SASHA YEVTUSHENKO
Radio Plays

Sasha Yevtushenko (b 1979) is a director and producer, mainly of radio dramas, for the BBC. His father is the Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko.

He has directed a wide range of work: some of Mike Walker's historical Classic Serials, some Raymond Chandler adaptations, science fiction, an interesting biographical play about the pathologist Bernard Spilsbury, Philip Palmer's 'Red and Blue' series, a comedy series, a legal series 'Silk' and many one-off plays by different writers. Some of these are listed below, and details of a few of them are given further down the page. I have included in the list a few 'Poetry Please' programmes in which Sasha's father's poems are featured.

ND, 2019

PLAYS AND OTHER ITEMS
2004-03-22 14-15, Mars Flight
2005-05-29 16-30, Poetry Please
2005-06-04 23-30, Poetry Please
2007-06-23 19-00, From Fact to Fiction, 5/7. Philip Palmer and Nicolai Abrahamsen.
2007-12-08 19-00, From Fact to Fiction, Jamie Harper
2008-01-27 16-30, Poetry Please
2008-02-02 23-30, Poetry Please
2008-05-17 14-30, The Saturday Play, The Accountant of Solyanka Square
2008-06-12 14-15, The Incomparable Witness: Bernard Spilsbury
2008-12-02 14-15, The Babington Plot
2009-02-22 16-30, Poetry Please,
2009-02-28 23-30, Poetry Please,
2009-09-05 14-30, Phone
2009-10-19 14-15, Filthy Rich
2010-01-22 21-00, Friday Drama - The Accountant of Solyanka Square, rpt
2010-02-16 14-15, English in Afghanistan, by Ryan Craig
2010-02-24 23-00, Earls of the Court - Earls Reunited, Comedy (five episodes, weekly)
2010-05-01 19-00, From Fact to Fiction - Series 8 Motorway Man
2010-06-10 14-15, High Hopes, By Rob Kinsman.
2010-07-11 16-30, Poetry Please
2010-07-17 23-30, Poetry Please
2010-07-20 14-15, Gift, By Philip Palmer
2010-08-17 14-15, The Killing, by Michael Butt.
2010-10-05 14-15, The Pursuit, by Matt Hartley.
2010-10-26 23-00, The Symphony for all Creation, By James Lever and Nat Segnit.
2010-11-02 23-00, The Traitor of the Zazalcara, By James Lever and Nat Segnit
2010-11-09 23-00, The Whalemen of Musungenyi
2010-11-16 23-00, Crazy Bird, The Horace Wiggerley Story
2010-11-23 23-00, The River Europe
2010-12-07 23-00, The Phone - The Patient
2010-12-14 23-00, The Phone - All Night Cafe, By Rebecca Lenkiewicz.
2010-12-21 23-00, The Phone - Episode 3, By Peter Jukes.
2010-12-24 20-00, Marley Was Dead, By John Nicholson and Richard Katz.
2010-12-28 23-00, The Phone - Tourist Trap, By Jon Sen.
2011-02-26 14-30, Sat Drama - Playback, by Raymond Chandler, dram.Stephen Wyatt
2011-03-04 21-00, Friday Drama - Phone, By Peter Jukes
2011-03-26 14-30, Saturday Drama - Leverage, By Simon Passmore.
2011-04-27 15-45, Russia, The Wild East - Series 1 East into Siberia
2011-05-13 14-15, Referee, By Nick Perry.
2011-06-11 19-00, From Fact to Fiction - Series 10 Episode 7
2011-07-15 14-15, The Day We Caught the Train, By Nick Payne.
2011-07-25 15-45, Russia, The Wild East - Series 2 The Great Patriotic War
2011-08-09 15-45, Russia, The Wild East - Series 2 The Moscow Coup
2011-09-07 14-15, The Marches Man in a Wheelbarrow, by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
2011-09-08 14-15, The Marches Fearless Librarian Saves the Day
2011-10-08 14-30, SatDrama - The High Window, by R Chandler, dram. Robin Brooks
2011-10-19 11-30, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Edgar Allan Poe. Dram C Harrald
2011-10-22 14-30, Sat Drama-Poodle Springs, By R Chandler and Robert B. Parke
2011-10-26 11-30, The Rivals - The Problem of Cell 13. Dram C Harrald.
2011-11-02 11-30, The Rivals - Murder by Proxy, Dram C Harrald.
2011-11-09 11-30, The Rivals - The Mystery of Redstone Manor, By Chris Harrald
2011-12-05 14-15, Burning Up, By Rebecca Lenkiewicz
2012-01-22 15-00, Classic Serial - The Spy Episode 1, By JF Cooper dram. Dave Britton.
2012-01-29 15-00, Classic Serial - The Spy Episode 2, By JF Cooper dram. Dave Britton.
2012-03-16 14-15, Waiting for the Boatman, By Stephen Wakelam
2012-03-30 11-30, Vital Statistics - The Seven Year Itch, By Ben Ockrent.
2012-04-01 15-00, Classic Serial - Plantagenet, Series 3 Henry V-True Believers, by M Walker
2012-04-06 11-30, Vital Statistics - How I Learned to Drive, By Nick Payne.
2012-04-08 15-00, CSerial - Plantagenet, Ser 3 Henry VI - A Simple Man, by M Walker
2012-04-15 15-00, CSerial - Plantagenet, Ser 3 Richard III - The Three Brothers, by M Walker
2012-04-18 14-15, Red and Blue - Behind Enemy Lines, By Philip Palmer
2012-04-25 14-15, Afternoon Drama - Red and Blue: Terror, By Philip Palmer
2012-06-06 14-15, Afternoon Drama - Take a (Virtual) Girl Like You, By Nicholas Pierpan
2012-07-10 14-15, Afternoon Drama - Cordite for Breakfast, By Ben Ockrent.
2012-07-20 21-00, Friday Drama - Leverage, By Simon Passmore.
2012-08-27 14-15, Afternoon Drama - The Day We Caught the Train, By Nick Payne.
2012-09-04 23-00, Jack's Return Home - Episode 2, By Ted Lewis. Dram. by Nick Perry.
2012-09-18 23-00, Jack's Return Home - Episode 4, By Ted Lewis. Dram. Nick Perry.
2012-11-25 15-00, Classic Serial, The Count of Monte Cristo Episode 1
2012-12-02 15-00, Classic Serial, The Count of Monte Cristo Episode 2
2012-12-09 15-00, Classic Serial, The Count of Monte Cristo Episode 3
2012-12-12 14-15, Bearing Witness
2012-12-16 15-00, Classic Serial, The Count of Monte Cristo Episode 4
2013-01-14 10-45, 15 Minute Drama, How to Write a Novel in a Week Episodes 1-5 (daily)
2013-03-23 14-30, Saturday Drama, Hombre
2013-06-19 14-15, Dangerous Visions, London Bridge
2013-06-20 14-15, Dangerous Visions, Death Duty
2013-06-29 14-30, The Stuarts, It Came In with a Lass
2013-06-30 15-00, The Stuarts, To Make the Plough Go before the Horse
2013-07-07 15-00, The Stuarts, A World of Fools and Knaves
2013-07-14 15-00, The Stuarts, This War Without an Enemy
2013-08-30 14-15, Red and Blue: Ransomware
2013-09-06 14-15, Red and Blue: Shadow
2013-09-27 21-00, Saturday Drama, Hombre
2013-10-01 23-00, He Died with His Eyes Open, Episodes 1-3 (weekly)
