Radio 3 Drama, 1980

Compiled by Stephen Shaw
RADIO THREE DRAMA FOR 1980

1st January 1980
19.30
Wings by Arthur Kopit
The play tells of an elderly woman who was an aviatrix in her youth and who is now confronting her last great adventure.
Original music composed by Herb Pilhofer
Technical realisation by Tom Voegeli
Jointly commissioned by the BBC. Produced by Earplay (WHA Madison), the Drama Production Center for National Public Radio in the USA.
Directed By: John Madden
Amy: Cara Duff-MacCormick
Emily Stilson - Mildred Dunnock
Also with Richard Ramos, Zoaunne LeRoy, Peter Getz, Michael Laskin, Maryann Lippay
First broadcast 1st January 1978
Previously repeated 15th January 1978
[Received the Prix Italia 1979 for the best radio play].


8th January 1980
19.30 :
Strands (La Plage) by Severo Sarduy (1937-1993) translated by Barbara Thompson
Cannes. A fair-haired young body, male or female, at the sea's edge. Photographs taken. But the photographs hold different memories. Sarduy merges the themes of the body's awareness and the transience of youth and physical beauty.
Directed By: David Spenser
The voices: Sarah Badel, Carole Boyd, John Bull, Geoffrey Collins, Davis March, Valerie Sarrup
(First broadcast 20th May 1979)
[This play is a sequel to The Fall, a play broadcast 29th April 1979]
[Given the Society of Authors Pye Radio Award for best production].
[There was an earlier production by Archie Campbell in 1979]


10th January 1980
19.45 :
The Old One-Two by A. R. Gurney, Jr
Take away my classroom. I'll teach it in the halls. Take away my schedule. I'll teach it at night. Take away my students, and I'll teach it to the janitor....'
When Professor Holder finds his classics course under attack by the 'progressive' young Dean of the Faculty, he uses every weapon he knows, from Aeschylus to Euripides, but he reckons without Menander!
Adapted and directed by Dickon Reed
Augustus Holder: Frederick Treves
Susan Green: Bonnie Hurren
Dean: Peter Marinker
Repeated from 24th August 1975


15th January 1980
19.30 :
The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy translated and adapted for radio by Peter Farago
Adapted as a dramatic monologue, this is the chilling account of a married man tortured by jealousy and driven to murder his wife.
Producer Gordon House
Pozdnyshev: David Suchet
First broadcast on BBC World Service in September 1978
Repeated on 15th June 1980.
[David Suchet won the Society of Authors Pye Radio Award for the best radio performance by an actor.]


17th January 1980
19.45 :
Hope by David Cregan
A middle-class husband in his middle years has reached a crisis in his life. His wife and six children make demands of him that he finds it impossible to answer.
Directed by John Tydeman
the Husband: Peter Jeffrey
the Wife: Phyllida Law
the Therapist: Cyril Snaps
The Mother: Sylvia Coleridge
Rose, her maid: Gladys Spencer
The children:
Robert: Andrew Bagley
Philip: Adam Rhodes
Maxine: Lisa Hayden
Clare: Emma-Kate Davies
Tom: Tara Collinson
Joe: Fred Gray
Paul, their friend: Mark Hamilton
Repeated from 19th August 1979


20th January 1980:
19.45 :
Hercules and the Augean Stables
by Friedrich Durrenmatt translated and adapted by Stanley Williamson
I've laid low the most fearful monsters and I've descended to the depths of the Underworld. And now I'm expected to muck out the land of a man who can only count up to three and isn't even a king, just a president. Never!
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
Polybios: Ronald Herdman
Hercules: Jack Carr
Deianeira: Bonnie Hurren
Augeas: Geoffrey Banks
Phyleus: Christian Rodska
Cambyses: Henry Livings
Pentheus: James Warrior
Cadmus: Peter John
Aesculapius: John Jardine
Tantalus: Kenneth Alan Taylor
Repeated from 24th April 1977


22nd January 1980:
19.30 :
Artist Descending a Staircase by Tom Stoppard
Three very old artists, who have been friends since early manhood, share an attic. Now one of them is dead. The circumstances are mysterious. Evidence concernIng the manner of his death exists on a tape-recording. But what is Truth?
Directed by John Tydeman
Martello: Stephen Murray
Donner: Carleton Hobbs
Beauchamp: Rolf Lefebvre
the young Martelto (Banjo): Michael Spice
the young Donner (Mouse): Dinsdale Landen
the young Beauchamp (Biscuit): Peter Egan
Sophie: Fiona Walker
First broadcast 14th November 1972
Repeated 29th April 1973
Repeated on Radio 4 on 4th August 1990
Also repeated on BBC 7 in 2004


24th January 1980
19.45 :
Possibilities by Jonathan Raban
We expect nothing from each other. Sometimes- once a fortnight perhaps - these awful,icy meal-times are relieved by a third person. For these friends, we talk with a kind of terrible, glittery enthusiasm....
Simon De'Ath contemplates his past and his future. His thoughts act as punctuation marks in the endless flow of chat from Hawthorne, an estate agent.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Simon De'ath: John Castle
Hawthorne: Michael Cochrane
Serena: Amanda Murray
Lawyer: John Church
Repeated 17th April 1980



27th January 1980
19.00-21.00 :
Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov translated by Elisaveta Fen, adapted for radio by Peter Watts
The action takes place in a county town in Russia at the turn of this century.
Musical adviser Alexis Chesnakov
Guitarist: Stephen Gauna
Pianist: Richard Burnett
Directed By: John Tydeman
Anfisa, the Prozorovs' former nurse: Dorothy Holmes-Gore
Daughters of General Prozorov:
Olga: Rosalie Crutchley
Irina: Lynn Redgrave
Masha: Jill Bennett
Baron Tuzenbach a Lieutenant in the Army: Ian McKellen
Chebutykin, an army doctor: Wilfrid Lawson
Captain Solyony: David Buck
Ferapont, a porter from the County Office: George Hagan
Lieut-Col Vershinin, a battery commander: Paul Scofield
Andrei Sergeyevich Prozorov: Terry Scully
Fyodor Ilyich Kulygin,schoolmaster, husband of Masha: George Cole
Natasha (Natalia Ivanovna): Gudrun Ure
Fedotik (Second Lieutenant): Andrew Sachs
Rode (Second Lieutenant): Michael McClain
[The spelling of character names has been changed since first broadcast, 1980 names given above]
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service on 24th May 1965
First repeated on Network 3 on 25th August 1966, also 26th March 1967.
Also later repeated on Radio 3 on 23rd February 1992


29th January 1980
19.30 :
The Bagman or The Impromptu of Muswell Hill by John Arden (1930-2012)
In one of his 'autobiographical' plays, John Arden describes some of the problems facing a modern playwright, in the fairy-tale setting of a dream.
Music by the BBC Radio-phonic Workshop
Directed by Martin Esslin
Narrator: Alan Dobie
Old Woman: Hilda Kriseman
Young Woman: Sheila Allen
Popular Minister: Geoffrey Matthews
Unpopular Minister: Hector Ross
Ambassador: Peter Pratt
King: Austin Trevor
Queen: Margaret Wolfit
Women: Hilda Kriseman, Madi Hedd, Sonia Fraser
and the voices of Sean Barrett, Wilfrid Carter, Leonard Fenton, Kerry Francis, John Rye and David Spenser
First broadcast 27th March 1970
Repeated 28th June 1970
Repeated on Radio 4 on 31st January 1977 and 6th February 1977


31st January 1980
19.45 :
Swimming and Flying by Alan Mcdonald
Jennie's role in life is that of a working wife and mother. In her thoughts, however, she rebels against such conformity. Suddenly she finds that she cannot control her other self; she literally begins to speak her mind.
Directed by Kay Patrick
BBC Manchester
Jennie Reilly: Sarah Badel
Dennis Reilly/Cashier: Ian Flintoff
Tim Reilly: Matthew Stradling
Tony: Dominic Jephcott
Ellie: Maggie Riley
Bill: Stephen Thorne
Stewardess: Joanne Zorian
Lecturer/Man in cafe: Malcolm Seymour
Doctor/Ticket collector: John Jardine
Repeated on 4th May 1980


3rd February 1980
20.15 :
Mrs Argent by Tom Mallin. adapted for radio by Penny Leicester
An elderly failed actress reminisces about her life in the dressing-room of a provincial theatre. This quasi-monologue was originally written as a stage performance for Sylvia Coleridge, who now re-creates it for radio.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Mrs Argent: Sylvia Coleridge
Lord Willoughby: John Church
Intercom: John Bott
Repeated 24th April 1980


5th February 1980
19.30 :
A Slight Ache by Harold Pinter
A perfect summer day. The whole garden in flower. But Edward has a slight ache in his eyes and there is a match-seller at the garden gate.
Directed By: Guy Vaesen
Flora: Vivien Merchant
Edward: Michael Hordern
This production first broadcast on Radio 4 on 20th May 1970, repeated on 24th November 1972 and 30th June 1979, then repeated on Radio 3 on 14th April 1987
[There was an earlier production on the 3rd Programme by D McWhinnie in 1959. There was a later production by N Chaillet on Radio 4, in 2000, repeated 2002]


