Alan Stafford Radio Plays
HENRY’S GIRLS….2007
15 May 07. R4, 1415. A reconstruction of the first performance of an English opera, Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, at a girls' boarding school in Chelsea in 1689. Why did one of England's most popular composers choose to write his greatest masterpiece for a girl’s school rather than the professional theatre? Stars Robert Glenister, Chloe Annett, Robert Duncan, Nichola McAuliffe. Director Dirk Maggs. Production by “Above the Title” Productions. Recorded at Studio 3, The Soundhouse Ltd, London.
”Dido” was the first English opera ever to have been written or staged. This fast-moving Restoration romp takes an educated guess at why one of England’s best-loved composers chose to write it for amateur performance.
For one girl in particular, the arrival of the charismatic Mr. Purcell will change her life forever. As the date of the open-air show draws near, many of the girls’ parents are deeply unhappy with the idea of their daughters behaving like common actresses. Surely a woman’s place is in the home?
Musical details – the play uses music from “Dido”, and other instrumental pieces by Purcell. Vocal music was all recorded for the production. Singers: Naoko Mori, Catherine Shepherd, Saskia Butler, Robert Duncan; Chorus: Capella Nova conducted by Lindsay Blay. Keyboard: Alan Stafford; cello – Katherine Joyce.
ALAN STAFFORD comments: This is my first venture into period comedy - so it was quite a surprise to see all the female actors tying long skirts around their jeans, so that the mike would pick up the swish of material as they moved.
In my previous play with Dirk (All Fingers and Thumbs) I sat in the control box, while Dirk was in the studio with the actors. This time round I was promoted to a seat in the studio, making it easier to add my own suggestions, which Dirk very generously allowed me to do. It's a fabulous cast and I really admire how they threw themselves into the singing. Naoko has experience in musicals, and Robert Duncan had briefly sung as King Rat in panto. All the same, the music was far from straightforward, but they got it brilliantly - with the help of a strategically placed rear-view mirror, which allowed them to face the mike, while glancing at me on the keyboard for their cue.
Dirk was very quick at picking up anything that wasn't clear in the script, which we quickly amended with the minimum of rewriting. There are numerous shifts of location and snippets of music, which is a lot to pack into 45 minutes. Plus we brought in a 21 strong girls' choir.
Some male writers find it difficult to write for women. I enjoy it - and no-one so far has told me I'm awful at it. My previous play had more females than males - and this one, if you include all the musicians, has 28 women and 4 men.
Cast:
Henry Purcell: Robert Glenister
Charlotte: Naoko Mori
Josias Priest: Robert Duncan
Mrs. Priest: Nicola McAuliffe,
Mrs. Purcell: Chloe Annett
Jenny: Catherinie Shepherd
Molly: Saskia Butler
Charlotte's father: Brian Bowles.
SMs: Recording Engineer Gerry O'Riordan, Spot: Alison MacKenzie, Production Assistant Rebecca Pinfold.
Some information reproduced by permission of Alan Stafford, some is from the Radio Times, and some is taken from the excellent Dirk Maggs website (again with Alan’s permission) run by David Williams.
All Fingers and Thumbs....2004
Afternoon Play, R4, 1415, 29 Dec 04. By Alan Stafford
A romantic comedy about communication. Sign language
interpreter Marie wants more deaf people to enjoy the
theatre. So does director Tom - but not if it involves
a bothersome spot-lit woman waving her arms about on
his stage.
Clive/Jamie/Gordon ...... Brian Bowles
Tom ..... Bill Nighy
Helen ...... Felicity Montagu
Marie ...... Susannah Doyle
Sal ...... Jenny Eclair
Michael ...... Steve Day
Paula ...... Fifi Garfield
Directed by Dirk Maggs.
Alan Stafford adds .........I'm a believer in
tight dialogue, subtext and plenty of scope for the actor's
contribution to the part.
ND adds ... humorous, well-written;
very "visual" in the images it conjures up.
DIRTY TRICKS....1982
18 Sep 82. R4, 14.05.
Hey presto! Neville and Angela join forces again to present their magic show at the firm's talent contest. But ... abracadabra ... the rabbit in the hat is not the only thing that is revealed.
Neville ... Rodney Bewes
Angela ... Polly James
Simon ... Crawford Logan
Jean ... Miranda Forbes
Liz ... Mary Cornford
Director ... Michael Bartlett
Alan Stafford: ............Dirty Tricks was the first radio play I ever wrote. I'd recently seen a production of Pinter's "The Birthday Party", which taught me that what a character left unsaid was every bit as important as what they did say. Even so, my script was far too long for a half-hour slot - and, on recording day, I spent the lunch hour in director Michael Bartlett's office, cutting out every last bit of superfluous dialogue.
One of the studio managers was Bert Coules (of Sherlock Holmes fame) who, I believe, was in the Magic Circle. He was a huge help with the spot effects, which included sliding steel plates into a magic cabinet - and flicking a pack of cards across the studio.
compiled by Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