2013-11-05 14-15, Afternoon Drama, The Wainwrights
2014-01-02 14-15, Listening to the Dead: Ruby's Shoes
2014-01-03 14-15, Listening to the Dead: Tuesday's Child
2014-01-20 10-45, 15 Minute Drama, November Dead List Episodes 1-5 (daily)
2014-01-28 14-15, A Bag on Ballyfinch Place
2014-03-08 14-30, Saturday Drama, Playback: Raymon Chandler
2014-04-01 14-15, Silk, The Clerks' Room: Jake
2014-04-07 14-15, Waiting for the Boatman
2014-04-08 14-15, Silk, The Clerks' Room: Bethany
2014-04-15 14-15, Silk, The Clerks' Room: John
2014-05-17 14-30, Saturday Drama, Raymond Chandler: The High Window
2014-05-31 14-30, Saturday Drama, Raymond Chandler: Poodle Springs
2014-06-10 14-15, Dog Days
2014-06-15 15-00, Dangerous Visions, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Episode 1
2014-06-20 14-15, Dangerous Visions, The Two Georges
2014-06-22 15-00, Dangerous Visions, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Episode 2
2014-08-10 15-00, The Stuarts, Charles II Part One, Through the World in Various Fortune
2014-08-17 15-00, The Stuarts, Charles II Part Two, The Long Lease of Pleasant Days
2014-08-24 15-00, The Stuarts, James II, The Storms of this Deceitful World
2014-10-12 15-00, Classic Serial, For Whom the Bell Tolls Episode 1
2014-10-19 15-00, Classic Serial, For Whom the Bell Tolls Episode 2
2014-10-25 14-30, Saturday Drama, The Shootist
2015-03-03 23-00, The Hot Kid, Episode 1
2015-03-10 23-00, The Hot Kid, Episode 2
2015-03-11 14-15, Earworm
2015-03-17 23-00, The Hot Kid, Episode 3
2015-03-24 23-00, The Hot Kid, Episode 4
2015-03-31 23-00, Julia Sutherland: Fat Chance
2015-07-11 14-30, The Stuarts, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Who Dares to Be Free
2015-07-12 15-00, The Stuarts, Charlotte Stuart, The Last Stuart
2015-08-03 14-15, Drama, Silk, The Clerks' Room Episode 1
2015-08-04 14-15, Drama, Silk, The Clerks' Room Episode 2
2015-08-05 14-15, Drama, Silk, The Clerks' Room Episode 3
2015-10-14 11-30, A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics, Mr Gray's Decorators
2015-10-21 11-30, A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics, The Rat-catchers of Yonville
2015-10-28 11-30, A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics, A Fistful of Sand
2015-11-03 14-15, Afternoon Drama, The Wainwrights
2015-11-04 11-30, A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics: Tell Me a Story
2015-11-14 14-30, Drama, Black Dog
2015-12-17 14-15, Drama, Community Service
2016-01-04 10-45, 15 Minute Drama, Beloved Episodes 1-10 (weekdays)
2016-01-25 10-45, 15 Minute Drama, November Dead List Episodes 1-5 (daily)
2016-03-17 14-15, The Strange Vanishing of Julian Quark
2016-04-04 14-15, The Final Call
2016-05-16 14-15 Where Shall I Go What Shall I Do?
2016-06-20 14-15, The Victorian in the Wall
2016-07-08 14-15, Merchant, Writer, Convict, Spy
2016-07-09 14-30, Defoe, Moll Flanders Episode 1
2016-07-16 14-30, Defoe, Moll Flanders Episode 2
2016-09-11 15-00, Drama, Tsar Ivan the Terrible, Absolute Power
2016-09-18 15-00, Drama, Tsar Boris Godunov, Ghosts
2016-09-25 15-00, Drama, Tsar Peter the Great, The Gamblers
2016-11-14 14-15, Drama, Silk, The Clerks' Room Episode 1
2016-11-15 14-15, Drama, Silk, The Clerks' Room Episode 2
2016-11-16 14-15, Drama, Silk, The Clerks' Room Episode 3
2016-11-24 14-15, Red and Blue: Behind Enemy Lines
2016-11-28 10-45, 15 Minute Drama, Gudrun's Saga Episodes 1-5 (daily)
2017-02-02 14-15, Red and Blue: Sacrifice
2017-02-09 14-15, Red and Blue: Ransomware
2017-02-16 14-15, Red and Blue: Shadow
2017-02-23 14-15, Inappropriate Relationships Episode 1
2017-03-02 14-15, Inappropriate Relationships Episode 2
2017-03-09 14-15, Inappropriate Relationships Episode 3
2017-03-10 11-30, A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics, Series 2 The Neck
2017-03-16 14-15, Drama, Inappropriate Relationships Episode 4
2017-03-17 11-30, A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics, Series 2 The Nose
2017-03-23 14-15, Drama, Inappropriate Relationships Episode 5
2017-03-24 11-30, A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics, Series 2 The Prophecy
2017-03-31 11-30, A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics, Series 2 The Auction
2017-04-01 14-30, The Hatton Garden Heist
2017-04-30 15-00, Drama, Tsar Catherine the Great, Husbands Lovers and Sons
2017-05-07 15-00, Drama, Tsar Alexander I, Into the Woods
2017-07-01 14-30, Dangerous Visions, Darkness at Noon
2017-09-25 10-45, 15 Minute Drama, Black Eyed Girls Episodes 1-5 (daily)
2017-10-22 15-00, Tsar Nikolai II - Three Hundred Years
2017-10-29 15-00, Tsar Lenin, Tears
2017-11-05 15-00,Tsar Joseph Stalin, The Last Bolshevik
2017-12-04 14-15, Death at the Airport, The Plot Against Kim Jong-nam
2017-12-28 14-15,Long Time Coming
2018-01-01 14-15, Elsinore Episode 1
2018-01-02 14-15, Elsinore Episode 2
2018-01-03 14-15, Elsinore Episode 3
2018-01-04 14-15, Elsinore Episode 4
2018-01-20 14-30, Defoe, Moll Flanders Episode 1
2018-01-27 14-30, Defoe, Moll Flanders Episode 2
2018-03-12 14-15, Community Service
2018-08-06 11-30, Dot, Series 3 Saucepans for Spitfires!
2018-08-13 11-30, Dot, Series 3 Dial M for Myrtle
2018-08-20 11-30, Dot, Series 3 Dig for Victory!
2018-08-27 11-30, Dot, Series 3 London Can Take It
2018-09-16 06-05, Something Understood: Speak Your Mind
2018-09-23 15-00, Angela Carter, Nights at the Circus Episode 1
2018-09-30 15-00, Angela Carter, Nights at the Circus Episode 2
2018-10-30 14-15, What's Wrong With Baby
2018-11-04 19-15, Trespasser's Guide to the Classics, Ser 1 Mr Gray's Decorators
2018-11-11 19-15, Trespasser's Guide to the Classics, Ser 1 The Rat-catchers of Yonville
2019-02-01 14-15, Suspicious Minds
2019-04-27 14-30, The Battle of Samn Pietro
2019-04-28 15-00, Journey into Fear
2020-12-04 14-15, London Particular, 3 parts
2020-12-19 14-45, Helium
2022-05-14 15-00, The Reckoning, 3 parts
2022-11-05 15-00, Exit Game

