Radio Plays XVII
Radio Plays XVII
A long Way from Home by Caryl Phillips
******imagines the conflicting forces in the iconic singer Marvin Gaye's life,
including family, stardom, love, sex and drugs. The story focuses on his
final years, when he was offered a lifeline in the unlikely setting of Ostend
in Belgium, where he composed the song Sexual Healing before he returned
America
and was murdered by his own father.
The A-Z of Dr Johnson - Boswell's Life of Johnson 1.2 by Robin Brooks
The A-Z of Dr Johnson - Boswell's Life of Johnson 2.2
******Dramatisation of James Boswell's biography of Samuel Johnson, to celebrate the
300th anniversary of Johnson's birth.
Young Boswell comes to London to seek out his hero. He wants to write a biography of the great man 'in scenes',
with Johnson's conversation cast as dialogue. Nothing quite like this has ever been attempted before.
Something Wrong about the Mouth by David Edgar
******A love story told at the border between memory and fiction, trust and betrayal, East and West.
Soho, 1958. A mysterious American wants to commission a portrait of a woman he can't produce,
in a dress he can only describe, at an event which never happened.
Without Fire by Wally K Daly
******Very funny play about the hazards associated with giving up smoking.
A Likely Story by Owen Holder
******
A Life of Chekhov 1.5- The Leave Taking by Irene Nemirovsky'
A Life of Chekhov 2.5- At the Tailor's
A Life of Chekhov 3.5- The Dead Pool
A Life of Chekhov 4.5- His Sister Masha
A Life of Chekhov 5.5- The Trap Pony
*******Michael Hastings' adaptation of Irene Nemirovsky's biography of Anton Chekhov,
dramatising crucial points in his life
A Woman in Waiting by Yael Farber and Thembi Mtshali
*******A Woman in Waiting is an autobiographical one-woman show performed by the
multitalented Thembi Mtshali. It tells the story of Mtshali’s life as a woman of
colour growing up under the brutally oppressive poverty and racist policies of
South Africa’s apartheid system and of the stroke of luck that made it possible
for her to leave a life of domestic service behind for a career in the performing
arts. Co-creators Yael Farber and Mtshali weave visual imagery, song, lullaby,
chanting and simple but emotionally evocative action together with spoken
words in English and Zulu to fashion a powerful testament to the human
capacity to endure.
A Pair of Blue Eyes 1.3 by Thomas Hardy
A Pair of Blue Eyes 2.3
A Pair of Blue Eyes 3.3
******The tragic story of Elfride Swancourt, caught between the love of handsome,
gentle Stephen Smith and the intellectually superior Henry Knight, Stephen's mentor.
Hardy was able to use this tale to shed light on the struggle between the classes
and sexes in the England of that time.
A Song at Twilight by Noel Coward
******The story of an ageing gay writer who has paid a price for concealing his sexuality from his prurient public.
Cock-a-Doodle Dandy by Sean O'Casey
******perhaps his most beautiful and exciting work.
"From the perspective of the 1990s O'Casey stands out as Ireland's greatest playwright of the century.
He it was who most passionately, most powerfully and most memorably dramatized the traumatic
birth of the nation. He it was who gave to the twentieth-century theatre a greater range of vivid
and original characters, male and female, than any other Irish playwright. O'Casey's language,
controversial though it may be in some circles, is a third feature of his work which for its richness,
colour and vitality has won for him a lasting place in the international repertory."-
-Christopher Murray, Twentieth-Century Irish Drama
Au Pairs 1.5 by David and Caroline Stafford
Au Pairs 2.5
Au Pairs 3.5
Au Pairs 4.5
Au Pairs 5.5
******following the fortunes of two au pairs, Alvy from Ireland and Dorkia from Hungary,
who bond over their mutual condemnation of modern parenting…
Major life changes beckon. If only Alvy and Dorika can get that vase off Louis' head.
The Memorandum by Vaclav Havel
******The play concerns the tribulations of Josef Gross, the managing director of an organisation
encumbered by a bureaucracy that is out of control. The introduction of an artificial language, Ptydepe,
is supposed to streamline office communications, but only makes them worse. As the situation escalates,
the organisation falls victim to a vicious circle where conformity is seen as the only source of refuge for the staff.
The Memorandum won an Obie Award for Best Foreign Play and has been revived regularly around the world.
The Conflict is Over by Michael Eaton
******Dramatisation of the events that led to the signing of the Downing Street Declaration in December 1993
and the subsequent IRA ceasefire in August 1994, told through the relationship
between John Major and Albert Reynolds.
A Winter Meeting by Elaine Feinstein
******
A Voyage Round My Father by John Mortimer
*******John Mortimer's autobiographical play in honour of his barrister father,
who continued to practise even after going blind as a result of a gardening accident.
A Voice In My Hand By Charlotte Hastings
******A thriller. A lawyer's wife, (Flora Robson) married for nearly thirty years,
and ignored for most of it by her husband, who has spent his life immersed
in legal papers. Even on their anniversary, his wife comes second to his job.
