BBC Audio Drama Awards "2012"
AUDIO DRAMA AWARDS FOR PLAYS BROADCAST THE PREVIOUS YEAR*
The BBC Audio Drama Awards ceremony took place on Sunday 27 January 2013, in the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House. The host for the event was David Tennant.
*Except for the Imison / Tinniswood, whose season included part of 2011.
Winners and runners-up for the various awards are listed below.
Imison Award 2012: Best Script by a new writer:
Judges: Society of Author’s Broadcasting Committee: Alison Joseph (Chairman), Ruth Brandon, Lucy Caldwell, Christopher William Hill, Michelle Lipton, Karl Sabbagh, John Taylor, Colin Teevan, Jane Thynne and Elizabeth-Anne Wheal.
Tinniswood Award 2012 for Best Drama Script:
Judges: Meg Davis, Jonathan Myerson, Tim Stimpson.
Best Single play
Judges: Jane Anderson, Fiona Shaw, Ben Stephenson, Vanessa Thorpe.
Best Audio Drama, Series or Serial
Judges: Patricia Cumper, Will Gompertz, Lord Hall of Birkenhead.
Best Actor
Judges: Andrew Davies, Sarah Vine & Nina Wadia.
Best Actress
Judges: Baz Bamigboye, Nick Kent, Stephen Tompkinson.
Best Supporting Actor
Judges: Matt Hemley, Razia Iqbal, Imogen Stubbs.
Best Supporting Actress
Judges: Daniel Evans, Louise Jury, Julie Myerson.
Best Adaptation
Judges: Sebastian Born, Alan Brodie, Susannah Clapp.
Best Use of Sound
Judges: Kevin Brew, John Hardy, Jane Thynne.
Best Scripted Comedy
Judges: Hannah Begbie, Bruce Dessau, Christopher William Hill, Alexei Sayle.
Best Online-Only Audio Drama
Judges: Viv Gardner, Sofie Mason, Stephen Wright.
- Alison Hindell, Head of Audio Drama, BBC said that it was fantastic that the BBC was underlining its commitment to the unique genre of audio drama with these awards. The fact that millions of people listened every day said something about how special it was and the awards evening was a wonderful way to celebrate the many different talents, both well-known and those at the start of their careers, that went into creating the programmes.
David Tennant, actor, said that the quality of our radio drama was one of the things that made him proud to be British. Acting on the radio was challenging, inspiring, delicate and always a privilege. Radio drama was often overlooked and undervalued next to its showier younger siblings on the television and in the cinema, and yet it was on the wireless that so many important and brilliant talents were discovered and nurtured. He expressed delight at radio drama being celebrated in this way.
The Society of Authors and the Writers Guild have been awarding the Imison and Tinniswood prizes for years, for the best first radio play and best new radio play respectively, but the Audio Drama awards recognise achievements in other aspects of radio play production.
Alison Joseph wrote an interesting entry a week before the awards on the Society of Authors blog. Her main points were:
1. It is important to celebrate radio drama. The BBC produces about 360 hours of it per year. The audience for the afternoon play is about a million people. Radio drama offers opportunities to new and established writers.
2. The awards recognize the role of good sound design and production. Radio drama is unique; it allows a closer, more intimate connection between the writer and the listener than any other form of drama.
3.Radio drama has often regarded as ephemeral, but digital media are changing this perception; plays can now be recorded easily, stored and owned. They are becoming recognized as a cultural artefact like films or books.
Compiled by Nigel Deacon, Diversity website
OTHER NOTES
CONFUSION
To allay confusion about the year of these awards (caused by the moving of the Imison/Tinniswood awards night from Oct to June)..... the award ceremony this year, 2013, will be in late January, and the Imison / Tinniswood awards refer to broadcasts from Jun 2011 - Dec 2012. The other awards refer to the calendar year 1 Jan 2012 - 31 Dec 2012.
In subsequent years, all of the awards should be in sync. and will refer to 1 Jan - 31 Dec. Meanwhile here are the shortlists. The Imison / Tinniswood information has been out for a while, including on this site, on the relevant pages:
