Nadia Molinari Radio Drama
These broadcasts are from radio 4 unless stated otherwise.
THE VENTRILOQUIST'S DUMMY, by Amanda Dalton (R4, 1415, 4 Apr 24, repeated from 2021) was an exploration of the brain and the gut, and the links between them. Jess doesn't feel quite right, and no-one seems to know what the problem is. But if she listened to what her body was telling her, she'd soon be on the way back to an even keel.
We've all had an unconscious 'gut feeling' from time to time; an immediate understanding of something based on intuition, not logic; no need for a second opinion; you just know. There's a reason for it; feel-good hormones in the body such as serotonin are largely located in the gut, and therapists sometimes refer to it as the 'second brain'. This drama-documentary looks at the relationship between mind and body and the contribution of the gut to how we feel: our reviewer Harry Turnbull found it quite amusing - especially the contributions form the gurgling gut (echoes of 'Louis XIV's Intestine' by Nick Fisher, from 1990 - Ed.) . Jess was played by Christine Bottomley, Eurycles by Sanjeev Bhaskar and The Gut by Meera Syal. Clinical background was provided by doctor / therapist Nick Read and the producer was Nadia Molinari. (....ND, Diversity website review, Apr 2024)
Tess of the Tollbooth (R4, 1415, 20 Dec 23) was a gentle comedy inspired by the tales of toll-booth workers on Itchen bridge in Southampton. In the play, Tess is the person stuck in the booth who collects the money on the night shift. The only interest for her is Rob; a drummer who crosses the bridge most nights on his way home from a gig. But it's difficult to get to know someone if you only see him for 20 seconds at a time. Meanwhile Tess's love life with a dull man who wants to leave his wife but never quite gets around to it, has been on hold for months, if not years. Tess was played by Shaparak Khorsandi and her friend Kel by Rosie Cavaliero. Rob was played by Jonathan Forbes and the play was produced by Nadia Molinari for BBC Drama North. (....ND, Diversity website review, Dec 2023)
Kiss of the Spider Woman was an unusual play by Manuel Puig, translated by Allan Baker (R4, 1415, 10 Dec 23). Two men, Valentin and Molina, share a prison cell. Valentin is a Marxist imprisoned for his political actions; Molina is a window-dresser imprisoned for being homosexual. They don't seem to have much in common, but Molina has an unusual skill; he can recreate films in words for his cellmate and a relationship develops between them. But there's a complication: Molina has been promised an early release if he can get the Marxist to open up and to talk. Is Molina prepared to grass on his new friend? The play is set in Villa Devoto prison in Buenos Aires in 1975. Molina was played by Kadiff Kirwan and Valentin by Alfred Enoch. Sound design was by Sharon Hughes and the producer Nadia Molinari, for BBC Drama North. (....ND, Diversity website review, Dec 2023)
Unfortunately I missed 'STRINGS', an interesting-sounding R3 drama broadcast on Sun 13th March 22, scripted by Linda Marshall Griffiths and produced by Nadia Molinari. Apparently it imagines a future world where all life is threatened and decisions must be made about what is worth saving. The Longyears spacecraft is on a mission to launch into the future by entering interconnected cosmic strings. It's on listen-again so is still available. I hope it's easier to follow than 'Solaris'; I struggled somewhat with the plot of Lem's classic at the Radio Drama festival whilst following the Rumanian version with my English translation. There was also a play by David Morley about Ben Santer, a climate scientist, highlighting the difficulty of integrating the complex issue of climate science with easy-to-understand public statements and political manoeuvering. (....ND, Diversity website review, Apr 2022)
A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN, by Virginia Woolf (R4, 1500, Classic Serial slot 31 May 2020) was about female creativity. It was adapted for radio by Linda Marshall Griffiths as part of radio 4's "Electric Decade" - classics from the 1920s. It is 1928; a woman is asked to talk of women and writing. She takes a walk in the university town of 'Oxbridge' where she is refused entry to the gardens and to the library and discovers the poverty of the one female college there. She decides to hunt through the British Museum for proof that women even existed in history. She imagines what would have happened if Shakespeare had had a sister and imagines conversations with the great British female novelists. She begins to understand the difficulties facing the female writer and women who want to have a creative life. The woman was played by Indira Varma, and the other four actors (Jenny Platt, Anjli Mohindra, Sacha Dhawan and Colin Tierney) took multiple roles. The producer was Nadio Molinari and the drama was recorded and edited during coronavirus lockdown with actors, producer, writer and studio managers all in their own homes. (....ND, Diversity website review, Sep 2020)
