Brian Miller Radio Plays
Brian Miller was a writer and adapter of radio plays, especially in the early part of his career. He also acted, but was best known as a radio drama producer. A few of his plays are listed below. BBC Genome credits him with around 900 programmes for Radio 4 / Home Service between 1963 and 2002..
REBECCA....1989
By Daphne du Maurier, dramatised by Brian Miller. 27 Dec 89. Arriving at Manderley, the young Mrs de Winter finds the beautiful house and its occupants haunted by memories of Rebecca, her new husband's first wife.
Producer: Cherry Cookson.
OUTBREAK OF FEAR....1982
By R.D.Wingfield. We are in Inspector Frost territory in more ways than one...the setting is Pulford, just outside Denton, and Leslie Sands plays Sergeant Fowler, sorting out the mess during and after a series of gruesome deaths. His sidekick Constable Beaumont is played nicely by Nick Orchard, and Nicholas Courtney is excellent as the supercilious Superintendant Chadwick, Fowler's temporary boss. The other cast members are Paul Nicholson, Conrad Phillips, John Gabriel, Malcolm Young and Rosemary Segal. The programme was directed in Bristol by Brian Miller.
Fahrenheit 451....1982
By Ray Bradbury, dramatised for radio by Gregory Evans.
BBC Radio Production Information:(BBC Radio 1982)
“Sometime in the future, the fireman’s role has changed from stopping fires to starting them: the material being all books or printed matter of any kind. Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which books burn. But Montag the fireman is beginning to have doubts about his role… “
Cast:
Montag - Michael Pennington
Millie - Pamela Salem
Beatty - Peter Miles
Narrator - Jonathan Newth
Clarisse - Patience Tomlinson
Medic/Announcer - Spencer Banks
Stoneman - Michael Simkins
Woman - Susan Dowdall
Faber - Peter Tuddenham
Granger - Hugh Dickson
Simmons - Alan Dudley
Director - Brian Miller
The Achurch Letters....1980
By Don Taylor.... dir. Brian Miller. A radio version of
Don Taylor's stage play of the same name, based on the letters between
Bernard Shaw and Janet Achurch.
DR.JOHNSON INVESTIGATES
by Richard Brayshaw, directed by Brian Miller. This originally aired as a one-off play on R4, 2 Sep 78.
Re-broadcast on the CBC Mystery Project in 1997 and again in 2004 in 3 parts.
Samuel Johnson...........................................Leo Mckern
James Boswell.......................................Edward De Souza
David Garrick........................................Laurence Payne
George Warburton.....................................Gavin Campbell
Thomas Blount/3rd Witch (Macbeth).......................Roy Spencer
Meg Blount/1st Witch (Macbeth)......................Vanessa Millard
Spranger Barry/2nd Murderer (Macbeth)..............Allan McClelland
Sarah Siddons..........................................Linda Janiec
Jeremy Paine/3rd Murderer (Macbeth)...................Andrew Branch
Henry Thrale/1st Murderer (Macbeth).................Phillip Manikum
Hester Thrale........................................Daphne Neville
Forbes...............................................Paul Nicholson
Binnie/2nd Witch (Macbeth)..............................Brenda Kaye
Call-boy................................................Simon Allen
Part One
Samuel Johnson and his friend James Boswell are at David Garrick's
theatre when an actor is murdered on stage.
Part Two
With a beautiful actress in danger Samuel and "Bozzie" are pushed
to greater efforts to uncover the murderer.
Part Three
Samuel Johnson discovers the crafty plot and reveals the culprit.
Flight into a Wilderness....1978
By Don Taylor.... dir. Brian Miller. Two senior Cromwellian
soldiers, to save their lives, flee to Puritan America in 1660, and
live there in hiding.
THE THINGS THAT ARE CAESAR'S....1977
9 Jun 77. AFT. By Brian Miller, with Murray Kash as Leonard H. Wings,
Libby Morris as Eileen Wings, Ed Bishop as Raymond Fisk.
Leonard H. is all set to enjoy his retirement when he receives
a fateful visitation ..... The play is set at Lake Watoomi, Ontario, Canada.
Produced by Brian Miller, BBC Bristol.
BBC Radio 4 - 1972-12-23 - Afternoon Theatre - Frankenstein
By Mary Shelley, ad. Malcolm Hazell. ' I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion. Frightful must it be; for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavour to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the World.' (the author, in preface to 1831 edition). It is the end of the 18th century...
Trevor Martin as the Daemon.
Producer .......... Brian Miller.
Victor Frankenstein .......... Hugh Dickson,
Captain .......... Esmond Rideout,
Helmsman .......... John Smith,
Walton .......... Nigel Graham,
Krempe Williamsleigh Waldman .......... Terry Scully,
Father .......... Douglas Blackwell,
Clerval .......... Robin Browne,
Judge .......... Nigel Graham,
Advocate .......... John Smith,
Justine .......... Jane Knowles,
Elizabeth .......... Katy Kendall,
Old man .......... Hedley Goodall,
Felix .......... Terry Scully,
Macalister .......... William Sleigh,
Kirwin .......... Robin Browne.
BBC Radio 4 - 1970-01-31 - Saturday-Night Theatre - Persuasion
By Jane Austen, adapted for radio by Denis Constanduros. Producer Brian Miller.
