John Sichel
Directing
Biography
John Sichel (21 September 1937 - 5 April 2005) was a French-English theatre director. Early in his career, Sichel was sought by Sir Laurence Olivier to direct the National Theatre Company in the award-winning film adaptation of Chekhov's Three Sisters (1970) with Olivier, Joan Plowright, and Alan Bates. He then went on to direct Olivier in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1976) and Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson in Twelfth Night (1970). His experience as a commissioner and director of drama and drama-documentaries enabled him to work with some of the world's finest actors including Derek Jacobi, Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery and Michael Caine. He has also worked as a director and trainer at several of the UK's leading theatres and institutions including the Young Vic, Guildhall School of Drama, RADA, Shaw Theatre, Italia Conti, London Film School, Edinburgh Festival. For the latter part of his career, he established ARTTS Skillcentre, a training facility supporting artists in employment with the film and television industry.
Known For

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.
ITV Playhouse

Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits.
Thriller

Anthology series of dramatic works.
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Coppers End is a police station where the policemen work very hard to avoid work. A crime would involve them filling in forms, making out reports and, heaven forbid, giving evidence in court.
Coppers End

Crime drama series detailing the cases of Detective Inspector Gamble and Detective Sergeant Vicky Hicks working for the Fraud Squad in the Midlands. Gamble is very much his own man, all too often doing things his own way, much to the frustration of his boss Superintendent Proud. Gamble’s sidekick Vicky is often little more than a glorified secretary for too much of the time but as the series goes on she does more of a chance to shine.
Fraud Squad

Tycoon is a British television drama created by John Sichel, broadcast from 18 September to 11 December 1978. Instead of taking on her late husband Sydney's job, Diana Clark loyally turns her talents to writing his biography, dredging up plenty of twists and turns along the way.
Tycoon
A Bunch of Fives is an English children’s television show broadcast in the 1970s on ITV. A precursor of Grange Hill, it starred Lesley Manville and Jamie Foreman as Fifth formers who start a school newspaper. The show spawned one paperback tie-in.
A Bunch of Fives

A shy, lonely American girl marries a charming man she meets while on vacation in England, unaware that he has sinister plans for her.
Lady Killer

Anthology series of thirteen one-hour love stories based on the short stories of Henry James.
Affairs of the Heart

Sir Alec Guinness, Sir Ralph Richardson and Joan Plowright star in this merry on-stage mix-up of identity, gender and love in Tony Award-winner John Dexter’s production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Originally broadcast on Britain’s ITV, this classic performance captures all the slapstick, puns and double entendres that have amazed and amused audiences for over four hundred years.
Twelfth Night

Nearly a thousand miles away from their beloved Moscow, Chekhov's Three Sisters live in virtual exile. Olga , a schoolmistress, attempts to support her siblings and the home that is the sole legacy of their late father.
Three Sisters

When a young soldier suddenly dies, his parents and his girlfriend are naturally shocked and upset by the news. Several months later a young man turns up at the parent's house claiming to be their dead son's best friend. They welcome him and invite him to stay for a while. They also introduce him to their son's girlfriend and she is similarly impressed by him. It is later discovered, however, that he is not what he appears to be and may have had a hand in their son's death.
In the Steps of a Dead Man

The police receive an anonymous tip that Bernard Peel has murdered his wife, Jennifer. Peel declares his innocence, but there is a substantial amount of evidence contradicting his story. Is someone trying to frame Mr. Peel? Peel asks private detective Matthew Earp to investigate.
The Next Scream You Hear

A young woman and her friend rent a room in a boarding house. Soon they become aware of the fact that the other "renters" are a very strange lot, and that there are some very odd goings-on in the house that seem to be centered in the attic... Part of the ITV 'Thriller' anthology series.
Someone at the Top of the Stairs

A husband and wife team are hired to protect an eccentric millionaire from an assassin but a series of murders follows.
K Is for Killing

The cast of a British soap opera are attacked by a mad fan who confuses them with their TV roles.
Death to Sister Mary

A group of terrorists posing as plumbers set up base at a school for the blind. The students remain blissfully unaware while the terrorists plan the assassination of a politician who will soon be passing the school on a parade route. Only one student, Sally, suspects that the men upstairs may be dangerous...
The Eyes Have It

An Edwardian take on the Shakespeare play starring Laurence Olivier.
The Merchant of Venice

Doctor Bruce Nelson takes over the medical practice of a village general-practitioner. Upon arriving in their new home, the doctor and his wife, Tessa, receive a very warm welcome from all the villagers. Tessa is at first flattered by the villagers' constant fawning and gifts, but soon becomes wary of their strange ways, and begins to suspect there is something evil in the village.
A Place to Die

A fashion model buys a Rolls-Royce. What she doesn't know is that it's haunted.