Birth of a Nation is a 1983 television play starring Jim Broadbent as teacher Geoff Figg. It was written by David Leland and directed by Mike Newell. It was originally broadcast on ITV on 19 June 1983 as the first in an untitled series of works by Leland (including Made in Britain), all loosely concerned with the British educational system, which subsequently acquired the overall title of Tales Out of School.