There are one or two repeats listed above.

NOTES ON SOME OF THE BROADCASTS

EXIT GAME (R4, 1500, 5 Nov 22) by Nick Perry and Alex Millar was a drama-documentary looking at the system which operates in guiding our most promising footballing youngsters towards the professional game. At football clubs across the country, floodlights illuminate the latest talent. But 99% of the would-be superstars do not make the grade; they are not offered a contract. Alex Millar, a journalist who has spent a lot of the last 20 years writing about football takes us on a journey through the system. What he finds is interspersed with a fictional drama based on his research, exploring the stories of two boys navigating their way through it. Jack was played by Tim Preston, his younger self by Harvey Chapman, Nathan by Olatunji Ayofe and young Nathan by Cannon Hay. The producer was Sasha Yevtushenko. (....ND, Diversity Website review, Dec2022)

THE RECKONING....2022 On 14 May in the Saturday Play slot (and continued on the Sunday and Monday) we had the first part of THE RECKONING (R4, 1500, 14 May 22), by Mike Walker, which investigated the true events surrounding the death of the playwright Christopher Marlowe, adapted from Charles Nichols' book. It's London, 1593 and Marlowe, a young writer, is fatally stabbed in a Deptford lodging house because of a disagreement over the bill. There's an investigation, the witnesses are interrogated, and then the suspect walks free. The authorities find that Marlowe was the aggressor and was killed in self-defence. History says it was just a drunken quarrel. But Charles Nichols thinks it was murder. In this drama, he traces Marlowe's political and intelligence dealings, explores the shadowy underworld of Elizabethan crime and espionage, and penetrates a complex and chilling story of possible entrapment and betrayal. Marlowe was a writer who influenced Shakespeare and if he had lived he could have become equally well-known, but he died at the age of 29. The story is essentially true and the people in it are real; the events are documented; the words were spoken, though the writers have invented some of them, and set them in a modern idiom for the sake of clarity. But this true story is also a mystery, a jigsaw with many pieces missing. The drama shows what might have happened; perhaps what did happen. Christopher Marlowe was played by Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Robert Poley by Burn Gorman, Ingram Frizer by Carl Prekopp, and Nicholas Skeres by Matthew Durkan. Sound was by Peter Ringrose and the producer was Sasha Yevtushenko. (....ND, Diversity Website review, Sep 2022)

