Nick Perry Radio Plays

Nick Perry graduated at the National Film and Television School. His first play was for stage and was produced by The Combination at The Albany Empire, Deptford in 1985. He has written a number of other stage plays. His first radio drama was 'The Loop' broadcast in 2009, and since then he has written regularly for radio; both original plays and adaptations.

Some of his BBC plays are listed below; most recent at the top.

5 Nov 22: Saturday Play - Exit Game
By Nick Perry (script) and Alex Millar.Drama-documentary exploring the world of men’s professional football youth system. At football clubs across the country, floodlights illuminate the latest superstar youngsters. But away from the lights are thousands of boys rejected; the ones who weren't selected. Alex Millar, a journalist who has spent a lot of the last 20 years writing and broadcasting about lesser-known stories from within football takes us on a journey through the system. Interwoven with Alex's journey is a fictional drama based on his research, explores the stories of two boys navigating their way through it. 55m. Jack . . . . . Tim Preston, Young Jack . . . . . Harvey Chapman, Nathan . . . . . Olatunji Ayofe, Young Nathan . . . . . Cannon Hay, Simon . . . . . Jonathan Forbes, Cath . . . . . Fiona Skinner, Grace . . . . . Chloë Sommer, Head Coach . . . . . David Hounslow, Dave . . . . . Roger Ringrose, Coach . . . . . Tom Kiteley, Ash . . . . . Hughie O’Donnell, Liam . . . . . Aaron Gelkoff. Sound design by Peter Ringrose. Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko. [Note - On 13 Nov, 'Feedback' listeners Eirene Houston and Lesley Atkins were invited to listen to the Radio 4 drama documentary 'Exit Game' exploring the professional men’s football youth system - Ed. Presented by Andrea Catherwood. Produced by Gill Davies.]

1 Feb 22: Fake Psychic, 1
Written and reported by Vicky Baker; dramatised sections by Nick Perry. If you wanted to speak with the dead in 1960s America, there was one man who was ready to help. For ten years Lamar Keene was known as the Prince of Spiritualists. Then, quite suddenly, he gave it up. He published an expose in which he was a fraud who had manipulated people at their most vulnerable. He described the tricks he used to separate his followers from their money. Drama-doc, including extracts from the Keene's book Psychic Mafia Lamar . . . . . Edward Hogg, Raoul . . . . . Tom Mothersdale, Dorothy . . . . . Lorelei King, Andrija . . . . . Michael Begley, Tom . . . . . Neil McCaul, Lona . . . . . Jasmine Hyde, Ruthie . . . . . Tillie Murray, Lillian . . . . . Christine Kavanagh, Warden . . . . . Chris Jack. Sound: Peter Ringrose. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko.

4 Dec 20: London Particular, 1
By Nick Perry. A child in an East End garden plays with an imaginary friend. One day she goes to the bottom of the garden and never returns. A homeless man desperately tries to stay awake, believing that whenever he falls asleep he wakes up in a different century. A London Underground maintenance engineer walks the two miles between adjacent stations in less than four minutes.While travelling on the Tube one afternoon, Alice sees for a moment a man who might be her missing brother. Alice . . . . . Scarlett Brookes, Alan . . . . . Ian Dunnett Jnr, Mum . . . . . Jane Whittenshaw, Lizzie . . . . . Emma Handy, Dorian . . . . . Roger Ringrose, Simon . . . . . Joseph Ayre, Kelechi . . . . . Stefan Adegbola, Stefania . . . . . Charlotte East, Isaac . . . . . Aaron Gelkoff. Director: Sasha Yevtushenko.

11 Dec 20: London Particular, 2
Whilst investigating a strange encounter with her missing brother on the London Underground, Alice is contacted by a group of time-travel enthusiasts who are documenting London’s hidden gateways to the past. Late one night, they return with Alice to the "ghost station" where she saw her brother. She is transported to a bygone era where she learns something about her own identity. Alice . . . . . Scarlett Brookes, Alan . . . . . Ian Dunnett Jnr, Jill . . . . . Charlotte East, Jackie . . . . . Jane Whittenshaw, Lizzie . . . . . Emma Handy, Doctor . . . . . Roger Ringrose, Simon . . . . . Joseph Ayre, Kelechi . . . . . Stefan Adegbola, Pianist: Peter Ringrose. Director: Sasha Yevtushenko.

