49. An Enemy of the People
A scientist stands against an entire town when he discovers their medicinal spa is polluted.
Latest episode
S10 E50 · Echo from Afar
Sunday Night Theatre is a drama TV series that premiered on BBC One on January 1, 1950. It has 10 seasons and 134 episodes so far and is still airing new episodes. The latest episode, Season 10 Episode 50 "Echo from Afar", aired on December 13, 1959.
Sunday Night Theatre was a long-running series of televised live television plays screened by BBC Television from early 1950 until 1959. The productions for the first five years or so of the run were re-staged live the following Thursday, partly because of technical limitations in this era, and the theatrical basis of early television drama. Some of the earliest collaborations between Rudolph Cartier and Nigel Neale were produced for this series, including Arrow to the Heart and Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Sunday night drama slot was subsequently renamed The Sunday-Night Play which ran for four seasons between 1960 and 1963. ITV transmitted its own unrelated run of Sunday Night Theatre between 1971 and 1974.
Last updated
134 episodes · 10 seasons
1950 · 21 episodes · Last episode: 75 years ago
A scientist stands against an entire town when he discovers their medicinal spa is polluted.
A ship's captain must conceal a stowaway from his crew.
The story of Alexander the Great, a compulsive conqueror.
A group of people are shipwrecked when their yacht runs around on a South Pacific island. The usable hierarchy in a upper-class British family breaks down quickly when it becomes apparent that only the servant Crichton is capable of surviving on his own and he becomes the communities leader.
Marius Goring stars as Tommy Savidge, a crippled poet who longs to compose verse dramas but is forced to write trashy plays for dingy provincial repertory companies to make a living.
This quintessential Chekhov drama--his first success--is both comic and tragic. A group of friends and relations gather at a country estate to see the first performance of an experimental play written and staged by the young man of the house, Konstantin, an aspiring writer who dreams of bringing new forms to the theatre.
A noblewoman discovers her husband is The Scarlet Pimpernel, a vigilante who rescues aristocrats from the blade of the guillotine.
Viola and Sebastian are lookalike twins, separated by a shipwreck. Viola lands in Illyria, where she disguises herself like her brother and goes into the service of the Duke Orsino. Orsino sends her to help him woo the Lady Olivia, who doesn't want the Duke, but finds that she likes the new messenger the Duke's sending. Then, of course, Viola's brother shows up, and merry hell breaks loose. Meanwhile, Olivia's uncle and his cohorts are trying to find some way to get back at Olivia's officious majordomo, Malvolio.
Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime.
1951 · 15 episodes · Last episode: 75 years ago
A group of Allied prisoners of war use a dummy to cover their attempts to escape a German camp.
In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but they have both sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
Two forces battle over the future of an English village. On one side, a factory owner wants to move out the locals and turn it into a factory town. On the other, a member of the community wants to preserve the village as it is.
Successful attorney has his Jewish heritage and poverty-stricken background brought home to him when he learns his wife has been unfaithful.
During the French Revolution, a mysterious English nobleman known only as The Scarlet Pimpernel (a humble wayside flower), snatches French aristos from the jaws of the guillotine, while posing as the foppish Sir Percy Blakeney in society. Percy falls for and marries the beautiful actress Marguerite St. Just, but she is involved with Chauvelin and Robespierre, and Percy's marriage to her may endanger the Pimpernel's plans to save the little Dauphin.
13 episodes · Last episode: 74 years ago
The theme of Romeo and Juliet reworked in an orthodox Jewish household where Jeff who is a Christian falls in love with Juliet. Both families bitterly oppose the relationship. The story is set in wartime, in the East End of London.
A London businessman concocts an intricate plan to murder his unfaithful wife for her money.
A loving family's world is shattered by an old friend's arrival, carrying a dark secret.
1953 · 16 episodes · Last episode: 72 years ago
A man is haunted by a murder that he's committed.
A young man becomes confidential clerk to a rich financier - who may be his father.
A lighthouse keeper's daughter lives her opportunistic marital life, until her past lover re-appears.
After the overthrowing of Duke Senior by his tyrannical brother, Senior's daughter Rosalind disguises herself as a man and sets out to find her banished father while also counseling her clumsy suitor Orlando in the art of wooing.
After the overthrowing of Duke Senior by his tyrannical brother, Senior's daughter Rosalind disguises herself as a man and sets out to find her banished father while also counseling her clumsy suitor Orlando in the art of wooing.
A group of nuclear scientists face a moral dilemma when they discover that as well as making electricity, their government also wants to make nuclear bombs with their products.
1954 · 22 episodes · Last episode: 71 years ago
E50
In a totalitarian future society, Winston Smith, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love. [The broadcast caused controversy, with many viewer complaints and questions in Parliament over its supposed subversive nature and horrific content. With time and hindsight, it was ranked 73rd of "The 100 Greatest British Television Programmes of the 20th Century" in an industry poll by the BFI in 2000.]
The carefully-controlled marriage of James Manning begins to collapse when he realizes his wife is having an affair with a wealthy man.
During the Trojan War, a Trojan warrior is distraught when his lover takes up with a Greek.
During the Trojan War, a Trojan warrior is distraught when his lover takes up with a Greek.
In a small Russian town at the turn of the century, three sisters (Olga, Irina, and Masha) and their brother Andrei live but dream daily of their return to their former home in Moscow, where life is charming and stimulating meaningful. But for now they exist in a malaise of dissatisfaction. Soldiers from the local military post provide them some companionship and society, but nothing can suffice to replace Moscow in their hopes. Andrei marries a provincial girl, Natasha, and begins to settle into a life of much less meaning than he had hoped. Natasha begins to run the family her way. Masha, though married, yearns for the sophisticated life and begins a dalliance with Vershinin, an army officer with a sick and suicidal wife. Even Irina, the freshest, most optimistic of the sisters, begins to waver in her dreams until, finally, tragedy strikes.
