<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:But the clouds.JPG|thumb|right|Still of [[Klaus Herm]] from the 1977 German broadcast]] -->
[[Samuel Beckett]] wrote his television play '''''... but the clouds ...''''' between October-November [[1976]] “to replace a film of ''[[Play (play)|Play]]'' which the [[BBC]] had sent [him] for approval (and which he had rejected)”<ref>Ackerley, C. J. and Gontarski, S. E., (Eds.) ''The Faber Companion to Samuel Beckett'', (London: Faber and Faber, 2006), p 77</ref> due to “the poor quality of the film”. Donald McWhinnie directed [[Billie Whitelaw]] and [[Ronald Pickup]]. It was first broadcast on 17th April [[1977]] as part of a programme of three Beckett plays entitled ‘Shades’ on [[BBC2]]. It was first published in ''Ends and Odds'' (Faber) 1977. An early title for the piece was '''''Poetry only love'''''.
