Michael Chaplin Radio Plays

Michael Chaplin (born 1951 in County Durham) is a radio writer who has also worked in theatre and TV. He graduated from Cambridge University in 1973 with a degree in history, trained as a reporter on The Journal newspaper in Newcastle upon Tyne and became the paper's Health Correspondent. In 1977 he moved to London, becoming a researcher, producer, director and executive producer at London Weekend Television, in the current affairs and documentaries department.

In 1989 he became Head of Drama and Arts at Tyne Tees Television. In 1991 he moved to BBC Wales. By this time Michael had started writing for Live Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne.

His first radio writing credit was Hair In The Gate (1990) for BBC Radio 4, based on a play of the same name staged at Live Theatre the year before.

In 1994 he became a full-time writer. His radio work for Radio 4 includes single plays like 'Hair In The Gate' (1990), 'One-Way Ticket to Palookaville' (1992), and 'The Song Thief' (2008). There were seven contributions to 'The Stanley Baker Baxter Playhouse' including 'Flying Down to Greenock', 'Fife Circle' and 'A Dish of Neapolitan', ‘The Pool’ and ‘Melancholy Baby’. Michael created and wrote the 13 plays in the well-known series 'Two Pipe Problems' (2006-2013) about life in a retirement home for retired ctors, with Richard Briers and Stanley Baxter. This came to an end in 2013 following the death of Richard Briers. Geoffrey Palmer tooks the Briers part in the final two programmes.

Michael worked on Tommies, contributing 7 episodes. This is a four-year project for BBC Radio 4 telling the story of the First World War from the point of view of a group of British Army signallers. The first series of Tommies was broadcast on Radio 4 in autumn of 2014, and there were many other episodes lasting until late 2018.

In January 2015 Radio 4 broadcast two more of his plays with the generic title 'The Ferryhill Philosophers' about the collision between philosophy and life in an ex-mining town. Two further plays in the series, starring Alun Armstrong as retired pitman Joe Snowball and Deborah Findlay as Durham University philosophy lecturer Hermione Pink, were broadcast in 2016. One of these plays, ‘Lies, Damn Lies and Conversational Implicature’, was performed live with the help of the Ferryhill Town Band at the Durham Book Festival in October 2016. Two further plays were broadcast in 2017, two in 2018 and five are scheduled for 2019.

SUMMARY
1990-09-03 Hair in the Gate
1992-01-20 One-Way Ticket to Palookaville, rpt 1993
2007-07-23 A Two Pipe Problem, Feisty thespians William and Sandy the Holmes and Wat
2008-01-21 Stanley Baxter Playhouse
2008-08-11 Two-Pipe Problems, 1
2008-08-12 Two-Pipe Problems, 2
2009-04-03 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 3 Fife Circle, rpt 2009
2009-04-27 Two Pipe Problems, 1
2009-08-08 The Song Thief
2009-10-07 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 2 Flying Down to Greenock
2010-01-21 Two-Pipe Problems: A Streetcar Named Revenge
2010-01-28 Two-Pipe Problems: The Trusty Valet and the Crusty Butler
2010-06-22 Two Pipe Problem: Right Old Charlie
2010-06-23 Two Pipe Problem The Memory Man Forgets
2011-02-21 The Chaplin Archive, feature (see note below)
2011-08-11 Two-Pipe Problems 2 - Here Doggie
2011-08-12 Two-Pipe Problems 3 - The Case of the Missing Meerschaum
2011-09-19 Book at Bedtime - The Day of the Sardine, 5 episodes, from Sid Chaplin's novel
2012-11-07 Two Pipe Problems - A Rose by Any Other Name
2012-11-14 Two Pipe Problems - I Love a Lassie
2013-02-22 The Song Thief
2013-04-15 Two Pipe Problems A Rose by Any Other Name
2013-04-22 Two Pipe Problems I Love a Lassie
2013-11-18 Two Pipe Problems I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends
2013-11-19 Two Pipe Problems The House on the Marsh
2014-07-04 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 6 A Dish of Neapolitan
2014-10-07 Tommies, 7 October 1914
2014-10-28 Tommies, 28 October 1914
2014-11-04 Tommies, 4 November 1914
2015-01-06 The Ferryhill Philosophers - A Good Thing for a Good Reason
2015-01-07 The Ferryhill Philosophers - Wants and Desires
2015-05-18 Tommies, 18 May 1915
2015-05-25 Tommies, 25 May 1915
2015-10-28 Tommies, 28 October 1915
2015-12-09 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 7 The Leaving of Barra
2016-01-06 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 7 The Pool
2016-01-14 Two Pipe Problems I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends
2016-01-15 Two Pipe Problems The House on the Marsh
2016-02-04 The Ferryhill Philosophers Filial Duties and Special Goods
2016-02-05 The Ferryhill Philosophers Lies Damn Lies and Conversational Implicature
2016-06-09 Tommies, 9 June 1916
2016-12-14 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 8 The Boy Who Ran Away from the Circus
2016-12-21 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 8 Melancholy Baby
2017-03-14 The Ferryhill Philosophers Moral Status and the Golden Boy
2017-03-15 The Ferryhill Philosophers Political Obligations and the Occasional Toke
2017-08-22 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 6 A Dish of Neapolitan
2018-03-19 The Ferryhill Philosophers Thought Experiments and A Little Scrap of a Thing
2018-03-20 The Ferryhill Philosophers Minority Rights and The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
2018-06-02 Tommies, 7 October 1914
2018-06-23 Tommies, 28 October 1914
2018-07-21 Tommies, 25 May 1915
2018-08-18 Tommies, 9 June 1916
2018-10-10 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 7 The Leaving of Barra
2018-10-31 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 7 The Pool
2018-11-07 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 8 The Boy Who Ran Away from the Circus
2018-11-14 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 8 Melancholy Baby
2022-03-19 Saturday Play - I Must Have Loved You