Two identical twins and their two servants (also identical twins) are separated in a ship-wreck. When, years later, they all show up in the same town, mistaken identities abound.
24 episodes · Last episode: 70 years ago
A veteran hero of the German army finds himself at odds with the Nazi regime.
A group of disparate travelers are caught are thrown together in a posh Alpine hotel when the borders are closed at the start of WWII.
A noblewoman discovers her husband is The Scarlet Pimpernel, a vigilante who rescues aristocrats from the blade of the guillotine.
In Shakespeare's classic play, the Montagues and Capulets, two families of Renaissance Italy, have hated each other for years, but the son of one family and the daughter of the other fall desperately in love and secretly marry.
A rich merchant, Antonio is depressed for no good reason, until his good friend Bassanio comes to tell him how he's in love with Portia. Portia's father has died and left a very strange will: only the man that picks the correct casket out of three (silver, gold, and lead) can marry her. Bassanio, unfortunately, is strapped for cash with which to go wooing, and Antonio wants to help, so Antonio borrows the money from Shylock, the money-lender. But Shylock has been nursing a grudge against Antonio's insults, and makes unusual terms to the loan. And when Antonio's business fails, those terms threaten his life, and it's up to Bassanio and Portia to save him.
A rich merchant, Antonio is depressed for no good reason, until his good friend Bassanio comes to tell him how he's in love with Portia. Portia's father has died and left a very strange will: only the man that picks the correct casket out of three (silver, gold, and lead) can marry her. Bassanio, unfortunately, is strapped for cash with which to go wooing, and Antonio wants to help, so Antonio borrows the money from Shylock, the money-lender. But Shylock has been nursing a grudge against Antonio's insults, and makes unusual terms to the loan. And when Antonio's business fails, those terms threaten his life, and it's up to Bassanio and Portia to save him.
The idealist Reverend Morell tries to unite Socialism and Christianity.
A scientist searches for the Yeti in a Himalayan fastness, and is soon at odds with an adventurer who wants to find the Creature for less exalted reasons.
17 episodes · Last episode: 69 years ago
A portrayal of the life of the eighteenth century soldier and politician, particularly focusing on his victory at the Battle of Plassey.
When Hadrian seeks permission to marry, is it for love or for an inheritance?
Crystof Wolters is German born but working in and owing allegiance to Britain. The play is concerned with how and why he betrays that allegiance, and how, after a tense cat-and mouse-game, he is led to reveal his betrayal.
The Austro-Hungarian empire is rocked by scandal when Crown Prince Rudolf and his mistress Mare Vetsera are found dead at the Mayerling hunting lodge.
An examination of the fatal romance between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
14 episodes · Last episode: 68 years ago
Before becoming one of America's greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln had a long career as a businessman, lawyer, government official and elected representative for the state of Illinois. This film looks at the rise of this self-educated statesman, including his famous series of public debates with rival Stephen Douglas. A glimpse is also shown of some of the more personal aspects of his Lincoln's life, including the early romance and heartbreak he experienced with Ann Rutledge.
Arnold Boult is determined to make his son a success at all costs. He commits arson, causes two suicides, and bribes people. His wife, unable to leave him, becomes alcoholic and dies. His son is killed. After doing time in prison he searches for his illegitimate grandson.
The Prince of Wales, contrary to strict royal protocol, falls in love with a commoner, Maria Fitzherbert, and plans to marry her.
An over-the-hill heavyweight boxing champion who suffers from the ravages of years of head trauma is exploited by his manager, despite the efforts of a compassionate young woman who tries to help him recover his self-respect.
Viola and Sebastian are lookalike twins, separated by a shipwreck. Viola lands in Illyria, where she disguises herself like her brother and goes into the service of the Duke Orsino. Orsino sends her to help him woo the Lady Olivia, who doesn't want the Duke, but finds that she likes the new messenger the Duke's sending. Then, of course, Viola's brother shows up, and merry hell breaks loose. Meanwhile, Olivia's uncle and his cohorts are trying to find some way to get back at Olivia's officious majordomo, Malvolio.
13 episodes · Last episode: 67 years ago
In a Russian slum, various residents play out their lives, dreaming of better things or settling for their lot. Among them is a man who pines for a young woman but is stymied by her deceptive family.
Mistaken identity, unrequited love, and the supernatural are combined in Shakespeare's classic set in the woods of Greece on a moonlit night.
1959 · 13 episodes · Last episode: 66 years ago
Maigret, that most human of French detectives, sets out to solve the mystery surrounding the brutal murder of a girl whose body has been found in a street near Place Pigalle in the heart of Paris.
Will Ernie Pandish finally find success as a writer?
Sammy Rice - prevented by an artificial foot from military service in World War II - is instead a "back room boy", a life he finds frustrating in the extreme.
A date for the next episode of Sunday Night Theatre hasn't been announced yet. Follow Sunday Night Theatre in the Streambay app and you'll be notified as soon as a new episode airs.
The most recent episode of Sunday Night Theatre, Season 10 Episode 50 "Echo from Afar", aired on December 13, 1959.
Sunday Night Theatre has 10 seasons with 134 episodes in total.
Sunday Night Theatre first aired on BBC One on January 1, 1950.
Download the Streambay app, follow Sunday Night Theatre, and you'll get a push notification the moment each new episode is released.
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