Adrian Bean Radio Plays

NOTES ON SOME OF THE RADIO PLAYS

Exile....2020
Drama by Adrian Bean, in ten 15m episodes, beginning 6 Jan 2020. The series marks the 400-year anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower. A story about a family's journey into the unknown. Sarah doesn't share her husband's desire to join the Puritan exiles, but when their son Benjamin is arrested on a trumped-up charge they have little choice but to go. They decide to head for America. They sail on the Mayflower. Sarah Hargreaves - Louise Brealey, Matthew Hargreaves - Trystan Gravelle , Ben - Joel MacCormack, Elizabeth - Megan McInerney, Reverend Kerswell - Marc Danbury. Producer: John Norton. BBC Wales.

Prime Cut,Episode 1....2017
11 Sep 2017. By Alan Carter, ad. Adrian Bean. Senior police officer Cato Kwong was involved in a police frame-up. Now he is given a chance to recover his reputation. The Great Southern Ocean washes up a headless torso. Cato is called in to investigate. This story was shortlisted for the 2010 Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger Award. It is the first in a series of Cato Kwong mysteries. Part 2 broadcast on the following day. Cato Kwong ................... Andrew Leung, Tess Maguire ................... Christine Stephen-Daly, Mick Hutchens ................... Richard Dillane, Jim Buckley ................... Steffan Rhodri, Keith Stevenson ................... Mark Little, Grace Fisher ................... Rio Holland, Billy Mathers ................... Philip Fox, Pam the Waitress ................... Kerry Gooderson, Justin Woodward ................... Leo Wan, Producer: Helen Perry. BBC Wales. First broadcast in 2013.

Murder under Trust: the Massacre at Glencoe....2014
By Adrian Bean. 16 Aug 2014. Saturday Play. The 1692 massacre of Glencoe saw soldiers billeted in the homes of the powerful MacDonald clan rise up and murder their hosts. Drawing on contemporary documents and historian John Prebble's book Glencoe. The play explores the motive behind the killings. Narrator: Tamara Kennedy, John Hay, the Marquis of Tweedale - John Buick, Col. John Hill - Brian Pettifer, Lt. Col. James Hamilton - Jordan Young, Robert Campbell - Matthew Zajac, with Paul Young, Martin McBride, Julie Duncanson, Iain Robertson, Anne Lacey, Stewart Campbell. Producer - Bruce Young.

The Siege of Musa Qala ....2014
By Adrian Bean. 10 Mar 2014. Drama-doc examining the battle between Taliban insurgents and British soldiers starved of supplies in the Afghan town of Musa Qala in 2006. The story is told from the point of view of locals. Oliver Lee, Paul Copley, Claire Cage, Matthew Gravelle, Phylip Harries, Steffan Rhodri, Eiry Thomas. Producer James Robinson.

summarised from Ade's website:
..... this was a follow-up to Ade's original drama CRY FOR ME: THE BATTLE OF GOOSE GREEN. This new 45min play explores the seige of Musa Qala in Afghanistan .... as experienced by three Taliban fighters. It was produced by James Robinson; their second collaboration in the BBC Radio 4 series KNOW YOUR ENEMY. (see entry for 2012, further down the page)

Saturday Play: Seance on a Wet Afternoon....2014
By Mark McShane; 1961 thriller, dramatized by Adrian Bean. 1 Feb 2014. Myra Savage is a medium whose audience of local followers is dwindling. She forms a plot to kidnap the daughter of a well-known businessman, then use her 'powers' to help the police locate the missing girl. But her mental state is far from stable, and problems start to appear... Caroline Strong, Robert Glenister, Carl Prekopp, Nick Underwood, Jasmine Hyde, Lizzy Watts, Gerard McDermott, Jane Whittenshaw. Producer Bruce Young. 60m.

summarised from Ade's website:
Ade's 60m dramatisation of Mark McShane's novel; Robert Glemister and Caroline Strong played Bill and Myra Savage, roles made famous by Richard Attenborough and Kim Stanley in Brian Forbes' classic 1964 film version.

