Performance (TV series)

Performance is a UK television anthology series produced by Simon Curtis for the BBC. Twenty-six episodes aired on the BBC between 5 October 1991 and 21 March 1998, almost all of which were productions of classic and contemporary plays, including Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello, King Lear by William Shakespeare, and The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan.

Performance
GenreStage drama
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish (including translations)
Production
Production companyBBC (some co-productions)
Release
Original networkBBC2
Original release5 October 1991 (1991-10-05) –
21 March 1998 (1998-03-21)
Related
Theatre Night

Among its directors were Karel Reisz, Anthony Page, Richard Eyre, Simon Curtis, and Harold Pinter.

Its high-profile cast included Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh, Elizabeth McGovern, Jeremy Irons, Judi Dench, Hugh Grant, Alec Guinness, Tom Wilkinson, Miranda Richardson, Ian Holm, Bill Nighy, John Gielgud, Geraldine Somerville and Juliet Stevenson.

List of episodes

The main sources for compiling this list was the BFI Film and TV Database[1] and the website of the BBC Genome Project.

Legend: Se = Season; Ep = Episode

Se Ep Title Author Producer/
Director		 Performers UK
Transmission
date
1 1 Absolute Hell Rodney Ackland Anthony Page (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 Judi Dench,
Bill Nighy,
Ronald Pickup,
Charles Gray,
Anthony Calf		 5 October 1991[2]
1 2 Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov Gregory Mosher (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 David Warner,
Ian Holm,
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio,
Ian Bannen,
Roger Hammond		 12 October 1991
1 3 Nona Roberto Cossa (play),
Michael Hastings (adaptation)		 Simon Curtis (d/p) Les Dawson,
Liz Smith,
Jim Broadbent,
Timothy Spall,
Jane Horrocks,
Maurice Denham		 19 October 1991[3]
1 4 Old Times Harold Pinter Simon Curtis (d/p) John Malkovich,
Kate Nelligan,
Miranda Richardson		 26 October 1991
1 5 Top Girls Caryl Churchill Max Stafford-Clark (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 Deborah Findlay,
Beth Goddard,
Lesley Manville		 2 November 1991
1 6 The Trials of Oz Geoffrey Robertson
John Mortimer		 Sheree Folkson (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 Hugh Grant,
Peter O'Brien,
Kevin Allen
Leslie Phillips,
Nigel Hawthorne,
Simon Callow,
David Troughton,
Alfred Molina,
Nicholas Farrell,
Nigel Planer,
Lee Cornes		 9 November 1991
2 1 Tales from Hollywood Christopher Hampton Howard Davies (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 Jeremy Irons,
Alec Guinness,
Elizabeth McGovern,
Sinéad Cusack
Ian Thompson,
George Raistrick,
Jack Shepherd,
Lynn Farleigh,
Mike McShane,
Iain Rattray		 19 October 1992 (U.S.)
14 November 1992 (UK)
2 2 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen David Thacker,
Simon Curtis		 Juliet Stevenson,
Trevor Eve,
Geraldine James,
Patrick Malahide,
David Calder,
Helen Blatch		 21 November 1992[4]
2 3 Roots Arnold Wesker Simon Curtis (d/p) Jane Horrocks,
Pam Ferris,
Imelda Staunton,
Christopher Eccleston,
Timothy Spall		 28 November 1992
2 4 After the Dance Terence Rattigan Stuart Burge (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 Anton Rodgers,
Gemma Jones,
Imogen Stubbs,
John Bird,
Geoffrey Beevers		 5 December 1992
2 5 Six Characters in Search of an Author Luigi Pirandello Bill Bryden (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 Brian Cox,
John Hurt,
Tara Fitzgerald,
Susan Fleetwood,
Brian Glover,
Steven Mackintosh		 12 December 1992
3 1 The Maitlands Robert MacKenzie Lindsay Posner (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 Eileen Atkins,
Jennifer Ehle,
Bill Nighy,
Edward Fox,
Samuel West		 13 November 1993
