John Fletcher Radio Plays & Dramatisations
JOHN FLETCHER RADIO PLAYS
AFTERNOON THEATRE
19.02.1984 Babylon Has Fallen*
15.07.1982 The Mansion Of The Mighty*
29.05.1981 Taptoe Through The Telephones*
21.12.1980 The Mendip Demoniack*
26.08.1979 The Trumpet Shall Sound*
25.05.1979 The Tragedie of Charles, Lord Stourton
MIDWEEK THEATRE
None
SATURDAY PLAYHOUSE
22.04.89 Night Express
SATURDAY NIGHT THEATRE
02.04.94 The Green Hill*
11.09.93 Contraband*
SERIALS
Start date:
20.05.84 Deep Six (6)
04.01.87 Some Mother's Son (6)
18.12.06 Baghdad Burning (woman's hours serial,5)
OTHERS
17.09.90 Death & The Tango* (R3)
24.11.90 Excuse Fingers*
11.11.91 Russia (Monday play)*
18.04.92 The Legend of Robin Hood*
22.10.92 Hot Rubber (Death on the Motorway)*
02.04.93 The Green Hill-The Druid*
09.04.93 The Green Hill-The Detective*
12.06.93 Double Indemnity, dram*
??.08.94 Dead Perfect (R3) - Harold Gimblett*
09.08.97 Who Am I To You? (dram)
25.08.97 The Lady of Shalott
16.10 97 Deadline
08.11.97 A Game of Three Halves*
14.02.98 Waiting for the Earth to Move*
14.02.98 The Front Page, dram.
05.12.98 A Shilling for Candles, dram*
01.10.99 The Big Smoke*
28.07.01 Black Maria*
17.12.01 Be Ye Not Afraid, 5 x 12m
06.11.03 Badgers in my Vest* (Dylan Thomas), 45m
09.10.04 Ebola Attack (World Service), 60m*
04.12.05 The Sicilian Expedition, R3*
04.03.06 The great chocolate murders*
04.06.07 How not to run a foreign policy*, 45m
10.06.07 No Name, by Wilkie Collins* (dram), 2 x 60m. Classic serial.
21.07.07 The shocking tale of Margaret Seddon*
16.11.08 Tamburlaine - Shadow of God, R3,*, 90m.
29.01.12 Sea Change, R3*, 90m
Asterisked plays in VRPCC collections.
DATES NOT KNOWN:
DEMOCRACY & LANGUAGE trilogy
1.Greece versus Persia*
2.Great Britain versus Germany
3.Everyone for Themselves
OTHERS
Up Against It (Joe Orton), dram
Shoot-Out at St. David's
Who Sings the Hero: Roof of the World*
The House by the River (A P Herbert), dram
The Lyme Regis Food and Fertility Festival*
Night of the Hunter* (J Thompson), dram, Society of
Authors Best Dramatisation Award
Mildred Pierce*, dram
The Apple Orchard*
The Glory of the Lord
Wandering in Eden
Suddenly*
NOTES ON SOME OF THE PLAYS
SEA CHANGE....2012
By John Fletcher. R3, 29 Jan 12. This was a fascinating bit of social history; the story of the appeasers versus the anti-appeasers during the buildup to the Second World War. Eventually the people of the UK realised that their P.M. could no longer continue to turn a blind eye to what was happening in and around Germany. When Poland was invaded, Neville Chamberlain had no choice but to declare war. A Coalition government was rapidly formed, where politicians of all parties temporarily suspended their differences to defend the UK, with Churchill as P.M.
Cast: Charles Edwards as Harold Nicolson (of Sissinghurst), Kim Wall, John Rowe, Richard Dillane, Carl Prekopp as Guy Burgess, Adam Billington, Gerard McDermott,, James Lailey, Adjoa Andoh, Christopher Webster and Rikki Lawton. Producer Marc Beeby.
TAMBURLAINE - SHADOW OF GOD....2008
16 Nov 08, R3, 90m. John Fletcher's play imagines that the paths of three important figures from Middle-Eastern history crossed: Tamburlaine, Ibn Khaldun (historian) and Hafez (poet). Tamburlaine is sending out soldiers to neighbouring countries, promising them perpetual war and riches, building Samarkand and an empire which he wants to last a thousand years. This is not how lasting empires are usually built. Stars John Rowe as Khaldun, Jeffery Kissoon as Tamburlaine, Conleth Hill as Hafez. Producer Marc Beeby.