Anne Elliot .......... Rosalind Shanks,
Sir Walter Elliot .......... Charles Simon,
Captain Wentworth .......... Jeffry Wickham,
Narrator .......... Hilda Kriseman,
Elizabeth Elliot .......... Jacqueline Rose,
Lady Russell .......... Betty Hardy,
Mr Shepherd .......... Basil Jones,
Mary Musgrove .......... Hilary Newcombe,
Mrs Musgrove .......... Hilda Kriseman,
Louisa .......... Elizabeth Boxer,
Henrietta .......... Elizabeth Archer,
Charles Musgrove .......... Esmond Rideout,
Captain Harville .......... Ivor Roberts,
Captain Benwick .......... Paul Douglas,
Mr Elliot .......... Basil Jones,
Mrs Smith .......... Hilda Kriseman.
FELLOW TOWNSMEN....1969
11 Jan 69. By Patrick Simpson from the story by Thomas Hardy. AFT. This story, from Wessex Tales, foreshadows Hardy's later preoccupation with Fate and its manipulation of the lives and love of a man and woman. The scene is the small town of Port Bredy. in Dorset, in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Hilary Newcombe, Brian Harding, Peggy Tether, Harry Carter. Produced by Brian Miller.
Home Service - 1967-04-19; 17:25 - Story Time - Treasure Island
By Robert Louis Stevenson, dramatised for radio in seven parts by Aileen Mills. 1 .......... The Old Buccaneer.
Producer Brian Miller.
Jim Hawkins, Narrator .......... Anthony Jackson,
Mr Hawkins .......... Edgar Harrison,
Mrs Hawkins .......... Angela Brooking,
Christopher Witty.......... Jima Boy,
Billy Bones .......... Douglas Blackwell,
Dr Livesey .......... Bernard Archard,
Black Dog .......... Antony Viccars,
Villagers .......... Hubert Tucker,
Villagers .......... Anthony Jackson,
Singer .......... Patrick Nelson.
INHERIT THE EARTH.....1966
11 Jun 66. Is the new Lord Cochrane powerful enough to enclose the common land around Beulah? Not if commoners, led by Samson, can help it; they value their hard-won independence too highly ... or do they?
Setting: Dartmoor. Time: 1832. By Vian Smith, with Brian Hankins , Hannah Gordon,
Ronald Baddiley. SNT. Producer: Brian Miller.
Home Service - 1965-01-06 Afternoon Theatre - The Freewheelers
By Giles Cooper, adapted for radio by Brian Miller.
One of the girls throws a dart and we go wherever the dart lands on the map, anywhere in Britain excluding Northern Ireland.
Producer: Charles Lefeaux,
Basil: Glyn Dearman,
Mark: Nigel Graham,
Susan: Valerie Kirkbright,
Sonia: Rosallnd Thomas,
Jeremy: Gordon Gardner,
Caroline: Rosalind Shanks,
Traffic Warden: Andrew Sachs,
Mrs Croom-Edwards: Eva Stuart,
Policeman: Peter Marinker,
Detective: Malcolm Terris,
The Judge: Hamlyn Benson,
Sid :: Leroy Lingwood,
Marco: Andrew Sachs.
Home Service - 1965-01-02 Afternoon Theatre - The Amorous Prawn
By Anthony Kimmins, adapted for radio by Brian Miller.
When the General Officer Commanding is away, his charming wife decides to turn their official residence in Argyllshire into a Guest house in order to increase the family budget.
Producer .......... Hugh Stewart,
Corporal Sydney Green .......... Sydney Tafler,
Private Biddy O'Hara .......... Rosalind Shanks,
Private Suzie Tidmarsh .......... Elizabeth Morgan,
Lady Fitzadam .......... Evelyn Laye,
Major-General Sir Hamish Fitzadam......... Ross Hutchinson,
Private Albert Huggins .......... David Bird,
Private Willie Maltravers .......... Peter Marinker,
Sam Goulansky .......... John Brandon,
Larry Hoffman .......... William Sylvester,
The Prawn .......... William Fox.
Home Service - 1963-11-04 Genevan Fall
By Brian Miller, with Michael Hordern and Michael Gwynn. Geneva, 1553 ... John Calvin , the religious reformer, has instituted a reign of puritanical terror. But he, too. is a victim of his own power and his ignorance about himself.
Cast in order of speaking ..........
John Calvin .......... Michael Hordern,
Nicholas Fontaine .......... Peter Bartlett,
Sebastian Castellio .......... Geoffrey Matthews,
William Farel .......... Ralph Truman,
Vandel .......... George Merritt,
Hortense .......... Moira Mannion,
Ami Perrin .......... Peter Bathurst,
Philippe Berthelier .......... Michael Goldie,
Claude Darlod .......... Earle Grey,
Printer .......... Gordon Faith,
Michael Servetus .......... Michael Gwynn,
Cardinal de Tournon .......... Heron Carvic,
Pierre Ory, Grand Inquisitor .......... Kenneth Hyde,
Amade Poupin .......... John Boxer.
Other parts played by membersof the BBC Drama Repertory Company. Producer ....... William Glen-Doepel.
....information located by Greg Linden & ND