Then she acquires an oddly-crafted walking stick. It seems to speak to her...
A View from the Mountain by Don Haworth (with Judi Dench)
******this play is set in a remote, almost deserted, valley in central Europe and is about Joseph, who,
as a boy, accidentally killed a man by rolling boulders down a mountainside.
As punishment he is sentenced to push boulders up the mountain for life....
Tragedy A Tragedy by Will Eno
******The sun has set over the neighborhoods, government buildings and American backyards everywhere.
A news team is on the way. Their report: someone left the lawn sprinklers on; someone's horse is on the loose;
a seashell is lying in the grass; dogs run by. The Governor appeals for calm. Everyone doesn't know if the sun,
once down, will ever rise again. But there is a witness, and the witness will speak.
A Song For Edmond Shakespeare by Gary Bleasdale
********1607: a penniless actor rushes drunkenly through the streets lamenting the failure that is his life.
A failure made more painful because he is the youngest brother of the rather more successful William Shakespeare.
A Stone from Heaven 1.2 by Lindsay Clarke
A Stone from Heaven 2.2
*******A retelling of the legendary story of Parzival, the knight who is given
the task of finding the Holy Grail.
Trueman
Trueman 1.3 - Angel Heights
Trueman 2.3 - The Road to Hull
Trueman 3.3 - High Windows
Trueman And Riley 1.4
Trueman And Riley 2.4
Trueman And Riley 3.4
Trueman And Riley 4.4
******Drama series about two bickering detectives, starring Robert Daws and Duncan Preston
Boswell's Life of Johnson 1.2 by Robin Brooks
Boswell's Life of Johnson 2.2
*******biography of Samuel Johnson, to celebrate the 300th aniiversary of Johnson's birth
Wise Children 1.4 by Angela Carter
Wise Children 2.4
Wise Children 3.4
Wise Children 4.4
******Dora and Nora Chance are a famous song-and-dance team of the British
music halls. Billed as The Lucky Chances, the sisters are the illegitimate and
unacknowledged daughters of Sir Melchoir Hazard, the greatest Shakespearean
actor of his day. At once ribald and sentimental, glittery and tender,
this rambunctious family saga is Angela Carter at her bewitching best.
Liam 1.5 by Mike Bartlett - Short Trousers
******Charting the search for a ten-year-old boy who goes missing in Sussex.
Liam's parents are suspects in the case of his disappearance, and his mother feels guilty.
Liam 2.5 - Mutual Trust
******The police interview Liam's mother, then a report comes in that Liam's bag has been found in some woods.
Liam 3.5 - Caveman
******Liam's mother breaks down at a press conference. His father secretly blames her for Liam's disappearance.
Liam 4.5 - The Truth
******As the nationwide search for Liam intensifies, his father lashes out at a journalist
Liam 5.5 - Pets
******Reports come in that missing Liam has been found. Police question a teenage girl.
Tales For A Stormy Evening - Bonche the Silent by I. L. Peretz
Tales For A Stormy Evening - Casket ForAmontillado by E A Poe
Tales For A Stormy Evening - Fall of the House of Usher by E A Poe
Tales For A Stormy Evening - Purgatory by William Butler Yeats
Tales For A Stormy Evening - Tobermory by H H Munroe
Sagila - the Knobstick by Sibusiso Mamba.
******Inspired by Eric Sibanda's short story, a dark, contemporary murder mystery set in Swaziland.
Salt Is Leaving by J.B. Priestley
******* "A pip of a mystery that is great good fun." -- Washington Star
Satisfaction Guaranteed by Isaac Asimov
******A prototype domestic service robot is tested by the shy, neglected wife (Barbara Barnes)
of an ambitious, insensitive scientist (William Hope). Tony the robot (Nicholas Blane)
is programmed to please. He can't get angry or harm her.
But then Tony begins to show her affection......
Your Only Man by Annie Caulfield
******Brian O'Nolan was an Irish writer, columnist and civil servant who wrote novels such as The Third Policeman
under the pen name of Flann O'Brien and popular satirical newspaper columns as Myles na gCopaleen,
while at the same time working as a civil servant in Dublin under his real name. This play imagines what might have
happened had the three of them got together on the day when O'Nolan was asked to leave his civil service post.
You Never Can Tell by George Bernard Shaw
*******It was supposed to be just a pleasant afternoon luncheon, but with Shaw
you never can tell. Surprises and secrets abound in this play that throws two
cantankerous ex-spouses together in a group where no one else
knows they were ever married.
Safe As Houses by Peter Wolf
******two women (a cleaner and a bright young M.O.D. investigator) are sent to a safe house to remove all traces
left by the previous occupant. They find disturbing clues about the person's identity.
Then they hear that an attempt has been made on his life, and he's on the run.
Sad Girl by Sue Teddern
******
Sad Girl image by kirstoi from Lancashire
Winston by Peter Tinniswood
******1/6.A Happy Family - In Peter Tinniswood's bawdy comedy,
a manipulative rogue threatens a family's harmony.