THE McKINNON EXTRADITION....2007
12 Dec 07. John Fletcher's play tells the true story of Gary McKinnon, a British citizen suffering from Asperger's who is fighting extradition to the US on suspicion of hacking into government computers. Directed by Pete Atkin.
- Update, Nov 09....it appears that McKinnon is to be extradited. Note that this could not happen in reverse; in England we cannot extradite American citizens from the USA no matter what their crime. Write to your M.P.
Further update, Feb 12....this sad affair is still continuing, to the distress of the McKinnons.... it made the national press again about a fortnight ago. There is still a possibility of extradition. Write to your M.P.
THE SHOCKING TALE OF MARGARET SEDDON....2007
R4, Saturday play, 21 Jul 07. Play set in 1911 about murder, treachery, knocking off your lodger for her money then getting your husband to swing for it. Then scooting off with your five children to live in California. This sort of thing happens only in the colonies and The Daily Mail. Set in Finsbury Park and based on a true story. (....from remarks by JF)
-
Comments from the BBC website (edited slightly by ND)
I've always been interested in the Seddon case because I new well the part of North London where the murder of Miss Barrow took place. I remember Edgar Lustgarden salivating over the details in one of his programmes years ago and I have never heard it suggested before last Saturday's play that Frederick Seddon was anything but guilty. Suddenly, his wife Margaret explains in detail how she killed the old lady. Is there, I wonder, any real reason to re-allocate the blame, or is this just dramatic licence?
Another listener commented :
-this was certainly a new idea, the suggestion that his wife had been the guilty one. It was well written and a good listen. What a treat to be back to this sort of play on a Saturday afternoon.
- which brought the reply (from "h")
There seems to be a trend toward this sort of thing. I read an account a short time ago that held Ethel le Neve responsible for the murder of Belle Gilmore rather than Hawley Harvey Crippen who was actually hanged for it. The claim seemed to have some substance and it was indicated that Crippen had taken the blame to protect his lover.
I have edited these contributions from the BBC messageboard for clarity and to preserve anonymity. If you would like your contribution removed, or to be mentioned as the author, please contact me; I do not know how to get in touch with you.....N.D.
HOW NOT TO RUN A FOREIGN POLICY....2007
By John Fletcher. 4 Jun 07, afternoon play.
John writes..."This light-hearted comedy has nothing to do with any recent or present-day events in British politics.
A powerful and forceful Chancellor of the Exchequer, Neville Chamberlain, has just succeeded - without any opposition - to the Premiership. He is determined to revolutionize Britain's position in the world by shaking off European entanglements and once more trading in a global economy, in which he believes Britain will again rise to top nation. To do this he must reach a deal with prominent Europeans who are, he believes, rightly aggrieved by the inequities of the Treaty of Versailles.
Unfortunately, the British Foreign Office, under the good-looking and extremely popular Anthony Eden, completely opposes this policy and goes out of its way to undermine every move he makes. So do other political deadbeats and has-beens such as Winston Churchill, Harold Nicholson, and the Labour Party.
He needs a way of privately talking to Hitler and Mussolini without the FO continually leaking his plans. Into the breach steps his press officer and eminence grise, Sir Joseph Ball - a man who makes Alistair Campbell and Karl Rove look like pussy cats. As an ex-MI5 officer, he will organize an underground network to smuggle Chamberlain's private letters to the dictators. He recruits his first agent by blackmailing him over his homosexuality. The agent's name is Guy Burgess.
This play is based on actual historical events. It is the first part of a planned trilogy on British Foreign Policy, the second part dealing with Munich, the third with the events leading up to the Norway Debate of May 1940, when those same deadbeats and incompetents finally managed to organize the overthrow of our beloved Prime Minister. They will be broadcast on the 70th anniversaries of these events.
Beneath the farce the play is a serious study of how wrong things can go when ideologues - with enormous parliamentiary majorities - take over from pragmatists in government, especially in foreign policy. Of how difficult it often is to know - right up til the last moment - who is right and and who is wrong. And what a complex - and hair- raising - matter democratic politics really is."
John Fletcher.
