Jennie Buckman Radio Plays
Jennie Buckman (1949–2019) was a well-known British playwright, theatre director, and educator. She spent 20 years at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), serving as Head of Acting until 2007, where she trained a generation of actors includng Tom Hiddleston, Daniel Craig, Sophie Okonedo, and Ben Whishaw.
As well as teaching she wrote a number of plays and serials for Radio 4 starting in 1999. Her radio work gives a voice to marginalized communities, unsung historical figures, and it tackles political themes.
RADIO PLAYS
20.01.99 Goodbye Moses
xx.xx.02 Ten Days That Shook My World
25.06.03 The Slap
06.04.04 Deptford Wives
03.09.04 Masks
xx.xx.07 Cuba Mi Amor
NOTES
*GOODBYE MOSES 1999
w/Andrew Rajan, Dominic Carter, Angela Wynter, Giles Fagan and Elizabeth Conboy - A black comedy. As London swelters in a heatwave, Moses Perkes, a Trinidadian ghost, embarks on a quest to find his killers. Dir. Toby Swift. Rpt. on R4X on 25 Jun 2026.
Ten Days That Shook My World (2002, BBC Radio 4):
A special series written for Woman's Hour, drawn directly from her personal travels to Cuba.
*THE SLAP.....2003
When her daughter goes into an early labour, Dina remembers her
Jewish roots. With Jennie Stoller (Woman's Hour drama; series title
"Don't Step On The Cracks")
*DEPTFORD WIVES....2004
6 Apr. 04. In 1772 the author of an unusual autobiography, "The History
of the Female Shipwright" battled with her publisher over her
right to tell her life story in full. Written by Jennie Buckman.
With Geraldine James (Jennie's sister-in-law), Suzanna Hamilton, David Bamber, Christopher Scott,
Gordon Reid, Jemma Churchill; director Janet Whitaker.
MASKS....2004
Venice, 1735, in the church of the Ospedale della Pieta. An idealistic poet falls in love
with beauty. But in Venice, appearances can be deceptive. With Geraldine James, Raymond Couthard, Geoffrey Whitehead, Katy Cavanagh, Geoffrey Streatfield. Soprano Eliana Pretorian; flautist Francesca Thompson. Director Marc Beeby.
Cuba Mi Amor (2007, BBC Radio 4):
Co-written with Cuban playwright Ulises Rodríguez Febles, this production captured a nation on the brink of structural change and was nominated for best radio play of the year.
Westway (BBC World Service):
Jennie wrote about 60 episodes for this popular, long-running global radio drama.
Later Career & Legacy
After leaving RADA, she founded Giants Theatre Company, an organization dedicated to community collaboration. She adapted several of her structural ideas into stage plays—such as SNAFU, which used Homer's Odyssey to help military veterans unpack the trauma of returning home. She passed away from cancer in January 2019.
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website.
Thanks to Angus R. for sending details of a play I'd missed.
Asterisked plays known to exist in VRPCC collections