Nick Perry's new drama serial, LONDON PARTICULAR (R4, 1415, 3 x 45m beginning 4 Dec 20) is described as a sci-fi drama on the Penguin Books website . [https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/112/1120523/london-particular/9781529134070.html.] For the unaware, a London Particular is the name given to a 'pea-souper'; a thick fog/smog which enveloped London for many years on dark winter days as the black smoke from coal-fired chimneys rolled down the roofs into the streets and reduced visibility to a few feet. The drama itself is difficult to summarise, but the Penguin site has a good try without introducing spoilers; I've edited it a little: "While travelling on the London Underground one afternoon, Alice meets the gaze of a man standing on the platform of a mysterious "ghost station". As her train hurtles into a tunnel, he's gone. She's sure that the man was her brother Alan; missing presumed dead for the past five years. The encounter is the beginning of Alice's increasingly bizarre search for her missing brother, a journey leading her back through time into London's past. As she soon discovers, London is not one but many cities, a city of curious anomalies and dark secrets, of hidden portals to other dimensions, a city so vast and varied that the weird and the uncanny blend seamlessly with the ordinary ...." I was reminded of Neil Gaiman's "London Underground" and Nick's own timeslip play from 2009, "The Loop". Scarlett Brookes played Alice and Ian Dunnett Jnr was Alan, with Jane Whittenshaw, Emma Handy, Roger Ringrose and Joseph Ayre. The producer was Sasha Yevtushenko. (....ND, Diversity Website review, Dec 2020)

HELIUM ........Finally I must report on an interesting short feature: HELIUM (R4, 1445, 19 Dec 20), part 4 of a series of 5 programmes about the chemical elements. Helium is notable for being a very inert low-density gas with tiny atoms; it doesn't usually form molecules. The story of helium started with a solar eclipse in 1868. Two astronomers noticed light of an unusual colour (a unique spectral line) coming from the sun. This was the first evidence for helium's existence. The gas was subsequently discovered on earth. It's now used in many branches of science. Doctors need it to run MRI machines to diagnose tumours; engineers test rockets for leaks with it. Deep sea divers use it to avoid the bends. However helium is a finite resource; perhaps it's too valuable to waste on party balloons when serious science needs so much of it. As a chemist who has worked with helium and talked about it for years, I learned a lot from this programme. The producer was radio drama expert Sasha Yevtushenko, who received a mention earlier in the review. (....ND, Diversity Website review, Dec 2020)

SUSPICIOUS MINDS sounded as if it could be interesting but unfortunately I missed it; perhaps it will be repeated. This was a play by Tom Fowler (R4, 1415, 1 Feb 19) and according to the RT write-up was a time-travelling fantasy, with the settings ranging from the Titanic to Ancient Rome. 'Mark is trying to repair a troubled relationship with his unfaithful partner so he books the trip of a lifetime involving visits to different periods of history, but without the ability to change known events. Will it work?' Fran was played by Susannah Fielding, Mark by Tom Motherdale and Simon by Christopher Harper; the producer was Sasha Yevtushenko.

On the following day we heard the first episode of Ambler's JOURNEY INTO FEAR (R4, 1500, 28 Apr 19), adapted by Nick Perry, a WW2 thriller. The protagonist is a British engineer working for the Turkish government, traveling back from Turkey, where he had completed high-level technical talks which might help cement a Turkish-British alliance. German spies seek to assassinate him. Most of the plot takes place on board an Italian ship, where the engineer travels with a German intellectual spymaster accompanied by a Romanian hired killer and with a rich cast of other characters. As common in Ambler's books, the protagonist is not a professional spy, and is clearly out of his depth. Indeed, the chief Nazi treats him with open contempt, which for much of the book seems amply justified, but ultimately the German professional pays for underestimating him. Alec was played by Daniel Rigby, Berlinks and Jose by Simon Scardifield, Dr. Haller by Matthew Marsh and Josette by Olivia Ross; the producer was Sasha Yevtushenko. (....ND, Diversity Website review, Sep 2019)

In late April we had THE BATTLE OF SAN PIETRO, by Nick Perry. (R4, 1430, 27 Apr 19). This was a 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 Huston on a US Army propaganda film about the Italian campaign. This was an odd coupling: the reserved, cautious British novelist and the gregarious film director. The two men agreed that there would be nothing fake or artificial in their production, but crafting a story in the middle of a war tested their ethics to the limit. The play was a good introduction to Ambler's world of suspense, thrills and intrigue. Huston was played by Elliot Cowan, and Ambler by Joseph Kloska; the director was Sasha Yevtushenko. (....ND, Diversity Website review, April 2019)

2018-11-11 A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics
Series 1,The Rat-catchers of Yonville. By John Nicholson, Richard Katz and Javier Marzan. 7.15pm In 19th-century provincial France, a pair of vermin controllers seek their fortune. Arriving in the market town of Yonville, things start to go wrong when their rat-catching kit goes missing and then when they find themselves entangled in the marital woes of the town's doctor. In this new series the comedy troupe 'Peepolykus' (people like us) take the roles of minor characters in great works of fiction and derail the plot of the book through their hapless buffoonery. Indie (Eleanor Lloyd Productions). Emma . . . . . Ingrid Oliver, John . . . . . John Nicholson, Javier . . . . . Javier Marzan, Charles . . . . . Richard Katz, Tuvache . . . . . Leo Wan, Hippolyte . . . . . Stephen Critchlow, Justin . . . . . Caolan McCarthy, Homais . . . . . Chris Pavlo, Madame Codoux . . . . . Jessica Turner, Felicite . . . . . Rebecca Hamilton, Producer . . . . . Sasha Yevtushenko,