Please forgive me for one or two repeats in the list...

NOTES ON A FEW OF THE PLAYS

1990-09-03 Hair in the Gate
Britain is at war, and film-maker Jack Lewis goes back to his native Newcastle to make a propaganda 'short' about the heroic shipbuilders. By Michael Chaplin. Monday Play. Jack Lewis: James Bolam, Jenks: John Basham, Sylvia: Christine Cox, Love: Bill Speed, Wilson: Rod Arthur, Hibbett: David Begg, Reporter: Norman Mills, McCracken: Alan Hockey, Titlington: Phil Knowles, Anne: Belinda Chapman, Interviewer: John Branwell, Lord Mayor: Joe Ging, Chief constable: Robin Polley, Woman: Elizabeth Kelly, Producer: Dave Sheasby.

1992-01-20 One-Way Ticket to Palookaville
Monday Play. It's late summer, 1990, and for shipyard welder Billy Hamsen it's a memorable one. Billy is a "traditional" working-class "commie". Across the world there are serious changes to a system he has revered all his life. Billy Hamsen. ... Christian Rodska, Margaret Hamsen: Val McLane, Alexei: Karl Boyd, Rosa: Tracey Wilkinson, Jack: Rod Arthur, Ellis JOHN: Graham Davies, Ivanov: Christopher Campbell, Dad: Art Davies, Jimmy: James Thackwray, Gavin: Trevor Todd, Harry: Peter Wheeler, Producer: Dave Sheasby.

2007-07-23 A Two Pipe Problem: original episode
Thespians William and Sandy, the Holmes and Watson of their retirement community, galvanise the other inmates in their quest to solve a mystery involving sibling jealousy, a lost ventriloquist's dummy, and a spot of ill-judged fire-raising. William: Richard Briers, Sandy: Stanley Baxter, Archie: Ken Campbell, Elspeth: Elizabeth Spriggs, Doris: Wendy Richard, Mrs P: Linda Broughton, Mary: Jillie Meers, Karen: Tracy Wiles, Edgar: David Shaw-Parker. Producer: Marilyn Imrie.

2008-01-21 Stanley Baxter Playhouse - 3/3. Flying Down to Greenock
Series of comic plays starring Stanley Baxter. By Michael Chaplin. A centenarian Glaswegian, making his first ever flight, remembers life during the blitz over Clydeside. James ... Stanley Baxter, Isabel ... Patricia Kerrigan. Produced by Marilyn Imrie.

