Marion Nancarrow Radio Plays
Inmates....1997
by Allan Sutherland & Stuart Morris (R4 1430 15 November 97) was a comedy set in a home for incurables. Gobbo can't speak and talks via a letter board; he and his mate Sparky have to decide what to do when two intrusive women are dumped on them. The helplessness of people in institutions and their strategies for coping were covered superbly. Marion Nancarrow directed.
The Ghost Train....1999
by Arnold Ridley (R4 1430 24 January 99), an old favourite, is a thriller from the 1920s. A group of passengers is stranded on a deserted railway station and has to spend the night there. But the station is feared by the locals because of something which happened years ago. The adaptation was by Shaun McKenna and the Director was Marion Nancarrow.
Marcus Mundy's change of life....2000
(R4 11 Dec 00, 1415), a comic play by Alexandra Caddell, gave Marcus 44 minutes in which to park his car in central London, get to the theatre, and propose to his girlfriend. But parking in London is not easy. First there's the traffic warden. Then there's the faulty meter. And has anyone got change for a £50 note? I have nightmares like this; when the world conspires against you it's like wading through treacle. Simon Pegg was Marcus ; the rest of the world was played by Helen Ayres, Jasmine Hyde, Richenda Carey, William Hope and others. The director was Marion Nancarrow
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED....2003
by Evelyn Waugh, dramatised by Jeremy Front (R4 8 Mar 03, weekly, 4 x 60m) was an adaptation of Waugh's well-known tale of a remnant of Edwardian England; Sebastian Flyte is a minor aristocrat who has few friends and who behaves appallingly to almost everyone, especially those from "below stairs". Midway through the Second World War a disillusioned Captain, Charles Ryder, finds himself posted to Sebastian's home, Brideshead Castle, and he becomes his one true friend. Ben Miles played Charles, with Jamie Bamber as Sebastian, Benjamin Whitrow as Charles' father, Toby Jones as Brideshead, and Ann Beach as Nanny Hawkins, the only one to emerge from the story with much credit. The director was Marion Nancarrow.
6 Aug 10 Tetherdown
Scott Cherry and Gregory Evans' play revisits a Victorian crime.
The year: 1896.
In the well-heeled suburb of Muswell Hill, Henry Smith, a retired engineer, is found tied-up and beaten to death in his own home. Scotland Yard detectives are on the scene within the hour, but their investigations are hampered by judges and politicians, who refuse to recognise the latest breakthrough in forensic science, fingerprints. "The British policeman," says a high court judge," must depend on his customary tenacity and ingenuity."
As the detectives identify suspects, and launch a nationwide manhunt, news of the crimes goes global, with reports in newspapers as far apart as the USA and New Zealand.
Tetherdown (the name of the road where the murder took place) is a fast-moving play by Scott Cherry and Gregory Evans which views these tragic events of over a century ago through the prism of 2010. Every character is based on a real person connected to the case.
DC Burrell ..... Nicholas Woodeson,
Inspector Marshall ..... Sean Baker,
Nutkins ..... Ben Crowe,
Emily ..... Alison Pettitt,
Milsom ..... Tony Bell,
Fowler ..... Jude Akuwudike,
Judge ..... Ian Masters.
Director: Marion Nancarrow.
25 Feb 2012: Saturday Drama - Noughts and Crosses
By Malorie Blackman, dramatised for radio by Janice Okoh. Callum and Sephy have known each other since they were babies, when his Mum worked for hers. But Callum is a Nought - a second class citizen - and Sephy a Cross, one of the elite. Her father is also one of the country's leading policiticians. No matter how much they may want to be together, the world is telling them they can't. And soon bigger things will prevail. Like the bombing..........
