Hattie Naylor Radio Plays

BBC BROADCASTS

25.10.88 The Box, 30m, rpt. 20.06.89
21.11.89 Dusty's Story
30.03.95 Banishing Lucifer
05.06.98 Stories from the Basement, 60m
08.06.98 The Devil & Paganini, 45m
26.01.99 The Mistral, 45m
10.03.99 The love a life can show below, 45m
06.08.99 Home, 45m
17.12.99 The Breath of God, 60m
10.07.00 Songs that houses sing: D.I.Y, 45m
06.10.00 Ice mountain, 45m, rpt.30.4.02
17.12.00 Alice through the looking glass, dram, 2 x 60m
12.01.01 Angel story, 45m
01.06.01 The Red Story, 45m
08.05.02 Breath of fire, 45m
13.01.03 Chinese Whispers,1, 45m
20.01.03 Chinese Whispers,2. 45m
29.07.03 The Jewish War, 45m
31.03.05 Wooden Heart, 45m
25.05.05 Hans Christian Andersen, 2 x 45m
02.06.07 The Third Trial, R3
27.06.07 Daphnis and Chloe, 45m
16.01.08 The making of Ivan the Terrible, 45m
16.05.08 Perfect Day, 45m
04.11.10 Ivan & The Dogs, 45m
23.10.15 The Liberty Cap, 45m
21.01.18 The Bastard of Istanbul, 2 x 55m
25.08.18 Censoring an Iranian Love Story, CS
17.11.20 Dead Weather, 45m

NOTES ON SOME OF THE PLAYS

THE BOX...1989
20 Jun 89, 30m, afternoon play. Based on Punch and Judy. The story of what goes on inside the box, after the show. With Ian Dury, Emma Chambers, Mary Wimbush. recording supplied by Peter Young; many thanks.

.......details.....25 Oct 88, rpt 20 Jun 89. 25m. .....Hattie Naylor's first radio play, a quirky post-modern fable, narrated by the late Ian Dury. Stephanie, the daughter of the Punchinellos, is looking for love. Originally part of the 'Young Playwrights Festival'. Cast: Narrator ......... Ian Dury, Stephanie ... Emma Chambers, Mother ........ Polly James, Father ....... Richard Tate, Grandma ...... Mary Wimbush, Child ......... Zoe Gilbert, Stephen ....... Ian Targett, Ian ....... Ken Cumberlidge, Aladdin .... Richard Pearce. Produced by Hilary Norrish.

STORIES FROM THE BASEMENT...1998
Set in a youth club; Jason is a disc-jockey with a volatile temperament; Dea is in love with him. But if she keeps with him it could split her family. With Tyrol Jarrett and Omega Wilson. Dir. Mary W. Lowery

THE DEVIL AND PAGANINI....1998
An English journalist (Tom Baker) tries to find the secret of Paganini's phenomenal violin playing. He doesn't get very far. Dir. Jeremy Mortimer.With Marcello Magni, David Bamber and Bart Ruspoli. Very peculiar play.

THE MISTRAL....1999
Jeff's daughter is born whilst the mistral is blowing....she becomes a turbulent force in his ordered life. With Kim Wall, Tracy-Ann Oberman; dir. Jonquil Panting.

THE LOVE A LIFE CAN SHOW BELOW....1999
Annabel is a romantic novelist, passionate about food. But it turns to obsession. This play is inspired by Emily Dickinson. With Racquel Cassidy, Ben Onwukwe and Giles Fagan. In the "Women on Love" series.

THE BREATH OF GOD....1999
An English female artist is commissioned to make some sculptures based on the life of St. Francis. With Lia Williams, Sapphire Elia and Tilly Vosburgh. Dir. Jeremy Mortimer.

THE SONGS THAT HOUSES SING: D.I.Y.....2000
Daniel is into DIY, and wants to create the right decor for Frances, even if the house has to be ripped apart. But the house itself has a story to reveal....with Jade Williams, Rosie Cavaliero and Alastair Galbraith. Dir. Jeremy Mortimer.

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS....2000
A dramatisation of the well-known story by Lewis Carroll. Alice leans too close to the looking-glass and finds herself in a world where flowers can talk and where lots of other odd things are going on....with Natasha Barnes, Bernard Hepton, John Bird and John Fortune. Dir Marion Nancarrow.

ICE MOUNTAIN....2000
A play about the climbing of K2 ... five women have climbed it, but none have survived. Beth says goodbye to her daughter as she prepares for the hardest climb of her life. The play includes interviews with climbers and their families. With Louise Beattie, Jennifer Lee Jellicorse and Gaynor Faye.

ANGEL STORY....2001
Lur finds a pair of wings and attaches them to her back. Her whole world changes - suddenly she is happy. But happiness has its price. With Joanne Froggatt, Jasmine Hyde, Arnelda Brown and Richanda Carey. Dir. Mary Peate.

THE RED STORY....2001
A version of the story "The Red Shoes", which were made at night, cursed, touched by sulphur and put in a shop window to tempt a child....with Roddy Maude-Roxpy, Joanna Froggatt, Sarah Badel and Gavin Muir. Dir. Celia de Wolff.