2008-08-11 14-15 Two-Pipe Problems 1/2. A Streetcar Named Revenge.
Set in The Old Beeches, a retirement home for elderly thespians. Inmates William and Sandy still nurse a certain affectionate animosity towards one another since they starred as Holmes and Watson in a 1960s television series. In this play they are haunted by the return of two characters from the past. Sandy becomes amorously involved through his passion for crosswords. Repeated in 2010. Sandy Boyle ... Stanley Baxter, William Parnes ... Richard Briers, Hatty Doran ... Edna Dore, Angel Hosmer ... Linda Broughton, Mary Winter ... Jillie Meers, Edgar ... David Shaw-Parker, Karen ... Tracy Wiles, Ronnie Adair ... Nickolas Grace, Marie Devine ... Susan Wooldridge, Hugo Oberstein ... Rad Lazar, Produced by Marilyn Imrie. Indie (Catherine Bailey)

2008-08-12 14-15 Two-Pipe Problems 2/2. The Trusty Valet and the Crusty Butler
William and Sandy venture outside the Old Beeches to a movie set, accompanied by care assistant Karen, as they take on the world of celluloid. Sandy Boyle ... Stanley Baxter, William Parnes ... Richard Briers, Inspector Bradstreet ... David Shaw-Parker, Karen ... Tracy Wiles, Laura Lyons ... Ellie Beaven, Thaddeus Sholto ... Lloyd Hutchinson, John Barrymore ... Geoffrey Whitehead. Produced by Marilyn Imrie. Indie (Catherine Bailey)

2009-04-03 Stanley Baxter Playhouse Series 3, Fife Circle
Series of three comic plays starring Stanley Baxter, repeated in Sept 2009.. In this episode, two elderly brothers meet at Waverley station and set out on a journey of discovery involving lost mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, and to whom they really belong. By Michael Chaplin. Sir Hugh Dundas/Alex Kelly ... Stanley Baxter. Producer: Marilyn Imrie Indie (Catherine Bailey).

2009-04-27 Two Pipe Problems, Episode 1
By Michael Chaplin. Our two elderly thespian residents of the Old Beeches home for retired members of the Acting profession become embroiled in making sure the course of true love runs smoothly. It all begins with a proposal, leading swiftly to a wedding, involving two residents - a Shakespearian knight called Sir Trelawney Hope and an ex-nightclub chanteuse called Dolores Sweet, with William as Trelawney's best man and Sandy giving Dolores away. But as the old couple stand there, Trelawney drops a bombshell - he no longer wishes to go through with it. Sandy Boyle ..... Stanley Baxter, William Parnes ..... Richard Briers, Dolores Sweet ..... Julia McKenzie, Sir Trelawney Hope ..... John Rowe, Godfrey ..... Joseph Mydell, Mary Winter ..... Jillie Meers, Isadora Klein ..... Susan Wooldridge, Hugo ..... Stephen Critchlow, Saxophonist ..... Julie Hodge. Producer: Marilyn Imrie. Indie (Catherine Bailey). Repeated in 2011.

2009-08-08 The Song Thief
By Michael Chaplin. In the long summers of Edwardian England, a stream of educated young men ventured from London into the country collecting folktunes. Composers and musicologists, they carried specially-adapted phonographs to do their recordings. They included Vaughan Williams, Delius and Percy Grainger - who became famous in doing it. The play draws on this background to follow one man's quest- to find a beautiful song written by a Northumbrian shepherd in praise of the wife who abandoned him. The shepherd's daughter assists him. Entwined around two love stories and the beautiful song that joins them, this is a play about music, its capacity to redeem and corrupt, and the question of who owns it. Abel Humble .. Ron Cook, Stephen Haggard .. Nicholas Boulton, Dodd Armstrong .. Christopher Connel, Mary Humble .. Colleen Prendergast, Willie Sparke .. Donald McBride, Isabella Sparke .. Joyce Gibbs, Director .. Marilyn Imrie, Producer .. Catherine Bailey. (Indie) Concertina/Fiddle: Sheena Masson.