7th February 1980:
19.45 :
The Putney Debates, Devised and adapted for radio by Jack Emery
The debates among the General Council of the New Model Army held in Putney Church between 28 October and 1 November 1647.
Recorded in All Saints Church, Fulham, by Cedric Johnson and Robin Spicer Directed by Piers Plowright
introduction by Christopher Hill
Oliver Cromwell: Timothy West
Henry Ireton: T. P. McKenna
Thomas Rainborough: Brian Glover
Edward Sexby: Michael McStay
Robert Everard: John Bardon
John Wildman: Gordon Reid
Captain Lewis Audley / Francis White: Martin Matthews
William Goffe: John Church
Nathaniel Rich: Jack Emery
Repeated from 7th February 1980
(There was an earlier production on the 3rd Programme by Robert Gittings in 1947. Then one by Adrian Johnson in 1966. There was a later production by Martin Jenkins on Radio 4 in 1999, repeated 2002. For the 1988 Radio 4 production by Ronald Mason the title was "Discussions at Putney")


10th February 1980
20.15 :
Revelations by Giuseppe Giacosa (1847-1906) in a new English version by Carlo Ardito
Set in northern Italy at the end of the last century, this play explores the obsessive jealousy of a husband on discovering a letter written by his wife to a cousin: a letter in which she rejected that cousin's advances and stated categorically "I love my husband".
Directed by Glyn Dearman
Paolo: Lewis Fiander
Anna: Anna Massey
Maddalena: Peggy Paige
Mario: Peter Jeffrey
[Also broadcast on the BBC World Service in 1980]
[Unrelated to Revelations by Paul Thain, directed by Glyn Dearman in 1983- different story]


12th February 1980:
19.30 :
All That Fall by Samuel Beckett
An anecdote set in a rural community in Ireland. In fact, a careful synthesis of speech, sound, and silence; a story of the inadequacy of life and death, breathing an atmosphere of vitality and ruin, farce and suffocation.
Programme realised at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop by Desmond Briscoe
Directed by Donald McWhinnie
Mrs Rooney (Maddy), an old lady: Marie Kean
Christy, a carter: James Greene
Mr Tyler, a retired bill-broker: Kevin Flood
Mr Slocum, Clerk of the: Allan McClelland
Mr Barrell, a station-master: Derry Power
Tommy, a porter: Ron Flanagan
Miss Fitt a lady: Kate Binchy
Female voice: Brenda Gogan
Mr Rooney (Dan), husband of Mrs Rooney: J. G. Devlin
Jerry, a small boy: Judy Bennett
First broadcast 4th June 1972, repeated 3rd December 1972.
[Note: First produced by Donald McWhinnie in a production with Patrick Magee as Mr Slocum and also with J G Devlin as Dan. This earlier mono version was broadcast 13th and 19th January 1957, 23rd February 1957 and 19th March 1957, 18th June 1959, 26th February 1961, 6th March 1966, also 1st January 1970. Further repeated 13th April 1986, 2nd March 1990, and 29th September 1996]
[Before BBC7/4X, a play production broadcast ELEVEN times, then add on the other versions...]
[There was also a later production by Bill Bryden in 2001]


14th February 1980:
21.00 :
Saigon Rose by David Edgar
'Where had it started? She'd often asked herself. Where do things start? Which is the first spoke in the wheel? The first daisy in the chain? '
Vicky and Clive Brent , and their cohorts, are brought face to face with the darker side of the 'Swinging 60s' sexual revolution, and all that its apparently liberating aspects implied.
Directed by Michael Rolfe
BBC Birmingham
Vicky Brent: Alison Steadman
Claymore: Blain Fairman
Heather Mclntyre: Miriam Margolyes
Clive Brent: Peter Pacey
Andrew McLusky: Bill Patterson
MO: Patti Love
Doctor: Geoffrey Matthews
Man on the beach: Stephen Yardley
Repeated from 21st ay 1979


17th February 1980:
20.00 :
Courting Miriam by Ted Moore
You're 18, son. You're getting naggy. You're frustrated, Sam ... You spend too much time in your head. You need a woman, Sam.
Directed by Tony Cliff
BBC Manchester
Sam: Edward Wilson
Eric: Arthur Blake
Nelly: Lizzie McKenzie
Miriam: Adrienne Frank
Willy: Alan Hockey
Hannah: Kathleen Helme
Repeated from 4th November 1979
[The characters Sam and Eric also appeared in two other radio plays by Ted Moore, in 1983: "A N Other" and "The Holy Road to Salford".]


18th February 1980:
20.45:
Khalil of the Nomads Compiled by John Carr-Gregg from "Travels in Arabia Deserta" by Charles M. Doughty (1843-1926), published in 1888.
Directed by John Theocharis
Charles M. Doughty: Norman Rodway
Narrator: Noel Johnson
Repeated 29th June 1980



19th February 1980
19.30-22.15 :
Cries from Casement as his Bones are Brought to Dublin by David Rudkin
In 1965 the remains of Irish patriot Roger Casement were disinterred from the lime pit at Pentonville and brought to Dublin. Casement, as this play shows, was a man of many conflicting parts. Is there a parallel between his history and Ireland's? Is there a lesson to be learned from it?
Special sound by Brian Hodgson of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Technical assistance: Jock Farrell, Marsail Maccuish Janet Mitchell Leshek Burzynski
Directed By: John Tydeman
Roger Casement: Norman Rodway
Supporting cast (no character credits available): Joan Bakewell; Sean Barrett; Kate Binchy; Michael Deacon; William Eedle; Kevin Flood; Martin Friend; Heather Gibson; David Gooderson; Sheila Grant; Michael Harbour; John Hollis; Fraser Kerr; Rolf Lefebvre; Peggy Marshall; Meryl O'Keeffe; Irene Prador; David Rudkin; Henry Stamper; Eva Stuart; John Tusa; David Valla; Mary Wimbush; Joy Worth
(First broadcast 4th February 1973, repeated 5th August 1973)



20th February 1980:
22.10-22.35 :
When the Congress Wasn't dancing.
A historical farce reconstructed from the Secret Police reports in Vienna in 1814 and presented by Michael Glover.
AGENT: Balls, dinners. soirees, routs and fetes are being given by the dozen. Nothing, however. is being done.
Producer Piers Plowright
Baron Hager: Malcolm Hayes
Agent A: David Timson
Agent B: Sonia Fraser
Comte de la Garde-Chambonas: Martin Friend
Prince Metternich: Patrick Barr
Repeated 10th August 1980
[Michael Glover contributed an article with this title to the magazine "History Today" Vol 28, issue 2. February 1978]


21st February 1980
19.30 :
Like Dolls or Angels by Stephen Jeffreys
In 60 seconds' time, I will catapult a woman from the bank of the river across 200 feet of water into a safety net on the other side. Now there's only two possibilities. One, she soars like a bird and breaks the record. Two, she splatters her brains and bones across half of Shrewsbury.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
Hannigan: David Calder
Zuki: Carole Hayman
Repeated from 27th November 1979


26th February 1980
19.30 :
The Dock Brief by John Mortimer
Music composed and conducted by Antony Hopkins
A dock brief is a strange and summary method of defending a prisoner. The prisoner, who has no other legal help, is allowed to choose any barrister who is sitting in Court to appear for him. He takes his pick from the dock: prisoner and barrister meet in the cells for a hurried consultation. A half-cooked defence is hastily brought to the boil, and the trial begins.
Directed By: Nesta Pain
Morgenhall: Michael Hordern
Fowle: David Kossoff
First radio broadcast 16th May 1957
Repeated on the radio 3rd August 1957
(Also on BBC TV 16th September 1957 with the same cast and producer as the radio play, the tv production was 15 minutes shorter)
Repeated on BBC Home Service on 15th October 1957
[Winner of won the Radiotelevisione Italiana Prize for drama in the 1957 Italia Prize contest]


28th February 1980
19.30 :
The Last Black and White Midnight Movie by James Saunders
A mountain. Somewhere in Switzerland. Sometime in the not-too-distant past. Six people trapped during an avalanche forced to confront the Truth about themselves.
Technical Presentation: Anthea Davies assisted by Diana Barkham and Claire Elstow
Director: Matthew Walters
Justin: Nigel Davenport
Elspeth: Margaret Courtenay
Mike: Ed Bishop
Ilse: Petra Davies
Maisie: Jacqueline Tong
Old Kurt: Philip Voss
Young Kurt: Matt Waltberg Jnr
Repeated from 4th October 1979