BREATH OF FIRE....2002
Afternoon Play, 8 May 2002. On May 8 1902, a volcanic eruption devastated the city of St Pierre on the island of Martinique, with a loss of 30,000 lives. This is the story of the only adult survivor, Auguste Cyparus, whose unusual story brought him fame. He has joined a circus troupe where he is befriended by a dwarf princess with a talent for spinning fables. The fast-talking impresario wants him to be something he is not, but then what is he?.....(A historian provides background about the eruption). Cast: Lisa Hammond [Princess], Burt Caesar [Auguste Cyparus], Trevor Peacock [The Talker], Paul Dodgson [Young Man] and Juliet Ellis [Isabel]. Directed in Bristol by Mary Ward Lowery.

CHINESE WHISPERS, 1....2003
Little Cinderellas: an English mother adopts a Chinese baby girl. With Li-Leng Au, Wal-Keat Lau, Samantha Spiro, Parminder Sekhon; dir. Janet Whitaker.

CHINESE WHISPERS, 2....2003
Little Emperors: an exploration of the pressures of being an only child. With Burt Kwouk, Sarah Lam, Pik-Sen Lim, David Tse; dir. Janet Whitaker.

These plays are about the single child per family population policy in China. There are 90 million bachelors in China. Some female children are killed at birth; others are sent away to be fostered in the West. A male child is highly desirable because he and his family will care for you in your old age....

THE JEWISH WAR....2003
Jews v. Romans, 1st century A.D., based on Josephus.

WOODEN HEART....2005
Hattie Naylor gave us Chinese Whispers a couple of years ago - two radio plays about Chinese parents wanting sons and giving away their baby daughters for adoption. There was an equally uncomfortable play about a little-known episode of "ethnic cleansing" in Switzerland which was still going on in the 1970s: Wooden Heart (1415, 31 Mar 05). Large numbers of Jemisch Gypsy children were forcibly removed from their parents by the Swiss government, a policy which continued in Switzerland until 1974. In the play, Anna is a gypsy; she has lived in an orphanage since she was taken from her parents as a baby, but now her foster mother is waiting to put her to work on her farm in the Alps, a life of hard work and little reward. Juliet Aubrey was the unfortunate Anna, and Lisa Hammond, Gerda Stevenson, Stephen Perry, Jenny Coverack and Marlene Sidaway also starred. The antics of the devout but sadistic nuns (including ice in the bath for insolence) were well done by the SMs, and the producer was Mary Ward-Lowery.
.........ND, VRPCC newsletter, Apr 05

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN....2005
Radio Times:....Fairy tales and history are intertwined in this life of Hans Christian Andersen, a story which begins in the spinning rooms of a lunatic asylum in Denmark and ends with international acclaim for his work. With Rachel Atkins, Jonathan Bullock, Ben Crowe, Daniel Goode, Catherine Harvey, Helen Longworth, Tim McMullan, Louise Plowright. Music composed by Paul Dodgson, who also directed the play. ....Broadcast on two successive days; episode 1 entitled "The kiss of the ice maiden" and episode 2 "Immortality".

Daphnis and Chloe….2007
27 Jun 07. By Longus, adapted by Hattie Naylor. Two naive young lovers, beset by pirates, are aided by supernatural forces and the power of love. Producer Jeremy Mortimer.

THE THIRD TRIAL....2007
BBC Radio 3: The Wire. Sat 2 Jun 07, 9:00 p.m. A play about loss, guilt and responsibility. Stephanie ("Sugar") and Steven ("Sweetmeat") Wilton are in the first stages of grief: their son, Matthew, and his wife, Mina, have died in a holiday diving accident after Matthew's enforced departure from the Army with Post Traumatic Stress following a tour of duty in Iraq. For more information click on the link.

SOLARIS....2007
29 Jul 07, R4 Classic Serial. Science fiction classic, in two 55 minute episodes.

Space travel only increases our derangement if Stanislaw Lem’s sci-fi classic Solaris, adapted by Hattie Naylor, is any guide. All the rules have changed - a dead wife (Joanne Frogat) is reincarnated and Ron Cook’s newcomer to a space station squares up to a mad scientist (Tim McMullan). The superb soundtrack by Alice Trueman and Polly Thomas’ evocative production were the atmospheric stars here. (my summary of remarks by Moira Petty, in "The Stage")

THE MAKING OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE....2008
16,1,2008,Wednesday,Radio 4,14:15:00, Afternoon Play. Black comedy by Hattie Naylor based on events in 1944. Sergei Eisenstein suffered a heart attack during a banquet to celebrate winning the Stalin Prize for his film Ivan the Terrible Part 1. Stalin had been delighted with the depiction of Ivan as a cruel and ruthless ruler. Earlier that day; however; Eisenstein had delivered Part 2 of his intended trilogy; in which Ivan was portrayed as neurotic; mad and vindictive. Eisenstein ...... Tim McInnerny, Nikolai ...... Tim McMullan, Vsevolod ..... Andy Taylor, Stalin ...... Bill Wallis, Interviewer ...... Paul Dodgson, Zdhanov ...... Ewan Bailey, Molotov ...... Daniel Goode. Directed by Paul Dodgson. (BBC blurb)

