Valerie Georgeson: Radio Plays
Valerie Georgeson was born in South Shields in the north east of England in 1945. She studied for a degree in Drama & Theatre Arts, and English Lit at Birmingham University; then she became an actress and later a novelist. Over the years she has been a member of British Actor's Equity, the Samaritans, the International Dance Teachers Association, TheWriters' Guild, BAFTA, the Society of Authors and the British Association of Iconographers. She now lives in France with her husband Brian, a European Geordie expat.
From Valerie's biography, summarised by ND: In 1971 Valerie and her husband moved to rural Lancashire, where they bought a derelict house. From that point, Valerie ceased working for the theatre, restricting her work to radio and TV. During the long periods when she was out of work and Brian was away, shevolunteered for the Samaritans, campaigned for a journalist imprisoned without trial in Argentina, visited the elderly and grew vegetables. It was then she began writing radio plays.
Valerie's autobiographical book (from the reviews it seems that it's more than an autobiography), published Feb 2022, is at: https://www.scribd.com/book/548877065/God-the-Devil-and-Me-The-Chronicles-of-a-Seeker-of-God. Her other books are:
1985 The Turning Tides (Macdonald, London) 0-356-10771-X
1985 Quartet: The Shadow of the Elephant (Macdonald, London)
1986 Seeds of Love 0-356-12055-4
1987 Whispering Roots 0-356-14754-1
1989 The Haunted Tree 0-356-17560-X
1991 The Garden 0-356-20545-2
and as ‘Zoë Halliday',
1996 Brother Cat, Brother Man (Hodder, London; nominated for the Angus Prize), 0-340-65123-7
RADIO PLAYS
MIRRORS IN THE MIND....1986
3 Nov 86; Monday Play.
THE LABYRINTH....1984
21 May 84. Monday Play. Repeated as Afternoon Play, 27 May 84. With Frances Jeater.
A tragic story in the Greek tradition which tells of the desperation of Evelyn, an unsuccessful actress living alone after a failed marriage. She is constantly haunted by the reproaches of her parents.
In her loneliness and frustration she longs for a child and falls pregnant from a casual affair. At the same time she is offered the lead in a television serial. She is caught in a labyrinth from which there is no escape.
This is a play of power and passion which makes use of interior monologue, poetry and radio techniques to convey the suffering of a credible woman.
(Notes paraphrased from the ABC magazine, '24 Hours'; broadcast in Australia on ABC FM, 18 Feb 86. Recording and notes sent by Guy B - many thanks)
THE MERMAID'S TALE....1983
5.2.1983. Kathleen Helme/Marlene SidawayChristian Rodska. SNT (Saturday Night Theatre)
CRACKING UP....1981
31 Jul 81. Double Talk no. 1 "Cracking Up". With Judith Barker/Roy Barraclough. Afternoon Play.
THE CIRCUS OF STATE....1980
12.4.1980 SNT. Elizabeth Bell/Ruth Goring
CLOSED CIRCUIT....1980
4 Apr 80. Afternoon Play. With Brian Southwood/Diana Bishop.
DADDY'S LITTLE TREASURE....1979
22 Sep 78; rpt 14 Sep 79. Adrienne Frank/Ronald Herdman/Kathleen Helme. Afternoon Play.
SOPHIE'S BLUES....1979
4 Mar 79. Kirsten McGlinchy/Cliff Howells/Eileen O'Brien/Anne Raitt. Just Before Midnight.
RIGHTFUL POSSESSION....1977
30.7.1977. SNT. Elizabeth Bell/Alan Rothwell *FOUND* A man and his wife, both career people with no wish for a family, find an out-of-the-way Elizabethan house which they decide to buy. They move in. Suddenly their previously straightforward life is filled with creepy happenings when they buy an ancient cradle at a nearby antique shop. Producer Alfred Bradley; 90m.
AS ACTOR
THE JOLLY GIRLS....1981
1.11.83; rpt. 26.1.1983, by John Bond. With Marlene Sidaway/Valerie Georgeson/Kathleen Helme. Afternoon Play.
ATTICS & CELLARS....1981
01.11.1981. By Valerie Windsor. With Valerie Georgeson/John Rowe. Afternoon Play.
OUR YOUNG MR. WIGNALL....1978
30.3.1978. By David Nobbs, with Mick Ford/ Ronald Baddiley/Valerie Georgeson /Lynda Marshall. Afternoon Play.
COUNTDOWN....1977
24.3.1977. By Kay McManus. With Valerie Georgeson/Ursula Smith/David Mahlowe. Afternoon Play.
A BUNCH OF FIVES....1976
9.7.1976. Play 4: The Queen's Own. By Stanley Eveling. With Valerie Georgeson/Paul Webster. Afternoon Play.
THE FELLS OF YEWDALE....1974
By John Tarrant. 14.11.1974. The Fells of Yewdale . With Valerie Georgeson/Peter Armitage/Brian Trueman. Afternoon Play.
GRACE AFTER SUPPER....1971
5 May 71, by Kenneth Bird. With Mary Wimbush/Arnold Peters/John Bott/Valerie Georgeson.
ND / Diversity website, with thanks to Greg Linden for information on most of the plays and to Stephen Shaw for telling me about the autobiography.
