Jane Howell

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Douglas Livingstone has direct experience of the tensions in South Africa. On a research visit there in the summer of 1993, he was mugged within 24 hours of arriving in Johannesburg. Over the following week. the East Rand riots claimed 600 lives.

Shoot the Revolution

During the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, a young girl is shot in the head by Tudor Barbu, a member of the Securitate. His brother Octavian was the girl's teacher who "filled her head with the ideas of truth". The question isn't how did she die, but why?

Amongst Barbarians

Amongst Barbarians is set far away from Margaret Thatcher's Britain in Penang, Malaysia, a former British colony, where two young Englishmen have been arrested for drug trafficking. As they both face the death penalty, their relatives travel to Penang to come to their rescue. However, they soon find out that there is nothing they can do to save the boys' lives. In the course of their futile attempts at influencing the authorities, their racism becomes more than apparent. The question which is never made explicit is of course who the real barbarians are. Wall's play is based on a true story and featured David Jason's first straight acting role on TV.

Mary Rose

A young woman vanishes on a visit to an island with her husband and child, only to turn up decades later apparently unchanged in age or appearance and her once infant son is now older than she is…

Drums Along Balmoral Drive

'I don't think at first I thought at all. I had a nice house, lovely kids. I didn't think about blacks at all. I should've done, but I didn't. They were just there.'

Titus Andronicus

Having subdued the Goths, warrior Titus Andronicus returns to Rome to bury his sons, with Gothic Queen Tamora and her retinue as captives. The newly-dead Roman Emperor's two sons, Saturninus and Bassianus, are competing for their father's title. According to Roman custom, Titus sacrifices Tamora's eldest son to the Gods; having the deciding vote, he also chooses Saturninus as Emperor. Both acts have tragic consequences.

R.H.I.N.O.; Really Here in Name Only

An isolated, overweight girl with a penchant for shoplifting, gets pushed from pillar to post as the authorities struggle to know what to do with her.

The Tragedy of Richard III

Richard Duke of Gloucester, youngest brother of King Edward IV, will stop at nothing to get the crown. He first convinces the ailing King that the Duke of Clarence, his elder brother, is a threat to the lives of Edward's two young sons. Edward has him imprisoned in the Tower of London; killers in Richard's pay then drown Clarence in a barrel of wine. When news of Clarence's death reaches the King, the subsequent grief and remorse bring about his death. Richard is made Lord Protector, with power to rule England while his nephew (now King Edward V) is still a minor. Before the young king's coronation he has his two nephews conveyed to the Tower, ostensibly for their safekeeping. Richard's accomplice, the Duke of Buckingham, then declares the two boys illegitimate and offers Richard the crown, which after a show of reticence he accepts. After Richard's coronation, he and Buckingham have a falling-out over whether or not to assassinate the two children.

Henry VI Part 3

The life of King Henry the Sixth, in three parts.

Henry VI Part 2

The life of King Henry the Sixth, in three parts.

Henry VI Part 1

The life of King Henry the Sixth, in three parts.

The Winter's Tale

The jealous King Leontes falsely accuse his wife Hermione of infidelity with his best friend, and she dies. Leontes exiles his newborn daughter Perdita, who is raised by shepherds for sixteen years and falls in love with the son of Leontes' friend. When Perdita returns home, a statue of Hermione "comes to life", and everyone is reconciled.

The Dybbuk

A young bride is possessed by a dybbuk, a malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person, on the eve of her wedding.

Light

In a Cheshire village, Jack, an electrician, is rewiring the house where a dissident Russian professor is staying. From mutual dislike and suspicion they move towards tolerance and eventually mutual respect.

Shooting the Chandelier

During the closing days of the Second World War, a young Czechoslovakian woman, Blanka, is caught between ideologies of the Soviet regime. Part of BBC2 Play of the Week.

A Choice of Evils

Cardinal Volponi tries to save his old friend, a priest-turned-militant communist, from being executed by the Nazis alongside 334 other hostages but struggles to reason with either the Vatican, the Nazis or his friend.

Mirror, Mirror

A TV production crew member becomes distracted while polishing a mirror. He turns his attention to the watching TV cameras, which now appear to have personalities of their own.

The Water-Baby

Charles Kingsley experiences turmoil.

Waiting at the Field Gate

Lightning Gallat is the village slaughterer and a man of distinction. Where does he draw the line?