18 Dec 20: London Particular, 3
By Nick Perry. Alice is stuck in London three generations ago. Her bizarre adventure still seems to make no sense, but she continues looking for her brother. Alice . . . . . Scarlett Brookes, Alan . . . . . Ian Dunnett Jnr, Morris . . . . . Joseph Ayre, Jack . . . . . Stefan Adegbola, Jill . . . . . Charlotte East, Isaac . . . . . Aaron Gelkoff, Churchill . . . . . Roger Ringrose, Mum . . . . . Jane Whittenshaw, Lizzie . . . . . Emma Handy. Pianist: Peter Ringrose. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko.

5 May 19: Classic Serial - Journey into Fear, 2
By Eric Ambler, adapted by Nick Perry. From EA's spy thriller from 1940. Graham boards a boat for Genoa, but does not know which of his fellow passengers can be trusted. Alec Graham: Daniel Rigby, Dr. Haller: Matthewe Marsh, Jose . . . Simon Scardifield, Josette . . . Olivia Ross, Mr Kuvetli . . . Atilla Akinci, Banat . . . Simon Scardifield, Mme Mathis . . . Carolyn Pickles, Mathis . . . Sam Dale, Balescu . . . Ronny Jhutti, Captain . . . Christopher Harper. Producer . . . Sasha Yevtushenko.

27 Apr 19: Saturday Play - The Battle of San Pietro
By Nick Perry. Fact-based biographical drama about the pairing of Eric Ambler (writer of spy thrillers) and John Huston (film director) to make a documentary to support the Allied effort in WW2. Ambler was conscripted to work with JH on a US Army propaganda film about the Italian campaign. This is an odd coupling - the reserved, cautious British novelist and the gregarious film director. This glimpse of their relationship helps to sketch out Ambler's own story and personality. This is a good introduction to Ambler's world of suspense, thrills and intrigue. Acknowledgements to David Crawford's review in RT; I have used parts of it in compiling this summary.

17 Apr 19: Death at the Airport - The Plot Against King Jong-nam
More from North Korea. By Nick Perry, rpt: A docudrama looking at the power struggle between the leader of North Korea, the dictator Kim Jong-un, and his half-brother Kim Jong-nam. Jong-nam: Daniel York, Ko Young-hui: Liz Sutherland, Jong-un: Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Jong-chul: Paul Chan, Uncle Jang: Neil McCaul, Song Hye-rang: Isabella Inchbald, Soo-nae: Abbie Andrews, journalist: Adam Fitzgerald, Sushi chef: Clive Hayward, Prosecutor: Philip Bretherton, passport official: Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, narrator: Paul French. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko.

9 Oct 16: Classic Serial slot: The Confidential Agent
By Graham Greene, ad. Nick Perry. From the novel, dramatised in two parts,beginning 9 Oct 16. Edgar Dominiguez: Alun Raglan, Rose Cullen: Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Capt. Currie: John Dougall, Victor Lazaro: Jot Davies, Ronald Kaye: John Bowler, Elsie: Kezia Joseph, Mrs. Mendrill: Karen Bartke, Bertie Forbes: Nick Murchie, Lord Benditch: David Sterne, Spanish diplomat: Stefano Braschi, secretary: Natasha Cowley, begging man: Luke MacGregor. Produced by Sally Avens.

Classic Serial: Moll Flanders .... 2016
9 Jul 16. By Daniel Defoe, ad. Nick Perry in two episodes. Daniel Defoe, once more in need of ready money, finds inspiration for a new book when he meets Elizabeth Atkins in Newgate gaol. She tells him her stranger-than-fiction story: how she was born in prison to a petty thief; how she loved and bargained her way from rags to riches, from prostitution in the streets of London to prosperity on a Virginia plantation; how she lost it all. Defoe reinvents Elizabeth as the lusty and resourceful Moll Flanders. Moll Flanders....... Jessica Hynes, Daniel Defoe....... Ben Miles, Mr Mist....... Brian Protheroe, Lady Cholmondley....... Elizabeth Bennett, Jemmy....... Blake Ritson, Nurse....... Claire Perkins, Young Moll....... Alex Jarett, Rob .......Nick Underwood, Lucy....... Kirsty Oswald, John....... Tom Forrister, Robin....... Sam Rix, Jailer....... Sean Baker, harpsichord played by Peter Ringrose. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko.

Moll Flanders: Dram. Nick Perry, of 'The Loop' fame, broadcast in two episodes. A visit to Newgate Jail offers Defoe a chance to meet 18th-century criminal Elizabeth Atkins, who tells him her strange life story. In need of ready money, he reinterprets her story, reinventing her as heroine Moll Flanders. Nick Perry puts Defoe himself in the story in this unusual dramatisation. Moll has to pit her wits against a world which seems determined to see her fail. Moll: Jessica Hynes, Daniel Defoe: Ben Miles. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko. (.....ND, Diversity website note, Sep. 2016.)

