Heather Larmour, radio producer

Heather Larmour is an experienced radio producer who works for BBC Northern Ireland. She has been producing programmes since 2003; mainly readings and radio drama.

NOTES ON SOME OF THE PLAYS

13 Jul 18: Mayday
By Lucy Caldwell, rpt. A Northern Irish student faces a huge decision when she discovers she is pregnant. Coralie: Eileen O'Higgins, Emma: Sophie Robinson, with Imogen Doel, Niamh McEnhill, Anthony Boyle, Annie Farr, Caolan Byrne, Will Irvine, Claire de Boer, Caitriona Hinds, Lynsey-Anne Moffat. producer: Heather Larmour. For those who are unaware, the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply in Northern Ireland; abortions there are, with few exceptions, illegal. Rpt. from 12 Jun 2017.

1 Apr 16: Cyprus Avenue (reading)
By Lucy Caldwell. At a chance meeting at the airport awaiting a delayed flight, a young couple find they have childhood histories and family tragedies in common, growing up in East Belfast. Producer: Heather Larmour.

20 Mar 16: Classic Serial slot: The Magus
By John Fowles, abridged by Adrian Hodges. Based on the novel, written in 1965; mystical story about a disaillusioned teacher drawn into a world of illusion on a Greek island. Nicholas Urfe: Tom Burke, Maurice Conchis: Charles Dance, Lily Montgomery: Hayley Atwell, Alison: Anna Skellern, Margaret: Josie Taylor, Mitford: David Seddon, Meli: Chris Pavlo, Rowena: Lynsey-Anne Moffat. Producer: Heather Larmour. BBC Northern Ireland.

7 Mar 16: Dead in the Water
By Tony McHale, rpt. In a bustling fairground, best friends Holly and Nicole are recording sounds for a school science project when they overhear snippets of a conversation between two men who sound as if they are plotting a murder. The girls try to discover the identity of the intended victim, but realise they might have stumbled on something more sinister than they first imagined. Holly: Yasmini Paige, Nicole: Lily Loveless, Vickers: Gary Amers, Joel: Jody Latham, Kay: Jo Hartley, Maria: Kacey Ainsworth,, POlice Officer: Paul Stonehouse, Keely: Sinead Michael. Producer: Heather Larmour.

8 Feb 16: Stage Left, 1
By Doug Lucie. A four-part serial following the fortunes of a left-wing theatre company over 30 years, broadcast from Monday to Thursday (7-10 Feb) in the Afternoon Play slot. Ep. 1: As they settle into their new premises, the Stage Left Theatre Collective faces some difficult choices, leading to a clash of egos and ideals. Emma: Anna Madeley, Robert: Richard Lumsden, Frank: Alex Jennings, Saul: Gerard McDermott, Alan: Ewan Bailey, Annabel: Rebecca Hamilton, Jim: Caolan McCarthy, Di: Evie Killip, Kelly: Tracy Wiles, Sue / Alice: Jane Slavin, Bob / Sir Clive / Actor: Brian Protheroe, Ken: Doug Lucie, Marion: Debra Baker, Actor: George Watkins, Waiter: Richard Pepple. Producer: Heather Larmour.

9 Feb: Stage Left, 2: Changes have been made at the Company and not everyone is happy.

10 Feb: Stage Left, 3: An unexpected guest attends the Press Night for Saul's West End debut as director. Production details: see Monday.

11 Feb: Stage Left, 4: It's 2015, and the theatre company has changed beyond recognition, but tensions disappear as the old friends visit Alan's wife Sue in hospital.