******2/6.Weaving the Spells - Having been thrown out by his wife,
the cordon bleu scoundrel moves into Nancy's house.
******3/6.Without a Doubt - Nancy's brother William and sister Rosie
are threatening to leave for London.
******4/6.What Do You Reckon? - Rosie plans to go to London and set up house,
and Winston hopes to have Nancy to himself.
******5/6.Whacko Jolly Dee - The wily poacher's plans for a life of bliss with
Nancy hit a snag.
******6/6.The Village Fete - Father enjoys a remarkable recovery. Rosie and
William plan to stay at home.
Winston in Europe by Peter Tinniswood
******This could have been censored by the BBC, but because the politically incorrect statements
were voiced by a character who is clearly an eccentric and because the targets of his prejudice
are scattered indiscriminatingly from Japanese to Gregorian chant to the present state of Eccles
cakes, we felt he had got away with it and that no listener would complain;
as indeed proved to be the case.
******1/6. Don't Gush, Nancy - The old rogue doesn't seem to be his usual self, as Father decides
he wants to move again.
******2/6. An Educated Woman - The old rogue's talk of Flaubert, Baudelaire and Renoir baffles Nancy.
******3/6. Where Are We Now? - The old rogue challenges Nancy's intelligence. Father sings the
praises of Crewe toilets.
******4/6. Coping with Urges - As the imaginary European rail tour gets fractious, Nancy plans to get
even with Winston.
******5/6. Questions and Answers - The old rogue has something he wants to ask Nancy, but Father's
got his own plans.
******6/6. Finis - The family go on a whistle-stop tour round Europe and Father takes them to
where it began.
Winston in Love by Peter Tinniswood -
******1/6. I'm in Love, I'm in Love - Nancy finds it unpleasant recalling events with Winston under
an old beech tree years ago.
******2/6.Taking Tea With Roland - Nancy invites her new man to her family home, but will the rogue
sabotage the event?
******3/6. Happy Days in Cawnpore - The old rogue declares his love for Nancy and even asks her to marry him.
******4/6. A Dangerous Critter - Love is in the air. Even the old rogue is with the woman from the fish shop.
******5/6. Figuratively Speaking - Father declares that he's in love with Mrs Sunderland -
figuratively speaking of course.
******6/6. Clip Clop, Clip Clop - It's Father's wedding day, but is he really serious about cutting his family off?
Saturday, Sunday Monday 1.2 by Eduardo de Filippo
Saturday, Sunday Monday 2.2
******comedy about an extended Neopolitan family.
P Smith In The City 1.4 by PG Wodehouse - First Steps In A Business Career
P Smith In The City 2.4 - The Haunting of Mr Bickersdyke
P Smith In The City 3.4 - Stirring Times With Comrade Waller
P Smith In The City 4.4 - P Smith Arranges His Future
******Psmith and his friend Mike Jackson have been pressed into jobs in the city.
Psmith intends to keep his knowledge of work limited to hearsay, and uses his wit
and sangfroid to smooth over the world of business for Mike and himself.
Wodehouse at his best!
Painting Mrs Jones - by Rachel Joyce
*******Sitting for her portrait, a woman wonders if the painting will reveal a new truth about her inner self.
Party Animal by Stephen Wyatt
******When a nineteen year boy dies of an overdose at a celebrity party his divorced father sets out
to find the truth about what happened.
Passing 1.2 by Nella Larsen
Passing 2.2
********A stunning novel about the cultural and emotional conflicts faced
by two light-skinned African American women in the 1920s. One marries
a white man and "passes." The other marries within her race but denies
prejudice. First published in 1929, PASSING is a remarkably candid
exploration of racism and of the morally ambiguous
consequences of even the most carefully made decisions.
Scaramouche Jones by Justin Butcher
*******The strangely pale-faced child of a Gypsy whore, Scaramouche
was always fated to be a clown. But from his birth at midnight on
new year's eve 1899 in a dingy Trinidad knocking shop his life is a
vivid odyssey through extraordinary adventures, crumbling empires
and the darkest episodes of the twentieth century.
Tender, moving, funny and deeply poignant, Justin Butcher's fantastic
story is an atmospheric and unforgettable meditation on humankind.
Scarlet On Black 1.2 by Stendhal
Scarlet On Black 2.2
*******story of an ambitious carpenter's son in early 19th-century France
and of his life torn between the military and the church.
Paradise Regained 1.9 by John Milton,
Paradise Regained 2.9
Paradise Regained 3.9
Paradise Regained 4.9
Paradise Regained 5.9
Paradise Regained 6.9
Paradise Regained 7.9
Paradise Regained 8.9
Paradise Regained 9.9
*******a poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671.
It is connected by name to his earlier and more famous epic poem Paradise Lost,
with which it shares similar theological themes.
It deals with the subject of the Temptation of Christ.
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