Glyn Dearman Radio Plays
Glyn Dearman was originally a child actor; at about ten he was Jennings in the radio version of the Anthony Buckeridge school stories. He was also in films -including Dickens' "Nicholas Nickleby", and was Tiny Tim in "A Christmas Carol" (1951).
He was a respected radio producer, achieving drama of the highest standards: "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God", done at the Maida Vale studios, are examples of his work. There are different ways of getting decent results as a producer; Glyn did it by choosing the SMs (Studio Managers) most suited to the production, and being fully involved both with them and the actors, giving detailed notes about each bit of the script, more notes on later takes, and sometimes offering an extra pair of hands (an offer not always accepted!) at the mixing desk.
He produced some well-known plays including Andrew Sach's wordless "The Revenge", the surreal "Oedipus, Gunslinger" by Ian Weir, Stoppard's "Dissolution of Dominic Boot", the Earthsearch serials by James Follett, Estelman's "Sherlock Holmes v. Dracula", and Andrew Rissik's "Psychedelic Spy". He produced Rodney Wingfield's first radio play (Our West Ladyton Branch) and many others including Better Never than Late in which Leslie Sands played Detective Inspector Chew, a character considered by many to be the prototype for Jack Frost.
In the 1980s Glyn was the baddie in a special play written for Children in Need, called "The Dead Room", where most of the parts were taken by producers.
A number of Glyn's colleagues have spoken of the fun and interest of working in his productions. He was also a superb cook and a proficient DIY-er. It was a great loss to the world of radio drama when he died in an accident at home.
I am indebted to Carol McShane for talking to me; Carol worked as an SM for Glyn from 1968 to 1993. Thanks also to R.D.Wingfield, who read the page and did some editing before it went on-line.
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SOME OF GLYN DEARMAN'S RADIO PRODUCTIONS
(in approximate order of transmission)
Mrs. Dale's Diary
Waggoner's Walk
1964 The Dissolution of Dominic Boot (T.Stoppard)
1968 Our West Ladyton Branch (R.D.Wingfield)
1973 Sins of Commission (R.D.Wingfield)
1972 Sauce for the Goose (and other Georges Feydeau farces)
1978 The Revenge (A.Sachs)
1979 The Tor Sands Experience (B.Stewart)
1980 The Company of Wolves (A.Carter)
1981 A fall of Moondust (A.C.Clarke)
1981 The first men in the moon (H.G.Wells)
1981 Journey into Space
1981 The technicolour time machine (Gallagher)
1981 Earthsearch (J.Follett)
1981 Sherlock Holmes v. Dracula (dram. G. Dearman)
1982 Blythe thou never wert, Change of View, Normal Service (Melville)
1982 Earthsearch 2 (J.Follett)
1982 Project Genesis
1984 Oedipus, Gunslinger (I.Weir)
1983 Revelations
1987 Death Duties (F.Bradnum)
1989 R.U.R (Capek)
1990 Dan Dare
1990 The Petition (Brian Clark)
1990 The Psychedelic Spy (A.Rissik)
1990 The haunted man and the ghost's bargain (Dickens),rpt BBC7 Dec 2005
1991 Who Goes There?
1993 The Miser (Goldoni)
1995 Room with a View (Forster), rpt. BBC7 Apr. 2004
NOTES
BETTER NEVER THAN LATE....1972
28/04/1972, by R D Wingfield. With Leslie Sands as Inspector Chew.'Twelve years ago the force was my life - but things change. Twelve years ago while I was looking for a kidnapped child my son died and my wife walked out on me. I want to solve that case before I retire - I want to wipe the slate clean.
Insp.Green - Brian Haines
Sgt. Rushton - Sean Barrett
Det. Insp Collins - Fraser Kerr
Det.Insp. Smith - Malcolm Gerrard
Chief Supt.Lawton- Charles Simon
Sam Fletcher - Malcolm Hayes
Peggy Fletcher - Sheila Raynor
Bill - Alan Haines
Ann Marlow - Jill Simcox
Pamela Fulton - Nicolette Bernard
Sarah Fulton - Patricia Gallimore
Hampton - Nigel Lambert
Mr.Cresswell - Frederick Treves
Producer - Glyn Dearman
VAMPIRELLA....1976
Original radio play, later forming the basis for the short story The Lady of the House of Love in the collection The Bloody Chamber. TX: R3 20 July 1976, 61m. CAST:
Countess Vampirella/Elizabeth Ba'athory...........Anna Massey,
Count Dracula/ Sawney Beane/ Henri Blot……..David March,
Hero..........Richard O'Callaghan,
Mrs. Beane...........Betty Hardy,
Other parts played by....David Graham, Elizabeth Lindsay.
Greek Priest........John Theocharis.
Announcer: John Curle.
Produced by Glyn Dearman.
COME UNTO THESE YELLOW SANDS....1979
An imaginative reconstruction of the life and paintings of Richard Dadd (1817-1886).
TX: R3 28-Mar-1979. Cast:
Richard Dadd...........Philip Scully,
Titania........June Tobin,
Oberon........John Westbrook,
Puck........Andrew Branch,
Sir Thomas Phillips.....William Eedle,
Crazy Jane........Sheila Grant,
The Shopkeeper......Harold Kasket.
