2003 Radio Plays
MAN ON THE GREEN BICYCLE....2003
1 Jan 03, by Jennifer Curry. The romance between Arthur
Waley and Alison Grant. 45m.
THE PIANO PLAYER....2003
3 jan 03. Evocative tale of first love, set in the 1950s against the backdrop of a piano playing marathon by a ex female beauty. Producer Ned Chaillet.
FISHERWOMEN OF BLACK TAR....2003
7 Jan 03, by Rebecca Trick-Walker. In the late 1890s,
the tough fisherwomen of Pembrokeshire ply their trade.
45m.
FORTY-SEVEN ROSES....2003
8 Jan 03; a dramatisation of Peter Sheridan's
memoir of how he coped with his father's unexpected
death, and his discovery of his father's 47-year affair
with the woman he really loved.
Repeated 2005. 45m.
A ROSE FOR CHOPIN....2003
14 Jan 03. By Lorraine McCann. Chopin's visit to
Scotland in the 1830s. 45m.
KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE WHEEL....2003
16 Jan 03. By Kathryn Heyman. A weight-obsessed
opera singer and her sister are summoned to their
mother's third wedding. 45m.
DEATH OF A VILLAGE....2003
17 Jan 03, by David Gooderson. In 1917, the Devon
village of Hallsands slid into the sea because the beach had been dredged
by gravel contractors and made unstable. The villagers
fight for compensation... 45m. Afternoon play.
WHEN LOUIS MET GEORGE....2003
5 Feb 03. By Paul Farley. In the basement of
Broadcasting House, George Orwell and Louis
MacNeice meet for the first time. Fifty years
later, someone finds the tapes. 45m.
WONDERFUL SOMEONE....2003
6 Feb 03. By Colin Hough. Donna wants to sing, but it looks as
if she'll have to go into the family ice cream business. 45m.
TAKE THE 'BUS....2003
7 Feb 03, by Donald McCamphill. A theatre group's
minibus is stolen. 55m. Friday play.
FACE VALUE....2003
10 Feb 03, by Linda Cracknell. The City Square Care Team tidies
up litter - and people. 45m.
THE RESURRECTION OF MISS PYM....2003
11 Feb 03. The story of Barbara Pym's disappearance from the
literary scene, and her rediscovery many years later. With Penelope
Wilton.
THE SILENCE OF STARS....2003
12 Feb 03, by Kevin Mandry. With Emma Fielding; dir. Izzy Mant.
BACK TO FREETOWN....2003
13 Feb 03. By Victor Freeman. An elderly woman's
memories of a long-lost love. 45m. afternoon play.
GOING TO THE DOGS....2003
18 Feb 03, by Carol Freebain, dir. Tanya Nash. An
Irish social story; cast includes Laura Hughes, Ian
Beattie, Maria Connolly, Alan McKee.
AT FREDDIE'S....2003
1 Mar 03; Saturday play. By P. Fitzgerald. "Freddie's"
is a stage school for precocious children. An excellent
listen. 55m.
ON THE WATERFRONT....2003
8 Mar 03, Saturday play. 90m. From the well-known
film. By B. Schulberg.
THE LOST CHILD....2003
By Gillian Redmond, 12 Mar 03. Set in 1799. With
Amanda Root.
THE KING OF SHADOWS....2003
20 Mar 03, by Susan Cooper, dram. Beatrice Colin. A magical adventure-
a young man acts in a historical play, and finds himself transported back
in time. 45m.
LOOKING FOR DANNY....2003
24 Mar 03. By Ryan Craig. Two teachers kidnap a pupil.
45m.
COMING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN....2003
25 Mar 03, by Mark Haddon. David decides to kill
his brother, because he's got Down's Syndrome. 45m. A
bit heavy for an afternoon play.
SNAPSHOTS....2003
26 Mar 03, by Christina Katic. Marcella returns to her
father's homeland to take photos of a war-torn city. 45m.
THE GOREY DETAILS....2003
27 Mar 03, by Philip Glassborow. A dramatised
feature about the American illustrator Edward Gorey.
THE LIFE TRAINER....2003
31 Mar 03, by Sophie Cook. Kelly is nearly 30, and
feeling her age... with Julie Austin. 45m.
DEAR BROTHER....2005
2 Apr 03, by Penny Gold. The last years of Vincent
Van Gogh and his brother Theo. With Robert Glenister
and Robert Firth; irected by Richard Wortley. Excellent
listening.
BALDI: SETTLING SCORES....2003
4 Apr 03, by Mark Holloway. A Paulo Baldi story: a musical mystery.
DOLLY SHEPHERD....2003
7 Apr 03; Dolly Shepherd, the Edwardian parachute queen. By Rachel Bentham, based on Dolly Shepherd's autobiography. Producer Kate McAll.
THE BLACK MONK....2003
8 Apr 03, by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Rupert Kingfisher.
A young professor is tormented by visions of a black monk.