29th February 1980 to 7th April 1980, 13 episodes of 30 minutes each.:
The Vision of Piers the Ploughman by William Langland [Willielmus de Langland] (c1332-c1386), a new verse translation by Terence Tiller
"But one May morning in the Malvern Hills
I met with a marvel that seemed made by magic:
I was weary with wandering, and went to rest
Under a broad bank by the side of a brook".
Music composed and conducted by Michael Berkeley
1/13 Middle Earth and Holy Church
Directed by Piers Plowright
Langland: Hugh Burden
Lady Holy Church: Sonia Fraser
Angel: John Church
Long Will/Rat: Philip Sully
Mouse: Lolly Cockerell
Wise Mouse: Patrick Barr
Later episodes and cast:
3rd March 1980: 2: The Lovers of Meed the Maiden. (Meed the Maiden: Jenny Twigge; Conscience: Adrian Egan;
Liar: John Bott; Simony: Peter Baldwin; Theology: Patrick Barr; King: John Church)
7th March 1980: ????? Meed the Maiden. (King/Wisdom: John Church; Conscience: Adrian Egan; Reason: Godfrey Kenton; Peace: Phillip Sully; Wrong/Witty: John Bott; Honesty: Elizabeth Rider)
10th March 1980: 4: The Seven Deadly Situ (Repentance: Peter Baldwin; Pride: Elizabeth Rider; Envy: John ????; Wrath/gluttony: Brian Carroll; Covetousness: Godfrey Kenton)
14th March 1980: 5: The Coming of Piers the Ploughman (Piers the Ploughman: Brian Glover; Sloth/pardoner: Brian Haines; Repentance/knight: Peter Baldwin; Vigilant: Trevor Cooper; Cutpurse: Gordon Dulieu; Confectioner: Rowena Roberts)
17th March 1980: 6: The Pardon (Truth: John Church; Priest: Trevor Cooper; Waster: Gordon Dulieu; Knight: Peter Baldwin; Hunger: Brian Haines)
21st March 1980: 7: Thought and Reason; Study and Learning (Thought: Patrick Barr; Reason: Martin Friend; Study: Sonia Fraser; Clerisy: John Church;
Scripture: Josle Kidd)
24th March 1980: 8: Fortune, Loyalty, Reason, Imagination (Fortune: Sonia Fraser; Loyalty: John Church; Reason/Recklesseness: Martin Friend;
Imagination: Patr!ck Barr; Old Age: Godfrey Kenton; Trajan: Peter Baldwin; Lust of the Eyes/Lust of the Flesh: Rowena Roberts)
28th March 1980: 9: Patience and the Active Man (Patience: Trevor Cooper; Haukyn: John Bull; Conscience: Adrian Egan; Clerisy: John Church; Imagination: Patrick Barr; Master of Divinity: Leonard Fenton)
31st March 1980: 10: Poverty, Reason, Charity (Reason: Martin Friend; Piers the Ploughman: Brian Glover; Haukyn: John Bull; Patience: Trevor Cooper)
4th April 1980: 11: Faith, Hope and Charity (Abraham: John Bott; Moses: Leonard Fenton; Good Samaritan: Philip Sully)
6th April 1980: 12: The Harrowing of Hell and the Growth of the Holy Church (Christ: Philip Sully; Abraham/Grace: John Bott; Truth: Rowena Roberts; Mercy: Maggie Shevlin; Peace: Lolly Cockerell; Righteousness: Eva Stuart; Conscience: Adrian Egan)
7th April 1980: 13: Antichrist (Grace/Nature: John Bott; Surquedry/Life: Gordon Reid; Conscience: Adrian Egan; Need: Eva Stuart; Lust: Trevor Cooper; Contrition/Old Age: Godfrey Kenton; Peace: Lolly Cockerell)


2nd March 1980:
19.45 :
Freya, The Cold Goddess of Love [Freja – zimna bogini milosci] by Leszek Prorok (1919-1984) , translated by Marcus Wheeler adapted for radio by Jacek Laskowski
You see, Freya wasn't a conventional brothel. Not in the strict sense of the word. It was more like a laboratory. A laboratory for breeding a new super race ..."
Directed by Martin Jenkins
Sister: Penelope Lee
Dr Kulicz: Lyndon Brook
Nurse/Lotte: Elizabeth Rider
Agnes Sielska: Annette Crosbie
Dr Hassbach: Clifford Rose
a girl Agnes,: Catherine Kessler
SS Officer: John Bull
Fraulein Kiekert: Petra Davies
JO: Heather Bell
Birgit: Jenny Twigge
SS Major: Roger Hammond
Peter von Reskau: David Timson
First Policeman: Michael Mundell
Second Policeman: Lee Harrington
Oberstandaetem/Fuhrer: Sean Arnold
Repeated 24th November 1980


4th March 1980
19.30 :
The Streets of Pompeii by Henry Reed (1914-1986)
A sun-drenched day in 1952 among the ruins of Pompeii, through which wander the tourists, the archaeologists and the young lovers. dimly aware of the brooding terror of the volcano that overwhelmed the city in AD 79.
Music by Anthony Smith-Masters
Solo clarinet Sidney Fell
Orchestra conducted by Patrick Savill.
Directed by Douglas Cleverdon
The Sibyl: Flora Robson
The Traveller: Marius Goring
Francesca: Rosalind Shanks
Attilio: Carlo Cura
The Lizard: Carleton Hobbs
Judy: Hilda Kriseman
Margery: Deborah Dallas
Bill :: Derek Seaton
Walter: David Spenser
Professor MacBride: Frank Duncan
Professor MacFarlane: John Laurie
Guide: Hector Ross
Merchant: Godfrey Kenton
His Wife: Kathleen Helme
Old man: Malcolm Hayes
First broadcast 20th February 1970, repeated 24th May 1970. Later repeated 1st October 1991.
[There was an earlier production by Douglas Cleverdon broadcast 16th March 1952, repeated 19th March 1952, 12th April 1952, 25th April 1953, 22nd and 24th April 1955, 26th September 1956. Also repeated on Radio 4 in shortened form on 15th November 1956. The earlier production was <strong>also</strong> with Flora Robson, John Laurie, Carleton Hobbs, and Marius Goring- even Sidney Fell on clarinet, but with Gwen Cherrell as Francesca, Frank Duncan as The Guide and Robert Rietty as Attilio]


6th March 1980:
19.30-23.00 (including 15 minute interval)
Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare.
Lechery, lechery,
Still wars and lechery,
In Troy there lies the scene
Music specially composed by: Christos Pittas
Directed By: David Spenser
Troilus: Michael Pennington
Cressida: Maureen O'Brien
Ulysses: Norman Rodway
Pandarus: Nigel Stock
Thersites: Alan Howard
Hector: Terrence Hardiman
Nestor: Sebastian Shaw
Agamemnon: Gabriel Woolf
Ajax: David Buck
Achilles: John Rye
Paris: Jeremy Clyde
Patrocius: John Bull
Diomedes: Philip Sully
Helen: Petra Davies
Cassandra: Sheila Grant
Aeneas: Gordon Dulieu
Calchas/Prologue: John Westbrook
Menelaus: Peter Baldwin
Alexander: Gordon Reid
Priam: Leonard Fenton
Andromache: Sonia Fraser
Helenus: Graham Faulkner
Margarelon: Trevor Cooper
Deiphobus: Lee Harrington
Servant to Paris: Brian Carroll
Repeated 5th April 1981
[The director, David Spenser, had an unnamed part in a 1946 radio production of the play by Peter Watts. He also played Troilus in a 1964 production by John Tydeman, repeated 1969]


11th March 1980:
19.30-20.45 (75 mins):
We All Come To It In The End by Don Haworth
... which goes to show how the lack of a resident father can put you on wrong lines altogether on a subject not remotely connected.
A study of the epic progress, from infancy to marriage, of the youngest Father Christmas ever to be appointed by a Northern department store.
Directed By: Alan Ayckbourn
George: Derrick Gilbert
Fred: George A Cooper
Viner: Leonard Fenton
Percy: John Sharp
Dad: Kenneth Gilbert
Mum: Ruth Holden
Miriam: Dorothy Vernon
Other parts: Roy Barraclough, Barbara Mullaney, Pamela Dellar, Kathleen Worth, Paul Bond
First broadcast 5th July 1968 in a longer version (90 mins) repeated 22nd July 1968, then repeated 16th May 1969 in shorter form (75 mins). Long form (90 mins) repeated 22nd July 1968 and in a shorter version (60 minutes) on 31st December 1978.
The 60 minute version was also broadcast on Radio 4 on 18th January 1971, and 29th September 1972.
[The 75 minute version was stated to be a "shortened version" but no comment was made re the 60 minute version. All three of these versions have exactly the same cast.]


