Piers Plowright, Radio Producer
Piers Plowright
b. 1937, d. 2021
BBC radio drama and feature maker from 1968 to 1997.
Piers said that he learned how to write and think in History lessons at Stowe School, taught by Bill McElwee, and that the study of History allowed him to examine everything.
After a time teaching in Borneo, Iran, and the Sudan, he joined the BBC in 1968, working first for the overseas service and then moving to the Radio Drama Department where he discovered the power of the radio documentary and feature. Since 1977, he had been making radio programmes about real people and events but which often made use of the techniques and structure of drama. He was also been much influenced by film and its use of sound.
Piers won the Prix Italia for radio documentaries three times as well as three Gold and two Silver Sony Awards and a Sony Special Award for Continual Dedication and Commitment to the Radio Industry.
In 1973 Macmillan Education published his 79-page book "Read English: An Elementary Comprehension Reader".
He retired from the BBC in 1997 but continued to listen, look and lecture.
He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an honorary doctor at Bournemouth University and a ‘Radio Luminary’ at the 2006 Chicago Third Coast Radio Festival.
Piers curated the 'Words' part of the Hampstead Arts Festival until 2015.
He was the opening speaker at the 2017 School Of Sound International Symposium in London - his 12th opening talk at the event.
With hundreds of BBC credits, a list can only be partial, and the following is no more than a sampling of the range of programs that he produced over the years:
DRAMA and readings:
1973, 08:45 on BBC Radio 4 FM - The Caine Mutiny - by Herman Wouk : abridged In 25 parts by Barry Campbell - Read by Peter Marinker -Producer Piers Plowright
1973, 16:35 on BBC Radio 4 FM- Caprifoll by William Mcgiyern abridged for radio in eight parts by Geoffrey Beevers. Read by Denis Lill - Producer Piers Plowright
Wed 12th Dec 1973, 11:30 on BBC Radio 4 FM- Inside. Outside, Christmastide. A play for radio by Trevor Number After several years ' inside ' they don't look forward to it ... Producer Piers Plowright
1974-1975- Produced "Waggoner's Walk NW" for BBC Radio 2 (with David Johnston)
1975-1978- Produced "Waggoner's Walk" for BBC Radio 2 (with David Johnston, Glyn Dearman)
Mon 26th May 1975, 20:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM - A Century of Modern Theatre: in Abraham Lincoln by John Drinkwater adapted for radio by Anthony Cornish and Piers Plowright-- Producer:Piers Plowright
Fri 11th Mar 1977, 15:05 on BBC Radio 4 FM - Self Portrait by Barrie Keeffe. Orchards in bloom and cornfields.... sweltering in the blazing heat of midsummer. Produced and directed by Piers Plowright
Mon 20th Mar 1978, 19:45 on BBC Radio 4 FM - The Unexpected by Barbara Foxe - Directed by Piers Plowright
Thu 1st Jun 1978, 15:05 on BBC Radio 4 FM- The Cotswold Connubials by Caroline Graham. Confusion at Radio Fosdyke when their leading advertiser threatens to pull out. Directed by Piers Plowright
Sat 17th Feb 1979, 19:10 on BBC Radio 3 - Yesterday - A comic dialogue from the Chinese revolution. Producer Piers Plowright
Wed 20th Feb 1980, 22:10 on BBC Radio 3- When the Congress Wasn't Dancing- A historical farce Presented by Michael Glover. Producer Piers Plowright
Thu 28th Feb 1980, 15:15 on BBC Radio 4 FM- Guffy and the Dangerous Question by Barbara Foxe. Directed by Piers Plowright
Mon 29th Sep 1980, 08:45 on BBC Radio 4 FM - Loosely Engaged - Ten readings by Christopher Matthew from his Diary of a Somebody. Producer Piers Plowright
Wed 3rd Dec 1980, 06:45 on BBC Radio 4 FM - Prayer for the Day With Piers Plowright
Mon 13th Jul 1981, 22:10 on BBC Radio 3 - The Place of a Skull - A short story by C. B. A. Plouviez - Read by Elizabeth Bell - Producer Piers Plowright
July / August 1981, 22:25 on BBC Radio 3 - The Vision of Piers Plowman - by William Langland translated and abridged by Terence Tiller (several episodes). Directed by Piers Plowright
1982, on BBC Radio 3 -Peter Howell reads short stories by SAKI Producer Piers Plowright
Fri 3rd Dec 1982, 19:05 on BBC Radio 3 - The Stone Guest - by Alexander Pushkin, in a new translation by Antony Wood - Producer Piers Plowright
