Performance
Series 4
19945 episodes
Episode 1
Message For Posterity
Oct 29, 19941h 47m
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.
Episode 2
Measure for Measure
Nov 5, 19941h 52m
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.
Episode 3
The Deep Blue Sea
Nov 12, 19941h 40m
A woman unhappy in her passionless marriage leaves her husband for a younger and more ardent lover.
Episode 4
Summer Day's Dream
Nov 19, 19941h 46m
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.
Episode 5
The Mother
Nov 26, 1994
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.