2 Mar 15: 15 Minute Drama - The Haunted Road,Episode 1
By Eoin McNamee, who won the Imison Award for his debut radio drama, 'The Road Wife', which he followed with 'No Trampy Immigrants', 'Heroes', and most recently 'North of Riga'. As for this play: "Nothing goes away in this world any more. Nothing gets lost. If you don't want a record of it, then don't do it." When police camera operator Leslie Burden receives a call from a colleague concerning the disappearance of a young Polish woman, he uses his surveillance expertise to help track sightings of the missing woman, unaware he is being drawn into a web of murder and revenge even he doesn't see coming. Leslie Burden ....... David Caves, Lisa Knox ....... Niamh McGrady, Johnston ....... Stuart Graham, Lavery ....... Peter Ballance, Unit 5 ....... Michael Liebmann, The Pathologist ....... Kieran Lagan, Young Klara ....... Julia Powaszynska, Father ....... Jacek Powaszynski, Writer ....... Eoin McNamee, Producer ....... Heather Larmour. BBC Northern Ireland.

27 Feb 15 Sitters' Stories - Portrait of Elizabeth (reading)
By Sophia Hillan. In this series, the sitters from some well-known paintings get a chance to tell the story behind the image. The painting for this story is a portrait of Elizabeth Bridges Austen (1773-1808), housed at the Jane Austen's House Museum, Chawton, http://www.jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk/ Elizabeth Bridges Austen was the daughter of a baronet, Sir Brook Bridges of Goodnestone Park, near Sandwich in Kent. In December 1791 she married Edward Austen, elder brother of the novelist Jane Austen. Between 1793 and 1808, Elizabeth bore eleven children. She died suddenly, about a fortnight after the birth of her eleventh child; her illness was later discovered to be puerperal fever. Shortly after her death, Edward belatedly offered a cottage on one of his estates to his mother and sisters. They chose Chawton Cottage, now the Jane Austen House Museum at Chawton, where Jane Austen spent her final years. It is in this house that the portrait of Elizabeth hangs today. Sophia has set her story during this final illness. Reader ..... Laura Carmichael, Producer ..... Heather Larmour.

22 Dec 14. Good Omens, in 5 episodes
By Neil Gaiman, ad. Dirk Maggs. 22-27 Dec 2014; rpt April 2015. According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, the world will end on a Saturday. A Saturday quite soon, here on Radio 4. Events have been set in motion to bring about the End of Days. The armies of Good and Evil are gathering and making their way towards the sleepy English village of Lower Tadfield. The Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse - War, Famine, Pollution and Death - have been summoned from the corners of the earth and are assembling. Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell and his assistant Newton Pulsifier are also en route to Tadfield to investigate some unusual phenomena in the area, while Anathema Device, descendent of prophetess and witch Agnes Nutter, tries to decipher her ancestor's cryptic predictions about exactly where the impending Apocalypse will take place. Adaptation and sound design by Dirk Maggs. Produced by Heather Larmour. BBC Northern Ireland.

Summary of Jane Anderson's comments in RT:
A comic masterpiece.... two angels, one working with God and the other with Satan, form an unholy alliance. Unfortunately, there has been a bit of a mix-up with the birth of the Antichrist, and the American ambassador's son might not be the child to bring on Armageddon after all. The fate of our planet will be decided after 'Any Questions' on Saturday ... [an enormous cast including Mark Heap, Peter Serafinowicz, Josie Lawrence, Phil Davis, Ben Crowe, Tracey Wiles, Jim Norton, plus a few BBC personalities as themselves. Members of the GQT team (Pippa Greenwood, Bob Flowerdew and Eric Robson) appear in the Boxing Day episode. - Ed]

ND comment:
It's reassuring to learn that cock-ups are as common amongst angels as they are with us. Two of them spend eleven years looking after a boy they believe to be the Antichrist, and then find out it's not him.... there begins a frantic search for the Prince of Evil; can they find him in time for Armageddon? Excellent stuff.

23 Jun 14/ Afternoon Drama: Brought to Light
By Francis Turnly. Katie is a medical student who has grown up in post-Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland and her country's past hasn't impacted on her or been of much interest to her. Until she discovers some old newspapers in her grandmother's attic that is, and suddenly and devastatingly her world comes crashing down around her. Her father is not the man she believed him to be: he has been in prison for an atrocity he carried out during the Troubles. Katie .................... Sophie Harkness, Michael .................... Marty Maguire, Sarah .................... Michelle Fairley, Laura .................... Cat Barter, Josif .................... Matt Borushko, Jason .................... Shaun Blaney, Jenny .................... Nicky Harley, Sally .................... Mary Lindsay, Producer .................... Heather Larmour. BBC Northern Ireland.

