Tinniswood Award 2025

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TINNISWOOD FINALISTS 2025

Man Friday by Edson Burton, producer Mary Ward-Lowery, BBC Audio Wales and West

Southall Uprising by Satinder Chohan, producer Nadia Molinari, BBC Studios Audio North

A Tale of Ossian by Robert Forrest, producer Kirsty Williams, BBC Audio Scotland

Orwell v Kafka: Restless Dreams by Don Rebellato, producer Polly Thomas, Naked Productions

NOTES

MAN FRIDAY

22 Sep 24:Sunday afternoon - Man Friday
By Edson Burton. A re-imagining of Daniel Defoe’s classic story, from the perspective of Man Friday. Kofi is having a bad day when he first meets the shipwrecked Robinson Crusoe. Lost at sea and out of provisions, his starving shipmates have decided to eat him. When they come upon a deserted island, it seems the perfect venue for a beach barbecue. But Kofi spies a footprint in the sand which raises his hopes of rescue. Crusoe appears, raving, clothed only in branches, with a goat for backup. They somehow frighten off the pirates, and are alone. This island is as foreign to Kofi as it is to Crusoe, and brings up all the same issues: loneliness, abandonment, and how to survive. Kofi ... CJ Beckford, Crusoe ... Alexander Kirk, Captain/Sailor 1/Sally ... Joseph Tweedale, Sailor 2 ... John Rutledge. Original music by Seckou Keita. Engineered by Andy Bell at Hudson Records. Additional music and sound design by Ilse Lademann. Producer ... Mary Ward-Lowery.

SOUTHALL UPRISING

10 Feb 24: Saturday Play - Southall Uprising
By Satinder Chohan. Another play in the "Turning Point" series, based on true events. It's set and recorded in Southall and marks the 45th anniversary of the Southall riots. The National Front booked to hold a meeting at Southall Town Hall on 23 April 1979; a provocative gesture. Southall contained a high number of people from the Indian subcontinent, Africa and the West Indies. The National Front was opposed to immigration and in favour of repatriation. This small, hard-working immigrant community was forced to defend and assert its rights to live, work and exist in Britain. Rami….Gavi Singh Chera, Kiyana....Grace Saif, Bhupi…Zainab Hasan, AsimGurjeet Singh, Dad/Shera/Uncle Monu…Ameet Chana, Mum/Aunty...Manjinder Virk Police Officers and Protestors: ....John Lightbody and Tyler Cameron; Protestors.....members of the Punjabi Theatre Academy Tajinder Pal Singh, Balvinder Kumar, Balwinder Jhim, Nahar Singh Gill and students from Praxis Performing Arts at Uxbridge College: Alannah Dolphin, Keira Doyle, Chiana Elliott, Rico Joseph, Jevounghn Gregg Fuller. Tay Furzer-Pickett, Ronan Kubilius. Peelo Mookodi, Quinn (Rebecca) Puse, Max Mcdermott, Jason O’Connor, Sienna O' Connor, Lilly Poore, Michael Stone, Hannah Williams, Natalie Young. Production Co-ordinator: Lorna Newman; Technical Production, Location Recording and Sound Design: Sharon Hughes; Producer: Nadia Molinari. BBC Drama North. Thanks to Janpal Basran and Southall Community Alliance; Robert Lane; Tajinder Pal Singh; Saravanaa Bhavan Southall and to all those who contributed their stories and experiences.

A TALE OF OSSIAN

4 Jun 24: A Tale of Ossian
By Robert Forrest. An old man turns up in hospital with his head full of stories and his pockets full of leaves. No-one knows who he is. But when he finally begins to talk, the woman who sits across from him finds herself pulled into his world and captivated by his stories. See also Robert's page. Isobel … Wendy Seager, Ossian … Finlay Welsh, Helen … Anne Louise Ross, Dermot … Scott Miller, Fingal … Finn Den Hertog. Sound Design and original music by Niall Young. Produced by Kirsty Williams.

ORWELL v KAFKA

15 Jun 24: Saturday Play - Orwell vs Kafka: Restless Dreams
By Dan Rebellato. Restless Dreams is set on a train. Max Brod’s is one of the passengers; it's 1939 and he's fleeing the Nazis. WW2 is about to break out. In his suitcase are manuscripts, the unpublished works by Franz Kafka – of no contemporary value but inestimable treasures for the future. In his will, Kafka instructed Brod, his friend and executor, to burn these papers after his death. Brod didn’t, ensuring Kafka’s writings made it out into the world. When guards challenge Brod’s identity, he decides to hide his treasures somewhere on the train before they're taken off him. This is easier said than done. There's a Philosophers' carriage, a circus-troupe carriage, and other oddities not usually seen on trains. And no-one he meets seems to talk much sense. The writer uses many dramatic devices in this play which can only work on radio. It's a cracking story - and a masterclass in how to write for the medium. 55m. Max Brod ….. Anton Lesser, Elsa/Ilse ….. Tracy-Ann Oberman, Hanna/Eva/Ottili ….. Annie Cowan, Franz Kafka/Titorelli ….. Henry Goodman, Train Guard/Kasper ….. Guy Rhys. Producer ……..Polly Thomas Sound Designer……..Eloise Whitmore Production Manager……..Darren Spruce Executive Producer……Eloise Whitmore Indie (Naked productions).

Call for entries – Audio Drama Awards 2025

Help us continue to celebrate the best audio drama by sending in your entries for 2025. To be eligible, scripts will have to have been broadcast or made available online in the UK between 1 October 2023 and 31 October 2024.

Please apply with all supporting materials by Tuesday 4 October 2024.

Imison Award - £3,000

Best original script by a writer new to audio drama with the £3,000 prize sponsored by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, the Peggy Ramsay Foundation.

Tinniswood Award - £3,000

Best original script of the year with the £3,000 prize sponsored by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS). The 2025 judges are yet to be confirmed. The prize is this year administered by the WGGB.

With thanks to:

The Peggy Ramsay Foundation which seeks to perpetuate Peggy Ramsay’s ideals, by directly helping dramatists at very different stages of experience in ways which it is determined to keep as quick and unbureaucratic as possible.

The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS); this is a not-for-profit organisation started by writers for the benefit of all types of writers. Owned by its members, ALCS collects money due for secondary uses of writers’ work. It is designed to support authors and their creativity, to ensure they receive fair payment and see their rights are respected. It promotes and teaches the principles of copyright and campaigns for a fair deal. It represents over 110,000 members, and since 1977 has paid around £500 million to writers (www.alcs.co.uk).

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