2018-10-30 What's Wrong With Baby?
By Emma Jowett. Teenager Holly is the victim of online bullying. Her mother finds out and decides not to speak to the school, but confronts the bully herself. Things escalate. Helen . . . . . Rebecca Callard, Eve . . . . . Hollie Burgess, Holly . . . . . Rosie Boore, Sandra . . . . . Jeannette Percival, Mike . . . . . Don Gilet, Miss Cooke . . . . . Alexandra Constantinidi, Dr Mills . . . . . Lucy Doyle, Neighbour . . . . . Elizabeth Counsell. The piano was played by Peter Ringrose. Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko. This is Emma Jowett's first drama for Radio 4.

The second 'North Korea' play was by Nick Perry, author of "The Loop". It was called DEATH AT THE AIRPORT (R4, 1415, 4 Dec 2017) and it was again a docu-drama. It looked at the power struggle between the leader of North Korea, the dictator Kim Jong-un, and his half-brother Kim Jong-nam. If you are in control of that country and perceive a threat from a rival bloodline, you deal with it by careful planning: anticipating it and destroying it is the procedure and murder is not necessarily a problem.

The first thing Kim Jong-nam noticed as he stood minding his own business at Kuala Lumpur airport in February was was a pretty young woman trying to get his attention, followed by something wet and cold on his face. As he recoiled, another young woman grabbed his head and smeared a quantity of something oily over his face. He died before he could reach hospital. It turned out that the substance was VX nerve agent. The women were caught and are being held in Kuala Lumpur for murder; if convicted they will be executed.

North Korea denies responsibility, but its fictional press releases are well-known. You may remember that a double rainbow and new star appeared when Kim Jong Il was born, and all of us know the date of his birthday.

Jong-nam was played by Daniel York, Ko Young-hui by Liz Sutherland, Jong-un by Chris Lew Kum Hoi, and Jong-chul by Paul Chan; the producer was Sasha Yevtushenko. (....ND, Diversity Website review, Dec 2017)

The first of the 'North Korea' plays, LIGHTS, CAMERA, KIDNAP! (1415, R4, 25-26 Sep 2017, in two episodes) was by Lucy Catherine. In 1978 a South Korean movie star and her ex-husband, a film director, were kidnapped by Kim Jong-Il, to make films for North Korea. The story is stranger than anything you could make up; all of it is based on actual events. Jong-il wanted the North Korean movie industry to produce world-famous films which could win prizes. He decided to kidnap South Korea's most famous film-making couple and make them work for him.

The actress Choi Eun-hee was snatched first. In 1977 she was approached by a Korean agent pretending to be a businessman. He told her he could form a film-making company with her to revive her career. The opportunity would enable her to become a well-known actress-turned-director. She was persuaded to go to Hong Kong and then to a meeting on one of the islands. On the way, the car stopped at Repulse Bay and she got out. She was grabbed and injected with a strong sedative. Eight days later she was under guard in a Pyongyang villa. Her ex-husband Shin Sang-ok soon realised she was missing and started to search for her. He too was pursued by agents and was abducted in a similar way.

The two prisoners were kept apart. Shin Sang-Ok refused to cooperate, which led to him spending four years in prison. Finally he gave in; he was released, and the couple were reunited and started to make films together. They found Kim Jong-il to be a fairly knowledgeable film producer. They worked with him and produced a series of movies, the most notable of which was Pulgasari, where a monster sides with peasants against a feudal landlord. After eight years the couple decided that they had Kim Jong-Il's trust, and they might be able to escape. The play covers that episode, too.

Choi Eun-hee was played by Liz Sutherland; Shin Sang-Ok by Paul Courtney and Kim Jong-Il by Leo Wan. The producer was Sasha Yevtushenko. (....ND, Diversity Website review, Dec 2017)

Phililp Palmer's Saturday Play THE HATTON GARDEN HEIST (R4, 1430, 1 Apr 17) was an examination of the biggest-ever UK burglary which took place over Easter in 2015. A gang of ingenious mainly-retired older criminals, after meticulous planning, drilled into an underground Safe Deposit vault and departed with goods and cash including gold and precious stones. According to the Daily Mirror, the robbery is possibly the largest in British history. Between 60 and 70 safety deposit boxes, with an estimated value of around £35million, were prised open on Bank Holiday Monday after the alarms had been disabled. The actual value is unknown; the content of safety deposit boxes remains a secret. The robbers had climbed down a lift shaft into the building; then they drilled through the 18-inch thick wall into the vault, bypassing the main vault door. It was a very interesting listen. The narrator was Tracy-Ann Oberman and the ringleader, Brian, was played by Peter Wight, with a supporting cast including Andy Linden, Paul Hilton, John Bowler, David Sterne, and Nick Murchie. The producer was Sasha Yevtushenko. (....ND, Diversity Website review, April 2017)