NO NAME....2007
By Wilkie Collins, dram. by JF. Classic Seruial, 2 x 60m. Dir. Kate McAll. A tale of disguise, deception and sacrifice, set in Victorian times, described by JF as a "bodice-ripper". With Jaimi Barbakoff, Ron Cooke, Diana Quick, Richard Nichols, Manon Edwards, Jaqueline Tong, Richard Mitchley, Dick Bradnum, Steffan Rhodri, Jack Reynolds and Caitlin Richards. R4 10 and 17 Jun 07.
BAGHDAD BURNING....2006
John Fletcher:
"BBC Radio 4 is broadcasting my adaptation of Riverbend's blog Baghdad Burning. Riverbend is the extraordinarily courageous young Iraqi woman who, for the last three and a half years, has been writing about what it is like to live in the midst of an invasion and then a civil war. Her writing is hair-raising, angry, and extremely funny".
ND: BBC blurb is below:
.....A searing account of life in Iraq is dramatised by John Fletcher in this Woman's Hour serial, drawn from the real-life blog of a young Iraqi woman known only as Riverbend. British Iraqi actress Jasmine Callan stars as the 24-year-old, whose true identity remains concealed for her own protection.
In August 2003, Riverbend began to write a blog which has since been published and has thousands of loyal readers worldwide. Drawing on the blog, the drama depicts Riverbend's stories of life in occupied Baghdad: stories of neighbours whose homes are raided by US troops, of relatives disappearing during the chaos and of her own decision not to wear the hijab, a decision that becomes increasingly risky as religious extremism builds.
Riverbend is unremitting in her attempt to analyse everything, from the coverage provided by American media of the conflict to the torture in Abu Ghraib. She focuses especially on the fate of women, whose rights and freedoms have fallen victim to rising fundamentalisms in a chaotic post-war society.
Producer: Claudine Toutoungi
Repeated on World Service in early 2007 and posted on
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17379.htm.
Info. sent by JF and used by permission.
The Great Chocolate Murders....2006
R4, 4 Mar 06. Obsessive love, poison, bad drains, royalty, murder and chocolate all feature in John Fletcherıs play, set in 19th-century Brighton and based on a true story. Christiana Edmunds, an eccentric, 40-something spinster, falls madly in love at first sight with the tall and handsome Dr Beard, a married man. She visits him, complaining of abdominal pains which he must examine at once, and they begin a passionate but brief affair an affair he quickly regrets.
Christiana visits Dr Beardıs wife and takes her some delicious chocolates from Armandıs, Brightonıs specialist chocolate purveyors.The chocolates taste foul, and Dr Beard suspects Christiana has tried to poison his wife. However, he darenıt go to the police and instead writes to Christiana to accuse her. Christiana is taken aback by his letter. If he suspects she tried to poison his wife which she didnıt then she must prove him wrong by demonstrating conclusively that Armandıs regularly sell poisoned chocolates to their unsuspecting clientele. .........remarks by J.F; used by permission....
THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION....2005
Athens. The most extraordinary, the most beautiful, the most terrifying civilization of all time. The template we all live out.
Effortlessly its drama, its art, its science and philosophy bestrode the world. But despite its superb democracy, all-powerful economy and a "shock-and-awe" military the envy of the world -- out of a clear blue sky came sudden, terrifying and total collapse.
The Athenians had their very own Iraq War -- The Sicilian Expedition.
(.....the rest of this essay, by JF, is on the main RADIO page, under articles).
Repeat broadcast on Sunday 13 May 2007. Gillian Reynolds considered this the best original radio play of 2005 on Radio 3.
EBOLA ATTACK....2004
9 Oct, World Service: an account of a
story which actually happened. Ebola broke out in the Lacor
region of Uganda a little over three years ago. The fact that it didn't
reach the wider world is due to the heroic
behaviour of the people in this drama, led by Matthew
Lukwiya, the senior doctor at Lacor hospital . Not
a barrel of laughs - though there are quite a few - but
ultimately an uplifting story.
BADGERS IN MY VEST....2003
1415, 6 Nov 03, afternoon play. The young Dylan Thomas spent much
of the Second World War in a pub in Newquay, Carmarthenshire, unable
to write. A returning soldier has an unexpected
effect on him. This play marks the 50th anniversary of the poet's
death. With Oliver Ryan as Thomas; also Rhodri Hugh, John McAndrew,
Helen Griffin, Manon Edwards, Laurence Allen. Producer Alison
Hindell.
......which reminds me....