Mon 28th Mar 1983, 20:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM- Her Name Was Milena by Sam Jacobs based on the book Kajkas Freundin Milena by Margarete Buber-Neumann . Directed by Piers Plowright
Thu 14th Jul 1983, 22:15 on BBC Radio 3 - The Bucket Rider - by Franz Kafka - Read by Kenneth Cranham- Producer Piers Plowright
Sun 13th May 1984, 14:30 on BBC Radio 4 FM- Facing the Sun - The tale of a Spanish hero by Sam Jacobs. Directed by Piers Plowright
Sun 30th Sep 1984, 17:30 on BBC Radio 3 - Winter Is Coming - by Aidan Higgins
Four expatriates watch themselves, each other and the world. Directed by Piers Plowright
Nov/Dec 1984, 19:00 on BBC Radio 3 - Broomhouse Reach- A suite in six movements by Colin Mclaren. Directed by Piers Plowright
Sun 9th Jun 1985, 14:30 on BBC Radio 4 fm- Last Friday In Jerusalem by Sam Jacobs -directed by Piers Plowright
Fri 5th Jul 1985, 21:15 on BBC Radio 3- A Little Picture- -or, What passed between Laurence Sterne and Eliza Draper by Francis Watson. Directed by Piers Plowright
Tue 3rd Dec 1985, 15:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM- Fanny Rosen 's Bad Debt by Sam Jacobs. Fanny Rosen struggles with her grocery shop. Director Piers Plowright
Sat 12th Apr 1986, 19:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM- Wayfarers by David Hopkins. Directed by Piers Plowright.
Mon 14th Apr 1986, 22:45 on BBC Radio 3 - Blackbird - Three spring conversations by Patrick Howarth - Music by Peter Cork -Producer Piers Plowright
Tue 4th Nov 1986, 11:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM- The Time Mabel Became an Anchoress by Janette Walkinshaw. A peaceful Glaswegian housing estate has been surprised by Mabel.... Directed by Piers Plowright
Sat 11th Jul 1987, 15:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM - Following Father's Drift by Sam Jacobs. Directed by Piers Plowright.
Sun 13th Sep 1987, 14:55 on BBC Radio 3 - The Saga of Eyrlk - A monologue written and read by Charles Lewsen - Producer Piers Plowright
Mon 15th Feb 1988, 22:40 on BBC Radio 3 - Flickers of Life - by Eva Tucker Read by William Hope. Producer Piers Plowright
Sat 16th May 1988, 15:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM- After Every Dream- by Sam Jacobs. The story of a family over the 40 years of Israel's history, set in the Kibbutz Farran, 1947-88. Directed by Piers Plowright
Aug 1988, 19:05 on BBC Radio 3- Blood and Bruises- The everyday story of street theatre folk in six episodes by Colin McLaren Producer Piers Plowright
Sun 2nd Apr 1989, 21:35 on BBC Radio 3 - The Wise Woman- A dramatised setting of an Old Norse poem about the creation of the world translated and adapted for radio by Maureen Thomas. Producer Piers Plowright
Fri 10th Apr 1992, 22:20 on BBC Radio 3 -The Crane- by Brenda Townsend. A Japanese peasant rescues a wounded crane. Director Piers Plowright
Mon 29th Jun 1992, 21:05 on BBC Radio 3 - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell - A dramatisation of Blake's prose masterpiece, Adapted by Claire Randall Music Roger Limb Producer Piers Plowright
Sat 10th Jun 1995, 22:10 on BBC Radio 3 -Orlando and Friends - by Michelene Wandor, inspired by Ludovico Ariosto 16th-century epic poem Orlando Furioso. Producer Piers Plowright
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DOCUMENTARY / FACT:
Sun 4th Sep 1977, 21:30 on BBC Radio 3 - Precious Sage - Simon and Rosalind Harcourt -Smith remember a Peking 'reunion'. Producer Piers Plowright
Sun 1st Jul 1979, 22:15 on BBC Radio 4 FM - Sheep, Spears and Stays - The letters of Eliza Brown from Swan River Colony, Australia 1841-1852. - Selected and read by Sylvia Syms - Producer Piers Plowright
Tue 2nd Dec 1980, 06:45 on BBC Radio 4 FM - Prayer for the Day with Piers Plowright
Sat 8th Aug 1981, 20:10 on BBC Radio 3 - Exceptions- A sequence of poems compiled round a theme by Patric Dickinson and read by Jill Balcon. Michael Spice, Godfrey Kenton. Producer Piers Plowright
Tue 19th Jul 1983, 16:10 on BBC Radio 4 FM - The Easiest Job in the World? - Rene Cutforth talks to Peter Mellors about being a foreign correspondent Producer: Piers Plowright
Thu 23rd Apr 1987, 18:30 on BBC Radio 4 FM- The Yankee Seeress and the Stratford Booby- A portrait of Delia Bacon (1811-59) Compiled by Robert Giroux - Producer Piers Plowright
Thu 24th Dec 1987, 18:15 on BBC Radio 4 FM - On Duty - Gerald Kay reflects on clocks and a life spent among them. Producer Piers Plowright.