SWAN SONG FOR THE NIGHTINGALE ....2003
10 Apr 03; by Maurice Leitch. A comeback tour for
an ex-country singer. Her son dreads the day when his
mother will (as he sees it) show him up. 45m.
THE SMALL MINE ....2003
14 Apr 03; by Menna Gallie. A Welsh mining
community in the 1960s - a time of great social and
political change.
AFTER SCARBOROUGH....2003
15 Apr 03; by Rob John. The world of Elvis fanatics. Sandy's
husband Baz is so obsessed with winning the QuizElvis championships that
he fails to notice events occurring between his team members.
This is a very funny comedy. 45m.
GANT & McCULLY....2003
28 Apr 03, by Gerry McKee. Steve's first day in his new job at
a printing college turns into a nightmare. Comedy drama. 45m. Dir.
Cherry Cookson.
BELLINGHAM & THE AMBASSADOR....2003
29 Apr 03, by Mary Baker. Black historical comedy, loosely
based on real-life events from the 1800s.
GEORGE SILVERMAN'S EXPLANATION....2003
1 May 03, by Charles Dickens, dram. Michael Eaton.
With Paul Scofield. 45m.
AGATHA RAISEN ....2003
13 May 03. By M.C.Beaton, dram. David Semple. With
Penelope Keith. Comedy drama, afternoon play. 45m.
WORD FROM CUPID....2003
15 May 03, by Louise Oliver. A husband and wife re-ignite their
relationship with help from a parrot... 45m.
THE BIG MARROW ....2003
28 May 03, by Carina Rodney. Mum has a deadly secret,
but Billy's obsessed with his allotment. Why are men
so unobservant? 45m.
AIDEN DOOLEY'S HOMECOMING ....2003
29 May 03, by Alan Butler. Aiden Dooley has returned
to the village of his birth - as a corpse. Light comedy-
drama, set in an Irish village. 45m.
23 YEARS....2003
6 Jun 03. By Mike Walker. A man fights to clear his name. This is the true story of Patrick Nicholls, imprisoned for 23 years for a crime he did not commit.
A NIGHT IN '54....2003
7 Jun 03. By Moya O'Shea. Caroline needs a divorce, so pays for an actor to pose as her lover in a hotel. Producer Marc Beeby.
THE RACE FOR THE DOUBLE HELIX ....2003
28 Jun 03. By William Nicholson. World Service, 90m. To mark the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA, Life Story tells the true story of the race to unlock the mystery of the gene. James Watson - John Schwab, Francis Crick - Jack Davenport, Maurice Wilkins - Geoff Rawle, Rosalind Franklin - Indira Varma, Linus Pauling - Jack Klaff, Laurence Bragg - Bruce Purchase. Producer: Rishi Sanker, who also did the adaptation for radio. Crick, Watson and Wilkins shared the Nobel prize for this discovery; Franklin deserved it too but died of cancer and The Nobel Foundation does not allow posthumous awards.
SPRING FORWARD, FALL BACK....2003
19 Jul 03; Guy Meredith's first broadcast radio play after a break of ten years.
BLOOD OF STRANGERS....2003
25 Jul 03. An odd medical play by Frank Huyler, adapted by Lavinia Greenlaw.
GEORGE LEWIS - THE MAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING....2003
28 Jul 03. The case of Serafino Pelizzioni, by Robin Brooks. Producer Clive Brill; first of a new series.
THE JEWISH WAR....2003
Adaptation of Josephus by Hattie Naylor, 29 Jul 03.. Jews versus Romans, first century AD. Producer Kate McAll.
PIAF & COCTEAU....2003
5 Aug 03; by Annie Caulfield. The relationship of Edith Piaf and Jean Cocteau. Producer Peter Kavanagh.
THE WARWICKSHIRE SCANDAL....2003
9 Aug 03; Saturday Play by Alison Sutcliffe. One of the most notorious divorces of the 19th century. Producer Peter Leslie Wild.
TRIO....2003
13 Aug 03. By Diana Webster. Story of a love triangle. Produced by Sue Wilson.
KILLING MAESTROS....2003
14 Aug 03. By Christopher William Hill. Productions of 'Tristan' have often been jinxed with mysterious deaths... stars Bill Nighy; producer Liz Webb.
ASSUMPTION DAY....2003
15 Aug 03; afternoon play by Jerome Vincent. A chance meeting brings back memories of the heroic Malta convoy in WW2.
DUNGANNON....2003
15 Aug 03, Friday Play. Adapted by J.P.Rooney; original by Chris Neil. Irish play based on a squat in council houses scheduled for demolition in 1963. Producer Stephen Wright.
UMA AND THE FAIRY QUEEN....2003
By Mahesh Dattani.Saturday Play 17 Aug 03.
Played out against the backdrop of a hot and bustling Bangalore, a third case (following "Seven Circles Around the Fire" and "The Swami and Winston") for Uma Rao, intrepid sleuth and wife of Suresh Rao, the Police Superintendant.