Rebekah Harrison's bitter-sweet play FADED GLORY (R4, 1415, 25 Jul 19) was a lovely story about a reunion between two ex-sweethearts, twenty years on. Sue went to University and now has a successful career; Dave continued to live at home, inherited the family business and now finds that he is threatened with having his premises taken over by a new development. But in spite of their very different experiences, they still experience a little of their former attraction. Sue was played by Shobna Gulati, Dave by Roger Evans and Gemma by Annie-Rose Tate. The producers were Nadia Molinari and Rebekah Harrison. (....ND, Diversity website review, Sep 2019)
I was pleased to see a repeat of Paul Cornell's creepy play from 2011 'Something in the Water' (R4, 1415, 27 May 14). James, a scientist, is sacked from his job as a columnist, and he decides to move his family to the country. What he finds is a village gripped by hysteria and fear and a lucrative tourist industry based on the supposed monster in the lake. This play reminded me of 'Witch Water Green' by Don Webb, from the 80s; another play where the sound effects are as important as the words. The play starred James Nickerson as the scientist, with Zara Turner as his wife, along with Joel Davies, Conrad Nelson and Jonathan Keeble. The producer was Nadia Molinari. (....ND, Diversity website review, Sep 2014)
Richard Monks wrote an unusual play involving an acoustic mirror, entitled EARLY WARNING, (R3, 1415, 23 Feb 13) A deaf girl, Ella, is alone near the beach when she notices some some men and youths behaving violently. To avoid trouble she takes refuge in a disused bunker. It is under a 'sound mirror', a World War I early warning device built with the aim of detecting incoming enemy aircraft by the sound of their engines. She hears voices and a struggle and some time later a body is found. The upshot is that Ella believes she has witnessed a murder, but her evidence is dismissed as unreliable because of her disability and because she is young. But ... the acoustic mirror is specifically designed to magnify and focus sounds into the bunker below. Can it be proved that she heard something significant? Rose Ayling-Ellis played Ella and Robert Pickavance played the birdman; the producer was Nadia Molinari. (....ND, Diversity website review, Apr 2013)
CAN YOU HEAR ME? by Margaret Wilkinson (R4, 1415, 27 Jun 11) was set during WW2. A young female radio operator, Anna, stays with a frightening old woman who dabbles in the supernatural. She monitors enemy radio broadcasts and passes on troop movements to the Allies. Then one day she hears the eerie voice of her lover, who she believes has been lost at sea, on the airwaves. The producer was Nadia Molinari and the cast included Morven Christie as the radio operator and Sarah Parks as the old lady. (....ND, Diversity website review, Sep 2011)
In October we had SOMETHING IN THE WATER (19 Oct 11) by Paul Cornell. James Woolmer, a man in his early thirties, moves with his family to the country where he finds a village frightened almost to death and a tourist trade depending on the very thing they are afraid of - a monster in the lake. But no-one will admit to having seen it.
The play was memorable for its sound effects; whilst James was in the bathroom there was the suggestion of something very nasty about to come out of the plughole; I could hear it. The studio managers must have had some fun working on this. James Nickerson played the young man and Zara Turner was his wife; Nadia Molinari produced. (....ND, Diversity website review, Dec 2011)
DISTANT WHISPERS, by Garry Lyons (R4, 2102, 19 Nov 04) was a welcome repeat, broadcast as the Friday Play. A random killing causes a murder trial from thirty years ago to re-surface. The detective who handled it is retired and terminally ill. But all the evidence is still in the police files. His successor revisits the surviving witnesses, including one with whom VRPCC members may identify - an elderly bird-watcher who has filled his house with thousands of reels of tape, all containing bird calls. On one of them, he says, is the voice of the murderer...Paul Copley was excellent as the retired Inspector, and Christine, the new Inspector, was played by Denise Black. The audio analyst, presumably using something like "Cooledit Pro" to decipher the tape, was Kate Williamson; Nadia Molinari directed. (....ND, Diversity website review, Dec 2004)
2002-01-25, The Tuner
By Kevin Fegan. Friday Play. Chocker is an ex-miner who hates the daylight. Obsessed with tuning in to other people's conversations, he gets caught up with the mysterious radio girl - who knows details about his past.
Sound design and music by Andrew Langmanis Diey. Director: Nadia Molinari.
Cast: Music by Andrew Langmanis Diey,
Director .... Nadia Molinari,
Chocker .... Ian Mercer,
Radio girl .......... Katy Cavanagh,
Gary ...Ian Peck.
