''Playhouse'', also known as ''ITV Playhouse'', is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire '' Dramarama''. The series would mostly include original material from writers, but adaptations of existing works were also produced (such as the 1979 production of

M.R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English Medieval studies, medievalist scholar and author who served as provost (education), provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as w ...

' horror story '' Casting the Runes'').

Actors

Actors appearing in the series included: Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood,

Jessie Matthews Jessie Margaret Matthews (11 March 1907 – 19 August 1981) was an English actress, dancer and singer of the 1920s and 1930s, whose career continued into the post-war period. After a string of hit stage musicals and films in the mid-1930s, suc ...

Basdeo Panday Basdeo Panday (; 25 May 1933 – 1 January 2024) was a Trinidadian statesman, lawyer, politician, trade unionist, economist, and actor who served as the fifth List of Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago ...

, Lloyd Peters,

Anna Massey Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Best Actress Award for the role of Edith Hope in the Hotel du Lac (film), 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel ...

Peter Sallis Peter John Sallis (1 February 1921 – 2 June 2017) was an English actor. He was the original voice of Wallace in the Academy Award-winning '' Wallace & Gromit'' films and played Norman "Cleggy" Clegg in ''Last of the Summer Wine'' from its 1 ...

, Kim Fortune, Wanda Ventham, Gillian Martell, Glory Annen, Christine Shaw and Christopher Driscoll.

Selected episodes

* '' Entertaining Mr. Sloane'' (1968) * ''Premiere: The Night of Talavera'' (1968) * ''Thursday’s Child'' (1970) * ''The High Game'' (1970) * ''A Splinter of Ice'' (1972) * '' The Bass Player and the Blonde'' (1977) * ''A Rod of Iron'' (1980) * '' Casting the Runes'' (1979)

Archive Status

Out of an original total of 256 episodes, 33 episodes are currently missing.https://www.tvbrain.info/tv-archive?showname=playhouse&type=lostshow

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Playhouse (British Tv Series) 1967 British television series debuts 1983 British television series endings British drama television series ITV television dramas 1960s British drama television series 1970s British drama television series 1980s British drama television series 1960s British anthology television series 1970s British anthology television series 1980s British anthology television series Black-and-white British television shows British English-language television shows Television series by Yorkshire Television Television shows produced by Thames Television Television shows produced by Granada Television Television shows produced by Anglia Television Television shows produced by Associated-Rediffusion Television shows produced by Associated Television (ATV)

External links

''Playhouse''
at

IMDB IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

''Playhouse''
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...