REVIEWS 2025
RADIO DRAMA REVIEW, April 2025
Firstly, the 'official business'. The severe cuts in radio drama since 2017 (fifty percent in commissioning hours) were followed late last year by a decision by the BBC that the radio 3 drama slot would be axed. The BBC confidentially informed three creative unions (Equity, Writers Guild of Great Britain and the Society of Authors) that it would be cutting all drama programming on BBC Radio 3. The BBC stated that it is rebranding Radio 3 as a classical music network.
In a letter to the unions, the BBC acknowledged that BBC Radio 3 was a place for fostering new writing and acting talent. Shannon Sailing of Equity said that removing audio drama from Radio 3 with no accountable commitment to moving the commissions elsewhere was a devastating blow to the creative community.
My own view, as I said in December, was that this latest cut marked a significant reduction in the scope and breadth of what BBC Radio Drama could offer. 20 fewer opportunities for new writers to shine and a cultural disaster.
A petition was organized by the three organizations mentioned above, and it soon attracted about 10,000 signatures asking that the decision be reversed. Many writers and actors expressed their views forcefully. Theo Jones of the Society of Authors compiled an interesting 45-minute piece with colleague Johanna Clarke featuring some well-known radio writers talking about what makes the form so special, and why abandoning full-length drama was seriously unwise. The podcast was funded by the ALCS and featured Linda Marshall Griffiths, Paterson Joseph, Nell Leyson, Andrew MacCaldon and others. Roger Bolton (late presenter of 'Feedback') put together a piece on his 'Beeb Watch' page along similar lines, and the two podcasts attracted significant attention.
These efforts, along with the radio 3 petition, had some success. At the Audio Drama Awards in March, Charlotte Moore, the chief content officer of the BBC, indicated that they'd had a re-think, prompted by the unexpectedly high level of support for the radio 3 slot, and that some action would be taken.
The result was that a new slot of twelve longer-form dramas per year (ie one a month) would be introduced. This would feature new 90m original work and adaptations as well as classics.
In view of the financial pressures being experienced by the BBC, this seems to me to be about the best outcome that could have been expected. Thank you to all of those who expressed their support by writing letters to Tim Davie, for signing the petition, and to all those who helped in other ways.
The first of these longer dramas went out last Saturday and was a new production of Wallace Shawn's play THE FEVER, where a middle - class woman feeling disconnected from her privileged life (played by Cate Blanchett) decides to travel to a country torn by civil war; highly relevant in these troubled times. We hope for further interesting full-length
work in these twelve new slots.
The International Audio Drama Festival took place in Canterbury again, 24-28 Mar, with face-to-face and online audiences listening simultaneously. There were 134 entries from 23 countries in 24 languages. This year there were more entries from America and slightly fewer from Eastern Europe. There were some excellent dramas from Iran and for the first time there were plays from Uganda. Just over 60 dramas were selected for listening during the five-day event.
First prize for the long-form drama (8-60 minutes) was shared between
THE VOICES OF A SHIMMERING STREAM, by Pietr Skotnicki, from Poland and UTOPIA MORE AND MORE by Gabriele Heller, from Newcastle.
Pietr Skotnicki's play was based on the experiences of his Polish-Jewish refugee family, and was part 3 of a story about a family expelled from Lithuania by the Soviets. It was in Polish and was set in the period 1933-1945. The play is a tribute to his grandmother; the experiences related were discovered only when she died recently and the house was being cleared. Numerous papers were discovered relating to these terrible events.
Gabriele Heller's play, in English, was a 60m audio piece combining new and old ideas about 'Utopia' with a dazzling musical soundtrack. This came from a collaboration between musicians John Garner, John Pope, Tobias Illingworth and Gabriele.
There were other highlights. NOTHING IS, SAYS THE WISE, by Ulrike Haage was a musical-biographical piece based on the later part of the life of the poet Masha Kaleko, and was in German. It drew on her poems, letters and lesser-known papers from her estate. The music used piano, harmonium, celesta and vocals.
I HAVE DREAMED OF YOU SO MUCH, by Roxane Ca'Zorzi, Belgium, was an other-wordly reunion of Ondine and her spiritual soulmate, the French poet Robert Desnos. Ondine writes a letter to the radio programme where he used to analyse dreams, 80 years earlier. Much against the odds, time shifts, and they meet. This
play was in French.