It is night, a bright, dull, wardrobe-bellied, bathtub- brided, springheel-jack-the-nipper in the air April night. Sunbeam broad, four-ale bars of distilled moonshine filter through the cold-as-toast mixed grills of the prison cell....
better than the original....?
BLACK MARIA 2001
True story of Maria Manning, a woman who committed murder.....under the same circumstances, what would we do? The seamstress's trial made an enormous impact on the nation,. and it was after her that prison vans were called "Black Marias". With Charlotte Coleman, Andrew Lincoln, Julian Glover, John Hartley. Dir. Victoria Crompton. Rpt. 21 Jun 02.
BE YE NOT AFRAID 2001
The story of the composition of Handel's "Messiah"..5 x 12m......with Derek Jaccobi, John Hartley.
THE BIG SMOKE 1999
By John Fletcher and Stan Hey. A look at the tobacco industry and how they might twist the government's arm into legalising marijuana ... anything is right if the spin doctors say so.....with Iestyn jones, Nick Bailey, Don Warrington. Dir. Foz Allan.
THE FRONT PAGE 1998
Dramatised by John Fletcher. By Ben Hecht and Charles McArthur. Hard-bitten journalists for whom getting a scoop is more important than anything else....with Iain Glen, Christian Rodska and Louise Lombard.
WAITING FOR THE EARTH TO MOVE 1998
Superb play about the rogue trader Nick Leeson and how his activities led to the downfall of Barings' Bank. With Richard Briers, Paul Chan, Leena Dhingra, Andrew Lincoln. Directors Catherine Bailey and John Dove.
A SHILLING FOR CANDLES 1998
Comedy thriller by Josephine Tey, dramatised by John Fletcher. The daughter of a chief constable meets a suspected killer....with Giles Fagan, Tilly Gaunt, Steve Hodson, Stephen Thorne and Ben Crowe. Dir. Tabitha Potts.
WHO AM I TO YOU? 1997
Adapted by John Fletcher and Rehan Sheikh from a 1995 Bollywood film. Two brothers fall in love with two sisters; one of the sisters dies and the other is betrothed to the wrong brother ..with Saeed Jaffray, Rehan Sheikh, Nina Wadia; directed by Kristine Landon-Smith.
THE LADY OF SHALOTT 1997
An elderly butterfly collector is found poisoned by chloroform. A scandal follows. With Sarah-Jane Holm, Ian Hughes, Clive Swift. Dir. Cathryn Horn.
This is an extremely unusual 'take' on a famous court case - you may recognise it if you listen carefully to the names of the characters.
With S-J Holm, Ian Hughes, Clive Swift, Stephen Thorne.
DEADLINE 1997
Set in a remote Chinese village. For centuries, the dead have been buried. Now there's a new provincial governor who says that in future, they will be cremated. With Mary Wimbush and Kim Wall. Dir. Gordon House.
A GAME OF THREE HALVES 1997
By Stan Hey & John Fletcher. A very humorous play on the present state of the game...with Helen Baxendale, Tom Georgeson, Anthony Head. Directed by Foz Allen.
8 Jun 96: Saturday Playhouse: The Tiger
By John Fletcher. Saeed Jaffrey stars as Zahir-ud-Din Muhammed, a descendant of Ghengis Khan and Tamburlaine, also known as Babur the Tiger and founder of the Mogul Empire.
Khwaja: Rehan Sheikh,
Isun: Charubala Chokshi,
Gulbaden: Sudha Bhuchar,
Bibi: Soussan Farroukania,
Kasim: Rashid Karapiet,
Ali Dingdong: Kriss Dosanjh,
with Nizwar Karanj, Nitin Chandra Ganatra. Dhirendra, Ashwin Bolar, Sachin Duggal, Anuj Tanden and Nitin Duggal. Musical advisor Colin Sell. Producer Kristine Landon-Smith.
DEAD PERFECT....1994
Excellent play about the legendary Somerset cricketer Harold Gimblett. R3.
With Tom Wilkinson as Gimblett; the narrator was Christopher Benjamin, Mr.
Penney was David King, Young Harold was Matthew Rudge, and his brother Denis
Tom Laurenson, the spectators were Terence Edmond and George Parton.
Recorded in Somerset by Michael (?exton)*.
The author would like to acknowledge his debt to the author of the
book about Harold Gimblett, David Foot, and Ralph Barker, writer of Ten
Great Innings.
