Play for Tomorrow

Review by Laurence Marcus

Play of the Month and The Wednesday Play gave audiences a chance to reflect on the recent past, offering a window into the world that had just passed, yet was still fresh in memory. These shows often explored social issues, historical events, and personal stories that resonated with the moment, drawing viewers into the shared experiences of their own time.

Play For Today, on the other hand, created a dedicated space for the exploration of contemporary life. It delved into the complexities of modern existence, examining the challenges, triumphs, and contradictions of the present day. The show allowed writers and creators to reflect the immediate realities of society, from its political tensions to its cultural shifts.

Play For Tomorrow took things a step further, offering a speculative look into the near future. These narratives, though often filled with imaginative concepts, now appear almost quaint in hindsight, their predictions about the world to come seem charmingly out of touch when viewed through the lens of today. Yet, at the time, they provided audiences with an intriguing vision of what might lie ahead, sparking conversations about progress, innovation, and the potential direction of society.

Over six plays, writers were given the opportunity to tackle a variety of contemporary issues within futuristic settings, creating a provocative blend of the present and the imagined future. Caryl Churchill’s opening piece, Crimes, delved into the judicial system, questioning how society defines criminal activity amid a time of controlled and restricted activity, over-populated prisons and the growing threat of nuclear war. Set in 2002, it explored how the perception of crime in 1982—when the play was written—might differ two decades later, highlighting shifts in societal attitudes and legal perspectives. Crimes starred Julia Foster and T. P. McKenna.

Caryl Churchill, an Oxford graduate with a degree in English, began writing plays for radio after early marriage and motherhood. Radio, she felt, was the ideal medium for short, unconventional plays. It wasn’t until 1972 that she made her stage debut at the Royal Court Theatre, where she later gained fame for works with Joint Stock and the feminist theatre group Monstrous Regiment.

Though she never considered herself a "feminist" writer, Churchill’s plays often explored gender and power dynamics. She only became aware of the gender bias in the industry after receiving a letter from the BBC praising one of her radio plays, noting it was "remarkable for being written by a woman."

Switching from radio to theatre transformed Churchill’s writing process. She found the collaboration with actors and directors liberating and soon embraced research as part of her creative process. Notable works include Vinegar Tom, about witches, and Cloud Nine, which explores sexual politics through history. In 2009, the Royal Court Theatre held a 70th-birthday retrospective of her work by presenting readings of many of her most famous plays directed by notable playwrights.

The second play, Bright Eyes by Peter Prince, examined the pressures faced by a family living in war-torn Europe. Drawing parallels between the struggles of this family and those of their counterparts in the 1960s, the play served as a Cold War analogy, reflecting on the enduring challenges, fears, and aspirations that continue to shape family dynamics across generations. It follows the family unit over a period of twenty years, during which time it considers the political ideals of the youth in the 1990s, and compares them to the same in the 1960s. Robin Ellis, Kate Harper and Sarah Berger played the principal characters.

Peter Prince was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special for his work on the 1980 BBC miniseries Oppenheimer. His 1983 novel The Good Father was adapted into a 1985 film of the same name starring Anthony Hopkins.

Michael Wilcox's Cricket took a darker turn, using black comedy to explore a dystopian world reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984. The story centred on covert surveillance and growing suspicions of espionage, providing a chilling, satirical look at a society gripped by paranoia and control. It starred Anne Raitt and Malcolm Terris. Wilcox's other television dramas include episodes of Crown Court, Inspector Morse and Doctor Finlay. During the 2012 cricket season he was chairman of Haltwhistle Cricket Club in Haltwhistle, Northumberland.

The Nuclear Family, penned by Tom McGrath, is set in 1999, a time of space-orientated nuclear defence systems and computerised education. Time values have changed and there is a tremendous age gap between the young and middle-aged, most of whom were made redundant in the mid-80's. In 1999 the breadwinners are the young, creating a gripping narrative that questioned the very structure of society in times of economic hardship. McGrath’s script, in line with his reliable track record from the 1970s, was both entertaining and thought-provoking and starred Jimmy Logan, Gerard Kelly and Ann Scott-Jones.

Tom McGrath, who passed away in 2009, was a Scottish playwright and jazz pianist. During the mid 1960s he was associated with the emerging UK underground culture. He worked as features editor of Peace News, and was the founding editor of the International Times.

Stephen Lowe’s Shades starring Tracey Childs, Neil Pearson and Stuart MacKenzie brought a more realistic future into focus, examining the influence of virtual reality on youth culture. It’s set in a city tower block converted into a government-run "Youth Unit". The youths, at an age when they might be studying, training, working or protesting, have been bought off by the government - this being paid for by the "New Wealth" created by the development of the new microchip technology. The play questioned the motivations of young people living in a world where their dreams could be experienced virtually, through the shades-the dark glasses worn by the kids, and posed the uncomfortable question: why strive for anything when technology allows you to live in your fantasies?

Stephen Lowe has had plays produced by the Royal Court, Royal Shakespeare Company, Riverside Studios, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Hampstead Theatre, and at regional theatres across the country. Lowe's play Touched was joint winner of the George Devine Award in 1977, and he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Nottingham in July 2011. In July 2015, Nottingham Express Transit named one of their new trams "Stephen Lowe" in his honour.

The series culminated in Easter 2016 by Graham Reid, a powerful and poignant drama that explored the ongoing “Troubles” in Northern Ireland and imagined the trajectory of these conflicts into the twenty-first century. Set prior to the centenary of the Easter Rising in Dublin against the backdrop of an educational institution, the play tackled the complex issues of personal identity, state control, and security, with a stellar cast that included Denys Hawthorne, Derrick O'Connor, Bill Nighy, and Gerard McSorley. The play also featured a young Kenneth Branagh.

Born in Belfast, Graham Reid graduated from Queen's University in the city and was a teacher before becoming a full-time writer. As well as stage plays, he has written other works for television, including the trilogy Too Late To Talk To Billy, A Matter Of Choice For Billy and A Coming To Terms For Billy, and the series, Ties of Blood.

Play for Tomorrow was a triumph in both content and execution. With a strong premise, exceptional scripts by leading playwrights, and direction by Stuart Burge, Peter Duffell, Michael Barlow, John Glenister, Bill Hays, and Ben Bolt, it offered audiences an engaging and thought-provoking experience. Produced by Neil Zeiger, who would later play a key role in the Inspector Wexford series for Television South, the show established itself as a standout in its genre.