Writers' Guild Award Nomination

Delighted that my BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Drama, The Things We Never Said, has been short-listed for Best Radio Drama in the Writers' Guild Awards 2018.

The ceremony takes place on 15 January 2018...

Every Third Minute

Excited to be working with West Yorkshire Playhouse on a short play for Every Third Minute, a festival of theatre, dementia, and hope that will comprise a variety of performances and events at the Playhouse during February and March 2018.

The title refers to the statistic that every third minute in the UK someone will begin living with dementia.  The project I'm working on (not yet listed in the schedule) is one of a trilogy of short plays to be written with people living with dementia and carers in the Leeds area.  My collaborators, on whose stories, thoughts, and experiences the play will be based, are members of the South Asian Hamari Yaadain Dementia Café, run by Touchstone support worker Ripaljeet Kaur.  

The trilogy will be performed at the Playhouse during the festival, followed by a short tour of community venues in and around Leeds.  The Playhouse has a long and proud history of community engagement with older people and those living with dementia, in particular pioneering a guide for dementia-friendly performances - the principles of which have now been adopted by numerous other organisations.

The festival is curated by Theatre & Dementia Research Associate, Nicky Taylor, with the creative process forming part of her PhD research work.  The plays themselves will be directed by Creative Engagement Director, Alex Ferris, produced by Martha Wilson.

I'll post more details in spring 2018.  Looking forward to our development week in January!  

Schlaf Nicht

Over the summer, I enjoyed writing SCHLAF NICHT, a short film for LAMDA drama students graduating in 2018.  

1961: Dissident journalist and academic Andreas has returned to Berlin after a stretch in the GDR’s Waldheim Prison.  In a jazz cellar in the Soviet Zone, he awaits a reunion with old friends.  But this is the night of 12/13 August – and the world is about to change…

Directed by LAMDA's Head of Screen and Audio, Anthony Quinn, the film will be screened in London in March 2018 and thereafter available on LAMDA's YouTube channel.  More details nearer the time.

Meanwhile, here's a sneak preview of some stills...

Reaction to The Things We Never Said, BBC Radio 4

The play, starring Lia Williams and Siân Phillips, aired in the Afternoon Drama slot on BBC Radio 4, Thursday, 11 May 2017. 

Audience reaction has been phenomenal on social media and via my other blog.

Thanks so much to all who listened and got in touch.  

It's available on BBCiPlayer until lunchtime on Saturday, 10 June.  

The play is also featured in the 26 May 2017 podcast of BBC Radio 4's Fortunately (@ 10' 33").

The Things We Never Said: Radio transmission

The Things We Never Said has a new transmission date: 14.15 on Thursday, 11 May 2017, on BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Drama.

It stars Lia Williams and Siân Phillips and is produced and directed by Abigail Le Fleming for BBC Radio Drama London.

Listen on BBC iPlayer for 30 days from 11 May 2017.

The Things We Never Said: BBC Radio 4 Cast

Thrilled to say the radio version of the play records next week with cast Lia Williams and Sian Phillips.  

Lia's recent credits include acclaimed lead roles in the Almeida Theatre's Mary Stuart and Oresteia, The Missing Series 2 (BBC), and Wallis Simpson in The Crown (Netflix).

Dame Sian, who began her career in radio, is a legend of stage and screen, unforgettable in the BBC's I, Claudius, Marlene (Dietrich; by Pam Gems) in the West End and on Broadway, and most recently in Les Blancs at the National Theatre.

The production will be directed by Abigail le Fleming, and airs in July 2017.