Christopher Russell had his first radio play broadcast in 1975. At this time he was a postman - having given up a job in the Civil Service to do shift work and so have more daytime hours for writing. He has been a full time script-writer since 1980 and has worked on many television and radio programmes including Eastenders, A Touch of Frost and Midsomer Murders. Christopher lives on the Isle of Wight.
BBC Broadcasts
CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL RADIO PLAYS
SATURDAY NIGHT THEATRE
19.01.1985 Navyman God *
15.10.1983 Logic & Futility*
07.07.1979 Cold Bath Fields*
28.04.1979 The Last Witch
AFTERNOON THEATRE
24.03.1983 Tidal Race
11.09.1981 Tidal Race
02.11.1979 Shelling Peas
07.04.1979 The Devil & David Dobbs*
31.03.1979 Brandy For The Parson
31.08.1978 Sweets On Sunday
02.03.1978 C'est la Shoestrings
16.12.1977 Vetchley 900
02.09.1977 The Devil & David Dobbs
03.08.1977 Harvey's Festival
22.10.1975 Harvey's Festival
MIDWEEK THEATRE
None
OTHERS
c. 1985 Screaming Alice*
c.1985 Swimmer*
A game of sin
Getting Out
The Last Christmas
NOTES ON SOME OF THE PLAYS
SCREAMING ALICE....c1985
Interesting drama about the last days of the Crystal Palace, and
how it met its end.
NAVYMAN GOD....1985
A naval battle in the most unlikely location in the world - Lake Tanganyika.
With Barry Foster as the slightly eccentric Cdr. Spicer-Simpson, with Graham Blockey, John Forbes-Robertson,
William Eedle, Sean Barratt, Ryan Smith, Colin Starkey, Trevor Nicholls, John Webb, Jamie Roberts, Bernard Brown, Robin Summers. Drums played by Don Lawson and Alan Ganley. Producer Glyn Dearman.
SWIMMER....c1985
Highly stylised play about a disabled youth who
becomes a superb swimmer. The other swimmers do not give him an easy
ride...but this is not the main plot; he has a secret, which is revealed
in a grim climax. With Julian Firth as Neil, Tilly Vosburgh as
Michel, and John Rowe as Ken. Also stars Jane Wenham, James Brice,
Alex Jennings. SMs: David Greenwood, Paul Pearson and Vanessa Elner;
location recording by Cedric Johnson, Julian Walfer and Brian Prior.
Directed by Richard Wortley. Joint winner of the 1983 Radio Times playwriting competition.
LOGIC & FUTILITY....1983
A highly stylised and interesting biography of Charles Babbage and
the work he put into the world's first true computer - his Calculating
Engine, now on show at the Science museum.
COLD BATH FIELDS....1979
The early days of the new London Police Force, and the way they
dealt with a riot....
THE DEVIL AND DAVID DOBBS....1979
A pleasant but rather dull young man is visited by one of Satan's little helpers.
With Stephen Thorne, Hugh Paddick, Brian Hewlett.
MINERS TRAPPED UNDERGROUND......
Two miners trapped underground; periodically the oxygen level would fall and the walls would seem to collapse. But they are really twins in utero being born and the collapsing walls represent contractions.
Farah
A.S. sent the following comments:_
.........................This would be the play mentioned under your Michael Bartlett listing ...
GETTING OUT....1979 - by Christopher Russell, with Ian Holm & James Bolam. Producer: Michael Bartlett; broadcast 5-Jan-1979 .
It was in the series Just Before Midnight. When Michael was directing Dirty Tricks (which starred James Bolam's opposite number Rodney Bewes) I talked about it with him. I seem to recall that to get the claustrophobic feeling of the twins in the womb, he had the two actors crouched up on chairs, sitting back to back.
.........Update - a recording of this play has been found - N.D.
Asterisked plays exist within VRPCC
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
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