There was also a chilling play drawing parallels between the Covid experience of 2020 and childhood memories of iron lungs and polio: POLIOVUOSKI, written by David Mairowitz (in Finnish, produced in Helsinki), and an effective piece about Julian of Norwich, walled up in a cell for years and spreading good advice whenever she could: THE GLAD GIVER, by Jill Korn (in English).
The Young Producer Award went to Melania Vesalu, for her adaptation and production of MY BRILLIANT FRIEND, a 60-minute drama based on the first two novels of the same title by Elena Ferrante. The story is set in Naples during the 1950s. It's about the friendship between Elena Greco (Lenu) and Raffaella Cerullo (Lila). The novel opens in 2010 with Elena, now in her sixties, learning of Lila's recent disappearance. It prompts her to begin writing their shared history from childhood. There is a longer summary of this play on the Festival 2025 page. It was interesting that the BBC also broadcast a version of this story in their 'Classic Serial' slot quite recently.
These 'international' plays are all online, along with clear English translations.
The Audio Drama Awards ceremony took place in the Radio Theatre at the BBC on Sunday 31 March 2025. Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s Chief Content Officer, introduced the proceedings. She welcomed the audience to the radio drama evening, and commented that it's a unique and powerful craft. The BBC was the biggest commissioner of audio drama in the world. She thanked those who made it for their hard work and commitment. Radio drama was a launch pad for many writers.
Charlotte thanked the judges for their efforts and said 'we must continue to champion new writers of radio drama and other new talent: directors and producers and the production teams'. There was palpable tension in the air at this point because recent 'support' seems to have consisted of reducing commissioning by 50%, making people redundant and axing radio 3 drama, and I thought for a moment that a member of the audience was going to stand up and say something. But Charlotte continued quickly: 'We acknowledge that there is a demand for longer form drama and have decided to introduce a monthly 90-minute drama slot on radio 4, for new original work and for classic plays'. The moment passed; there was a surprised silence, and the atmosphere became a little more relaxed. A result of sorts; the best we could have have hoped for in the circumstances.
Charlotte then handed over to MC for the evening, Miles Jupp. He worked to a witty and carefully-worded script, which was well-received by the audience. There were a number of waspish references to the BBC commissioning process, especially the recent reductions in drama output on radio 4; extremely relevant in these days of savage cuts. 'Audio drama is the soundtrack to our lives. Where would audio drama be without sound?' (laughter) 'There are no limitations - you can go anywhere, do anything, with perhaps the single biggest hurdle to good radio drama being the BBC commissioning process'. (more laughter).
I always have mixed feelings about awards. It's a case of apples and oranges - how can a person decide which is better than the other? And those interested in the winners can find the list easily enough. Here instead are my highlights of the evening:
Firstly, a posthumous Outstanding Contribution Award for the late Bill Dare, in recognition of his huge influence on comedy, especially on Radio 4, after his tragic death in an accident the previous month. Jon Culshawe and Jan Ravens gave a heartfelt tribute to Bill during the Audio Drama Awards. It was a devastating shock to lose him. He had a stunning creative talent, especially for radio, and he devised many comedy shows including The Now Show, Secret World and Dead Ringers.
He channelled his sense of outrage into his comedy, to make it bite. He also devised the popular radio show 'I've Never Seen Star Wars', where the guest has missed an experience familiar to the rest of us. In Jon Culshaw's words: "We salute you, Bill. Taken from us much too soon; our wisest comic alchemist."
My second highlight was Charlotte Moore presenting an Outstanding Achievement Award to John Dryden and the Goldhawk Productions team for their series 'Central Intelligence'; an in-depth look at the CIA. She added - "We need to future-proof Audio Drama and enhance digital growth. We are proud of our 'Limelight' drama strand, which is hugely popular on BBC Sounds; over two and a half million plays. Our view is that if we expand podcast production, we'd better make sure that BBC podcasts are the best available".
John responded by saying that Central Intelligence was a complex project, and that special mentions needed to go to Sacha Puttnam who composed and provided the excellent musical soundtrack; the writer, Greg Haddrick, and Mike Walker, expert script editor, for his invaluable contribution.
I was pleased to see Dan Rebellato's play 'Orwell v Kafka: Restless Dreams' reaching the last three for the Tinniswood Award; I wrote about the play a while back and commended it for its suitability for radio (and unsuitability for any other medium); a first-class script and a high-quality production.