13th March 1980:
19.30 :
Faith Healer by Brian Friel
"And the people who came, what is there to say about them... they knew in their hearts they had not come to be cured, but for confirmation that they were incurable; not in hope, but for the elimination of hope... to seal their anguish."
Directed By: Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
Contributors
Frank: Norman Rodway
Gracie: June Tobin
Teddy: Warren Mitchell
Repeated 18th May 1980


18th March 1980:
19.30 :
Buffet by Rhys Adrian
The businessmen's nerves have taken a hammering all day long. One crisis after another. They're going to the Buffet. They need a drink. They are going to be late home.
Directed By: John Tydeman
Freddie: Richard Briers
Joan, his wife: Irene Sutcliffe
Bertie: John Humphry
Ann: Shirley Dixon
Arnold: James Thomason
Arthur: Paul Meier
Richard: William Fox
Frank: Michael Tudor Barnes
Jack: Geoffrey Matthews
Harold: Gerald Cross
Steward: Hugh Walters
Stewardess: Valerie Murray
Porter: Walter Hall
Ticket collector: Garard Green
Barmaid: Cecile Chevreau
John: Frederick Treves
(First broadcast 26th September 1976, repeated 26th August 1977)


20th March 1980
20.00-21.45 :
The Image of God by David Buck
A three-part version of the English Mystery plays: Part 1: Creation
In which Lucifer is driven into Hell; Paradise is lost; Cain murders Abel; Noah survives the flood; Abraham obeys God; and Joseph disbelieves the Virgin birth.
Musical composition John Bull And Danny Schiller.
Choral composition David Timson
Directed by Martin Jenkins
God: Denis Quilley
Lucifer: Peter Jeffrey
Eve: Hannah Gordon
Cain: Julian Glover
Noah: Richard Briers
Abraham: Stephen Murray
Mary: Sue Jones-Davies
Jesus: John Rowe
The Prologue: Timothy West
Adam: Andrew Branch
Pikeharness: Nigel Anthony
Abel: David Timson
Mrs Noah: Dilys Laye
Shem: Adrian Egan
Shem's wife: Madeline Smith
Ham: Gordon Reid
Ham's Wife: Jenny Twigge
Japhet: Trevor Cooper
Japhet's wife: Rowena Roberts
Isaac: Elizabeth Lindsay
Sarah: Eva Stuart
An Angel: John Church
Gabriel: John Rye
Elizabeth: Eve Karpf
Joseph: Denys Hawthorne
Good angels, bad angels, animals, birds and effects created by the company:
Good Angels: Danny Schiller, Martin Friend
Bad Angels: Leonard Fenton, John Bull, Roger Hammond, Denys Hawthorne
Gossips: Sue Jones Davies, Elizabeth Rider, Eva Stuart.
Repeated 21st December 1980
(Part 2: 27/3/1980. Part 3: 3/4/1980)
(Radio 3 presented the work as 3 x 105 mins, the work was repeated on Radio 4 in 1988 as 5 x 60mins)


25th March 1980:
19.30 :
Mathry Beacon by Giles Cooper (1918-1966)
Written in 1956, this is a rich and salty comic invention dealing with the adventures of an eccentric army lieutenant and his small and excessively awkward squad isolated in the Welsh mountains on a mission of questionable value ..
Music arranged and played by Freddie Clayton
Directed by Donald McWhinnie
Gunner Evans (Taffy): Dudley Jones
Gunner Blick (Andy): David Markham
Bombardier Bleening(Rita): Eleanor Summerfield
Bombardier Ling (Betsy): Janette Richer
Gunner Olim (Jake): Earl Cameron
Lieutenant Gann: Maurice Denham
With Sheila Moloney, Elaine MacNamara, Shelagh Kennedy
First broadcast 18th June 1956, repeated on 21st June 1956, 21st August 1956, 25th November 1962, 7th April 1967
Broadcast on the Home Service on 29th October 1956 and on Radio 4 on 9th and 15th July 1984


27th March 1980:
20.00 :
The Image of God by David Buck
Part 2 of 3 ( 3 x 105 mins) -: The Image of Man In which Mark steals a lamb; Jesus is born; Herod massacres the Innocents; Jesus is tempted by Lucifer: the Miracles: the Last Supper and the Betrayal.
Musical composition: John Bull , Danny Schiller and David Timson
Directed by Martin Jenkins
God: Denis Quilley
Jesus: John Rowe
Mary: Sue Jones-Davies
Lucifer: Peter Jeffrey
Herod: David Buck
Mary Magdalen/Third mother: Annette Crosbie
the Old Shepherd: Cyril Luckham
Judas: John Shrapnel
Mak: Tim Wylton
the Stranger: Robert Eddison
The Prologue: Timothy West
Joseph/Angel: Denys Hawthorne
John the Baptist: Nigel Anthony
Second shepherd/Thomas: Gordon Reid
Third shepherd/Philip: Andrew Branch
Gill: Norma Ronald
Gabriel: John Rye
Pharisee/Herald: Adrian Egan
First King: Patrick Barr
Second King/Lazarus: Danny Schiller
Third King: John Bull
First mother: Ann Davies
Second mother: Elizabeth Rider
First soldier: Brian Haines
Second soldier: Roger Hammond
Third soldier: John Church
Scribe: Martin Friend
Young man/Temple Guard: Trevor Cooper
Adulteress: Eve Karpf
Peter: Anthony Jackson
John: David Timson
Martha: Eva Stuart
Malcus: Michael Spice
Caiaphas: Michael Deacon
Annas: Leonard Fenton
Part 1- 20th March 1980, Part 3 on 3rd April 1980.
Repeated 28th December 1980.
[This work was later re-edited and broadcast in 1988 on Radio 4 as 5 x 60 minutes episodes]


3rd April 1980
20.00 :
The Image of God by David Buck
Part 3 of 3 (3 x 105 mins) Redemption
In which Jesus is tried; Procula distracts Pilate; Barnabas is freed; Jesus is crucified; the Resurrection; the damned are released from Hell; Jesus returns to God's right hand
Musical composition John Bull and Danny Schiller, played by Nigel Anthony, John Bull, Andrew Branch and Trevor Cooper.
Choral composition David Timson. Choir: John Church, Trevor Cooper, Leonard Fenton, Gordon Reid, Elizabeth Rider, Danny Schiller, David Timson.
Animals, demons, lost souls, birds and all effects created by the company.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
God: Denis Quilley
Jesus: John Howe
Lucifer: Peter Jeffrey
Caiaphas: Michael Deacon
Peter: Anthony Jackson
Pilate: Nigel Stock
Procula: Anna Massey
Mary Magdalen: Annette Crosbie
Gabriel: John Rye
The Prologue: Timothy West
Annas/Joseph of Arimathaea: Leonard Fenton
First witness/Cleophas: John Bott
Second witness/Good thief: David Buck
Malcus: Michael Spice
First temple guard/BarabbaS: Danny Schiller
Second temple guard: Trevor Cooper
Third temple guard/Badthief: John Bull
Fourth temple guard/Tomas: Gordon Reid
Damsel/WomanChild: Elizabeth Rider
Pilate's servant/Longeus: Martin Friend
Herod Antiphas: Roger Hammond
Sergeant: John Hollis
First Roman soldier: Eric Allan
Second Roman soldier/John the Baptist: Nigel Anthony
Third Roman soldier: John Church
John: David Timson
Mary: Sue Jones-Davies
Mary Cleophas/Old Eve: Margot Boyd
Simon of Cyrene/Michael: Denys Hawthorne
Woman in Hell: Eva Stuart
Luke: Andrew Branch
Woman: Eva Karpf
Repeated 30th December 1980
[This work was later re-edited and broadcast in 1988 on Radio 4 as 5 x 60 minutes episodes]


13th April 1980:
20.00 :
Sludge by Elizabeth Troop
Stop doing the dirtiest job in the world and start demanding a slice of the cake, and suddenly you're public enemy number one.
A satirical farce with a medley of characters including Members of Parliament with pegs on their noses. The main participants are two sewerage workers whose strike action accounts for the pegs.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Fred Bloggs: John Hollis
Mickey: John Levitt
Mavis Jo: Manning Wilson
Peregrine: Sion Probert
Alick: Brian Carroll
Sally: Heather Bell
Reuben: Philip Sully
Announcer: Michael McStay
Speaker: Godfrey Kenton
MPS: Heather Bell, Brian Carroll, John Levitt, John Hollis


24th April 1980:
19.30 :
Mrs Argent by Tom Mallin, adapted for radio by Penny Leicester
Repeated from 3rd February 1980 - please refer to above.



27th April 1980:
19.45 :
The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner
by Stewart Parker
You've done your damnedest to deride and defile the historic spirit of the Kamikaze Special Attack Force.... well, let me tell you, that spirit is not dead... and by God I'm going to demonstrate it to you this very night!
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Scotland/ BBC Northern Ireland
Makoto: John Le Mesurier
Tokkotai: Ronald Baddiley
Co-pilot: John Shedden
Shushin: Graham Crowden
Miss Tomishita: Maureen Beattie
Shimpil: Ronald Herdman
Kamiwashi: Harry Towb
Repeated from 16th Deceber 1979
Also repeated on Radio 4 on 1st May 1981, 1st June 1985 and 18th December 1988
[Winner of the 1980 Giles Cooper Award and Prix Italia nomination]


1st May 1980
21.15 :
The Company of Wolves by Angela Carter based on her own short story
It is a northern country; a late. brief spring, a cool summer and then the cold sets in again. When the snow comes, it precipitates in this inhospitable terrain a trance of being, an extended dream that lurches, now and then, into nightmare. Now is the time the wild beasts come out, now is the savage time of the year, nothing left for the wolves to eat -
Directed by Glyn Dearman
Red Riding Hood: Elizabeth Proud
Werewolf: Michael Williams
Granny: Katherine Parr
Storyteller: John Westbrook
Other parts played by Peter Baldwin, Eve Karpf, Elizabeth Rider, Jeremy Booker And Emma-Kate Davies.
Repeated 14th November 1980
Also repeated on Radio 4 on 19th November 1992


4th May 1980
20.00 :
Swimming and Flying by Alan Mcdonald Repeated from 31st January 1980 - please see above.