2010-06-22 Two Pipe Problems - Right Old Charlie
Written by Michael Chaplin. At The Old Beeches retirement home, the new odd job man Geordie is making care assistant Karen's heart beat faster. Once-famous stand up comic Charlie Fisher regales the inmates with old gags, but when his joke book and a large sum of money go missing, Sandy and William go to work. The story is spiced up with some vintage gags in a classic stand up routine from Barry Cryer, who joins Richard Briers, Stanley Baxter, Edna Dore and all the regular inmates in a new set of two-pipe problems. William Parnes ..... Richard Briers, Sandy Boyle ..... Stanley Baxter, Charlie Fisher ..... Barry Cryer, Karen ..... Tresa Gallagher, Hatty Doran ..... Edna Dore, Mary Winter (Matron) ..... Jillie Meers, Edgar ..... David Shaw-Parker, Geordie ..... Joe Caffrey. Director: Marilyn Imrie. Indie (Catherine Bailey).

2010-06-23 Two Pipe Problems -The Memory Man Forgets
By Michael Chaplin. Billy Small is one of the few surviving "Memory Men" Music Hall variety acts who had total recall of a huge range of entertaining facts. He's 85, and after a trip home to his native Yorkshire, he returns to The Old Beeches totally devoid of any memory of who he is or of any of the amazing facts he used to be so good at displaying. Our resident sleuths William and Sandy fancy a mini break away from the Home, and take Billy back to Little Fell, the old mining town where he grew up. There they meet his daughter and his granddaughter, but discover that Billy has a past... William Parnes ..... Richard Briers, Sandy Boyle ..... Stanley Baxter, Billy Small ..... David Holt, Karen/Shelley ..... Teresa Gallagher, Railway Man/Harry ..... Geoffrey Whitehead, Myra ..... Julia Ford, Rose ..... Anne Reid. Director: Marilyn Imrie. Indie. (Catherine Bailey).

2011-02-21 The Chaplin Archive
An exclusive look into Charlie Chaplin's life through his personal archives. Some of this material has never been revealed before. In 1952 America turned its back on Charlie Chaplin. His had been the classic American story: from rags to riches; but in the McCarthy era, he wasn't regarded as patriotic enough. He left for Vevey, Switzerland. He died on Christmas Day in 1977. However his archival remains are there - letters, photos, scripts, recordings and scrap-books. Matthew Sweet travels to Vevey where he meets Chaplin's son, Michael, to explore the house and get unprecedented access to some of the amazing revelations of the archive. We hear recordings of Chaplin composing and Michael Chaplin shows Matthew a document, found in a locked drawer after his death, which could lead experts to revise one of the most basic assumptions made about his famous father. ( Dinah Birch, historian and Neil Brand also appear). [...On reflection I realise the programme features a different Michael Chaplin - but this page isn't a bad place for him nevertheless - it may remove some confusion - Ed.]

2011-09-19 Book at Bedtime - The Day of the Sardine, Episodes 1-5
By Sid Chaplin (1961). Young Arthur Haggerston has no qualifications, an absentee father, a mother who gives him a hard time, and a home in a slum-clearance area of Newcastle. In his first job as a coal delivery boy he discovers the joy and sadness of sex with an older married woman; is drawn by his wayward pal Nosey into a series of violent encounters with Newcastle gangs, is forced to crawl to a deeply corrupt foreman and Labour councillor for manual work ... Arthur's Ma's lodger, the philosophical Harry, whose career has peaked in a sardine cannery, fashions a lesson Arthur will finally understand: don't be a sardine, don't swim with the shoal; navigate your own way through life. Abridged by his son, Michael Chaplin. Reader: Joe Caffrey. Producer: Jill Waters. Indie (Waters Company production).

2012-11-07 Two Pipe Problems: A Rose by Any Other Name
By Michael Chaplin, featuring mystery-solving retired thespians William and Sandy. This episode was repeated on 15 Apr 2013 a few days after Richard Briers died, as a tribute to him. Richard co-starred in this series for six years. Sandy and William find a cardboard box in the doorway to the Old Beeches; inside, a tiny baby, clutching a small toy. There is no message and no sign of the mother. From the moment Sandy carries the box into the breakfast room, the discovery causes a sensation in the closet world of the home. Everyone is enchanted by the child - a little girl - and horrified at the implications of her being abandoned. Sandy Boyle ......Stanley Baxter, William Parnes ......Richard Briers, The Girl (Stephanie) ......Joan Iyiola, Karen ......Tracy Wiles,, Mary ......Jillie Meers, Nellie ......Anne Reid, PC Marlowe ......David Holt, Old Beeches Residents ......David Holt, Director ......Marilyn Imrie.

