Notices 2017

IMISON & TINNISWOOD AWARDS
I am told that the shortlists should be available in a few days.

19 Dec 2017

MORE ON HERNE BAY FESTIVAL, MARCH 2018
For those who are considering coming to the festival (it is free entrance for audience members), I have put online the full programme, play descriptions, and a list of winners, for the last festival which took place early in 2017. The page is here: irdf-2017.html.

12 Dec 2017

HERNE BAY FESTIVAL, UK, MARCH 2018
Interesting blog by a person who entered a play for the Herne Bay radio drama festival in 2017: Jeffrey Adams, who runs Icebox Theatre: www.iceboxradio.org/fridays-at-the-mic/. He talks about the festival in some detail, and gives five good reasons (my summary shown below) why radio drama should receive backing from NPR:

1. Radio drama fulfils the cultural part of NPR's mission statemenmt better than anything else.

2. Value for money in radio drama has never been better, because of improvements in audio technology.

3. Radio drama could lower the average age of NPR's listenership considerably.

4. Radio drama will assist NPR's case for more funding by increasing soundscape diversity

5. Radio drama gives significant influence over arts and culture.

If this interests you, please click the link and look in detail at what Jeff has to say.

11 Dec 2017

INTERNATIONAL RADIO DRAMA FESTIVAL, HERNE BAY, UK, MARCH 2018
The 2018 International Radio Drama Festival is taking place at Herne Bay, Kent, from 19-23 Mar 2018. The theme of this year's event is "From Stage to Air". Submissions in any language are welcome, as long as there is some connection to the live stage.

There is no charge for entry, and submissions are welcome until 30 Dec 2017. There are prizes of £2000, £750 and £750 in the three categories (click link for further information).

28 Nov 2017

NOTE FROM CLIVE LEVER
I notice on several pages of the site, you list some plays from early 1991, and say that they only went out on long wave, but the reason for this is not known. Actually it is. I remember this happening to the play ‘The Edge’ from Fear On Four, as one example. This happened to all regular radio 4 programmes during the Gulf War, when the BBC turned over the FM frequency to 24-hour rolling news coverage of the conflict. (.......Thanks, Clive.)

20 Nov 2017

RADIO REVIEWS at www.radiodramareviews.com
I am sorry to report that Laurence Raw's well-known site has gone offline. However he is still writing reviews, and his recent ones can be found at the following url:

https://www.baskent.academia.edu/LaurenceRaw/Radio-Drama

5 Nov 2017

RADIO DRAMA REVIEW
The September radio drama review is now online. These reviews began in 1997, three per year (April, Sept and Dec) and copies of all of them are on the site.

25 Sep 2017

DEAD CODE
This interesting sci-fi play by Jeff Noon, whom I saw at the 2005 Imison / Tinniswood evening, has just been repeated on Radio 4 Extra. It's a real rarity; it was the runner-up for the Tinniswood Award, and is available on listen-again. It went out on 2nd September at 6pm. RT describes it as follows: "...set in the ruins of a housing estate in a futuristic, post-digital age world, where music haunts the streets. With Emma Atkins, Paul Simpson".

4 Sep 2017

RADIO 3, 1994
Stephen Shaw has completed the 1994 archive page for R3; some very interesting information on there. Many thanks, Stephen.

17 Aug 2017

BEEBOTRON
I notice the Beebotron forum has moved to a new address. The link above has been updated.

17 Aug 2017

NUMBERS
Visitor totals and most-visited writers' and producers' pages:
Jul:16335 (Don Taylor 469, R. Wingfield 120, Wally K Daly 101, John Peacock 83)
Aug:18717 (Don Taylor 531, R. Wingfield 481, Wally K Daly 229, Bruce Bedford 182)
Sep:18883 (David Spenser p5: 831, Don Taylor 369, R.Wingfield 147, Wally K Daly 107)
Oct:19,159 (Don Taylor 540, Wally K Daly 136, R.Wingfield 105, S.Baczkiewicz 96)
Nov:18,729 (Don Taylor 420, Wally K Daly 162, S.Baczkiewicz 112, R.Wingfield 97)

These numbers are strongly affected by the Radio 4 Extra scheduling. For example, in November, 293 people looked at the review page for "Appointment with Venus", a drama serial from many years ago.

CHRIS WALLIS
I have updated the radio drama page of producer Chris Wallis.

12 Aug 2017

LOST PLAYS
We are looking for the following plays: anything by John Latham (especially 'The Spinning Room of Drunken Lovers') and the 1961 play "The Wages of Fear".

We are also looking for the final three Inspector West serials which went out on R4. Serial no. 4, "A Beauty for Inspector West", Tx 13.7.1970-24.8.1970 was immediately followed by no. 5 "Inspector West Cries Wolf", Tx 31.8.1970-5.10.1970, both on Monday evenings at 1930 hrs., and the last serial of all, "Inspector West Makes Haste" was aired at 1725 hrs. on Saturdays from 28.8.1971-5-10-1971. Part 6 of this is in the BBC sound archive, but despite all our efforts, no complete copies of serials 4, 5 or 6 have ever been discovered.

