Narrator
In 16th-century Scotland, young Sawney Beane yearns to itch and scratch and buccaneer. So he bids farewell to his parents and their life of honest toil. Forty years on, Mr. Beane croaks his dying wish to Betty, his wife. "Go and find our lost son." And so Betty strikes off on her quest across the land, with the family savings in a hankie and a secret suspicion in her heart.
Ellie
Charlie's wife has left him for a successful pop star, and he wants revenge. He sets out for Scotland's Isle of Skye, where he will burn down the star's mansion. In a cafe, he meets Vincente, a Spaniard who asks him for a ride. With his new friend in tow, Charlie soldiers on, only to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. They walk to the nearest residence--where they are greeted by a suspicious and motley group of people who may or may not be part of a bizarre cult that lives in the area. Charlie and Vincente will be staying longer then they expected, and it is going to be a strange visit!
Molly Wise
Gus and Molly have spent all their money on their only daughter Marcie. Now she's getting married and somebody's going to have to pay...
Mrs Finch
A group of four siblings reunite in Glasgow on the eve of their mother's funeral, and the children mourn their mother's passing in a variety of ways—sometimes heartfelt, sometimes bizarre. As a potential thunderstorm threatens to damage the city, the situation compounds itself.
Mrs Ross
Spring 1917: the privileged world of Sorn Castle is upside down, its stately rooms full of amputees from the Western Front. While the local aristocracy makes a first attempt at nursing, a romance blossoms.
Mrs Culfeathers
Tony Roper wrote 'The Steamie' for Glasgow's Mayfest in 1987. Return to Hogmany 1957 when a fiesty group of Glasgow women; Mrs Culfeathers, Dolly, Doreen and the irrepressible Magrit, all meet at The Steamie to do the traditional family wash before the New Year. The Steamie is a hilarious cameo of Glasgow's social history where the washing was always easier to do when the Women shared their laugher and sorrow and a scandalous supply of gossip. This is the definitive version of the most popular play of the last 20 years with the all star cast of Dorothy Paul as Magrit, Eileen McCallum as Dolly, Kate Murphy as Doreen, Sheila McDonald as Mrs Culfeathers and a very young Peter Mullan as Andy, the whisky loving handy man.
When best-selling author James Fuller Hayes comes to Glasgow to publicise his personal account of the Spanish Civil War, a surprise reunion with two of his old comrades from the Int Brigade reveals contradictory & devastating information. Technically, this was the last Play For Today ever made by the BBC.