2012-11-14 Two Pipe Problems: I Love a Lassie
Sandy decides to travel to Greenock on Clydeside to collect his Freedom of the City award. As he has no living relatives or close friends, he invites William to accompany him. Sandy shows William around his birthplace. They visit the tenement where he was born, and an important event in Sandy's distant past is revealed. Rpt. 22 Apr 2013. Sandy Boyle ..... Stanley Baxter, William Parnes ..... Richard Briers, Provost ..... John Sessions, Station Assistant ..... John Sessions, Moira ..... Gabriel Quigley, Janice ..... Maureen Beattie, Macca ..... Gordon Kennedy, Train Guard ..... Gordon Kennedy, Director ..... Marilyn Imrie. Indie (Catherine Bailey).

2013-10-28 Start the Week - The Kremlin: A fortress that has shaped a nation
Start the Week is at the Radio 3 Free Thinking Festival in Gateshead. Anne McElvoy talks to the historian Catherine Merridale about the Kremlin - a Russian fortress which has retained its original medieval function to intimidate and control, and which holds a special place in the imagination. Few buildings in England inspire such fear, but Simon Thurley explores how the country's architecture has influenced the world. The Newcastle-born writer Michael Chaplin looks at the history of the River Tyne to understand the changing fortunes of the city and its population; and the Indian writer Amit Chaudhuri attempts to save the remnants of Calcutta's colonial past under its ever-changing skyline. Producer: Katy Hickman. Presenter .. Anne McElvoy.

2013-11-18 Two Pipe Problems: I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends
By Michael Chaplin. Following the death of Richard Briers earlier this year, Stanley Baxter as Sandy is joined by Geoffrey Palmer as his friend and fellow sleuth William Parnes for the last two episodes of this popular series. A new chef is in the kitchen at The Old Beeches and he's cooking up a storm and delighting the residents, with Sandy as his willing and enthusiastic sous-chef. But things begin to go badly wrong after a visiting concert party sing a Beatles song. Sandy Boyle .........Stanley Baxter, William Parnes .......Geoffrey Palmer, Albie ...........Felix Dexter, Karen/ Sadie ..........Tracy Wiles, Billy ............David Holt, Edgar/ Lewis ..........David Shaw-Parker, Jonathan ..........Terrell Forde; directed by Marilyn Imrie. Indie (Catherine Bailey). Rpt. Jan 2016.

2013-11-19 Two Pipe Problems, final episode: The House on the Marsh
William and Sandy travel to a windswept wintry Suffolk in search of William's inheritance, where they are haunted by ghosts from the past and threats from the present, and William makes a life changing decision about his future. This week marks the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten, and his opera Peter Grimes is woven into this episode. The opera is set in Aldeburgh, on the Suffolk coast from which Britten drew so much inspiration. Writer Michael Chaplin was inspired to create a story that drew on that landscape and the creation of Peter Grimes, but also paid homage to the genius of MR James' ghost story, Oh Whistle And I'll Come You, My Lad. Sandy Boyle ....... Stanley Baxter, William Parnes ....... Geoffrey Palmer, Ellen ....... Linda Broughton, Jeremy (Policeman) ....... Stephen Critchlow, Director ....... Marilyn Imrie, Directed by Marilyn Imrie. Producer: Catherine Bailey. Indie (Catherine Bailey). Rpt. Jan 2016.

2014-07-04 Stanley Baxter Playhouse Series 6: A Dish of Neapolitan
By Michael Chaplin. An Old Army colonel and his one time batman reunite after many years at the scene of their victories on the Italian front in WW2.
Stanley Baxter was born in 1926 and began working for the BBC Scottish Home Service Radio Children's Hour when he was fourteen. He was called up for National Service at 18 and returned to perform on BBC Radio in Scotland in 1948 - continuing to do so in the 1950s with a variety of live comedy shows. He then went into films and ultimately into television - but he has continued to work in radio throughout his career. In the week of his 88th Birthday and in the year of his 75th anniversary as a radio performer, these latest productions in the long running Radio 4 "Stanley Baxter Playhouse" were recorded. Archie ..... Stanley Baxter, Charles .....Geoffrey Palmer, Luca (Waiter) ..... Alex Madia, Arturo (Launch Driver) .....Alex Madia, Museum Attendant .....Lara Parmiani, Director ..... Marilyn Imrie, Producer ..... Catherine Bailey, Indie (Catherine Bailey Productions).

