Fossils, Dinosaurs: Radio Plays
DINNER IN THE IGUANADON.....2006
11 Jan 06. By Chrissie Gittins. Christmas Eve, 1854. 21 leading scientists ate their
way through a 7-course banquet, served in the plaster
cast mould of a prehistoric beast. The person who
made much of their work possible, the fossil collector
Mary Anning, was not invited. Nor was she acknowledged
in their publications*.
The scientists were there to
celebrate the creation of 33 life-size dinosaurs in the new Crystal Palace Park.
Those monsters are still (I am told) there today.
An interesting item appeared on the R4 message board, related
to this play, from "nigel m", as follows: "........it was stated in
Radio Times that repairs were not carried out on these animals for over
100 years. I lived in Penge / Angerley ... my father, Victor, carried
out extensive repairs to these figures during the late forties
following war damage. He used chicken wire, a dinner knife and spoon,
a trowel and cement".
*The imbalance
has been redressed by history, as visitors to the British
Museum and Lyme Regis will be aware.
THE FOSSILIST....2005
By Fiona Mackie. Set in Lyme Regis, this play links Mary Anning with a young girl and a woman
stranded by the tide in Lyme Regis in 2005. With Susan Jameson, Ella Smith,
Gillian Bevan, Catherine Butler, Gerard McDermott (token male?). Director Sally Avens.
R4, 15 Sep 05, afternoon play.
Forgotten Female Fossilists....2003
13 Jul 03. Feature: Rebecca Stott uncovers the lives of three women whose fossil collections led to new discoveries about natural history. 2/3. Mary Anning.
In the early nineteenth century, Mary Anning became the greatest fossilist the world ever knew. This uneducated girl changed the face of British palaeontology with her study of the hundreds of fossils she found in the cliffs at Lyme Regis.
FOSSILS....1997
R4, 25 Sep 97 60min.
By Andy Rattenbury.
Lou is having nightmares about a childhood trauma and
decides to return home to confront her past. Her
family is unnerved by her reappearance, and everyone
is forced to unearth long-buried secrets.
THE LOST WORLD....1975
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in 3 episodes, R4. 26.1.1975 to 9.2.1975 .
Francis de Wolff/Kevin McHugh/Gerald Harper/Carleton Hobbs. Too familiar to require
much comment. Excellent realisation of Conan
Doyle's tale of prehistoric monsters. Dramatised by
Peggy Wells and Barry Campbell; produced by Betty Davies. The adaptation is
faithful to the original story.
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
Most of the above plays known to exist in VRPCC collections