The play was recorded at Maida Vale, by Jane Morgan, and the music (the drama was part of a season of music and drama intermixed) was composed by Barrington Phelong, the Aussie cricket enthusiast. I think he adapted it from a string quartet, coincidentally, in a church in Somerset. (JF)
NIGHT OF THE HUNTER....1993
R4, 3.9.93; subsequently repeated by ABC. Directed by Andy Jordan.
The children know where the money is hidden; so does a
psychopathic preacher. Dramatised from the story by
David Grubb.
THE GREEN HILL-THE DETECTIVE 1993
4 Apr 93; Monday Play. Sequel....with Diana Quick and Adjoa Andoh. Monday play. A very
violent play set in a decayed city of the far future. The ruling class
and the underclass have polarised and society has broken down.
Each class keeps to its own territory. But a trail of blood and
a murdered and mutilated child leads back from the slums to some
of the highest in the land. There is a terrific final scene...
-
It is 2025, and London, the great city founded by the Romans, is collapsing. Two detectives in the Metropolitan Police, investigating the sadistic mutilation and murder of a rent boy, are confronted with the full extent of the city's decay.
Adjoa Andoh [Liz], Okon Jones [Langton], Diana Quick [Grett], Brett Usher [Villiers], Simon Egerton [Ansen], Malcolm Ward [Harrington], Dominic Rickhards [Ince] and Roger Hume [The Chief]. Music composed and performed by Maartin Alcock with Simon Nicol. Directed at Pebble Mill by Nigel Bryant.
THE GREEN HILL- THE DRUID 1993
2 Apr 93; SNT. Play set in the time of Queen Boadicea and involving conflicts with the Romans. Excellent dramatization. Play 1 of 2, the second set 2000 years later. Monday play. Diana Quick, Kim Wall.
-
In 1984 the perfectly preserved body of a man was found in a peat bog in Cheshire. He had been strangled and drowned. The press dubbed him Pete Marsh. Archaeologists now believe he lived at the time of the Roman invasion, that he was a druid, and was the willing victim of ritual sacrifice. John Fletcher has imagined a different fate in which the Druid is a servant of Queen Boudica used by her as a spy at the time of the revolt of the Iceni against the forces of Rome. Cast: Diana Quick [Boudica], Kim Wall [Lavernios], Peter Harlow [Gaius], Ian Redford [Suetonius] and Roger Hume [Deccianus].
Other parts by Peter Meakin, Richard Avery, Jonathan Wyatt, Susan Jeffrey, Gillian Goodman and David Holt.
Music composed and performed by Maartin Alcock with Simon Nicol. Directed at Pebble Mill by Nigel Bryant.
DEATH & THE TANGO 1990 R3
Interesting "other-world" play - a metaphysical Fantasy Comedy
Thriller - with Steve Hodson, Christian Rodska, Maureen O'Brien, along
with Mary Wimbush. Mary Bridgeland, Roger Hume and Christopher Scott.
Music composed and performed by Vic Gammon. Directed at Pebble Mill
by Nigel Bryant. Giles Cooper Award 1990.
CONTRABAND 1993
With John Nettles, Stephen Tomlin
DOUBLE INDEMNITY, dram, 1993
From the Hollywood film, by James M. Cain. With Walter Hough, Molly Ringwald, Teresa Russell, John Wood, Michael Drew, John Goraczio, John Baddeley, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Roger May. Technical presentation by Graham Hoyland, Dave Parkinson, Andrew Lawrence, Fiona Baker, Christine Hall, Mark Decker. Directed at Christchurch Studios in Bristol by Andy Jordan.
HOT RUBBER (DEATH ON THE MOTORWAY) 1992
Very odd play set in the future .. everyone is tearing around the motorway........Natasha Pyne as Madge, Tom Lawrence as George, also stars Pat Hayes, Carol Chaney, Brett Usher, Chris Harris, Bill Wallis, Christian Rodska, David Learner, Laura Hawkridge, Emma Cullimore. Studio Managers: Andrew Lawrence (Panel), Pete Smith (Grams) and Christine Morton(Spot). Music by ITN Productions. Directed in Bristol by Shaun McLaughlin.