16 Jul: Saturday Play: Moll Flanders, 2
Nick Perry's adaptation of Defoe's classic: conclusion. Defoe is convinced that his fictional version of Elizabeth Atkins' life story will be a best-seller, and will save him from his creditors. But before she can conclude her tale, she is arrested and taken back to prison. Moll F: Jessica Hynes, Daniel Defoe: Ben Miles, Mother Midnight: Alison Steadman, Jemmy: Blake Ritson, Jailer: Sean Baker, Rob: Nick Underwood, Mother: Elizabeth Bennett, Merchant: Jason Barnett, Landlade: Claire Perkins, Child: Alex Jarrett, Mr. Mist: Brian Protheroe, Lucy: Kirsty Oswald, Mercer: James Lailey, Court clerk: Tom Forrister, Apprentice: Sam Rix. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko.

15 Minute Drama - November Dead List
By Nick Perry. 25-29 Jun 16. Return of the crime drama set in rural Norfolk. DCI Greave leads a team investigating two deaths. Greave discovers a link to a case in London a couple of years ago: the Dead List murders. DCI Greave....... Lia Williams, John Sweeney....... Steve Toussaint, Father Manu....... Paul Ready, DS Ellison....... George Watkins, Eddie Paine....... Michael Jibson, DC Purkiss....... Katie Redford, Wardle....... Sean Baker, Martin Turnbull....... Ewan Bailey, Pathologist....... Susan Jameson, Operator....... Evie Killip, Police....... Richard Pepple, Organist....... Caolan McCarthy, Director....... Sasha Yevtushenko.

1415 - Afternoon Drama. The Transfer
12 Feb 15. Danny is a football agent negotiating a deal to bring a Serbian footballer to the UK, but a call to his girlfriend reveals that Slavko hasn't returned home from a night out. Fending off phone calls from suspicious reporters and an increasingly irate Chief Executive, Danny searches for Slavko, but it's not plain sailing. Danny Provisor.......... David Schofield, Jonathan Provisor and Keith........ Daniel Abelson, Frankie and Samira....... Rachel Austin, Steve Lucas, Graham Parsons and barman......... Simon Armstrong, Peter Gray and Mr. Agnihotri....... Chris Donnelly, Lewis........ David Hounslow, Stanislav Illich........ Velibor Topic, Slavko Illich........ Mirza Koluder, Ian Dennis appeared as himself. Producer........ Toby Field.

1430: Saturday Drama: The Shootist
25 Oct 14. By Glendon Swarthout, adapted by Nick Perry. Classic Western. The Shootist is John Bernard Books, the last top gunfighter in a vanishing American West. He rides into El Paso in the year 1901, to be told by a doctor that he has a terminal illness. As word spreads that the famous assassin has reached the end, an assortment of vultures gather. John Bernard Books.........Brian Cox , Bond Rodgers........Michelle Fairley, Gillom Rodgers......... Joe Jameson, Marshal Thibido..........Craige Els, Charles Hostetler......... Michael Bertensha, Shoup........ Joe Sim, Norton......... Ashley Kuma, Mrs Woodling........Heather Craney, Bartender.........Clive Hayward, Director....... Sasha Yevtushenko.

15-minute Drama: November Dead
20-25 Jan 2014. By Nick Perry. Each Roman Catholic parish compiles a Book of the Dead from the lists of departed loved ones submitted by parishioners. Printed on the front of the envelopes are three words: November Dead List. In this drama, a young priest opens one such envelope and discovers not a list of the dead but a list of people he knows to be alive: members of his congregation. At first he thinks it's someone's idea of a joke. Then the people named start dying. DI Flood .... Nicola Walker, Father Manu .... Paul Ready, John.... Steve Toussaint, Father Pat.... Dermot Crowley, Simon.... Arthur Hughes, Terrence.... John Norton, Gerry.... Stephen Hogan, Kevin.... Sean Murray, Eileen.... Carolyn Pickles, Journalist.... Carys Eleri, Producer.... Sasha Yevtushenko.

