Donald McWhinnie
18.06.56 Giles Cooper- mathry beacon
13.01.57 Samuel Beckett - all that fall
15.08.57 Giles Cooper - the disagreeable oyster
14.12.57 Samuel Beckett - from an adandoned work (see Sam Beckett page)
13.01.58 Giles Cooper - without the grail
03.08.58 Giles Cooper - under the loofah tree
23.11.58 Giles Cooper - unman, wittering and zigo
??.07.59 Pinter - a slight ache
25.02.60 Pinter- a night out
1960s Robert Bolt - the drunken sailor
1973 McWhinnie/Hilda Lawrence - the hands
NOTES
THE DISAGREEABLE OYSTER....1957
Mervyn Bundy, the main character of this play, is divided into two parts - Bundy Major and Bundy Minor. Bundy Major is the real person. Bundy Minor is the bit inside him - his second thoughts, or his conscience, or whatever you want to call him. The only thing we really know about him is that he's inside Bundy Major, and he can't get out.
...Highly stylised handling...as rich as a cartoon film in outrageous comic invention and as sober as a Chekhov play in its concern with human beings. ....from an essay by Donald McWhinnie...
All That Fall....1957
A play for radio by Samuel Beckett
First broadcast on the BBC Third Programme, 13 January 1957
Duration: 64.03
Mrs Rooney (Maddy), an old lady - Mary O'Farrell
Christy, a carter - Allan McClelland
Mr Tyler, a retired bill-broker - Brian O'Higgins
Mr Slocum, Clerk of the Racecourse - Patrick Magee
Tommy, a porter - Jack MacGowran
Mr Barrell, a station-master - Harry Hutchinson
Miss Fitt, a lady - Sheila Ward
A Female Voice - Peggy Marshall
Mr Rooney (Dan), husband of Mrs Rooney - J. G. Devlin
Jerry, a small boy - Terrance Farrell
and members of the BBC Drama Repertory Company
Produced by Donald McWhinnie
Extract from Schubert's String Quartet No.14 'Death and the Maiden', D810, second movement, performed by the London String Quartet
From an Abandoned Work....1957
A meditation by Samuel Beckett
First broadcast on the BBC Third Programme, 14 December 1957
Duration: 23.33
Spoken by Patrick Magee
Produced by Donald McWhinnie
UNDER THE LOOFAH TREE....1958
A simple fable of a man having a bath, but within this framework the author concentrates a pungent assessment of certain contemporary beliefs - a curiously touching but merciless scrutiny of a certain kind of human being. He uses every shorthand device of imaginative radio to paint a man's life, his aspirations, and his will to survive. This is forty-five minutes of highly distilled experience crystallised into a sound - complex: words, rhythms, evocative noises, fused into a kind of musical score which constantly stimulates the ear and the imagination. ....taken from some remarks written by Donald McWhinnie in his introduction to a volume of Giles Cooper's plays, published by the BBC in 1966. See Giles Cooper's page for more information about his plays.
Embers
A play for radio by Samuel Beckett
First broadcast on the BBC Third Programme, 24 June 1959
Duration: 45.00
Henry - Jack MacGowran
Ada - Kathleen Michael
Addie - Kathleen Helme
The Music Master / The Riding Master - Patrick Magee
Pianist - Cicely Hoye
Produced by Donald McWhinnie
Cascando
A play for radio by Samuel Beckett, with music by Marcel Mihalovici
First broadcast on the BBC Third Programme, 6 October 1964
Duration: 20.45
Voice - Patrick Magee
Opener - Denys Hawthorne
Produced by Donald McWhinnie
Embers Beckett Festival ....1999
6 Sep 99, R3. Martin Esslin introduces the first of three programmes dedicated to the radio plays of Samuel Beckett. 1. `Embers'. Henry sits on a beach looking back on his life. He dwells on failed relationships, fragments of stories - anything to shut out the sound of the sea. With Jack MacGowan, Kathleen Michael, Kathleen Helme and Patrick Magee. Cicely Hoye (piano), director Donald McWhinnie.
A Samuel Beckett Double Bill Beckett Festival ....1999
7 Sep 99. Martin Esslin introduces the second of three programmes dedicated to the radio plays of Samuel Beckett. 2. `Cascando'. With Patrick Magee and Denys Hawthorne. Directed by Donald McWhinnie. `Rough for Radio'. With Harold Pinter, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Magee and Michael Deacon. Directed by Martin Esslin.
compiled by Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