RED AND BLUE....2017
.....During February we had a repeat of Philip Palmer's latest three Bradley Shoreham stories, RED AND BLUE (R4, beginning 2 Feb 17). Bradley is an ex-military war-games expert who has retired from the army and is now working with civilians, stress-testing the functioning of big organizations to train them how to deal with emergencies more effectively. In RANSOMEWARE (R4, 1415, 9 Feb 17), a city hedge fund's cyber defences were put to the test. Although barely computer-literate, Bradley devises a box of tricks for the firm's IT experts to deal with, and has no hesitation about using dirty tactics to see how senior managers deal with unexpected situations and which of them are possibly not up to the job. The crisis he generates simulates what could happen if a multi-million pound business was brought to its knees. Tim Woodward played Bradley, with Michael Bertenshaw as Malcolm, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Toby and Lydia Leonard as Andrea. In SACRIFICE (2 Feb) the scenario was a civil emergency with a new drug-proof pandemic spreading around the globe. SHADOW (16 Feb) was set on an oil rig where things go wrong. All three plays were produced by Sasha Yevtushenko; plays 1 and 3 were directed by Toby Swift and play 2 by Eoin O'Callaghan. (....ND, Diversity Website review, April 2017)

9 Jul 2016: Saturday Play: Moll Flanders
By Daniel Defoe. Dram Nick Perry, of 'The Loop' fame. The first in a series of dramas juxtaposing Defoe's life against the exploits of his best-known characters. 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. Moll has to pit her wits against a world which seems determined to see her fail. Moll: Jessica Hynes, Daniel Defoe: Ben Miles, Mr. Mist: Brian Protheroe, Lady Cholmondley: Elizabeth Bennett, Jemmy: Blake Ritson, nurse: Clare Perkins, young Moll: Alex Jarett, Rob: Nick Underwood, Lucy: Kirsty Oswald, John: Tom Forrister, Robin: Sam Rix, Jailer: Sean Baker. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko. 60m.

8 Jul 2016: Defoe: Merchant, Writer, Convict, Spy
By Philip Palmer; a biographical drama. Daniel Defoe was never far from trouble and he died hiding from his creditors. Defoe tried to survive in a harsh world, describing how he wrote his way out of trouble in prison, came to the attention of one of the most powerful men in England, and became a spy for the government in the lead-up to the Act of Union. Daniel Defoe: Ben Miles, Mary Defoe: Niamh Cusack, Robert Harley: Pip Torrens, Jailers: Nick Underwood and Brian Protheroe. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko.

2015-08-03 Silk: The Clerks' Room, Episode 1
By Mick Collins. Following the cuts to Legal Aid the pressure is mounting on Shoe Lane barristers' chambers. Head Clerk Billy anticipates that they are on the brink of financial collapse and makes a desperate bid to secure work from an unscrupulous solicitor. But his wheeler-dealing creates unease in the Shoe Lane clerks' room and he soon finds himself at loggerheads with his star-performing barrister Rose Parker. The drama series is inspired by the BBC One legal drama Silk and features the same core cast and characters from the TV shows. Billy ....... Neil Stuke, Bethany .......... Amy Wren , Jake ......... Theo Barklem-Biggs , Rose ........ Alex Tregear , Anthony ......... Mark Edel-Hunt , Ray ......... David Hounslow , Lee ......... Josef Altin , Judges ......... David Acton and Jessica Turner, Producer..... Sasha Yevtushenko.

2015-08-04 Episode 2
By Mick Collins. A rift at Shoe Lane causes prosecution to be pitted against defence, with Billy Lamb and his deputy John Bright vying for control of the clerks' room. Junior barrister Amy Lang risks becoming a pawn in their game as John makes promises that he can't keep. Billy ....... Neil Stuke, Bethany ....... Amy Wren , John ...... John MacMillan , Amy ..... Jessica Henwick , Rose ........ Alex Tregear , Lucy ........ Amelia Lowdell , Stephen ..... David Acton , Judge ....... Jessica Turner, Usher ........ David Hounslow, Director ....... Sasha Yevtushenko.

2015-08-05 Episode 3
By Mick Collins. Time is running out for Billy as he struggles to save Shoe Lane. With days remaining for him to secure a guaranteed income, his only option is to force the hand of an unscrupulous solicitor. But where will he find the leverage? A suspicious alibi in a GBH trial provides a clue. Billy ........ Neil Stuke, Bethany ....... Amy Wren , John ...... John MacMillan , Jake ...... Theo Barklem-Biggs , Rose ..... Alex Tregear , Amy ..... Jessica Henwick , Ray ..... David Hounslow , Lee ..... Josef Altin , Judge ...... Stephen Critchlow , Shop Owner ....... David Acton , Paul ....... Chris Pavlo, Producer...... Sasha Yevtushenko.

2014-06-21
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
By Philip K. Dick. Dramatised by Jonathan Holloway in two episodes. The story which inspired the film Blade Runner. Set in a world devastated by nuclear war, a San Francisco bounty hunter is on a mission to retire (kill) a group of rogue androids. But now that androids are almost indistinguishable from human beings, 'retirement' begins to feel more like murder and Deckard's morals get in the way of the job. The boundaries continue to blur when he develops feelings for the beautiful and sentient Rachael Rosen, herself an android. The conclusion was broadcast on the following day. Rick Deckard ...... James Purefoy, Rachael Rosen ....... Jessica Raine, Harry Bryant ..... Nicky Henson, Eldon Rosen ......... Anton Lesser, Luba Luft ......... Heather Craney, JR Isadore ........ Stuart McLoughlin, Polokov ....... Clive Hayward, Roy Baty ....... Danny Sapani, Jenny Bell ........ Jaimi Barbakoff, Caruso ...... Wilf Scolding, Director ....... Sasha Yevtushenko.