Perfect Day….2008
Romantic drama by Hattie Naylor. Adam signs up with a company which offers specialised services based on access to information and control over it. At first he uses the company to arrange evenings out, holidays and small life experiences. But his taste for perfection grows and soon he signs up to one of their most expensive and successful services - the location of a perfect life partner. Repeated late 2010 (Sept-Oct). Cast: Vicky ...... Joanne Froggatt, Adam ...... Paul Mundell, Evie ...... Jane Godber, Sarah ...... Lisa Coleman, Jim ...... David Hounslow, Producer…… Mary Ward-Lowery.


IVAN & THE DOGS....2009
Hattie Naylor's IVAN AND THE DOGS (R4, 1415, 4 Nov 09) was based on the remarkable true story of a Russian four-year-old who walked out of his Moscow apartment to escape a violent father and who spent two years living on the streets, where he was adopted by a pack of wild dogs. The play story explores Ivan's dependence on the dogs and the way they protected him. He was played by Tom Glenister, the drama being in monologue form. The producer was Paul Dodgson. (.....ND, VRPCC newsletter)

.........THIS PLAY WON THE TINNISWOOD AWARD 2010
.......The judges.......'Narrated by the boy, the play depicts his grim childhood completely without sentimentality, and turns a child's unblinking gaze on adult cruelty, stupidity and violence. Another writer would have gone for gritty realism; Hattie Naylor creates a dark fairytale and in doing so tells us infinitely more about the chaos of modern Russia...'.

THE PLAY IS BEING PRESENTED AT VARIOUS THEATRES, 2010....
PLYMOUTH (Drum Theatre) 01752-267222 , 29 Sept- 2Oct,
OXFORD (North Wall Arts Centre) 01865-319450 8-9 Oct,
LONDON (Soho Theatre) 020-7478-0100 12 Oct-30 Oct and 1 Nov-6 Nov;
BRISTOL (Bristol Old Vic) 0117-987-7877 16 Nov-20 Nov.

23 Oct 2015: The Liberty Cap
Pete's had depression for years, but no treatment has had lasting benefit. Now he's considering taking part in a clinical trial opf a new drug. It uses the psychoactive chemical found in mushrooms. Pete: Nigel Barratt, Sam: Paul Currier, Anna: Sally Orrock. Producer: Box Temple-Morris.

21 Jan 18: Classic Serial - The Bastard of Istanbul, 1
By Elif Sharak; dram. Hattie Naylor in two episodes. The story, published in 2006, centres around Asya Kazanci and Armanoush Tchakhmakhchian. It is set in Arizona; San Francisco, California; and Istanbul, Turkey. The novel deals with their families and how they are connected through the history of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. At age nineteen, Armanoush travels secretly to Istanbul to search for her Armenian roots. (In June 2006, a nationalist lawyer accused Elif of insulting her homeland by writing about the genocide: deportations, murders and atrocities carried out on Armenians, all denied by the Turkish government).Lara Sawalha as Asya, Gillian Saker as Armanoush, with Raad Rawi, Laurel Lefkow, Nathalie Armin, Mia Soteriou, Philip Arditti, Anna Savva, Baris Celiloglu, Jonas Khan, Murak Erkek and Catriona Stirling. Producer: Nicholas Jackson.

26 Aug 18: Classic Serial: Censoring An Iranian Love Story, 1
By Shahriar Mandanipour, dram. Hattie Naylor, from the Sara Khalili translation. An Iranian writer tries to persuade a government censor that his tale of forbidden love will not provoke sin in the mind of the reader. Writer: Kevork Malikyan, Petrovich: Philip Arditti, Sara: Isabella Nefar, Dara: Amir El-Masry, with Raad Rawi, Mia Soteriou and Beatrice Butler. Producer: Nicola Jackson.

17 Nov 20: Dead Weather
Contemporary gothic thriller by Hattie Naylor. Samantha moves from London to rural Wales, but her composer husband abandons her for another woman: Freya, his childhood sweetheart. Sam is devastated and haunted by the memory of a place by the sea where Dylan wrote a sonata just for her. When a lost young crow turns up in her garden, Sam takes it in and nurtures it. But this act of compassion triggers a series of events which affects her profoundly. Sam ….. Juliet Aubrey, Dylan ….. Matthew Gravelle, Freya ….. Claire Price, Alwyn ….. Lloyd Meredith, Ceri & Nerys ….. Megan Jones. Music composed by Dan Jones and performed by Dan Jones and Jonathan Morton. Sound Design ….. Adam Woodhams, Mix ….. Steve Bond, Executive Producer ….. Sara Davies, Directed & produced by Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica).

©Nigel Deacon, Diversity website. To use anything I've quoted - please contact the original author or publication, as indicated.

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