5 Jun 14. Afternoon Drama: Hinterland
By Francis Turnly. When Garda officer Detective Sergeant Roisin MacKenna is called to the scene of a murder not far from the border between the North and South of Ireland she soon finds that boundaries, both geographical and moral, become blurred. Roisin .................... Catherine Cusack, Cullen .................... Frank O'Sullivan, Quinn .................... Stuart Graham, Conor .................... Brian Gleeson, Alaister .................... Kieran Lagan, Mrs Duffy .................... Julia Dearden, Rourke .................... Gerry O'Brien, Deirdra .................... Cathy Belton, Sean .................... Frankie McCafferty, Pathologist .................... Miche Doherty, Producer .................... Heather Larmour. BBC Northern Ireland.

22 Feb 14. From Fact to Fiction: The Lonely Passion of Judith McCrudden
By Lucy Caldwell. Series 15 of the programme in which writers create a fictional response to the week's news. In a week which has seen debate around a possible 'fair innings approach' to the allocation of drugs to patients dependent on criteria of 'wider social benefit', and in which scientists warned that loneliness in old age is twice as bad for your health as obesity, Lucy Caldwell takes a look at the things we value most in life and how we in turn are valued. Director ......Heather Larmour, Producer ...... Toby Swift.

19 Feb 14. Afternoon Drama - North of Riga
By Eoin McNamee. A man's strength is in hair. A woman's dreams are in hers... When a mysterious woman arrives in a nmall Northern Irish fishing port and opens a hairdressing salon, the locals discover she has a curious effect on their lives as she plies her trade. The Latvian girls working in the fish factory say she is a witch, but no one really knows who she is or where she came from. Or why. When thirteen year old Lorna meets and befriends the mysterious hairdresser, Sarah, the fate of the two soon become entangled. Lorna ............ Amybeth McNulty, Sarah ............ Branka Katic, Mervyn ............ Des McAleer, Sandra ............ Julia Dearden, Marcus ............ Velibor Topic, Michaela ............ Ulrika Belogriva, Freya ............ Natalia Ryumina, Christine ............ Jo Donnelly, Policeman ............ Michael Condron, Actor ............ Barra Best, Actor ............ Bronagh Taylor, Writer ............ Eoin McNamee, Producer ............ Heather Larmour.

25 Dec 2013: Neverwhere
By Neil Gaiman. A six-episode version of the novel, adapted by Dirk Maggs. An act of kindness sees Richard Mayhew catapulted from his ordinary life into a subterranean world under the streets of London. Stopping to help an injured girl on a London street, Richard is thrust from his workaday existence into the strange world of London Below. So begins a curious adventure deep beneath the streets of London, a London of shadows where the tube cry of 'Mind the Gap' takes on new meaning; for the inhabitants of this murky domain are those who have fallen through the gaps in society, the dispossessed, the homeless. Here Richard meets the Earl of Earl's Court, Old Bailey and Hammersmith, faces a life-threatening ordeal at the hands of the Black Friars, comes face to face with Great Beast of London, and encounters an Angel.

Main parts: Richard Mayhew ..... James McAvoy, Lady Door ..... Natalie Dormer, Marquis de Carabas ..... David Harewood, Hunter ..... Sophie Okonedo, Croup ..... Anthony Head, Vandemar ..... David Schofield, Islington ..... Benedict Cumberbatch, Old Bailey ..... Bernard Cribbins, The Earl of Earl's Court ..... Christopher Lee, The Abbot ..... George Harris, Feligiounas ..... Don Gilet, Jessica ..... Romola Garai, Gary ..... Paul Chequer, Halvard ..... Paul Stonehill, Dagvard ..... Ben Crowe, Letting Agent ..... Stephen Marcus, Homeless man ..... Abdul Salis, Underground announcer ..... Patrick Brennan, Mr Figgis ..... Neil Gaiman, Producer ..... Heather Larmour. BBC Northern Ireland.