Sephy ..... Zawe Ashton,
Callum ..... Rikki Lawton,
Meggie/Jasmine ..... Adjoa Andoh,
Ryan/Andrew Dorn ..... Carl Prekopp,
Jude ..... Alex Lanipekun,
Lynette/Sarah ..... Tracy Wiles,
Kamal ..... Jude Akuwudike,
Kelani Adams ..... Nikki Amuka Bird,
Mr Pingule ..... Israel Oyelumade,
Mr Stoll ..... Richard Pepple,
Soanes ..... Gerard McDermott,
Shania ..... Victoria Inez Hardy.
Producer Marion Nancarrow.
13 July 2012: Afternoon Drama - Sensationomics
By Philip de Gouveia. At the end of a long hard day, all a steel-nosed City trader wants to do is to get home. What he hasn't banked on is the tale his eccentric cab driver is keen to tell. About a young African girl sent by her struggling mother to live in the UK, in search of a better life. But what on earth does it have to do with him?
Lacey.....Sharon D Clarke,
Gloria.....Amaka Okafor,
Mother.....Gbemisola Ikumelo,
Murphy.....Trevor White,
Passenger.....Piers Wehner,
Martha.....Tracy Wiles,
Ted.....Sam Alexander,
Quentin.....Don Gilet.
Economic Advisor Paul Mason.
Producer Marion Nancarrow.
2 Feb 2014: Classic Serial- Barchester Towers
By Anthony Trollope; 3 episodes. Notes for episode 1: Dramatised by Nick Warburton. The cathedral town of Barchester anticipates the arrival of a new bishop from London, throwing the community into disarray. Meanwhile the widow Eleanor Bold sees a potential rival in Madeline Neroni. Maggie Steed, Tim Piggott-Smith, Claire Price, Malcolm Sinclair, Richard Lumsden, James Lailey, Joanna Munro, Katherine Parkinson, Joel McCormack, Carolyn Pickles, John Norton. Producer Marion Nancarrow.
17 Feb 2014: When the Laughter Stops
By Sibusiso Mamba and Daliso Chaponda, with additional material by Ava Vidal. DC and AV are real-life standup comedians. Here they play a married couple. A stand-up comedian returns to her native Africa with her husband in an attempt to revive her career and their marriage. It doesn't work out quite as she planned. Daliso Chaponda, Ava Vidal, Sibusio Mamba, Lucian Msamati, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Tonderai Munyevu, Steve Toussaint. Producer Marion Nancarrow.
31 Aug 2014: Classic Serial- Framley Parsonage
By Trollope, dramatized by Nick Warburton. 3 episodes. Notes for ep. 1: Two different sets of people. A bored country vicar, Mark Robarts, leaves his wife and children to attend country house parties, not realising what repercussions are waiting for him. Maggie Steed, Pip Carter (Mark), Charity Wakefield, Kate Buffery, Joe Coen, Sarah Ovens, Nicholas Farrell, Hattie Morahan, Joanna Monro, Clive Hayward, Elaine Claxton, Sarah Sweeney, David Cann. Producer - Marion Nancarrow.
18 Feb 2018: Classic Serial slot: The Robber Bride, 1
By Margaret Attwood; dram. in 2 parts by Sarah Wooley (though Sarah not credited in RT). This is part of the 'Riot Girls' season.Jane Anderson, in RT, tells us that the story was inspired by the Grimms' fairy tale "The Robber Bridegroom". Zenia, a frightful woman, lures three men into her lair. Zenia: Tanya Moodie, Roz: Teresa gallagher, Tony: Barbara Barnes, Charis: Isabella Inchbald, West: David Reakes, Billy: Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Uncle Vern: Rupert Holliday-Evans. Producer: Marion Nancarrow.
10 Jul 18: From A Great Height
By Robin Soans. A nurse recognizes her former teacher in hospital. Based on a true story. Bradley: Ray Fearon, Zenna: Franc Ashman, Clarence: Enyi Okoronkwo, Olwyn: Elizabeth Counsell, Conrad Kent: Zackary Momoh, Declan Driscoll: Ryan Whittle, teacher: John Lightbody, gym worker: Joseph Ayre, nurse: Emma Handy. Producer: Marion Nancarrow.
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
Above plays known to exist in VRPCC collections
