shui has reached the marriageable age, but has no hopes for marriage anytime soon. She is constantly bickering with her younger sister Hung Sum Yue, who is an honour student, over trivial matters, causing their father to not know whether to laugh or cry. Hung Sue Yan, Hung Sue Gan's brother, moves in with the family, temporarily ending his life as a nomadic photograph...

  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit poster

    8.0

    S28 · E4 1 week ago

    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

    Synopsis: In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

  • Law & Order poster

    7.3

    S26 · E4 1 week ago

    Law & Order

    Synopsis: In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

  • The Mentalist poster

    8.4

    S7 · E13 11 years ago

    The Mentalist

    Synopsis: Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic medium, uses his razor sharp skills of observation and expertise at "reading" people to solve serious crimes with the California Bureau of Investigation.

  • NCIS poster

    7.6

    S24 · E5 5 days ago

    NCIS

    Synopsis: From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, a team of special agents investigates any crime that has any connection to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position.

  • C.I.D. poster

    5.7

    S2 · E104 10 months ago

    C.I.D.

    Synopsis: A team of dedicated men and women in the Crime Investigation Department will risk everything to solve Mumbai's toughest, most complicated crimes.

  • MobLand poster

    8.5

    S2 · E8 2 days ago

    MobLand

    Synopsis: Two mob families clash in a war that threatens to topple empires and lives.

  • Grey's Anatomy poster

    8.2

    S23 · E4 3 days ago

    Grey's Anatomy

    Synopsis: Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle's Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

  • Supernatural poster

    8.3

    S15 · E20 5 years ago

    Supernatural

    Synopsis: When they were boys, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. Subsequently, their father raised them to be soldiers. He taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America ... and he taught them how to kill it. Now, the Winchester brothers crisscross the country in their '67 Chevy Impala, battling every kind of supernatural threat they encounter along the way.

  • Carrie poster

    8.3

    S1 · E8 1 month ago

    Carrie

    Synopsis: After her father's sudden, untimely death thrusts her into the unforgiving ecosystem of public high school, Carrie is forced to navigate a viral bullying scandal that tears through her community, the relentless pressure and casual cruelty of the social‑media age, and the awakening of mysterious telekinetic powers that rise alongside her adolescence.

  • Young Hearts poster

    6.3

    S27 · E253 6 years ago

    Young Hearts

    Synopsis: Malhação is a Brazilian television series for the teenage audience. The soap started in 1995, and was set in a fictional Gym Club called Malhação on Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. Through the years the location varied slightly. Although the name of the soap remains the same, it is now set in the Múltipla Escolha High School.

  • Lanterns poster

    8.3

    S1 · E8 1 month ago

    Lanterns

    Synopsis: Two intergalactic cops, new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, are drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.

Never miss Performance.

Download Streambay and follow Performance. We’ll notify you the moment a new episode is released. It’s free, with no sign-up and no personal information required.

Coming soon to App Store Get it on Google Play
Performance Get new episode alerts Get alerts