2014-10-07 Tommies, 7 October 1914
By Michael Chaplin. Series created by Jonathan Ruffle. Based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago. We follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army.This story is based on events in the valley of the Aisne, on October 7th, 1914. The German advance is being held, with difficulty, 60 miles north-east of Paris, on the day Mickey Bliss arrives at war. Mickey Bliss ........ Lee Ross, Commentator ........ Indira Varma, Walter Oddy ........ Tony Pitts, Horace Greenwood ........ Mark Edel-Hunt, Maberley Dunster ........ Alex Wyndham, Catherine O'Neill ........ Anneika Rose, Billy Seymour ........ Matthew Wernham, Alphonse Minet ........ Michael Bertenshaw, Producer ........ David Hunter, Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle. Director for this episode: David Hunter.

2014-10-28 Tommies, 28 October 1914
By Michael Chaplin. As the first Indian Army soldiers arrive on the battlefields of France, and the under-equipped infantry of the 9th Bhopal Regiment find themselves on the front line at the first battle of Neuve Chapelle. Mickey Bliss ........ Lee Ross, Ahmadullah Khan ........ Danny Rahim, Pavan Jodha ........ Rudi Dharmalingam, Lt Colonel Dobbie ........ Nicholas Farrell, Commentator ........ Indira Varma, Hector Monkhouse ........ Clive Hayward, Sowar Alam Sher ........ Sagar Radia, Havildar Mishra ........ Jassa Ahluwalia, Captain Wilson ........ Sam Valentine, Captain Jamieson ........ Mark Edel-Hunt, Sir John French ........ David Cann, Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle Director: Nandita Ghose.

2014-11-04 Tommies, 4 November 1914
Dr Celestine de Tullio returns from France to find that things are amiss with army medicals, while her husband Robert gets embroiled in the realities of financing a war. Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle. Director: Jonquil Panting.

2015-01-06 The Ferryhill Philosophers: A Good Thing for a Good Reason
They come from two very different worlds, albeit only seven miles apart - Joe Snowball, unemployed ex-miner in a village forgotten by the world, and the Hon. Hermione Pink, slightly disenchanted senior lecturer at the third oldest university in England, an ivory tower almost encircled by the River Wear. Together, they examine the moral philosophy and the sundry dilemmas encountered by the people of Ferryhill. Should a man bent on suicide be stopped - or allowed to do as he wishes? Should one always tell the truth even if it has bad consequences? Joe .... Alun Armstrong , Hermione ..... Deborah Findlay , Derek ....Joe Caffrey , Gloria ....Tracy Whitwell , Lucy ..... Lauren Kellegher , Barry ....... Jonathan Keeble, Director ...... Marilyn Imrie. Indie (Catherine Bailey Productions).

2015-01-07 The Ferryhill Philosophers,Wants and Desires
Should a jobless teenage girl be entitled to sell her body for sex? Should one always tell the truth even if it has bad consequences? Joe ...... Alun Armstrong , Hermione ...... Deborah Findlay , Vera ........ Jackie Lye , Kerry ...... Laura Elphinstone , Gaz ....... Chris Grahamson , Rollo Ironside ...... John Rowe, Director ....... Marilyn Imrie, Indie (Catherine Bailey).

2015-05-18 Tommies, 18 May 1915
By Michael Chaplin. The story is set on the Eastern Front where the Russian army has been routed at Gorlice. The Russians are retreating, but the renegade Prince Balashov is determined to wrench some kind of victory from defeat. British surgeon Celestine de Tullio has found enough new purpose in War to play a part in this plan. Celestine De Tullio ....... Pippa Nixon , Marjorie Blaikeley ....... Elaine Claxton , Commentator ...... Indira Varma , Prince Balashov ...... Parth Thakerar , Capt Maxim Frunze ........ Matthew Watson , Kolya Stepniak ....... David Cann , Mamasha ........ Jane Slavin , Reissner ....... Damian Lynch , Nikolai ...... Michael Bertenshaw, Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle. Director: Nandita Ghose.