[About this time there were a number of simulcasts as Radio 3 shared programmes with Radio 4 or BBC TV. Also a lack of drama.]


16th May 1980
22.00-22.35 :
The Traveller by Graham Swannell
Two children gather round the death-bed of their father. He is only with them physically, for his mind is far away remembering a journey he once made to escape his humdrum life and to find himself and happiness in a foreign land.
Directed by John Tydeman
William: John Rowe
Delia: Sheila Grant
Stephen: Peter Baldwin
the woman he meets: Margaret Robertson
Repeated 5th August 1980


18th May 1980:
20.00 :
Faith Healer by Brian Friel
Repeated from 13th March 1980- please see above.


26th May 1980:
22.00-22.30 :
The Hospital Visitor by Frank Marcus
You worry too much., About little things. If you go on like this, you'll make yorself ill- Dont say that. I may be nervous or unsure at times, but I shouldn't like to finish up in a in a hospital.
But who is the patient and who is the visitor?
Directed by Ian Cotterell
Mrs Frobisher: Penelope Keith
Rosalie: Eileen Atkins
Nurse McNab: Jennifer Piercey
Porter: John Bull
First broadcast on Radio 4 on 1st December 1979.


1st June 1980
20.00 :
The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht. Translated by Eric Bentley
At the end of the last war, in order to help two Russian villages reach agreement over a disputed valley, a famous folk singer and his company of actors give a public performance of the legendary story of The Circle of Chalk in which two women, each with a justifiable claim to be the mother of a young child, are put to an extraordinary test by a drunken judge.
All sound effects by members of the company Directed by Martin Jenkins
The Prologue:
Delegate: Michael Spice
Aleko: Martin Friend
Surab: Brian Haines
Makina: Petra Davies
Kato: Tammy Ustinov
Tractorist: Jenny Twigge
Peasant woman: Josie Kidd
Wounded soldier: Philip Sully
The Play:
Jussup/Shauwa/Musician: Nigel Anthony
Lavrenti/Invalid: Peter Baldwin
Cook/Granny Grusha: Margot Boyd
Groom/Second farmer: Fred Bryant
Musician/Stableman: John Bull
Aniko's wife/Fat woman: Petra Davies
Peasant/Doctor: Martin Friend
Man with milk/Innkeeper: Brian Haines
Georgi Abashvili/Grand Duke: Roger Hammond
Ironshirt Corporal: Anthony Jackson
Singer/Irakli: Peter Jeffrey
Peasant woman: Josie Kidd
Grusha Vachnadze: Miriam Margolyes
Arsen Kazbeki/First lawyer: Geoffrey Matthews
Niko Mikadze/First farmer: Michael McStay
Ironshirt/ Rider: Bill Monks
Simon Chachava: Jim Norton
Azdak: Bill Paterson
Bizergan Kazbeki/Second lawyer/Mika Loladze: John Rye
Drunk peasant / Blackmailer: Danny Schiller
Adjutant/Ironshirt:: Michael Spice
Natella Abashvili/Mother-in-law: Eva Stuart
Big boy/Ironshirt: Philip Sully
Merchant/Wedding guest: Jenny Twigge
Maro/Ludovica: Tammy Ustinov
Repeated 26th February 1981


8th June 1980
20.00 :
The Mystery by Bill Naughton (1910-1992)
"... with a woman like that - there's none of the mystery of marriage - you know what I mean-I mean the simple mystery of a man and woman living together - sharing the same roof.'
Edward Grock is a writer married to a rich woman. He is ordered by his wife to take the cat and the dog to the vet to be neutered. He has some sympathy with their predicament.
Piano: Winifred Davey
Directed by Guy Vaesen (1912-2002)
Edward: Norman Rodway
Edith: Irene Sutcliffe
Mrs Atkins: Ann Morrish
Alice: Julie Hallam
Henn: Fraser Kerr
Dingle: Anthony Jay
Peter: Sam Dastor
Poodle owner: Diana Bishop
Vet: Leonard Fenton
Cat owner: Doreen Andrew
First broadcast 9th October 1973
Repeated 3rd February 1974, 25th December 1974, 19th May 1992
Repeated on Radio 4 on 20th July 1985
[Joint Winner of 1974 Italia Prize.]
[Bill Naughton is known for his play ALFIE]


15th June 1980
20.00 :
The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy
Repeated from 15th January 1980- please see above.


22nd June 1980
20.15 :
How Shall We Honour Billy Dutton? by Leonard Barras (1922-2008)
Georgina Dutton recounts the story of her father. neo-Hegelian, wild water painter and cat lover. who led the Turkish Baths Attendants during the seething unrest of 1929.
Directed by Alfred Bradley
BBC Manchester
Georgina: Jean Becke
Billy Dutton: Alex Glasgow
Hubert Merrifield: Ronald Herdman
Sir Cosmo Drax/Bernard Shaw: Geoffrey Wheeler
Ginger: James Garbutt
Ethel: Valerie Georgeson
Sylvia: Kathleen Helme
Musician: Trevor Holroyd
[Broadcasts of 15th January 1971 and 16th April 1971 appear to be identical to this except Sir Cosmo Drax and G B Shaw are credited to Bruce Jeffery, who has five credits on BBC Genome all 1971-2. In 1972 Geoffrey Wheeler presented Top of the Form and Songs of Praise. There is no record of a pseudonym]


29th June 1980:
20.00 :
Khalil of the Nomads
Repeated from 18th February 1980, please see above.


4th July 1980:
21.30-22.05 :
Drop-Out (Dissident, il va sans dire) by Michel Vinaver translated for radio by Peter Meyer
Helene, a divorcee, and her 17-year-old son, Philippe, live together in Paris. Under an apparently non-existent relationship lies a deep, almost passionate, understanding. In 12 short scenes this play explores that relationship.
The author has taken seemingly ordinary speeches and events and made them significant by reproducing the repetitions and disjointed thoughts of everyday life.
Directed by Glyn Dearman
Helene: Rosemary Leach
Philippe: Nigel Greaves


6th July 1980
20.00 :
Dancing Dolly by John Kirkmorris
Two strange and violent men meet up on the road, one a religious maniac failed in his ambition to become a priest, the other a wisecracking Irishman. Gold and a girl act as catalysts in their lives.
Director: Richard Wortley
Snaith: Alan Doble
Cooney: Denys Hawthorne
Rita: Carrie Lee-Baker
Repeated from 18th November 1979
[The printed script, 37 pages, published by the BBC, is available used from Amazon in 2019, ISBN-13: 978-0563178101]


8th July 1980
21.30 :
Beyond The Pale by William Trevor
That man told me a story about two children who once were happy here and then became two murderers.... What happens in the mind of anyone who wishes to destroy? Don't you think we should root our heads out of the sand and wonder. just once in a while? What is the truth about people who are so far beyond the pale? '
Directed by Robert Cooper
BBC Northern Ireland
Milly: Prunella Scales
Mr Malseed: Michael Spice
Mrs Malseed: Penelope Lee
Strafe: Maurice Denham
Dekko: Jonathan Scott
Arthur: J G Devlin
Kitty: Sheila McGidbon
Cynthia: Sylvia Coleridge
Red-haired man As an adult: Michael McKnight
Red-haired man As a child: Jonathan Furphy
Woman As an adult: Maggie Shevlin
Woman As a child: Jennifer Wright
Repeated on Radio 4 on 14th December 1980
Repeated on BBC7 in 2008


13th July 1980
20.00 :
Protest by Vaclav Havel (1936-2011) Translated and adapted by Vera Blackwell
Ferdinand Vanek is a dissident playwright in Czechoslovakia - he has just come out of prison and is awaiting trial for his political activities. Stanek is a successful writer who has remained in favour with the authorities.
STANEK: Forgive me, Ferdinand, but you don't happen to live in a normal environment. You only mix with people who are making a stand. You give each other hope and encouragement. You've no idea the sort of environment I've got to put up with! It turns your stomach!
The National Theatre version originally directed by Michael Kustow
Produced for radio by Bernard Krichefski
Stanek: Robin Bailey
Vanek: John Normington
Repeated 29th October 1980, 9th October 1986
[The character Vanek first appeared in the Havel play Audience, and in later Havel plays Unveiling and Dozens of Cousins - he also appears in plays by Kohout (see next entry), Dienstbier, Stoppard and Einhorn.]