2014-08-17 The Stuarts - Charles II, Part Two: The Long Lease of Pleasant Days
By Mike Walker. Charles II fathered over a dozen illegitimate children, yet his wife Queen Catherine was unable to produce an heir. Mike Walker's epic sees Charles fending off the claims of his eldest son Monmouth and the plots against his increasingly unpopular Catholic wife and brother. All this while juggling a complicated love life. Charles II ..... Pip Torrens, James ........ James Fleet, Ashley-Cooper ....... Ken Bones, Halifax ........ Clive Hayward, Monmouth ......... Alex Waldmann, Louise ........ Olivia Ross, Barbara ........ Stephanie Racine, Titus Oates ........ Matthew Watson, Catherine ...... Elaine Claxton, Speaker ..... David Cann, Doctor ...... Damian Lynch, Priest ....... Michael Bertenshaw, Huntsman ........ Mark Edel-Hunt. Producers: Sasha Yevtushenko & Marc Beeby.

2014-10-12 Classic Serial: For Whom the Bell Tolls,Episode 1
By Ernest Hemingway. Adapted by Ed Hime. High in the pine forests of the Spanish Sierra, a young American volunteer prepares to blow up a vital bridge as part of a Republican offensive during the Spanish Civil War. There, in the mountains and surrounded by the enemy, he camps with a band of guerrillas tasked with helping him. But he soon makes a dangerous enemy within the camp and, despite his better judgement, is drawn to Maria, a young woman who has escaped Franco's rebels. Narrator ....... Colin Stinton , Robert Jordan ........ Patrick Kennedy , Pablo ........ Ralph Ineson , Pilar ....... Melanie Kilburn , Maria ........ Leah Brotherhead , Anselmo ...... Michael Bertenshaw , Agustin ....... Paul Heath , Rafael ...... Shaun Mason , El Sordo ....... Ian Conningham , Primitivo ....... David Acton , Andres ....... Arthur Hughes , Fernando ..... Monty d'Inverno, Producer....... Sasha Yevtushenko.

2012-06-06 Take a (Virtual) Girl Like You
By Nicholas Pierpan. Alex Tilly is a radio psychiatrist who cures people of cyber addiction. But he's also very keen to get his own TV show, and and end justifies the means. He starts working for a firm manufacturing virtual girlfriends. Alex's job is to make his digital creations as addictive as possible. Alex . . . . . Sam Alexander, Dawn . . . . . Jemima Rooper, Julie . . . . . Susie Riddell, Dr Lark . . . . . Gerard McDermott, Beth . . . . . Tracy Wiles, Vanessa . . . . . Christine Absalom, George . . . . . Harry Livingstone, DJ . . . . . Peter Hamilton Dyer. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko; production Co-ordinator: Jessica Brown. SMs: Peter Ringrose & Jenni Burnett.

2014-10-25 Saturday Drama:The Shootist
By Glendon Swarthout. Adapted by Nick Perry; a 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 to feast upon his corpse. Books outwits them all by selecting the where, when, and manner of his death. John Bernard Books ........ Brian Cox, Bond Rodgers ....... Michelle Fairley , Gillom Rodgers ...... Joe Jameson , Marshal Thibido ...... Craige Els , Charles Hostetler ........ Michael Bertenshaw , Shoup ....... Joe Sims , Norton ....... Ashley Kumar , Mrs Woodling ........ Heather Craney , Bartender ....... Clive Hayward, Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko.

Late Night Drama, 1 Oct 2013 - He Died with His Eyes Open. Episode 1.
By Derek Raymond, ad. Nick Perry. 11pm. 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.

Mike Walker's PLANTAGENET (R4, 1500, Classic Serial, 3 x 55m beginning 1 Apr 12) has been a brilliant historical epic, inspired by Holinshead's Chronicles. The stories are set in the fifteenth century, but they are amazingly accessible because such care has been taken with the language. No stilted historical-speak here; before a battle we hear one of the soldiers remark 'It's arse-kicking time'. The realism of the dialogue carries it along at a tremendous pace; it feels as if you are actually there. In the words of Jane Anderson (paraphrased by ND): Put aside all thoughts of Shakespeare's 'Henry V'....this is not so much "Once more unto the breach" as "Once more onto the couch" as Mike Walker's superb interpretation provides a gripping psychological profile of the young Prince Hal... like Shakespeare's Henry, he can inspire men, lead an army and crush a rebellion....but in this version he is outsmarted at every turn by his wife.....

The first episode statrred Luke Treadaway and Lydia Leonard as Hal and Catherine, along with Gerard McDermott, James Lailey, Paul Moriarty, Simon Bubb, and Carl Prekopp. The producers were Jeremy Mortimer and Sasha Yevtushenko.

2011-10-26 The Rivals - The Problem of Cell 13
By Jacques Futrelle.Dramatised by Chris Harrald. Inspector Lestrade was made to look a fool in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Now he has a chance to get his own back, with tales of Holmes' rivals. He continues with the extraordinary story of Professor SFX Van Dusen, who thinks his way out of a locked prison cell. Lestrade . . . . . James Fleet, Van Dusen . . . . . Paul Rhys, Lucy . . . . . Alex Tregear, Fielding . . . . . Sean Baker, Merriman . . . . . Stuart McLoughlin, Hatch . . . . . Alun Raglan, O'Connor . . . . . Simon Bubb. Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko."

The Rivals - Murder by Proxy
By Matthias McDonnel Bodkin; dramatised by Chris Harrald. 2 Nov 2011. A country house murder and the devious talents of private detective Paul Beck. Lestrade . . . . . James Fleet, Beck . . . . . Anton Lesser, Lucy . . . . . Alex Tregear, Jonathan . . . . . Stuart McLoughlin, Mark . . . . . Simon Bubb, Julia . . . . . Eloise Secker, Neville . . . . . Sean Baker, Tilley . . . . . Brian Bowles, Mrs Beck . . . . . Jane Whittenshaw. Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko.