4 Mar 13: Afternoon Drama - Notes to Future Self
By Lucy Caldwell. When thirteen year old Sophie is diagnosed with a terminal illness, she, her mother Judy, and her sister Calliope, return to live with their grandmother Daphne in Birmingham. Reunited for the first time in years, the three generations of women try to prepare themselves for the inevitable loss of Sophie from their lives, while Sophie herself must come to terms with her own mortality. But she believes she'll come back as someone else. Then she'll have a different future. She leaves her Future Self some notes; some advice to remember. Sophie ..... Imogen Doel, Calliope ..... Jayne Wisener, Judy ..... Amanda Ryan, Daphne ..... Jane Lowe, Producer ..... Heather Larmour.

13 Feb 13 Afternoon Drama - Kicking the Air
By Christine Murphy. Facing deportation from the UK, a young Iranian student, Reza Mostafai, claims asylum on the grounds that he is gay, fearing for his safety if he is returned to his homeland, where homosexuality is a crime against religion, leading to the severest of penalities. With the help of his barrister Fiona and friend Lulu, Reza must try and find a way to prove his sexuality in time to halt his removal. The title is a reference to a hanging. Reza ..... Jamie Harding, Fiona ..... Sophia Myles, Lulu ..... Vicky McClure, Actor ..... Ben Caplan, Actor ..... Zubin Varla, Actor ..... Ian Beattie, Actor ..... Maggie Cronin, Producer ..... Heather Larmour.

8 Feb 13: Friday Drama - The Forgotten
By Anne Devlin. Bee has been suffering alarming lapses of memory, losing time and numbers, and is forced to return home to live with her mother May and niece Thea. Desperate to understand Bee and what is happening to her May and Thea begin reading Bee's private notebooks, while Bee becomes increasingly frustrated with her inability to function in the world. There is something important she has forgotten. Bee ..... Ger Ryan, The Forgotten ..... George Harris, Thea ..... Gemma Reeves, Anthony ..... Sean Campion, And May ..... Stella McCusker, Examiner ..... Peter Ballance, Mary Russell ..... Fo Cullen, Doctor ..... Kieran Lagan, All other parts were performed by members of the cast. Produced in Belfast by Heather Larmour.

24 Jul 12: Afternoon Drama - Intends to Take Action
By Jimmie Potter & Eoin McNamee. When a Belfast man is notified by the police that there is a threat against his life and that a paramilitary organisation 'intends to take action' against him he is forced to uproot his wife Kate and young daughters Emily and Hannah and move them out of the city in order to try and ensure their safety. Hugh Quinn .... Marty Maguire, Kate .... Bronagh Gallagher, Don .... Nick Dunning, Emily .... Amy Lee Farmer, Hannah .... Martha Gordon, Police Handler .... Patrick Kane, Wilson .... Gordon Fulton, Paramilitary .... Michael Liebmann, Producer .... Heather Larmour.

16 Jun 12: From Fact to Fiction - Series 12, Heroes
By Eoin McNamee. In a week with clashes on and off the pitch in the Euro 2012 championship, the writer creates a dramatic response. Two men and a campervan: Matt and Maciek are on the football trail in Poland. While Matt is following the fortunes of the Irish boys in green, football is the last thing on Maciek's mind. Their friendship is about to be tested as past deeds and present enmities collide in a clash as charged as any football match. Cast: Matt ..... Lalor Roddy, Maciek ..... William Brand, Lukasz ..... Rafael Ferenc, Producer: Heather Larmour.