2015-05-25 Tommies: 25 May 1915
by Michael Chaplin. Today Mickey Bliss is in London, taking time off from signals training at Aldershot to look up an old friend who might finance his much-needed overhearing device. Mickey Bliss .... Lee Ross, Robert de Tullio ...... Patrick Kennedy, Commentator ....... Indira Varma, Evadne Hopkins ....... Clare Corbett, Amos Purkiss ...... Carl Prekopp, Bonamy Lidderdale ....... Clive Hayward, Minister .... David Cann, General Antrobus ...... Robert Blythe, Hermione ...... Eleanor Howell. Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle Director: David Hunter.

2015-10-28 Tommies: 28 October 1915
by Michael Chaplin. Given the task of completing a diplomatic mission, Robert de Tullio is drawn deeper into the murky waters of WW1 Intelligence. Mickey Bliss ...... Lee Ross, Robert ..... Justin Salinger, Commentator ..... Indira Varma, Martins ..... Sam Dale, Tamara ..... Anna Madeley, Meulken ..... Mark Edel-Hunt, Jonqueer ..... William Brand, Van Hasselt ..... Chris Pavlo, Guard ..... Neet Mohan, Barman ..... David Hounslow, Driver ..... David Acton, Celestine ..... Pippa Nixon, Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle, Director: David Hunter.

2015-12-09 Stanley Baxter Playhouse: Series 7,The Leaving of Barra
1949 - a young man, an assistant director on Whisky Galore, falls in love with a local girl on the Hebridean island of Barra where filming is taking place. Sixty six years later, his memories of that golden time come flooding back. Stanley Baxter plays the old man who abandoned a career in film to stay on the island with the woman he loved John Anderson ..... Stanley Baxter , Peggy Anderson ..... June Watson , Young John ..... Scott Hoatson , PC Macrae ..... Scott Hoatson , Young Peggy ..... Samara MacLaren , Mary ..... Tracy Wiles, Director ..... Marilyn Imrie, Producer ..... Catherine Bailey. Indie (CB Productions).

2016-01-06 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 7: The Pool
Two old men with a shared love of fishing and a shared past. Tam ....... Stanley Baxter , Jolyon ......... Geoffrey Palmer, Director ...... Marilyn Imrie, Producer ...... Catherine Bailey. Indie (CB Productions).

2016-02-04 The Ferryhill Philosophers: Filial Duties and Special Goods
Joe's aged mother is a strong character - but now frail, going blind, and incapable of looking after herself properly. The solution is for her to leave her home of 50 years and move into care, but she wants to die now, with dignity - and she wants Joe to help her do it. Michael Chaplin works in consultation with philosopher David Edmonds. Joe Snowball ..... Alun Armstrong , Hermione Pink ..... Deborah Findlay , George ..... Geoffrey Palmer , Bella ..... Anne Reid , Dr Dainty ..... Jonathan Keeble , Mrs Cornish ..... Tracy Gillman. Director ..... Marilyn Imrie. Producer CB (Indie, Catherine Bailey Productions).

2016-02-05 The Ferryhill Philosophers: Lies, Damn Lies and Conversational Implicature
Joe and Hermione see the wife of Joe's friend with another man. What should Joe do? Tell his friend or keep quiet? A moral dilemma in which Hermione's philosophical expertise is pitted against Joe's kindly humanity and knowledge of life. Hermione Pink ..... Deborah Findlay, Polly ..... Gina McKee , Andy ..... Christopher Connel , Sadie ..... Jackie Lye, Director ..... Marilyn Imrie. Producer: Catherine Bailey (Indie, CB Productions).

2016-06-09 Tommies: 9 June 1916
In the build up to the Somme, Mickey Bliss's plan to test Capitaine Vasserot's new communication device in No Man's Land doesn't go according to plan. Mickey Bliss .... Lee Ross, Commentator ...... Indira Varma , Albert Pinto ....... Colin Hoult , Demanjit Singh ....... Sagar Radia , Capitaine Vasserot ...... Ewan Bailey , Francis Woodrington ...... Nick Underwood , Eckhart Bauer ..... Sam Alexander , Sapper ...... Sargon Yelda, Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle Director: David Hunter.