3 2 Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen Deborah Warner (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 Fiona Shaw,
Nicholas Woodeson,
Stephen Rea		 27 November 1993
3 3 The Entertainer John Osborne Nicholas Renton (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 Michael Gambon,
Helen McCrory,
Bill Owen,
Billie Whitelaw		 4 December 1993
3 4 The Changeling Thomas Middleton and William Rowley
Michael Hastings (adaptation)		 Simon Curtis (p) Bob Hoskins,
Elizabeth McGovern,
Hugh Grant,
Leslie Phillips,
Sean Pertwee		 11 December 1993
4 1 Message for Posterity Dennis Potter David Jones (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 John Neville,
Eric Porter,
Ronald Pickup,
Sophie Thompson,
Abigail Cruttenden,
Annette Crosbie,
Tony Haygarth,
Patrick Godfrey,
Nicholas Selby,
Stephen Moore		 29 October 1994
4 2 Measure for Measure William Shakespeare David Thacker (d) Tom Wilkinson,
Corin Redgrave,
Juliet Aubrey,
Ian Bannen,
David Bradley,
Geoffrey Beevers,
Rob Edwards,
Sue Johnston		 5 November 1994
4 3 The Deep Blue Sea Terence Rattigan Karel Reisz (d)
Simon Curtis (p)		 Penelope Wilton,
Ian Holm,
Colin Firth,
Stephen Tompkinson,
Geraldine Somerville,
Edward Tudor-Pole		 12 November 1994
4 4 The Mother Paddy Chayefsky Simon Curtis (d/p) Anne Bancroft,
Katherine Borowitz,
Joan Cusack		 19 November 1994
4 5 Summer Day's Dream J. B. Priestley Christopher Morahan (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 John Gielgud,
Terence Rigby,
Rosemary Harris,
Mike McShane
Vincent Wong		 26 November 1994
5 1 Shadow of a Gunman Sean O'Casey Nye Heron Kenneth Branagh,
Stephen Rea,
James Ellis		 7 October 1995
5 2 The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd D. H. Lawrence Katie Mitchell (d) Zoë Wanamaker,
Stephen Dillane,
Colin Firth,
Brenda Bruce		 14 October 1995
5 3a Landscape Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (d),
Simon Curtis (p)		 Ian Holm,
Penelope Wilton		 21 October 1995
5 3b Bed Jim Cartwright Steve Shill (d),
Kevin Loader		 Renée Asherson,
Robin Bailey,
June Brown,
Maurice Denham,
Richard E. Grant,
Lionel Jeffries		 21 October 1995
5 4 Henry IV (Pt 1 & Pt 2) William Shakespeare (plays),
John Caird (adaptation)		 John Caird (d),
Annie Castledine (p)		 Ronald Pickup,
John Woodvine,
Peter Jeffrey,
Joseph O'Conor,
David Calder,
Geoffrey Hutchings,
Jane Horrocks,
Elizabeth Spriggs,
Peter-Hugo Daly,
Paul Eddington,
Clive Kneller,
Toby Jones		 28 October 1995
5 5 After Miss Julie Patrick Marber,
August Strindberg		 Patrick Marber (d),
Fiona Finlay		 Geraldine Somerville,
Phil Daniels,
Kathy Burke		 4 November 1995
6 1 Company Stephen Sondheim Sam Mendes (d),
Simon Curtis (ex p)		 Adrian Lester,
Sheila Gish,
Sophie Thompson		 1 March 1997
6 2 My Night with Reg Kevin Elyot Roger Michell (d),
Kevin Loader (p)		 David Bamber,
John Sessions,
Anthony Calf,
Kenneth MacDonald		 15 March 1997
6 3 Richard II William Shakespeare Deborah Warner (d),
John Wyver (p)		 Fiona Shaw (as Richard II),
Graham Crowden,
Richard Bremmer,
Julian Rhind-Tutt,
Donald Sinden		 22 March 1997
6 4 Broken Glass Arthur Miller David Thacker (d),
Fiona Finlay (p)		 Henry Goodman,
Margot Leicester,
Mandy Patinkin,
Elizabeth McGovern,
Ed Bishop		 29 March 1997
6 5 Macbeth on the Estate William Shakespeare,
Penny Woolcock (adaptation)		 Penny Woolcock (d),
Alison Gilby (p)		 James Frain,
Susan Vidler,
Ray Winstone		 5 April 1997
7 1 King Lear William Shakespeare Richard Eyre (d),
Sue Birtwistle, Joy Spink (p)		 Ian Holm
Timothy West,
Amanda Redman,
Michael Bryant		 21 March 1998

References
  1. "BFI Film and TV Database". Archived from the original on 2 September 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  2. Repeated 19 December 1992.
  3. Repeated 20 November 1993.
  4. Repeated 10 December 1994.


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