The play's the thing -- in this instance a special production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' put on to mark India's Independence Day. Things go horribly wrong when Michael Forsyth, the actor playing Oberon, is kidnapped only to reappear in time to play his part. But he disappears again before the end and is found shot dead in the green room by Nila Singh, his famous Pakistani wife who's playing Titania. To make matters worse, it's rumoured that their marriage is on the rocks.
Intrigued by the whole affair, Uma Rao gets to know Nila and suspects that there's more to
this than either political intrigue or marital problems. It seems to Uma, as she tries to sleep through the long Indian night, that the clue lies somewhere in the play.
With Priyanga Elan [Uma Rao], Gerard McDermott [Liam Tate, British Cultural Ambassador], Souad Faress [Nila Singh], Ajay Chhabra [Suresh Rao, the Police Superintendant], Akbar Kurtha [Feroz], Kaleem Janjua [Malik], and Stephen Critchlow [Michael Forsyth]. Directed by Marc Beeby.
SCENES FROM PROVINICIAL LIFE....2003
By William Cooper, dramatised in four parts by Eric Pringle.
A comic novel exploring the life and loves of a schoolmaster
and his friends in pre-war Leicester. Producer David Blount (?).
Part 1 - 2003-08-20 - A Sensible Man.
Which couple should have the cottage for the weekend - Joe and Myrtle, or
Tom and Steve?
Joe Lunn ...... David Thorpe,
Myrtle ...... Alison Pettitt,
Tom ...... Jonathan Keeble,
Steve ...... Robert Harper,
Bolshaw ...... Keith Drinkel,
Fred ...... Leighton Pugh,
Frank ...... Clive Standen,
Trevor ...... James Joyce.
Part 2 - 2003-08-27 - Not As Good As A Play
Joe and Tom are planning to emigrate to America, but Myrtle and Steve have
other ideas.
Joe Lunn ...... David Thorpe,
Myrtle ...... Alison Pettitt,
Tom ...... Jonathan Keeble,
Steve ...... Robert Harper,
Bolshaw ...... Keith Drinkel,
Frank ...... Clive Standen.
Part 3 - 2003-09-03 - False Alarm
Myrtle thinks she may be pregnant, and Steve acquires a girlfriend.
Joe Lunn ...... David Thorpe,
Myrtle ...... Alison Pettitt,
Tom ...... Jonathan Keeble,
Steve ...... Robert Harper,
Bolshaw ..... Keith Drinkel,
Frank ...... Clive Standen,
Fred ...... Leighton Pugh.
Part 4 - 2003-09-10 - Round The Clock-Tower
The four lovers' fates are resolved in the centre of town.
Joe Lunn ...... David Thorpe,
Myrtle ...... Alison Pettitt,
Tom ...... Jonathan Keeble,
Steve ...... Robert Harper,
ALL THE BIRDS OF THE AIR....2003
22 Aug 03; by Kate Clanchy. Lucy is 17, dyslexic and mute. When she and Darren go missing, her family embarks on a journey to find her. With Penelope Wilton; producer Mary Peate.
MY COMPUTER TOLD ME TO DO IT....2003
23 Sep 03. By Jim Poyser. A young man develops an unhealthy preoccupation with a virtual companion inside his computer. Jason Done, Caroline Katz, Chris Pavlo, Lydia Leonard.
WHERE E'ER YOU WALK....2003
R4 2102, 10 Oct 03. A mystery and a love story unfold against a background of Handel's music.
MADELEINE....2003
11 Oct 03. Afternoon play by John Clifford. An upper-class poisoning case from Glasgow, 1857.
THE TRIAL OF WALTER RALEIGH....2003
5 Nov 03. By Christopher Lee. With Michael York/Carolyn Seymour/Kenneth Danziger/Morgan Shephard/Christopher Neame/Ian Ogilvy/Orlando Seale/Samantha Robson. An extraordinary episode in English history: Sir Walter Raleigh accused of treason, and yet when he demanded that his accuser be brought forward, the request was refused. Even the reading of a letter where the accuser retracted his accusation failed to avert a 'guilty' verdict.
The trial was what we'd now call a kangaroo-court, set up to rid the king of a person whom he no longer wished to have around. To avoid spoiling the play for those who don't know the history, I'll say nothing about the rest of the story.
A BIRD, A HEART, A BICYCLE....2003
17 Dec 03. By Peter Roberts. Comedy about the early days of powered flight. Producer P.L.Wild.
ALL OF YOU ON THE GOOD EARTH....2003
By Stephen Sharkey, 18 Dec 03. The Apollo mission, and an eleven year old schoolboy's interest in it. Producer Janet Whitaker.
Where Angels Fear to Tread....2003
Date nk. This was the first novel by E M Forster and is a witty account of the difference between Engish convention and Italian passion. Dramatised in ten parts by Penny Leicester it stars Sian Thomas,Teresa Gallagher, Jamie Bamber and Tom George. Director Di Speirs. BBC7 rpt. Feb 08.
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
Above plays known to exist in VRPCC collections