The Rivals - The Mystery of Redstone Manor
By Chris Harrald, based on the character by Catherine Louisa Pirkis.9 Nov 2011. An adventure featuring the uncompromising Loveday Brooke. Lestrade . . . . . James Fleet, Loveday . . . . . Honeysuckle Weeks, Lucy . . . . . Alex Tregear, Winter . . . . . Brian Bowles, Simkins . . . . . Stuart McLoughlin, Alex . . . . . Daniel Rabin. Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko.

REFEREE, by Nick Perry (R4, 1415, 13 May 11) told the story of a top class football referee on the brink of retirement who is offered a bribe. His own source of income is about to dry up, and all around he can see less dedicated people being paid enormous sums of money. He takes some time to decide what to do .... the play starred Mark Addy, Ralph Ineson, Andrew Scott, Sean Baker, Denise Gough and Sally Orrock; the producer was Sasha Yevtushenko.

2010-10-26 Beautiful Dreamers - The Symphony for all Creation
By James Lever and Nat Segnit. 11pm. Documentary maker Nat Segnit investigates the stories of mavericks including the creator of the first animal orchestra; a billionaire planning to freefall from space; an ex-con New York junkie bridge jumper; the first swimmer of the River Europe and the 'Jonahs' who offer themselves to be swallowed by whales. This week Nat explores the life and work of Artur Mistek, founder of Musica Zoologika. Contributions from Charlie Higson, Toby Jones, Eleanor Bron, Peter Marinker and Zeb Soanes. Music by David Pickvance. Produced by Steven Canny and Sasha Yevtushenko.

2010-10-05 The Pursuit
By Matt Hartley.When a road accident ends in tragedy, the police officer involved sets out to discover who was to blame. But is he prepared to accept the findings? Paul . . . . . Don Gilet, Clare . . . . . Claire Price, Simon . . . . . Adeel Akhtar, Cormac . . . . . Sean Baker, Alison . . . . . Sally Orrock, Thomas . . . . . Rielly Newbold. Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko.

2010-08-17 Unauthorised History: The Killing
By Michael Butt. In May 1593, the playwright Christopher Marlowe was killed. Apparently, it was because of an argument over a bill. Michael Butt's innovative drama dons the cloak of documentary to re-examine the unsolved case. Cast: Narrator . . . . . Paul RhysThomas Walsingham . . . . . Blake RitsonThomas Kyd . . . . . Harry LloydRobert Poley . . . . . Burn GormanLord Cecil . . . . . Tim McMullanMrs Bull . . . . . Christine KavanaghIngram Frizer . . . . . Tony BellRichard Baines . . . . . Sam DaleCambridge Porter . . . . . Sean BakerDrew Woodleff . . . . . Lloyd Thomas Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko.

2010-07-10 - Friday Drama - Leverage
By Simon Passmore, 60m. Thriller. A city banker is found dead in an opulent apartment. At the funeral, his former girlfriend Helen is unexpectedly questioned about when she last saw him. Did he mention computer files, or give her anything as a keepsake? Helen's suspicions mount as she retraces his last movements. Her discoveries put her in the firing line. Helen . . . . . Claire Foy, David . . . . . Blake Ritson, Mark . . . . . Charlie Cox, Kendra . . . . . Sally Orrock, Clare . . . . . Joanna Monro, Jamie....Nyasha Hatendi, Ray . . . . . Sean Baker, Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko. Rpt. 20 Jul 2012.

THE INCOMPARABLE WITNESS, by Nicola McAuliffe, (R4, 1415, 12 Jun 08) was a drama about Sir Bernard Spilsbury, 'the father of modern forensics', and the case which made his name.

Spilsbury was born in Leamington in 1877. He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he took a BA in natural science in 1899. He then studied at St Mary's Hospital in London, specialising in the then-new science of forensic pathology.

The case which brought Spilsbury to prominence was that of Dr. Crippen in 1910, where he gave forensic evidence in the trial about the likely identity of the human remains found in Crippen's house. During his career Spilsbury performed thousands of autopsies, not only of murder victims but also of executed criminals. He was first to recognize the signs of death by rapid drowning, the secrets held in blood spatters, and he devised the best toxicological technique for revealing arsenic poisoning. He was knighted in 1923.

Spilsbury had one daughter and three sons with his wife Edith Caroline Horton. Two of his sons died during the Second World War, one from ill-health and one during the Blitz. The death of his children was a blow from which he never fully recovered. He committed suicide in December, 1947, in his laboratory at University College, London.

The play was narrated by his widow, played by Joanna David, and captured the brilliant performances he made in court in front of figures very much his senior. Spilsbury was played by Timothy Watson, the younger Edith by Honeysuckle Weeks, and the cast included Dan Starkey, John Rowe, Sam Dale, Stephen Critchlow, and Chris Pavlo. The producer was Sasha Yevtushenko.

2007-06-23 From Fact to Fiction
5/7. By Philip Palmer and composer Nicolai Abrahamsen. A fictional response to a story in the week's news. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko.

2004-03-22 Mars Flight
Set in 1989; by Max Mueller and Alasdair Mangham. Michael Hoffman, a 20-year-old East German mechanic, signs up for a medical trial which will simulate the 90-day joumey to Mars. Sasha features in the cast, not as producer. Michael: Chris Moran, Judith: Jalml Barbakoff, Gerd/Schabowski: John Rowe, Christine: Frances Jeater, Anna: Gbemlsola Ikumelo, Wolrat: Philip Fox, Dorner: Loan Meredith, Werner: Declan Wilson, News correspondent: Cherle Taylor-Battiste, Newsreader: Damian Lynch, Cosmonaut: Sasha Yevtushenko. Producer: David Hunter.




Nigel Deacon, Diversity Website

Back to top