Classic Serial - The Butterfly....2013
By James Cain, ad. Adrian Bean. 8 Dec 2013. Jess Tyler, a middle-aged farmer, has spent 20 years alone since his marriage broke down. One day he gets a surprise visitor; a young girl, whom he does not recognise... John Chancer, Ashleigh Haddad, Solomon Mousley, Jess Mash, Martin Sherman. Producer Kate McAll.

28 May: Afternoon Drama - Cry for Me: The Battle of Goose Green....2012
By Adrian Bean. 28 May 2012.To mark the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Goose Green, this drama-documentary looks at the events of the 28th - 29th May 1982 from the Argentinian perspective. The drama tells the story of two fictional Argentine conscripts. Luis is looking forward to graduating and becoming a famous writer. Diego is praying for a swift Argentine victory (in the forthcoming World Cup). Neither chose to live under a military dictatorship. Nor did they choose to become soldiers. And they certainly didn't choose to take on the might of the British army for the sake of 'the Malvinas'. Luis .... Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Diego .... Michael Socha, Sergeant Hernandez .... Alun Raglan, Piaggi .... Sam Dale, Narrator .... Eiry Thomas. Produced by James Robinson. BBC Wales.

Bullitt....2011
By R.L.Pike dram. Adrian Bean. 3 Jun 2011. One-off Friday Play. Detective story set in New York.

The Living and the Dead....2007
8 Sep 2007;Saturday Play. Adrian Bean's dramatisation of the novel which inspired Hitchcock's Vertigo; by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Jacques Flavieres is a troubled and complex soul with a devastating fear of heights; rejected from the army on medical grounds. An old friend asks him to take on a private assignment which leads to fatal obsession. Jacque Flavieres - Michael Maloney, Madeleine/Renee - Sarah Smart, Paul Gevigne - Robert Pickavance, Dr Ballard - Seamus O'Neill, Leriche - Chris Jack, Old Concierge - Daryl Fishwick. Produced by Pauline Harris.

Genevieve....2001
By William Rose, adapted for radio by Adrian Bean. 16 Apr 01. From William Rose's original screenplay of the classic 1953 film about two couples who lightheartedly decide to race each other home after the annual London to Brighton car run. With Michael Maloney, Amanda Root, Robert Bathurst and Samantha Bond. Produced by Tracey Neale. (90 min play for Easter Monday.)

7 Aug Killer Conquest ....1998
By Guy Fithen. 7 Aug 98. Christopher Cazenove stars as 1930s sleuth Norman Conquest, and Bonnie Langford as his crime-solving partner, Pixie, in their greatest adventure yet - proving the Gay Desperado's innocence. With Richard Davies and Colin Spaull. Producer: Adrian Bean. Rpt.

Miss Dynamite....1998
21 Jul 98. Christopher Cazenove stars as thirties sleuth Norman Conquest and Bonnie Langford is his partner, Pixie, in another crime-solving thriller peppered with blonde bombshells and glamorous villains. Producer Adrian Bean. Rpt.

Blonde for Danger....1998
12 May 98. Adapted by Guy Fithen from the book by Berkely Gray. Christopher Cazenove stars as Norman Conquest, the `Gay Desperado', and Bonnie Langford as his resourceful partner, Pixie. With Richard Davies, Colin Spaull and Bill Nighy. Producer Adrian Bean.

Tales Of The Bizarre....1997
By Ray Bradbury. The author introduces dramatised versions of six of his short stories. 20-11-1997 to 25-12-1997; Thur 11:00pm; 30m.

Ep.2:Jack-in-the-Box ....1997
Dram Brian Sibley. School is just up the stairs, and each birthday you get a new room. If your life was changed by changing the world in which you live, would that be a freedom, or a new nightmare? With Richard Pearce, Ed Bishop and Carolyn Jones. Producer Adrian Bean.

Fear On Four
25-09-1997 to 16-10-1997; series 4.

Ep.4: Making Sacrifices....1997
By Nick Warburton. Three young girls learn about the darker side of life in a girls' boarding school. With Caroline Strong, Sarah Rice and Alison Pettitt. Producer Adrian Bean.

Back to top