18 May 12: Friday Drama - Sunny Afternoon
The normality of a sunny London afternoon is brutally shattered when a man is killed in the street, in broad daylight. Doug Lucie's drama examines the impact of such a shocking event, as recounted by passers-by and residents who witnessed it. Cast: Johnny ..... Tom Hollander, Pam ..... Cheryl Campbell, Roy ..... Michael Begley, Kayleigh ..... Tashie Jackson, David ..... Richard McCabe, Avelina ..... Christianne Oliverira, Translator ..... Teresa Gallagher, WPC Flannagan ..... Colette Brown, Producer ..... Heather Larmour.

9 Jan 12: Afternoon Drama - Network
By Tony McHale; thriller. Discovering a stash of mobile phones belonging to his out-of-work step-daughter Charlie, Darren Collins stumbles across an ominous voicemail message. Curious as to how Charlie can afford so many phones and what the message might mean, Darren decides to investigate and calls the number on the phone. Unwittingly, Darren uncovers a network of individuals using mobile technology to arrange protests and demonstrations. Cast: Darren..........Shaun Dingwall, Natasha.........Sara Griffiths, Charlie..........Ciara Janson, Lennox..........Karl Collins, Jango............Iain Robertson, The Network...Christopher Webster, Victoria Inez Hardy, Jonathan Forbes, Michael Shannon, John Anthony and Laura Conway. Other parts played by members of the cast. Producer: Heather Larmour.

6 Oct 11: Afternoon Drama - Hinterland
By Francis Turnly. A body has been found buried in an Irish peat bog. Identified as a farmer from Northern Ireland, Detective Sergeant Roisin MacKenna is thrust into working with a PSNI counterpart, Darren Quinn, as her investigation takes her into the murky hinterland of the border area. Working together, Roisin and Darren must negotiate the limitations of their own jurisdictions and face up to the ambiguities of upholding the law in a landscape virtually impossible to police. Cast: Roisin.........Catherine Cusack, Cullen.........Frank O'Sullivan, Quinn..........Stuart Graham, Conor..........Brian Gleeson, Alaister........Kieran Lagan, Mrs Duffy.....Julia Dearden, Rourke........Gerry O'Brien, Deirdra........Cathy Belton, Sean...........Frankie McCafferty, Pathologist....Miche Doherty. Other parts played by members of the cast. Producer: Heather Larmour.

4 Oct 11: Afternoon Reading - The Brother
By Myles na Gopaleen (Flann O'Brien), in 2 episodes. Born on 5 Oct 1911 in Strabane, Northern Ireland, Brian O'Nolan is best known as Flann O'Brien, the name under which he published his novels At Swim Two Birds, The Hard Life, The Dalkey Archive and The Third Policeman. Often described as one of the 'holy trinity' of modern Irish writers alongside Joyce and Beckett, he was notorious for writing under a range of pseudonyms and penned the daily 'Cruiskeen Lawn' column in the Irish Times as Myles na Gopaleen (na gCopaleen) from1940 until his death in 1966. Meet the inimitable 'brother' as Myles regales us with his latest exploits. Read by Jim Norton with Kevin Moore; producer Heather Larmour.

22 Oct 10: Afternoon Drama - The Road Wife
By Eoin McNamee. Edward Coyle is a truck driver. Delivering a cargo of fish on a new route in Ireland he comes across a woman who lives her life, and makes her living on the road, moving from one truck to another. The Road Wife. COYLE - STUART GRAHAM, THE ROAD WIFE: SU-LIN LOOI, MICHELLE: ALISON MCKENNA, SLOAN: GERARD MCSORLEY, NATASHA: SAMANATHA HEANEY, JESUS: OLIVER MICELI, LEE: LOGAN WONG, MCCALL: VINCENT HIGGINS, BOBBY: PETER BALLANCE, HUTTENLOCHER: PETER JANKOWSKY, NIGERIAN CHILD: LORETTA ADENUGA, PRODUCER: HEATHER LARMOUR.