2016-12-14 Stanley Baxter Playhouse, Series 8: The Boy Who Ran Away from the Circus
On a Glasgow rooftop, a former Circus trapeze artist and a sad and misunderstood young man become connected by circumstance and a shared experience of life, as each tells his story.The play was recorded on Stanley's 90th birthday earlier this year. Tam ....... Stanley Baxter, Robbie ........ Scott Hoatson, Director ....... Marilyn Imrie, Producer ..... Catherine Bailey. Rpt. 2018.

2016-12-21 Stanley Baxter Playhouse -Series 8, Melancholy Baby
A lonely old gentleman receives an unexpected visitor and hears a story which changes his life -about two babies from very different backgrounds whose lives become forever linked by events in Glasgow ninety years ago.The play was written especially for Stanley Baxter by Michael Chaplin. Rpt 2018. Andrew - Stanley Baxter, Charles - Geoffrey Palmer, Mary - Tracy Wiles, Rosalind - Penelope Wilton, Director - Marilyn Imrie, Producer - Catherine Bailey. Indie (CB Productions)

2017-03-14 The Ferryhill Philosophers: Moral Status and the Golden Boy
By Michael Chaplin. The parents of a young boy grievously injured in a cycling accident face the terrible decision of whether to leave him on a life-support machine indefinitely - or to switch it off. The boy's mother asks Joe to help her husband face up to the decision - and tells Joe something which changes everything. Joe Snowball .... Alun Armstrong, Hermione Pink ........ Deborah Findlay, Isabel ....... Gina McKee, Gordon ...... Deka Walmsley, Director ...... Marilyn Imrie, Indie: CB Productions.

2017-03-15 The Ferryhill Philosophers: Political Obligations and the Occasional Toke
By Michael Chaplin. Joe's forced to uncover his neighbours' illicit activities and confront old betrayals from the 1984 miner's strike as he clashes with a police officer and his own daughter. Hermione forces them all to find a way forward. Joe Snowball ........ Alun Armstrong, Hermione Pink ....... Deborah Findlay , Brian ...... Christopher Connel , Lucy ....... Lauren Kellegher , Kev ........ Dean Logan , Police Sergeant ........ Dean Logan , Mark ......... Dean Bone , Stewy ........ Dean Bone, Director ......... Marilyn Imrie. Indie: CB Productions.

2018-03-19 The Ferryhill Philosophers:Thought Experiments and A Little Scrap of a Thing
Joe's daughter Lucy is pregnant and heading for University. Her Mum, her Dad, the baby's father and grandmother all have differing opinions - but why does philosopher Hermione stay silent? Hermione Pink ......... Deborah Findlay, Joe Snowball ..... Alun Armstrong , Lucy Snowball ....... Lauren Kellegher , Peter Smith ........ Dean Bone , Gloria ...... Phillippa Wilson , Gillian Smith ..... Tracy Gillman, Director ..... Marilyn Imrie. Indie: CB Productions.

2018-03-20 The Ferryhill Philosophers: Minority Rights and The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Joe's friend Jemal fights to stay in Ferryhill after his family's secret is revealed and neighbours turn against him. Joe and Hermione work to mediate between some of the village community's prejudices against a way of life for Jemal and his family. Can Jemal win the villagers' hearts with his story? Joe Snowball ....... Alun Armstrong, Hermione Pink ........ Deborah Findlay , Jemal ........ Danny Sapani , Jimmy Kelly ....... Christopher Connel , Gloria ..... Phillippa Wilson , Sesuna ...... Gbemisola Ikumelo , Salma ..... Gbemisola Ikumelo, Director ....... Marilyn Imrie. Indie- CB Productions.

19 Mar 22: Saturday Play - I Must Have Loved You
By Michael Chaplin, with songs by 'Sting'. Jess Doyle, the lead singer with the '80s band Heaton Park gets a record deal and a run of chart busting songs which launches her career in 'pop'. But she will have to leave Newcastle, dump her manager Tommy and leave behind her friend Malcolm, who co-founded the band. She moves to America and works on her second album, which proves to be more difficult than her first. 90m. Vince ..... Sting, Jess ..... Frances McNamee, Tommy Brass..... Stephen Tompkinson, Malcolm ..... Deka Walmsley, Stella ..... Charlie Hardwick, Clodagh ..... Phillippa Wilson, Bonny ..... Bridget Marumo, Sing (sic) ..... Farshid Rokey. Produced by Eoin O'Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish)

Back to top