It was also good to see Rosie Cavaliero getting recognition for her performance as the pressurised train manager in the comedy-drama series "The Train at Platform Four" by Hugh Dennis and Steve Punt, produced by James Robinson. This is the best new comedy series I've heard in a long time, with intelligent scripts made even better by Rosie's character's exasperation that passengers and colleagues can be so infuriatingly dense. And something which is becoming less common amoungst female radio actors - I can hear every word she says.
Returning to recent BBC output:
After last year's drama-free New Year's Day it was good to see an interesting play timetabled for the afternoon. SOLOMON BROWNE, by Callum Mitchell (R4, 1415, 1 Jan 2025) was the story of the Penlee lifeboat disaster. The setting is Mousehole, 19th December 1981. The famous Christmas harbour lights illuminate the fishing village in a quiet corner of Cornwall. But a storm is coming and the events of this night will leave an indelible mark on the community. This was a poetic drama-documentary, with monologue, recorded testimonies and actual radio communications from the disaster. It was written by Newlyn resident Callum Mitchell, and the programme was made in Cornwall, with the help of some of the family members of the men lost. Callum narrated; sound design was by Nigel Lewis and music by Edward Norris; a BBC Wales production.
THE BOLT (R4, 1415, 2 Jan 2025) was about a controversy in the climbing world. Tensions flare in the North Wales climbing community when a steel bolt appears on a sea cliff in Anglesey. Rhodri, a keen adventure climber is totally against using bolts, but he's desperate to get the first ascent on a new climbing route, so he succumbs to temptation. It doesn't turn out well. Rhodri was played by Sion Eifion, Matilde by Norah Lopez Holden and Gwion by Dion Lloyd. Sound Design was by Catherine Robinson and the director was John Norton, for BBC Wales.
SITUATION TRAGEDY (R4, 1415, 4 x 30m, beginning 27 Jan 2025) marked the return of the actor-cum-amateur sleuth Charles Paris. This was dramatised for radio by Jeremy Front from a story by Simon Brett. Charles gets a part in a rather unfunny sitcom, and the cast and crew begin to die in a series of grisly accidents. Charles looks for the perpetrator. Bill Nighy played Charles and Suzanne Burden his wife; Jon Glover was his agent. This entertaining romp was directed by Sally Avens, assisted by SMs Peter Ringrose and Alison Craig.
I eagerly awaited the new series of EXEMPLAR (R4, 1415 beginning 31 Jan 2025, 5 x 30m) and was not disappointed. It's written by Ben & Max Ringham with Dan Rebellato and is a modern-day thriller set in the world of audio forensics. The plots are ingenious, and it's fascinating to listen to the surprising ways in which information can be extracted from innocent-sounding audio recordings. As a scientist I have some slight knowledge of Physics and a couple of months earlier I'd contacted one of the writers pointing out that sound travels at about one foot per millisecond, and that this might possibly be used in one of their stories to work out distances between people or objects. To my surprise, this appeared in episode 4 - though I suspect the writers may have thought of it themselves or got it from their advisers at the Forensic Voice Centre. Jess and Maya, the audio specialists, were played by Gina McKee and Shvorne Marks. Ben and Max provided the music, sound was by Alisdair McGregor and the directors were Polly Thomas and Jade Lewis; an Indie production by Reduced Listening.
Marcy Kahan's latest play FUSION CONFIDENTIAL (R4, 1500, 1 Feb 2025) was a comedy about nuclear science - and opera. A young physicist, Jane, makes a discovery that she believes will enable nuclear fusion to be made practicable and give the world the opportinity for unlimited clean energy. She tells her opera-singer flatmate, Elvira, about it. But Elvira realises that her clever friend is not worldly -wise and needs protecting; not just from herself but from vested interests. This was a highly enjoyable ride through the worlds of Physics and Opera. Elvira was played by Charlotte Ritchie, Jane by Cecilia Appiah and Alex by Adam Fitzgerald; the producer was Emma Harding.
I had sometimes wondered about how the comedy writing partnership of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson began, after hearing years ago of how they met: in a tuberculosis sanatorium, before the days of easily available antibiotics. WHEN ALAN MET RAY (R4, 1415, 12 Feb 2025), by Ian Pearce and Andrew McGibbon, told the story in detail. It was set in 1948 in Milford Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Surrey, where 18-year-old Ray Galton is told he has only six weeks to live. He begins painful treatment to limit the spread of the infection. By chance he meets Alan Simpson, the same age, who is in a similar state. They become friends and discover shared interests - football, girls, watching comedy films and listening to the hospital radio. They're surrounded by a range of characters trapped with them: fellow patients, compassionate nurses and an uncooperative head doctor who is a stickler for rules. Alan and Ray start writing comedy sketches which they aim to perform on the sanatorium hospital radio. But first they have to get past the radio committee - headed, of course, by the Chief Physician and the presenter of the dismal hospital radio service, Alastair McGuire. Alan Simpson was played by Paul Whitehouse and Ray Galton by Harry Enfield, with Don Gilet and Less Ross as their younger selves. The producer was Andrew McGibbon, for Indie company Curtains for Radio.