Other parts played by:.......Eric Allan, Peter Baldwin, Margot Boyd, Noel Howlett.
Violin played by George French; produced by Glyn Dearman. 59m.
THE COMPANY OF WOLVES....1980
By Angela Carter, R3. Dramatisation of her own 'Red Riding Hood' short story. TX: Radio 3: 01-Mar-1980. Cast:
Red Riding Hood........Elizabeth Proud,
The Werewolf......Michael Williams,
Granny………Katherine Parr,
The Storyteller……..John Westbrook,
Other Parts……….Peter Baldwin, Eve Karpf, Elizabeth Rider, Jeremy Booker, Emma-Kate Davis. Producer Glyn Dearman. 49m. This play was repeated many years later on R4 Extra.
SHERLOCK HOLMES V. DRACULA....1981
A play for radio by Glyn Dearman, from the writings of
John H. Watson, as edited by Loren B. Estelman. With John
Moffatt as Sherlock Holmes, Timothy West as Dr. Watson, David
March as Count Dracula and Aubrey Woods as Professor Van
Helsing. ...."I feel it my duty to set the record straight
regarding a number of erroneous statements made recently
concerning the events I am about to describe. I refer in
particular to a spurious monograph by one Bram Stoker, entitled
DRACULA, which completely ignores the part which Sherlock Holmes
played in bringing that affair to a successful conclusion."
.......(from a posthumously published memoir of Dr. John H.
Watson) Also stars Michael Maloney, Noel Howlett,
Theresa Streatfield, Nicholas Courtney, Katherine Parr, John
Hollis, Ned Bridger. Directed by Glyn Dearman.
Cracking tale, immaculate production....superb entertainment.90 min.
PUSS IN BOOTS ....1982
A strictly adult version of the well-known nursery story, dramatised for radio by Angela Carter. TX:R4 20-Dec-1982. Cast:
Puss........Andrew Sachs,
Young Hero...........Mick Ford,
Young Heroine..........Jill Lidstone,
The Hag.........Doris Hare ,
Pantaleone........Alan Melville ,
Tabe.........Frances Jeater,
Undertaker..........Stephen Thorne,
Gambler..........Peter Arne,
Citizen's Wife........Madi Hedd.
Producer Glyn Dearman. 15m.
A SELF-MADE MAN....1984
Documentary drama about the Edwardian novelist Ronald Firbank.
TX: 04-May-1984. 60m. CAST:
Ronald Firbank.............Lewis Fiander
Female Narrator...........Frances Jeater
Male Narrator...............John Westbrook
Lord Berners..................Timothy Bateson
Nancy Cunard................Liza Goddard
Sir Osbert Sitwell............John Webb
Sewell Stokes..................Geoffrey Collins
Baba.................................Kate Binchy
Joseph Firbank...............James Garbutt
Sir Thomas Firbank.........Peter Tuddenham
Augustus John................James Bryce
Evan Morgan...................Clive Panto
Grant Richards.................Eric Allan
Wyndham Lewis..............Kerry Francis
Harold Nicholson.............Brett Usher
Oscar Wilde......................James Kerry
Forrest Reid......................Tom Hunsinger
Duncan Grant...................Michael Spice
Produced by Glyn Dearman.
"*Oedipus, Gunslinger"....1984
A highly stylised version of the
Oedipus story; a Western in the style of a Greek tragedy, and
a wonderful piece of radio. It even has a Greek chorus. Details:
broadcast R3, December 84, 55m, Bruce Boer as Marshal Prestridge,
Bob Sherman as Adam Shand, Brian Michael as Liberty Shand, Blaine
Fairman as Justin Lawrence, Keith Edwards as Deputy Marshal Gimball,
David March as the Ancient Indian. Squint was played by Cyril Shaps
, Doc Halloran by Alan Tilvern, Old Barley by Robert Henderson,
Silas Weathervane by Ed. Bishop, Widow Wentworth by Gladys
Spencer, Twitchell by William Hope, and Burlap by Mark Rolleston.
The music was composed and conducted by Philip Pickett, and played
by Imogen Barford, Stephen Henderson, Melinda Maxwell and David
Roach. Directed by Glyn Dearman.
Death Duties....1987
by Frederick Bradnum.
With Maurice Denham, Martin Jarvis, Jill Balcon and Margaret Courtenay.
Produced by Glyn Dearman.
R 3, 20 Oct 87.
rpt. R3, 15 Aug 1989.
Jeremiah's motley family are after his will, but he isn't dead yet and has a bombshell from beyond the Iron Curtain to drop.
THE HAUNTED MAN AND THE GHOST'S BARGAIN....1990
With John Moffat, Ronald Herdman, Dilys Lay. Rebroadcast
over Xmas 2005. ....info from Stephen Stallcup, N. Carolina - many
thanks.
Who goes there?....1991
By Bob Shaw, dir. Glyn Dearman. It's AD 2386 and Warren Peace has joined the
Space legion to forget something. He can't remember what. 55m.
Nigel Deacon, Diversity website