RUSSIA....1991
11.11.91...war play, produced and directed by Nigel Bryant, BBC
Pebble Mill. Monday play slot; music by Barrington Pheloung. An apt choice
for 11th Nov; a group of soldiers return from Flanders mud and realise
there's no longer a welcome for them in England, despite what the
politicians say. So they enlist again, to fight in Russia in a struggle
they don't understand.
Their experiences are no better than they were in the trenches.
This play contains harrowing scenes involving civilians being treated brutally by soldiers. A late friend who served in the British army in central Europe witnessed similar atrocities. The play is a powerful anti-war statement, in a similar vein to Hasek's "Good Soldier Schweik".
EXCUSE FINGERS....1991
24.11.90. 90m. The story of Herbert Rouse Armstrong. With Michael Kitchen (as Armstrong), Gillian Barge, Pauline Letts, Jane Whittenshaw, Jenny Howe, Maxine Audley, Mark Straker, Emma Gregory, Ioan Meredith, Andrew Wincott, David Sinclair, Richard Tate, David Burkin, Eleanor Hodson, Michael Turner, Oriel Smith, Tara Dominic, Paul Downing. Pianist Mary Nash. Producer Joan Morgan.
THE LEGEND OF ROBIN HOOD 1992
A 90 minute treatment of the well-known epic, drawing on the original Robin Hood ballads. With John Nettles as Robin, Gerry Hinks as Little John, Michael Tudor Barnes as Friar Tuck, Peter Meakin as Will Scarlet; also stars Carolyn Backhouse, Tamsin Greig, Jonathan Wyatt, Struan Rodger (Guy of Gisborne), John Meakin , BethanGanjavi, David Holt, Richard Mitchley and Pat Quayle. Music composed and performed by Vic Gammon; dir. Nigel Bryant.
SUDDENLY date nk ....c1990? 90m
Dir. Shaun MacLoughlin, with Julian Firth, June Barrie, William Eedle
GREECE v PERSIA....c1990?
Another exciting historical epic set in ancient times, by John Fletcher. Probably R3. 90m.
NIGHT EXPRESS....1989
Saturday afternoon play; just predating Saturday Playhouse. 22 Apr 89.
SOME MOTHER'S SON 1987
Nick Chilvers/Conrad Phillips/Christian Rodska. 6 x 30m thriller.
DEEP SIX 1984
Freddie Lees/John Abineri/Hubert Rees/John Linstrum
BABYLON HAS FALLEN 1984
John Castle, Maureen O'Brien, John Rowe, David March. Rather unusual play
about a guy banished to a desert island with 50 young native women. All is fine
until the religious fanatic and his sailor buddies arrive. Reminded
me a little of "The Admirable Crichton".
THE MANSION OF THE MIGHTY 1982
Described in RT as a nostalgic comedy. John Phillips is the adminstrative officer looking after a gang of military boffins in a stately home during the second World War. But Captain Phillips is more interested in maintaining the beauty of the gardens and organising a cricket match. With Christopher Ettridge, John Rowe, Sean Barrett, Gabriel Woolf, Peter Copley, Julia Hills, John Westbrook, Penelope Lee, Chris Harris, Cornelius Garrett, Alan Vincent. Producer Shaun MacLoughlin. BBC Bristol.
TAPTOE THROUGH THE TELEPHONES 1981
Science fiction play-
radio transmissions are being interfered with, and it's thought that
a big computer might have been infiltrated by enemy agents. An
amateur computer boffin - the type we now call an "anorak" - is
called in to sort it out....with Nigel Anthony, Penelope Lee
Judith Arthy, Neil Stacey, Bill Wallis, Bob Sherman, Blaine Fairman,
Rex Holdsworth. Radiophonic effects by Dick Mills. Directed in
Bristol by Shaun McLaughlin.
THE MENDIP DEMONIAC 1980
"The convulsive fits - or, as the common name has it - possessions of my patient George Lukins, take different forms. Sometimes he pretends himself a dog, sometimes a wild, fanatic dancer. Sometimes he will run violently into a shallow pond or river. Several times he has danced kin a large chimney corner barefoot upon burning coals". (Surgeon Rees, 1745). Monday Play.
With Steve Hodson, Jack Watson, Bill Wallis, Haydn Jones, Geoffrey Matthews, Miriam Margolyes, Donald McBride, Christian Rodska, producer Shaun MacLoughlin; BBC Bristol.
THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND 1979
With Nigel Stock, Mary Wimbush, Peter Pacey. In 1866 at Walsingham in Norfolk, the revolt of the old church orchestra against the installation of a new organled to the blowing up of the church with gunpowder. In 1873, in his attempt to set up an agricultural labourers' union, the Primitive Methodist preacher Joseph Arch addressed farm workers from all over Somerset. In 1881, thousands of poor folk gathered on top of Ham Hill, Somerset, to await the end of the world. These are the events which have inspired this play, in which Jacob Stone, an impoverished farm labourer, prophesies of the Second Coming of the Lord.
Joseph Arch-Jack Watson
Lady Anna- June Barrie
The Rev Smith: Rex Holdsworth
Harold-Gabriel Woolf
Jonathan-David Graham
Ern-Fred Bryant
Tiny-Geoffrey Matthews
Tom-Danny Schiller
Joanna-Margot Boyd
Arthur-Cornelius Garrett
Sammy-Nigel Keen
Dialect coach-Ray Burrows
Music composed/directed by Vic Gammon: Fi Fraser (violin, Sue Harris(oboe), Rory Forsyth(bassoon), Vic Gammon (concertina). Producer Shaun MacLoughlin; BBC Bristol 90m. Monday Play. Repeated the following Sunday, 2.30pm.
THE TRAGEDIE OF CHARLES, LORD STOURTON 1979
With Philip Sully, Peter Baldwin, Michael McStay
WANDERING IN EDEN....1974
10 Mar 74. By John Fletcher.
With William Eedle as Moses
and John Rowe as Peter.
'Someday I will write a book about Brook Farm, and have
super-modern inventions coming from it - a machine that makes
heat from moon-beams, one that makes music from building
blocks, one that makes women's dresses out of sunset clouds.'
(Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1841)
This play is about what would happen if the people of England were
left to themselves to construct the world they wanted. The Free
Family of Shakers, Quakers, Rockers and Ranters, Cotswold
Chapter, set off to enjoy and taste the 21st century.
Andy - Derek Seaton,
Joan - Katherine Parr,
Nathaniel - Timothy Bateson,
Rachel - Sandra Clark,
Aunt Edie - Kathleen Helme,
Nicholas/Thomas Longcock - Nigel Graham,
Vicar/George - Stephen Thorne,
Deirdre - Eva Stuart,
Archibald - David March,
Farmer - John Hollis,
Israel - Charles E Stidwell,
Historian - Rolf Lefebvre.
Special music composed and recorded by Ron Geesin.
Producer - Richard Wortley.
- Child Of The Suburbs
John Fletcher lives in a Methodist chapel in Somerset and makes his wine in a cottage nearby. 'I can't make wine on the chapel premises, ' he says, 'because the lease stipulates it can't be turned into a bingo hall, brewery or brothel.' His radio play is the third part of a trilogy, the first part of which is to do with industrialism. John worked for eight months in a steel mill in Jarrow. Wandering In Eden is set 200 years in the future, in the country, and is obviously more influenced by Somerset than Jarrow. 'The only areas of energy in towns are working class. I don't like towns because I'm a child of the suburbs.' (...paraphrased notes from RT, 1974)
Compiled by Nigel Deacon, Diversity website
DATES NOT KNOWN
DEMOCRACY & LANGUAGE, TRILOGY (Late 90s?)
Part 1: Greece v. Persia
-information not yet compiled.
Part 2. Britain v Germany. Directed by Beeban Kidron, produced by Marilyn Imrie; Catherine Bailey Ltd. for BBC Radio 3. The cast:
Churchill-Richard Johnson
Lord Halifax- Leslie Phillipps
Atlee, Amery Walter Monckton-John Fortune
Sinclair and First Sea Lord-Lohn Rowe
Butler-Julian Rhind-Tutt
Brendan Bracken-Robert Glenister
Chamberlain-John Hartley
Kennedy-Stuart Milligan
Moore-John Guerrasio
Labour MP 1, & Colonel-Sean Barrett
Guderian, Prytz, Lloyd George & Haskins- Ioan Meredith
Labout MP 2, servant & Edward Windsor-Jeremy Clyde
Dorothy Halifax-Jillie Meers
A brilliant production - all about the political intrigues in Britain just before World War 2. Churchill, Attlee, Halifax as the main characters.
Part 3: Everyone for Themselves
-no recording as yet.
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