15th July 1980
20.00 :
The Licence by Pavel Kohout translated and adapted by Peter Tegel
This play, receiving its first English performance, is a companion to Havel's Protest, broadcast last Sunday (see above).
Ferdinand Vanek , the same playwright hero of Protest, goes to get a licence for his dog. He finds that as he is out of favour with the authorities, such a simple formality may turn out to be quite complicated - unless some kind of compromise can be reached.
Directed by Anton Gill
Beba: Mary Maddox
Vanek: Leonard Fenton
Mrs Blascha: Pat Heywood
Mrs Trubaczova: Eva Stuart
Mr Czech: Alan Dudley
Repeated 30th October 1980


27th July 1980
21.30 :
Barricade by David Pownall
Set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Four anarchists have been manning a barricade for a year. Their growing disillusion with the Republican cause, particularly with the Communist involvement in that cause. makes them decide to leave their barricade and Spain, and start life again in South America. Before they can do so, however, two gypsics and a young Englishman appear.
Directed by Caroline Smith
BBC Manchester
Jaime: Del Henney
Concepcion: Judith Barker
Joachim: Christopher Ravenscroft
Carmela: Stephanie Fayerman
Gordon: Christopher Godwin
Yerko: Ronald Herdman
Dunicha: Marlene Sidaway


2nd August 1980:
22.00-22.15 :
A Man Condemned to Death (Un monsieur qui est condamné a mort)
A monologue by Georges Peydeau (1862-1921) translated by Ray Walsh
Condemned to death! At my age! Me! So young - so intelligent - so handsome. And who was it condemned me? The Jury!!! .
Directed By: Glyn Dearman
Performed by Hywel Bennett


3rd August 1980:
21.15-22.00 :
An Honourable Man by Alan Drury
You must excuse me if I appear to be going into unnecessary detail. I've found, over the last month, that the only way I've been able to get a perspective on things has been meticulously to reconstruct them in chronological order. That way ... I can begin to work out what I feel.'
David Adams finds his career as a teacher threatened bv the allegations of a pupil. It is a traumatic experience and the calm with which he relates it cannot conceal its deep effect on him.
Directed By: Bernard Krichefski
David: John Price


5th August 1980:
21.50 :
The Traveller by Graham Swannell
Repeated from 16th May 1980 - please see above


8th August 1980:
22.05 :
Little Secrets by David Marshall
A suburban garden In summer; home-made lemonade; a solidly middle-class couple enjoy the afternoon peacefulness. But the setting proves deceptive ...
Directed by Richard Wortley
Nigel: Geoffrey Palmer
Julia: Annette Crosbie
Major: Jack May
Pam: Sylvestra Le Touzel
Repeated 23rd August 1981


10th August 1980
21.40-22.05 :
When the Congress Wasn't Dancing.
Repeated from 20th February 1980 - please see above.


17th August 1980:
19.00 :
Was it Her? by David Halliwell (1936-2006)
Adrian Hazelgrove , ex-employee of Nickerson Byng Associates, is on his way to an interview for a new job when he turns down into Cleveland Street and, for a moment, thinks he has seen his old girl-friend, Marcia. On second thoughts, he's not sure, but on the other hand, it could have been her; it certainly looked like her. Was it her? A quest begins which changes his life.
Directed by Liane Aukin
Adrian Hazelgrove: Nigel Anthony
Receptionist: Josie Kidd
Felix Pinnington: Geoffrey Matthews
Manageress: Carole Boyd
Salesgirl: Rowena Roberts
Mr Odell: George Raistrick
Miss Brickley: Carole Hayman
Bus conductress: Sonia Fraser
Big man: John Bott
Marcia Huggins: Nerys Hughes


24th August 1980
19.00 :
Oldenberg by Barry Bermange
A middle-aged man and woman are awaiting the arrival of their new tenant whose name - Oldenberg - gives rise to speculation and doubt about his possible nationality. Is he perhaps a Negro? A Jew? The play is a defiant study of racism at its most lunatic and irrational.
Writer/Director: Barry Bermange
Man: David March
Woman: Colette O'Neil
Oldenberg: Colin Baker
(First broadcast on R4 on 16th November 1977)
[Previously performed as a 30 minute TV play in 1967, probably extended with new material for the one hour radio play]


29th August 1980
21.50 :
A Moment by Gabriel Josipovici
A couple meet in a café in an Alpine resort and try to analyse their past relationship. Could it all have been different, or are all individuals destined to live a certain kind of life? The romantic and the realist put their respective cases.
Directed By: Liane Aukin
with Anthony Bate and Mary Miller
Repeated 10th May 1981


31st August 1980
19.00 :
Tomorrow by Evald Flisar
A newly-created judge, Aleksei Mishkin. arrives from St Petersburg at an isolated Court House in the wilds of Siberia to take up his first appointment. But there aren't many cases and he begins to wonder what he and his three fellow judges are going to do With themselves.
Directed hy Brian Miller
BBC Bristol
Mishkin: Jonathan Newth
Ropotkin: John Barron
Volodkin: Trevor Martin


14th September 1980
20.00 :
The Joking Habit by David Cregan (1931-2015)
This is the story of a love affair that never had a chance. And the reason for that. at any rate, was simple.
Directed by John Tydeman
Clee Philips, a social worker: Sheila Allen
George Philips, her husband: Moray Watson
Francis Hedley, her lover: Barry Foster
Her sons: Monty: Anthony Hyde
Andy: Nigel Greaves
Miss Harp, an investigator: Elizabeth Spriggs
BBC Correspondent: Geoffrey Beevers
Mrs Armstrong: Sonia Fraser
Mr Armstrong, her husband: Leonard Fenton
Sylvia, their daughter: Diana Bishop
Another daughter: Josie Kidd
Also with Patrick Barr, John Church, Judith Franklin, Alexander John
Repeated 12th February 1981, 2nd September 1982.
Also repeated on Radio 4 on 13th April 1985.


21st September 1980
22.00 :
The God of Destiny by Hans Magnus Enzens-Berger. translated by Jane Brenton
Crossing the desert on his way to the court of the King of Xi, a philosopher finds a skull in the sand. To pass the time, he asks the God of Destiny to bring the dead man back to life.The God grants his request, but what happens after that is scarcely what the foolish philosopher had bargained for.
Directed by Anton Gill
The Philosopher: Raymond Francis
The God: Robert Flemying
The Dead Man: Bryan Pringle
The Constable: John Bott
Spirit voices Sonia Fraser, Jenny Lee, Eve Karpf
Repeated 12th August 1982


23rd September 1980
19.00 :
The Great Jowett by Graham Greene
Benjamin Jowett (1817-93) Oxford don, Professor of Greek, Master of Balliol, Vice-Chancellor, eminent Victorian and notable eccentric
Directed by Brian Wright
Benjamin Jowett: Alan Bennett
Dean Stanley, the narrator: David Markham
Matthew Knight: Brian Carroll
Algernon Swinburne: Andrew Branch
T H Green/Griggs: Leonard Fenton
Dr Peel/Paine: Anthony Hyde
Dr Ross/Matthew Arnold: Brian Haines
Professor Smith/Foster: Godfrey Kenton
Vice-Chancellor/Dr Scott: Michael Goldie
Plumber/archnbishop: Christopher Scott
Mrs Sparks: Lolly Cockerell
Miss Knight: Josie Kidd
Repeated 19th July 1981
Repeated on Radio 4 on 18th November 1987.
[Greene's only original work written for radio. Stephen Potter produced a radio version in 1939]


26th September 1980
21.00 :
I Do Like to Be by Shane Connaughton
David and Lyn have just married in Belfast, where English Lyn taught Irish David at the Polytechnic. Lyn's father did not go to the wedding and, to make up for his cowardice, he decides to pay for a honeymoon - as long as he can come along too.
Directed by Michael Heffernan
Ben: Peter Woodthorpe
Lyn: Frances Jeater
David: Stephen Rea
Waiter: Philip Sully
Coconut seller: Harold Kasket
Canvasser: Elena Secota
Repeated from 28th January 1979


28th September 1980
20.00 :
Outside The Jeweller's by Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II), translated by Boleslaw Taborski
Written in the late 1950s. this play is described as a meditation on the Sacrament of Matrimony, passing on occasion into a drama '. Three stories of the love of three couples are interrelated. In the case of the first couple, love triumphs over death. In the second couple, love somehow dies. The two children (the boy who never knew his father, the girl whose parents are two strangers) suffer from their inner wounds, but their love helps them to rise above their fears and create their own life together.
Directed by John Theocharis
Teresa: Maureen O'Brien
Andrew: David Timson
Anna: Barbara Jefford
Stephan: Denys Hawthorne
Monica: Janet Maw
Christopher: Michael Maloney
Adam: Nigel Hawthorne
Jeweller: Godfrey Kenton
With Patrick Barr, Diana Bishop, Brian Carroll, John Church, Lolly Cockerell, Alexander John, Michael Mcstay and Amanda Murray
Repeated 24th September 1981
Also repeated on Radio 4 on 26th April 1982


