RADIO
Radio and audio are more or less the same discipline. Why have I split them in two? Partly so that none of the radio and audio projects got lost and partly because this is my favourite medium to work in. There's that old cliche, the pictures are much better on radio... and it's true. It just is. Put a good radio or audio drama on, focus on that (with headphones and in the dark improves the experience for me) and let the story take you away.
It's possible I'm so taken with radio because it's always been there. When I was a kid my Mum listened to a radio soap, Waggoner's Walk. As a teenager, I heard The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy on the radio (after I'd seen the TV version and read the first two novels so I did it all out of order). From there I started hearing radio comedy, some radio plays caught my interest, and then Doctor Who started arriving on cassette, CD and radio so I was hooked. I also have to say I'm addicted to Test Match Special, which remains one of the greatest comedy chat shows you'll ever hear.
At my desk here I have hundreds - really hundreds - of radio and audio productions: Doctor Who, The Goon Show, Blake's 7, Round The Horne, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Sherlock Holmes... I also have collections from Imagination Theater, a Seattle-based producer of radio drama for whom Claire and I have written more than 20 plays. We created and write the historical mystery series, Kerides the Thinker, set in ancient Egypt. We've contributed to the Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series and we have written a number of horror plays, each with a nod to horror films from the past.
Radio is just a glorious medium that lets you tell as broad or intimate a story as you want without worrying about the special effects budget too much. Of course there are sound effects but the visuals are all in the listener's head. TV may have stolen a large chunk of radio's audience but radio survives and on it creativity is thriving. I can't recommend strongly enough that you check out radio and audio productions. Radio 4 is wonderful and there are many other outlets around the world. Do yourself a favour and listen to the wireless.
It's possible I'm so taken with radio because it's always been there. When I was a kid my Mum listened to a radio soap, Waggoner's Walk. As a teenager, I heard The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy on the radio (after I'd seen the TV version and read the first two novels so I did it all out of order). From there I started hearing radio comedy, some radio plays caught my interest, and then Doctor Who started arriving on cassette, CD and radio so I was hooked. I also have to say I'm addicted to Test Match Special, which remains one of the greatest comedy chat shows you'll ever hear.
At my desk here I have hundreds - really hundreds - of radio and audio productions: Doctor Who, The Goon Show, Blake's 7, Round The Horne, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Sherlock Holmes... I also have collections from Imagination Theater, a Seattle-based producer of radio drama for whom Claire and I have written more than 20 plays. We created and write the historical mystery series, Kerides the Thinker, set in ancient Egypt. We've contributed to the Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series and we have written a number of horror plays, each with a nod to horror films from the past.
Radio is just a glorious medium that lets you tell as broad or intimate a story as you want without worrying about the special effects budget too much. Of course there are sound effects but the visuals are all in the listener's head. TV may have stolen a large chunk of radio's audience but radio survives and on it creativity is thriving. I can't recommend strongly enough that you check out radio and audio productions. Radio 4 is wonderful and there are many other outlets around the world. Do yourself a favour and listen to the wireless.
written with CLAIRE BARTLETTImagination Theatre, 2006-2016
In Alexandria 286BC, a penniless young student fresh off the boat finds himself hauled regularly into mysteries, and into a relationship with former slave Adrea.
Half hour (with occasional hour-long) episodes. 15 episodes so far.
In Alexandria 286BC, a penniless young student fresh off the boat finds himself hauled regularly into mysteries, and into a relationship with former slave Adrea.
Half hour (with occasional hour-long) episodes. 15 episodes so far.
written with CLAIRE BARTLETTImagination Theatre, 2012-
Occasional episodes of the continuing adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. I've written half a dozen episodes thus far.
Occasional episodes of the continuing adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. I've written half a dozen episodes thus far.
written with CLAIRE BARTLETTImagination Theatre, 2008-2016
An occasional series of hour long horror plays, usually influenced by the great horrors of the past. Without riffing on their stories we have homaged Hammer, Amicus and Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe adaptations... we worked out a bunch of others which may or may not appear some day.
An occasional series of hour long horror plays, usually influenced by the great horrors of the past. Without riffing on their stories we have homaged Hammer, Amicus and Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe adaptations... we worked out a bunch of others which may or may not appear some day.
You can find some details on stories that were rejected or abandoned here. Just because they weren't made doesn't mean I don't have a fondness for them.