If you can help, please get in touch.

28 Jul 2017

TOM STOPPARD
The 1968 version of Tom's play "Albert's Bridge" was broadcast on Sun 23 July on R4x and is now on listen-again.

27 Jul 2017

ROY BARRACLOUGH
Alistair Wyper has compiled a thorough listing of the late Roy Barraclough's radio work. Thanks, Alistair. He has also done a lot more work on the Nigel Anthony pages, which will be put online as soon as I have time to do the coding.

25 Jul 2017

IMISON AND TINNISWOOD AWARDS
It's now time to think about the Imison and Tinniswood Radio Drama Awards. Jo McCrum has sent me the official 'Call for Entries'.

The Imison is for the best original script by a writer new to audio drama, with a £3,000 prize sponsored by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation.

The Tinniswood is for the best original script. The prize of £3000 (up from £2000 last year) is sponsored by the ALCS.

All newcomers with a play broadcast in the period 1 Oct 2016-31 Oct 2017 should think carefully about entering the Imison. There are not very many plays which qualify for entry each year; you may have a better chance than you think!

Please see the Imison and Tinniswood pages (go back to the main drama page) for further information.

25 Jul 2017

NUMBERS
Visitor totals and most-visited writers' and producers' pages:
Jan:17316 (Alex Ferguson 160, Wally K Daly 156, Clive Brill 127, Robin Brooks 110)
Feb:17078 (David Spenser 235, Rodney Wingfield 110, Wally K Daly: 96, S Baczkiewicz 77)
Mar:19079 (Scott Cherry 163, R. Wingfield 157, Chris Reason 133, S Baczkiewicz 133)
Apr:17561 (Wally K Daly 132, David Spenser 120, R. Wingfield 88, G. Brown & S.Bacz 78)
May:16377 (Don Taylor 451, Wally K Daly 419, David Spenser 129, R. Wingfield 106)
Jun:13451 (Don Taylor 359, Rodney Wingfield 218, John Peacock 101, Dave Sheasby 72)

18 Jul 2017

NICK PERRY
New page has just gone online.

30 Apr 2017

UPDATES
I am pleased to report that the 1990 Radio 4 page is now done, and the the April 2017 Radio Drama review is now complete and online.

26 Apr 2017

MORE RADIO DRAMA PAGES
I am pleased to report that Alistair Wyper and Stephen Shaw have been busy on our behalf; Alistair has compiled the 1955 "Third Programme" radio drama page and Stephen has nearly reached halfway on the Radio 4 1995 radio drama page. Many thanks!

22 Feb 2017

HERNE BAY RADIO DRAMA FESTIVAL
26 Feb 2017: Herne Bay, in Kent, held its third international radio drama festival last week, with tea and crumpets served free at listening events, plays in many languages, and scripts, helpfully, translated into English. I had never heard of this annual audio bash until it got a helpful plug on Today, and it has attracted only one tiny mention in the national press since it began, but anything that celebrates the Cinderella of broadcasting is to be encouraged.
(Paul Donovan, writing in the Sunday Times, 26 Feb 2017)

MORE RADIO DRAMA PRODUCER PAGES
I have compiled new 'producer' pages for Carl Prekopp, Lucinda Mason Brown, Emma Hearn and James Robinson, and done a big update on Sally Avens' page..

12 Feb 2017

ALLEGRA MCILROY
I am working on a page for Allegra McIlroy, a young producer currently working on the superb R4 drama series Home Front.

4 Feb 2017

AUDIO DRAMA AWARDS
The Audio Drama Awards evening was last Sunday, 29 Jan; I added the winners to the page a few days ago. Highlights: The big Zola series got an award, as did the production crew of The Archers; Bill Nighy received a Lifetime Achievement Award. James Fritz won both the Imison and the Tinniswood with his social media play "Comment is Free". Nigel Lewis won 'best sound design' (Tracks, dir. James Robinson) and Lee Rufford was best debut actor in Carl Prekopp's production of "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" for Goldhawk. For the full list, see 2017 Audio Drama Awards

3 Feb 2017

SPINE CHILLERS, R4X Jan-Feb 2017
Thirty-two years ago Radio 4 ran a series of supernatural dramas called Spine Chillers.The have been resurrected by radio 4 Extra and they add a much-missed frisson to the airwaves. ....summarised from Jane Anderson, RT.

The episodes are going out on Sundays and the titles are:
1.Origami, by Jill Hyem (22 Jan)
2.Dracula in White, by Peter Redgrove (29 Jan)
3.Witch Water Green, by Don Webb (5 Feb)
4.Figures, by Colin Haydn Evans
5.Mrs. M, by David Campton

These were 45 minutes long, except the Don Webb, which lasted an hour. I am pleased to report that an off-air recording of Don's episode was donated to the BBC archive by VRPCC (aka The Radio Circle) for this broadcast.

22 Jan 2017

GREETINGS
Happy New Year, everyone. Here's to a good 2017 with plenty of good comedy and drama.

1 Jan 2017 .

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