1st October 1980:
20.30 :
Birdsong by James Saunders (1925-2004)
There is a lot to be said for the tranquil pleasures of a sheltered, academic life: good conversation and stimulating company with all material needs catered for. And the contemplative life seems especially attractive if the alternative is freedom in an outside world beset by unknown terrors.
Directed by Matthew Walters
Joey: Dinsdale Landen
Tinker: Nigel Hawthorne
Trixie: Beth Porter
the Bird who Finds God: Percy Edwards


5th October 1980
20.15-22.30 :
Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf dramatised for radio by Liane Aukin
The very place! The very place for a pageant, Mr Oliver! ... There the stage; here the audience; and down there among the bushes a perfect dressing room for the actors.' So, Miss La Trobe, an eccentric local artist, conceives the ambitious idea of portraying, with the help of people from the village, a history of English literature and of making the audience see themselves as they really are. Pointz Hall. where the Olivers live, is indeed a perfect setting.
But the year is 1939, and over everything hangs the threatening shadow of a European War.
Songs specially composed by John Bull
Special sound effects by Brian Hodgson of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Directed by David Spenser
Miss La Trobe: Sarah Badel
Lucy Swithin: Sylvia Coleridge
Bart Oliver: Robert Lang
Giles Oliver: Terrence Hardiman
Isa: Gemma Jones
Mrs Manressa: Moira Redmond
William Dodge: Christopher Good
Mrs Lyn Jones: Nan Munro
Mrs Wintrop: Eva Stuart
Mrs Springett: Peggy Paige
Mr Carfax: John Church
The Rev Streatfield: Philip Voss
In the pageant:
Old crone/Lady Harpy Harraden.: Sheila Grant
Sir Speniel Lilyliver: Peter Baldwin
Queen Elizabeth: Margot Boyd
Mrs Hardcastle: Josie Kidd
Mr Budge: John Bott
Eleanor/Carinthia: Elizabeth Rider
Edgar/Ferdinand: Philip Sully
Flavinda: Sonia Fraser
Albert: John Bull
Other parts
John Church, Lolly Cockerell, Graham Faulkner, Godfrey Kenton, Gordon Reid, Elaine White
Repeated 16th September 1982 and 5th January 1992


10th October 1980:
20.00 :
An Island in the Moon by William Blake (1757-1827).
In the Moon is a certain Island which seems to have some affinity to England.
In this early work of c 1784 Blake wrote a satire on contemporary fashionable and intellectual society which has much in common with the modern theatre of the absurd, as well as ballad operas of the 18th century.
Heather Glen of New Hall, Cambridge, has written an introduction; the songs are reconstructed from airs and ballads of the time by Peter Holman.
The Parley of Instruments directors Roy Goodman and Peter Holman.
Incidental music from Handel Trio-Sonatas, Op 5.
Director: Jenyth Worsley
William Blake/Quid the Cynic: Neville Jason
Sipsop the Pythagorean: John Rye
Suction the Epicurean/ Little Scopprell: Mark Wing-Davey
Steelyard the lawgiver: Leonard Fenton
Obtuse Angle/Tilly Lally: Gordon Reid
Inflammable Gass: Godfrey Kenton
Etruscan Column/Ara-dobo: John Church
Miss Gittipin: Gillian Jason
Mrs Nannicantipot: Alison Truefitt
Gibble Gabble/Ms Sigta-gatist: Sonia Fraser
Repeated 25th July 1982
[The original work carried no title and was unfinished, the manuscript has one page missing possibly destroyed by Blake.]
[Jenyth Worsley worked at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from 1961-62]
[Images of the original manuscript are online at http://www.blakearchive.org/]


12th October 1980
19.30 :
Santis bv Martin Walser translated by Steve Gooch
Fritz Farber is an eminent novelist whose happy marriage has prevented him from writing anything for seven years. But then his wife leaves him and he engages an unusually talented private-eye to shadow her . . . Brooding over the action, which takes place along the north shore of Lake Constance, is Mount Santis, as lonely a giant as Farber himself.
Trevor Beales and Robert Greenfield (guitars)
Directed by Anton Gill
Frau Grubel: Jill Balcon
Thassilo S Grubel: Crawford Logan
Fritz Farber: Richard Leech
Nuntia/Biddie Grubel: Lolly Cockerell
Gertrud Hotz: Diane Fletcher
Peter Streich: Graham Faulkner
Joe Keckeisen: Christopher Biggins
Liss Lobkowitsch: Rowena Roberts
Repeated 9th August 1981


24th October 1980
22.00 :
Matter Permitted by Nick Dear
ALAN: I don't talk to myself. I have to choose my words carefully. To rendezvous in parks and Public places with myself. The freedom to mumble and swear might be pleasant - but obviously, I have to enunciate clearly.
He might have been a BBC announcer: he is under the psychiatrist believing his words are being broadcast wherever he is; he remembers the year that Children's Hour ceased; he is obsessed with truth in a mendacious world; he begins to rebel against social engineering and corporate monoliths.
Directed by Richard Wortley
Alan: Hugh Dickson
Terry: Heather Bell
Doctor: Denys Hawthorne
Old lady: Peggy Paige
Bill: John Church
Repeated 3rd September 1981
[Society of Authors Award]
[This was Nick Dear's first radio play, and his first performed work in any medium listed on his website.]


26th October 1980
20.00 :
The Prague Trial 79:
Prepared for the stage by Patrice Chereau and Ariane Mnouchkine, translated and adapted for radio by Christopher Hampton
Introduced by John Mortimer. Readings in English by Flora Robson and in Czech by Julius Tomin
In October 1979 the playwright Vaclav Havel and five other Czech dissidents, all of whom were signatories of Charter 77 and members of VONS (the Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Persecuted), were sentenced to a total of 19½ years' imprisonment for 'criminal subversion against the state'. This programme is a dramatic reconstruction of their trial, based upon the memories of the handful of relatives allowed into the Courtroom.
Appeal summary by Glenda Jackson
Directed by Martin Jenkins
Dana Nemcova: Gwen Watford
Jiri Dienstbier: Peter Jeffrey
Otta Bednarova: Mary Wimbush
Vaclav Benda: Clifford Rose
Petr Uhl: Robert Lang
Vaclav Havel: George Cole
Prosecutor: Brian Haines
Judge Kaspar: Ian Richardson
First female member: Hannah Gordon
Second female member: Jenny Lee
Counsel for the Defence:
Lindner: David Hare
Penka: Bruce Stewart
Tichy: Ronald Harwood
Lzicar: Peter Barnes
Klouza: Christopher Scott
Relatives:
Ondrej Dienstbier: Robert Powell
Anna Sabatova: Angela Pleasence
Marketa Nemcova: Kathryn Hurlbutt
Witnesses:
Albert Cerny: Alec McCowen
Irma Hrabalova: Pauline Letts
Anna Kastakova: Lolly Cockerell
Mrs Valova: Eve Karpf
Doctor: Jane Knowles
Also taking part: Howard Brenton and Christopher Hampton.
Repeated on Radio 4 on 12th October 1981


29th October 1980
22.00 :
Protest by Vaclav Havel translated and adapted by Vera Blackwell
Ferdinand Vanek is a dissident playwright In Czechoslovakia - he has just come out of prison and is awaiting trial for his political activities. Stanek is a successful writer who has remained in favour with the authorities.
STANEK: Forgive me, Ferdinand, but you don't Happen to live in a normal environment. You only mix with people who are making a stand. You give each other hope and encouragement. You've no idea the sort of environment I've got to put up with! It turns your stomach!
The National Theatre version, originally directed by Michael Kustow , produced for radio by Bernard Krichefski
Stanek: Robin Bailey
Vanek: John Normington
Repeated 9th October 1986
(The companion piece to this play, Pavel Kohout's The Licence- Radio 3: 15/7/80 and 30/10/80)


30th October 1980
22.00 :
The Licence by Pavel Kohoot, translated and adapted by Peter TegeL
Repeated from 15th July 1980 - please see above.