Late Night Drama, 23:00 - He Died with His Eyes Open. Episode 1.
1 Oct 2013. By Derek Raymond, ad. Nick Perry. A detective is investigating a brutal murder in 1980s London. He has little to go on except for the cassette diaries left by the victim. Fragments of his life, recorded at different times, supply the detective with clues about the man's fate.
The Detective.... Burn Gorman,
Staniland.... Toby Jones, Barbara.... Tanya Franks, Bowman.... Ben Crowe, Grampian.... Michael Bertenshaw, Betty.... Christine Absalom, Landlord.... Sean Murray, Pathologist.... Ed Thorpe, Scar.... Will Howard, Director.... Sasha Yevtushenko.

Ep. 2, 8 Oct 13
Through a series of encounters with the people who knew him alive, and through the cassette tapes he left behind, the detective builds up a picture of Staniland, the 51-year-old victim whose case he is investigating because nobody else wants to. It leaves him so consumed by empathy that he is led down the same destructive path as the victim.

Ep. 3, 15 Oct 13
The case has wilfully walked the same self-destructive path as the victim (Toby Jones), even entering into an affair with the deadly ex-girlfriend (Tanya Franks). As he re-traces the deceased's final steps, he risks becoming the next victim.

23:00 Late Night Drama: - Jack's Return Home - Episode 1
28 Aug 12. By Ted Lewis. It's 1970 and Jack Carter, a gangland enforcer, has returned to his hometown of Scunthorpe to investigate the suspicious death of his brother Frank in a car crash. The story became a film: Get Carter. This is a new version for radio, dramatised by Nick Perry. Jack Carter . . . . Hugo Speer Margaret . . . . . Katherine Dow Blyton, Doreen . . . . .Laura Molyneux, Mrs Garfoot . . . . . Tracy Wiles, Eric . . . . . Ben Crowe, Keith . . . . . Joe Sims. Other parts played by Sam Alexander and Patrick Brennan. Produced by Toby Swift. SMs: Anne Bunting, Keith Graham, Alison Craig. Editor: Anne Bunting. Production Co-ordinator: Lucy Collingwood.

Ep. 2: 4 Sep 12 After unexpectedly running into another gangster, Eric Paice, Jack follows him to a private gambling club, gate-crashing a high stakes poker game in the penthouse suite.

Ep. 3: 11 Sep 12 Jack Carter is back in Scunthorpe to investigate the death of brother Frank. So far he has met only with silence and hostility from the locals.

Ep. 3: 18 Sep 12 Jack's discovery that Doreen, Frank's 15-year-old daughter, had appeared in a pornographic film produced by local gangster Cyril Kinnear drives him to seek out the film's co-star, Thorpey (John Biggins)

Afternoon Drama: Referee
3 May 11. Geoff is a football referee at the top of his profession. But after a controversial game, he's heavily criticised and dropped from the approaching Cup Final. Things develop from there. Rpt. 7 Feb 2012. Geoff . . . . . Mark Addy, Don . . . . . Ralph Ineson, Koch . . . . . Andrew Scott, Pritchard . . . . . Sean Baker, Lisa . . . . . Denise Gough, Karen . . . . . Sall Orrock, Jamie . . . . . Rielly Newbold, Manager . . . . . Brian Bowles, Players . . . . . Stuart McLoughlin & Daniel Rabin. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko. Studio Managers: Colin Guthrie and Mike Etherden. Editors: Caleb Knightley and Peter Ringrose. Production Co-ordinator: Selina Ream. Andrew Scott's performance as Walter Koch won the 2011 BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Afternoon Drama: The Loop
18 Nov 09. A young boy fiddling with his Dad's mobile phone accidentally makes a call. Dad finds himself speaking to a young stranger in New York fifty years earlier. When they talk they find they are both writers. Nick, the dad, is struggling to write his first radio play and Jim is working on a new TV show, The Twilight Zone. Nick Perry ...... Ivan Kaye, Jim Giller ...... Edward Hogg, Old Man ...... Peter Marinker, Policeman ...... Rhys Jennings, Dolores ...... Emerald O'Hanrahan, woman ...... Melissa Advani. Producer: Toby Swift.

THE LOOP (R4, 1415, 18 Nov 09), by Nick Perry, was a little gem of a play, possibly the best of the year, described on the BBC messageboard as 'faultless'. A man finds himself talking on the telephone to someone in America but ... it gradually transpires that over there, it's fifty years earlier. This bizarre beginning sets in motion a whole train of events which goes around in an enormous circle. Directed by Toby Swift, it starred Ivan Kaye, Edward Hogg, Peter Marinker, Emerald O'Hanrahan, Rhys Jennings, and Melissa Advani. I hope this item is entered for the Imison Award - it would qualify, because it's Nick Perry's first radio play. .......(ND, Diversity Website review, Dec 2009)

This play won a Sony Radio Academy bronze award.

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