Global Playhouse

Global Playhouse, intermittently also known as Bell Canada Playhouse or Bell Canada Global Playhouse, is a Canadian television drama anthology series, which aired on Global Television Network in the 1980s.^[1] A coproduction of Atlantis Films and the National Film Board of Canada,^[2] the series aired film adaptations of short stories by Canadian writers.^[1]

Its most noted episode was The Painted Door, a dramatization of a short story by Sinclair Ross which was an Academy Award nominee for Best Live Action Short Film at the 57th Academy Awards in 1985.^[3] Other stories adapted for the series included Ross's "One's a Heifer",^[4] Mordecai Richler's "Bambinger",^[1] Margaret Laurence's "To Set Our House in Order",^[5] W. D. Valgardson's "Capital",^[6] W. P. Kinsella's "John Cat",^[4] Guy Vanderhaeghe's "Cages",^[4] Morley Callaghan's "All the Years of Her Life" and "A Cap for Steve",^[4] David Walker's "A Good Tree",^[4] Isabel Huggan's "Jack of Hearts", and Alice Munro's "Connections".^[7]

The series produced 26 episodes overall, which aired monthly from 1984 to 1986,^[8] and ended production at the discretion of Atlantis Films rather than being cancelled by the network.^[9] All 26 episodes were rebroadcast weekly in the 1986-87 television season.^[10]

References

1. Rick Groen, "Short is sweet on Global". The Globe and Mail, September 27, 1984.
2. Bill Prentice, "Canadians on display in TV drama showcase". The Globe and Mail, September 22, 1984.
3. "Oscar Nominations Give Canada the Nod Once More". Cinema Canada (116): 48. March 1985.
4. "Atlantis completes 2 of Canlit series". Cinema Canada, April 1984. p. 34.
5. Rick Groen, "Lofty standards maintained in TV version of Laurence tale". The Globe and Mail, May 23, 1985.
6. Greg Burliuk, "Global Playhouse productions score another wistful winner". Kingston Whig-Standard, July 25, 1985.
7. Salem Alaton, "The NFB gives some on-the-job training: Learning the tricks of the trade". The Globe and Mail, February 9, 1985.
8. John Haslett Cuff, "New tax guidelines may have industry breathing easier". The Globe and Mail, October 30, 1986.
9. Sid Adilman, "Trio had its fill of TV quickies". Toronto Star, April 2, 1986.
10. Noel Taylor, "In with new, out with old at Global; Network bringing in 13 new shows, dropping some standbys for fall". Ottawa Citizen, September 4, 1986.