2nd November 1980
19.30 :
At Swim-Two-Birds (1939)(Snamh da En) by Flann O'Brien (aka Brian O'Nolan aka Myles na Gopaleen - 1911-1966), adapted for radio by Eric Ewens
Set in Dublin in the 1930s, the main action takes place in the 'kingdom of the mind' of the main character, Myles, a student at University College and an aspirant novelist.
Myles's principal character is also a novelist and his characters a rebellious bunch, who frequently take over the novel and indulge their own fancy. One of them begins to write yet another novel. A novel, within a novel, within a novel....
Technical presentation by Jock Farrell
Directed by Ronald Mason
Myles: Niall Buggy
Uncle: Patrick McAlinney
Jesuit/Sweeny: Allan McClelland
Tipster Lamont: Sean Barrett
Conan/Moling: David Blake Kelly
Finn/Trellis: Denys Hawthorne
Brinsley: Jim Norton
Kelly/Casey: Harry Webster
Shanahan: Kevin Flood
Furriskey: Donal McCann
Ronan/Corcoran: Alan Barry
Bryne/Tracy: Wesley Murphy
Pooka: Patrick Magee
Fairy: Kate Binchy
Orlick: Tom McCabe
Cow: Elizabeth Morgan
Repeated from 26th August 1979
[Snamh da En is a ford on the River Shannon]
[The first print run of the novel, published by Longman's recorded 240 sales]


6th November 1980
22.00 :
Heart to Heart by James Robson
A motley collection of passengers on board an Inter-City night-time express from Glasgow are suddenly confronted by a bogus travelling preacher. His acid comments lead to a violent argument and ultimately to tragedy.
Directed by Martin Jenkins
John Fairlie: Gordon Reid
Marion MacDonald: Jenny Lee
Helen, her sister: Elaine Collins
Mrs Smith: Diana Bishop
Mr Smith: John Bott
Hackett: Sion Probert
Mrs Pollit: Eva Stuart
Pringle: Brian Carroll
Garratty: Christopher Scott
Wheeler: Nigel Greaves
Anderson: Leonard Fenton
Liz: Sandra Clark
E A Jessop: Harold Innocent
Repeated 6th September 1981


9th November 1980
20.00 :
The Private Seduction of Mr Howard by Robert Smith
Please listen to me. All those things I said, the bad things ... they weren't me. Most of the time I can't control what goes on in my mind. I just feel myself drifting away ... I have a guest in my soul and he's outstayed his welcome - no he was never welcome.'
Directed by Bernard Krichefski
Gordon Howard: Robert Lang
Constance: Josie Kidd
Doctor: Philip Voss
Bus conductor/Teacher: Gordon Dulieu
Vincent: Chas Bryer
Man: Joe Dunlop
Peter: Nigel Greaves
Headmaster: Harold Kasket
Head of Department: Roger Hammond
Patricia/Nurse: Liza Flanagan
Repeated from 31st May 1979

12th November 1980
19.00 :
The Young Lady from Midhurst. Written and narrated by Frederick Bradnum (1920-2001).
In 1875 an Army officer and a young lady shared a compartment in the train from Petersfield to London. As to what happened on that train on that journey we have only the sworn testimony of Miss Dickinson, given at the trial of Colonel Baker, for Baker was never asked for his version, and it is possible that the real truth was never told - or wasn't, at that time.
Directed By: Jane Morgan
Narrator: Frederick Bradnum
Colonel Valentine Baker: Geoffrey Palmer
Kate Rebecca Dickinson: Emily Richard
Also with John Bott, Graham Faulkner,
Brian Haines, Alexander John
[A new production of the programme originally broadcast 15th October 1974, produced by John Tydeman, who wrote Bradnum's obit in the Guardian in 2002 ]


14th November 1980
22.00 :
The Company of Wolves by Angela Carter, based on her own short story.
Repeated from 1st May 1980 - please see above.


16th November 1980
19.30-21.00:
I Never Killed My German by Carey Harrison
Willy Benefer is a retired registrar of births, marriages and deaths, living in a large house on the fringes of Ipswich. His daughter. Juliet, now divorced and footloose on the Continent, sends him a Protestant Bishop, the Bishop of Frankfurt who. it transpires, has fallen in love with Juliet. But the Bishop has also lost his Faith and it is this that most disturbs Willy.
Music directed and composed by Sidney Sager Flute player Sebastian Bell
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
Willy: Maurice Denham
the Bishop of Frankfurt: Stephen Murray
Alison: June Barrie
Juliet: Penelope Lee
Hanno: Peter Tuddenham
Mrs Carr: Daphne Heard
King Tut: Malcolm Hayes
Repeated from 9th August 1979
[ The full text of this play is included in Best Radio Plays of 1979, a BBC anthology]


19th November 1980
19.00 :
The Night Season. A drama for one player by Robert Manson Myers (1921-2014) based on his book The Children of Pride
Mrs Mary Jones, wife of a Presbyterian clergyman, mother of two sons and one daughter, and mistress of Montevideo, a rice and cotton plantation in Liberty County, Georgia. The drama is based on Mrs Jones's letters to her sons and daughter before, during, and after the American Civil War.
Producer Paul Muldoon
BBC Northern Ireland
Mrs Mary Jones: Margaret Robertson
[The book The Children of Pride won the Carey-Thomas award in 1972 and the National Book Award in History in 1973]


23rd November 1980:
19.45 :
The Anatolian Head by Carey Harrison
It was at the end of November that the head arrived. The black end of the year. I actually passed the van that brought it. on the way to fetch Hannah from school. I had to back into a field to let it through. A huge great van. It looked quite lost. But I was in a hurry, and anxious about being late. I wasn't used to fetching Hannah from Saxmundham. For the last six years I'd taught her myself. I wanted Hannah there. Now she was gone I found it unsettling, as if I was starting afresh.
Pupils of Cookley and Walpole Primary School
Geoffrey Ling (singer)
Mike Bexon and Bob Stewart (melodeons). Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin
BBC Bristol
Rosemary: Maureen O'Brien
Hannah: Petra Markham
Dad: Ronald Russell
Mrs Tooley: Patsy Byrne
Colin: Michael Troughton
Roley: Gabriel Woolf
Geoffrey: Christian Rodska
Pitblado: Neil Stacy
Tom: Tim Bentinck
Piers: Michael Batz
Jenny: Julia Hills
Joe: Cornelius Garrett
Arthur Feaveryear: Peter Tuddenham
Lady: Elizabeth Havelock
Old Boy: Geoffrey Matthews
Repeated 2nd May 1982


24th November 1980
21.20 :
Freya - the Cold Goddess of Love by Leszek Prorok, Translated by Marcus Wheeler and adapted for radio by Jacek Laskowski
Repeated from 2nd March 1980- please see above.


30th November 1980:
21.30 :
Of The Levitation at St Michael's by Carey Harrison
We were an unlikely pair, I suppose. But livestock brings one together across all sorts of social barriers. Matty was a goat breeder: a pro. I was an amateur. Encouraged by my husband. Though not out of love. When Jack first stood for Parliament, the local television people came and filmed me milking a goat-at Jack's request; the common touch to impress the locals. After he'd won the seat people kept asking him about the goats. I had to have some.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin .
BBC Bristol
Matty: Mary Wimbush
Elizabeth: June Barrie
Repeated 4th March 1982


2nd December 1980
22.00 :
Swan Song by Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) translated by Nicholas Bethell
An old actor is left on the empty stage of a provincial theatre after his benefit performance.
Directed By: John Tydeman
Svetlovidov: Wilfrid Lawson (1900-1966)
Nikita Ivanych: John Ruddock
First broadcast on the Home Service on 15th November 1965
Repeated on Network 3 on 31st August 1966
Repeated on BBC Radio 4 on 15th April 1972
Repeated on Radio 3 on 10th Noveber 1986.


14th December 1980
18.50-21.00:
Ride a Cock Horse (1965) bv David Mercer (1928-80)
This play is a study of the problems faced by a writer from a northern working-class background in adjusting to life, love and success in London.
Directed by Charles Lefeaux (1909-1979)
Peter: Edward Petherbridge
Nan: Barbara Jefford
Myra: Jill Bennett
Fanny: Mary Miller
First broadcast 6th November 1968, repeated 14th December 1980


21st December 1980
21.00 :
The Image of God by David Buck
A three-part version of the English Mystery plays with and Part 1: Creation
Repeated from 20th March 1980 - please see above.


26th December 1980
23.05-23.35 :
The Final Problem by Arthur Conan Doyle
dramatised for radio by John Keir Cross
A Harry Alan Towers production
Director: Martyn C. Webster
Sherlock Holmes: John Gielgud
Dr Watson: Ralph Richardson
Professor Moriarty: Orson Welles
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 21st December 1954.


27th December 1980
22.00-22.35 :
Propellers by John Fletcher
Dad is a Tynesider. After losing the job he has had for 20 years, he thinks twice before accepting another.
I'm not taking that job and I'm not going to start working for a load of idiots that think sticking propellers on a boat means something.'
Producer Shaun MacLoughlin
Dad: Donald McBride


28th December 1980
21.00 :
The Image of God by David Buck
A three-part version of the English mystery plays,
Part 2: The Image of Man
Repeated from 27th March 1980 - please see above.


29th December 1980
20.45 :
A Man Apart devised and compiled by Joanna Richardson
A portrait of Gustave Flaubert in his last ten years (1870-80)
Directed By: Piers Plowright
Flaubert: Denis Quilley
Emil Zola: John Rye
Ivan Turgenev/Ernest Renan: Godfrey Kenton
Guy de Maupassant: John Levitt
Princess Mathilde: Sonia Fraser
Théophile Gautier: Patrick Barr
Claudius Popelin: Peter Forest
Edmond du Goncourt: John Bott
Anatole France/ Jose Maria de Heredia: John Livesey
Alphonse Daudet: Geoffrey Beevers
Madame Daudet: Eve Karpf
Henry James/Henri Ceard: David Bradshawe
Maxime du Camp: David March
Repeated on 9th May 1981


30th December 1980
19:30 :
The Image of God by David Buck
Part 3: Redemption
Repeated from 3rd April 1980 - please see above.



===end===








Many thanks to Stephen Shaw for compiling the entries.

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