The Last Renaissance Man
by T.D.Webster
BBC Radio 4: Saturday Night Theatre
Broadcast: Saturday 14th June 1986 @ 7:00 p.m.
Like the geniuses of old, Bill Mottram is a man of many talents. Above all, he is a brilliant furniture maker and his business is booming. But then
his partner's wife is found murdered and there are other questions to be answered.
Maurice North, his wife, Suzanne, and Bill Mottram were co-directors in an antiques restoration business though Suzanne didn't actively take
part in the day-to-day operations. One day, with Maurice up in Scotland doing sales calls, Suzanne phones Bill at work and asks him to come
over as there is something important she needed to tell him. Bill had just ended a year-long affair with Suzanne only a couple of months earlier
but decides to head over after work even though it will cause him to be late for a small party his wife was having at their home. When Suzanne
is found smothered to death the following morning by the cleaning lady, the police see Bill as their prime suspect but, unfortunately, it appears
that Bill has an alibi.
Ambrose Gray, who "discovered" Bill, and had been visiting Bill and Jenny at the time of Suzanne's death, begins to get suspicious when Jimmy
Brennan is found drowned in the canal the night before Ambrose was almost hit by a car while walking home from the pub. Jimmy had told him
earlier that week about a bizarre incident involving a George II bureau that Bill worked on and that Ambrose should pass the info on to Bill,
which he did. But when Ambrose met him again, on the night of his death, Jimmy said the all was resolved when he talked to Maurice who is in
charge of the furniture sales.
When Ambrose turns to Bill to talk about his suspicions, he finds out the Maurice has apparently commited suicide. Ambrose wants to go to
the police but Bill convinces him it is best to keep quiet as there will be endless questions, Later, Ambrose is not so sure that he did the right
thing....
With Michael Pennington [Bill Mottram], Caroline Mortimer [Jenny Mottram, Bill's Wife], Geoffrey Matthews [Ambrose Gray], Terry Molloy
[Inspector Herrick], Stephen Hancock [Detective Sergeant Cooke], Alan Thompson [Maurice North, Bill's Partner], Hedli Niklaus [Suzanne
North, Maurice's Wife], Eric Stovell [St. John, an Antique's Dealer in Bath], Edwin Richfield [Jimmy Brennan], Brian Smith [John Davis, Bill's
Lawyer / Ross], Patricia Gallimore [Madge / Woman at Party], and Joyce Gibbs [Shopkeeper / Cleaner].
Directed by Peter Windows
90 minutes
Jim