ONLY ONE WORD FOR LOVE (R4, 1415, 13 Feb 2025) by Peter Souter and Susie Dent was an unusual romance set on a river. A lexicologist, Daisy, decides to learn how to scull: to propel a small boat with a pair of oars. She's had a mastectomy, and this is part of her recovery programme. She is garrulous but her coach is not; Dylan hardly says a word. Over ten lessons, Daisy swaps some of her knowledge of words for tips on sculling, and we eventually discover why Dylan is so monosyllabic. Daisy was played by Jessica Raine and her coach by Rupert Evans; SMs were Andrew Garratt and Alison Craig and the producer was Sally Avens.
WHEN MAGGIE MET LARRY, by Tim Walker (R4, 1500, 15 Feb 2025) was a fascinating piece about an encounter between Margaret Thatcher and Laurence Olivier. No-one quite knows exactly what they talked about, but Tim Walker surmises the way the meeting might have gone. Before Margaret became leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, she discreetly turned to Laurence Olivier to prepare her for the greatest role of her life. In the play, Tim imagines how Olivier gave some pointers to transform Margaret into the formidable character so many people remember today. The meeting was kept secret because the Tory leader had a reputation as a down-to-earth housewife who empathised with the problems of ordinary people. However, Lord Tim Bell, one of her image advisers, said in a newspaper interview just before his death that the two had met. Olivier subsequently put Margaret Thatcher in touch with Catherine Fleming, the National Theatre's voice coach who had helped him perfect the deep voice he needed to play Othello. Invoices Fleming submitted to the Conservative Party for work with Thatcher between 1972 and 1976 are in the National's archive. Laurence Olivier was played by Derek Jacobi and Margaret Thatcher by Frances Barber; the producer was Richard Clifford. This was an Indie production by Catherine Bailey Productions, in association with the Michael Grandage Company.
MOORGATE, by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran (R4, 1415, 26-27 Feb 2025) looked at the disaster which happened in the London Underground on 28 Feb 1975. On that day, a packed rush-hour tube train smashed into a dead-end tunnel at Moorgate station. The front carriage was forced upwards into the tunnel roof, killing the driver, Les Newson. Forty-two passengers also died and, to this day, nobody knows why Les Newson acted as he did. On that wintry morning, Chief Inspector Brian Fisher worked on rescuing the survivors, all trapped in the dark. It was to be the biggest call out since the Blitz for London's emergency services. In 1975, Laurence Marks was a young journalist working for the Sunday Times, investigating how the disaster occurred. He had more than just a professional desire to discover the facts - his father had been a passenger in the second carriage and was among the dead. The two episodes, broadcast on successive days, were entitled 'Outside' and 'Inside', which says it all. The Chief Inspector was played by Jonathan Aris, with Lorne MacFadyen, Lizzy Watts, and Tyger Drew-Honey. The producer was Liz Anstee, for Indie company CPL Productions.
FRAN AND JOE - WORLD BOOK DATE, by Katie Redford (R4, 1415, 6 Mar 2025) was a charming sequel to 'Christmas Wings', a drama from 2022 where Fran and Joe, two teachers involved in a Nativity play, suddenly get closer than they expected. Listeners wanted to know what happened next. Katie obliges with this play, 'World Book Date'. Fran and Joe were played by Fiona Button and Nikesh Patel, with Joanna Monro and Lena Paymen. The producer was Tracey Neale. A further play in the series will be broadcast in June.
Other noteworthy items, listed by producer, included a new production of Antigone (Pauline Harris), Southall Uprising (Nadia Molinari), a new production of a classic from the past: Brat Farrar (Gemma Jenkins) and Kramer versus Kramer in the Sunday afternoon slot (Carl Prekopp). I only heard two of these and look forward to hearing the others on BBC Sounds.
ND / 26 Apr 2025
RADIO DRAMA REVIEW, Dec 2025
ND / 22 Dec 2025