12 Apr 10: Afternoon Drama - Homestead
By Francis Turnly. The play follows one family whose dream of a new life in the country becomes a nightmare. When Daniel Brennan is forced to sell up his city home and move to a small holding in the country he hopes it will be a new start and a chance to create a new home for his family. However their reception from the local village is far from warm. Daniel ... Stuart Graham, Kate...Zara Turner, Cassie...Hannah R. Gordon, Sean.....Des McAleer, Eamon.....Ian Beattie,, Declan....Shaun Blaney Auctioneer / PSNI officer....Patrick Fitzsymons, Conor....Kieran Lagan, Dermot....Robert Taylor, Producer - Heather Larmour.

23 Nov 09: Afternoon Drama - Girl from Mars
Eleanor's sister Amy disappeared five years ago. She simply walked out of her house and into the records of the 'missing'. Lucy Caldwell's play explores her family's attempts to come to terms with the loss of a daughter and sister. Eleanor ...... Alana Kerr, Chris ...... Joe Armstrong, Judith ...... Maggie Cronin, James ...... Kieran Lagan, Darryl ...... Andy Moore, Eleanor aged 15 ...... Hannah R Gordon, Eleanor aged 5 ...... Martha Gordon, Amy aged 10 ...... Naomi Fearnon, Jake aged 5 ...... Harry Robinson, Jake aged 15 ...... Connor Williamson, Amy/Air hostess ...... Nikki Doherty, Police officer/Pilot ...... Patrick Fitzsymons, Police officer/Directory Enq ...... Fo Cullen, Senora Garcia ...... Mary Kelly, Directed by Heather Larmour.

4 Jun 09: Afternoon Drama - Avenues of Eternal Peace
By Lucy Caldwell. Kai-Liang and Chang Li meet and fall in love in their first year at university. Becoming increasingly involved in the world of student politics, they join the protests in Tiananmen Square, where their passions and ideas are put to the ultimate test. Kai-Liang ...... David Tse, Student Kai-Liang ...... David Lee, Chang Li ...... Ping Ping Wong, Xie Huan Yue ...... Gabby Wong, Zhao Ziyang ...... Richard Woo, Mother/Woman ...... Su Lin Looi, Grandmother ...... Pik-Sen Lim, Young Kai-Liang ...... James Ang, Documentary Producer ...... Nick Hardin, Students played by May Chan, Jonathan Chan-Pensley, Steven Lim, Monica Sayer, Alan Wai. Produced by Heather Larmour.

14 May 08: Afternoon Drama - The Woman from the North
By Bernard MacLaverty. Cassie has never sat an exam in her life but now finds herself facing a life-changing assessment and the prospect of residential care. What must she do to pass and return to her own home? Cassie ...... Doreen Keogh, Gerard ...... Kieran Lagan, Christopher ...... Sean Campion, Hairdresser/Doctor ...... Miche Doherty, Nurse/Dinner Lady ...... Jo Donnelly, Directed by Heather Larmour.

9 Mar 07: The Friday Play - The Trouble with Caves
By Ronan Bennett. Ian is hearing voices, distant voices, apparently coming from underground. Who is down there? Are they trapped? Can they be helped? The play is set in a dark and claustrophic underground cave, takes a look at Northern Ireland's current attempts to give up the bad habits of the past and move towards a devolved future. Cast includes Selina Cadell , Julie Dearden , Paul Freeman , Richard Lumsden and Gerard McSorley. Producer: Heather Larmour.

12 Jun 04: Bloomsday 100 - Walking at Ringsend
By Edel Brosnan. A love story to commemorate the centenary of Bloomsday, the day on which James Joyce and Nora Barnacle first went walking at Ringsend and which Joyce later immortalised in his novel Ulysses- 16 June 1904. James Joyce .......... Michael Colgan, Nora .......... Nora-Jane Noone, Cosgrave .......... Jason Barry, Kitty .......... Elaine Symons, Stannie .......... Michael Legge, Poppie .......... Nuala O'Neill, John .......... John Hewitt, McKernan .......... Mark Lambert, Pawnbroker .......... Pat Laffan, Producer .......... Heather Larmour.

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