Tue 30th Aug 1988, 19:05 on BBC Radio 3 - Australia Day and After -Thomas Keneally talks to
Peter Conrad about Australian writers, the bush and the book. Producer Piers Plowright
Fri 7th Dec 1990, 21:40 on BBC Radio 3 - The Courtier, the Prince and the Lady- by Michelene Wandor. Director Piers Plowright
1990 - 1997- produced Radio 4 "Pick of the Week"
Mon 18th Nov 1991, 08:43 on BBC Radio 4 FM -Playback- Writer Jill Hyem gives a personal view of Waggoners ' Walk, the Radio 2 soap opera which took over from The Dales in 1969 and was axed in 1980. Producer Piers Plowright
Fri 24th Apr 1992, 21:30 on BBC Radio 3 - Barcelobra! - The sounds of Barcelona, recorded by Mike Davies. Producer Piers Plowright
Tue 21st Apr 1992, 16:15 on BBC Radio 3 - Barcelona Snapshot - Glovehand - Catalan surrealist Joan Brossa interviewed by Sanda Miller. Producer Piers Plowright
Fri 10th Sep 1993, 21:50 on BBC Radio 3 - Mirooo - Cats, cauliflowers, clowns and celestial longings - an exploration in sound and music of the artist Joan Miro's Harlequin's Carnival (1924),with music by Richard Attree. Producer Piers Plowright
Mon 27th Dec 1993, 21:15 on BBC Radio 4 FM - Suite Hollywood - Philip French introduces movie poetry, read by Connie Booth, Nicky Henson and Tim Pigott-Smith. Producer Piers Plowright
Fri 6th May 1994, 22:45 on BBC Radio 3 -The Gods No Longer Live Next Door - the contemporary Greek literary scene with six authors and one enterprising publisher. Producer: Piers Plowright
Mon 13th Feb 1995, 21:45 on BBC Radio 4 FM - Blessing the Beauty Shop- As a new beauty salon is opened, Anjana Sharma explores a little family history with owners, customers, priest and people. Producer Piers Plowright
Sun 11th Jun 1995, 17:45 on BBC Radio 3 - Over the Precipice by Roberta Berke. A play based on the life and work of the Italian poet Torquato Tasso (1544-1595). Producer Piers Plowright
Fri 27th Dec 1996, 10:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM- When She Comes Back- Writer Eva Tucker, who escaped from Berlin to England in 1939, explores her past. Readers Lala Lloyd Colleen Prendergast and Jane Whittenshaw. Producer Piers Plowright
Mon 13th Apr 1998, 00:15 on BBC Radio 4 FM - Experimental Feature: Heated Air - Ben Albu narrates a journey through airwaves swollen with radio traffic. Producer Piers Plowright
Note also:
Fri 22nd Sep 2000, 11:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM - An exploration in and through sound. Legendary radio producer Piers Plowright goes in search of the most beautiful sound in the world -which he discovers is in the ear of the beholder. This leads him into further insights and transgressions.. Producer: Matt Thompson
compiled by Stephen Shaw / Diversity website - many thanks. ND
