Claire Grove Radio Plays
Two Brown Eyes....Delius's love affair....2008
By Angela Turvey. R4,12.2.08. In 1884; before achieving fame as a composer; the young Frederick Delius arrived in Florida from his home in Bradford. During his stay; he allegedly fell in love with a black woman. Frederick Delius ...... Sam Troughton Chloe Baker ...... Syan Blake Esther ...... Claire Benedict Thomas Ward ...... Chris Pavlo Jelke Rosen ...... Liz Sutherland. Producer Claire Grove.
THE WITCHES....2008
Early Jan 08. Classic Serial, by Roald Dahl, 2 x 60m. Dramatised by Lucy Catherine. BBC blurb for ep. 2: Eight-year-old Boy has been turned into a mouse. He discovers that his friend Bruno is also a mouse; but Bruno is more interested in food than outwitting a room full of witches. Narrated by Toby Jones. Boy ...... Ryan Watson Grandmother ...... Margaret Tyzack Bruno ...... Jordan Clarke Grand High Witch ...... Amanda Lawrence Waiter ...... Ben Onwukwe Mr Jenkins ...... Ben Crowe Mrs Jenkins ...... Rachel Atkins Directed by Claire Grove. .....note by ND....entertaining children's tale which works on more than one level. Great for adults too.
DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE....2007
A new dramatisation of Robert Louis Stevenson's DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, by Yvonne
Antrobus was broadcast as a recent Saturday Play (R4, 1430, 3 Feb 07). Radio drama has
come a long way in the last thirty years -just listen to a 70s Afternoon Theatre if you
doubt it - and this is the best version I've heard. We had flashback and letters, much
as in the original story, excellent casting, and an imaginative script. Dr. Jekyll
(and Hyde) was played by Adam Godley, Utterson was David Horovitch, and Enfield was
Mark Straker; Claire Grove was the director. ND, VRPCC newsletter
Not Talking by Mike Bartlett,R3....2006
TINNISWOOD AWARD JT WINNER 2006; presented Oct 2007
A powerful, contemporary drama that both shocks and edifies. The author cleverly weaves together
dysfunctional characters and diverging timelines to create a compelling narrative where two different
generations of characters seek a dubious and at times dangerous consolation in “not talking”.
....Mike explores the corrosive power of silence through his grandfather's experiences as a "conshie"
during World War 2, alongside a contemporary story from the armed forces. With Richards Briars, June Whitfield,
Carl Prekopp and Lyndsey Marshal. The director was Steven Canny and the producer Claire Grove. 2 Mar 06, 60m,
10-11pm,
"The Wire", Radio 3.
THE FOUNTAIN OVERFLOWS....2006
By Rebecca West; classic serial. Six 55m episodes, dramatised
by Robin Brooks. Producers Cherry Cookson and Claire
Grove; director Martin Jenkins. A story of childhood seen through the eyes of
Rose, a girl struggling to comprehend life. She has a brilliant father
with no sense who gambles his money away on the stock exchange, and a mother
who has given up her career to bring up her and her two sisters.
With Emma Fielding as Rose, Stella Gonet, Dermot Crowley, Tessa Montague,
Clare Corbett, Sophie Roberts, Ayesha Antoine, Liz Sadovy, Sandy Walsh,
Crawford Logan, Callum Williams, John Cummins.
FRIDAY WHEN IT RAINS....2006
Nick Warburton's play, FRIDAY WHEN IT RAINS (R4, 1415, 20 Oct 06), was in the style of
"Fear on Four". It's the age of steam, and a girl on a late-night train journey hears a frightening
tale from a fellow passenger. Riveting stuff; Clive Swift and Lyndsey Marshal starred, and Claire
Grove directed. (.....N.D., VRPCC newsletter)
Life Assurance....2005
Life Assurance (R4, 1430, 19 Feb 05), by Chrissie Gittins, was the astonishing tale of
the "Black Widows" of Liverpool. In 1884, Catherine Flanagan and her sister, Margaret
Higgins, were front-page news. The reason - they had been poisoning members of their
families, and others, so they could claim on the insurance policies they'd set up.
Sorcha Cusack and Gillian Kearney were the infamous pair, and Robert Hastie the
Inspector; Claire Grove directed.
VELMA & THERESE....1998
Two elderly ladies steal a car and embark on a crime spree. With Marlene
Sidaway, June Barrie, Ann Beach; dir. Claire Grove.
A Grove of Straight Trees....1997
4.6.97. By Nick Warburton. The owner of a large estate wants wood for his buildings; but his workforce will not set foot in the sacred grove. With Gavin Muir; Richard Pearce; Don McCorkindale; Susannah Corbett and Elaine C....(?)
Scorching Winds....1997
By Deepak Verma. 21.8.97. Two young people fall in love amid the turmoil of the British withdrawal from India. With Akbar Kurtha: Indira Varma and Madhav Sharma. Director Claire Grove.
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Producer's Choice: CLAIRE GROVE, BBC 7, 2004
Monday 9th February 2004 Bawcock's Eve. An old woman, the sea, and the legend of Thomas Bawcock all converge one winter evening. By the Cornish playwright, Nick Darke.
Tuesday 10th February 2004 Contemplating Adultery, by Michael Butt. A married and respectable translator conducts a passionate correspondence with a raffish German prince. Starring Bill Nighy.
Wednesday 11th February 2004 (24th Nov 1999) Vanilla. Wyndham's first love was his mother. As he fed at her breast, he was set on a path to obsession. Lesley Bruce's comic fable about food and love stars Derek Jacobi. With Adjoa Andoh, Gavin Muir, Alison Pettitt and Ben Crowe.
Thursday 12th February 2004 (21 Sept 1999) Altaban the Magnificent. By Sebastian Baczkiewicz. A young British scientist discovers myth and magic in the looking glass world of post-war Berlin. With Nicholas Farrell.
Friday 13th February 2004 (3 Dec 1997) No Joan of Arc by Bryony Lavery. First in a 3-play series called "Who Sings The Hero' about ordinary individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary courage. In 1993, Laurence Dreyfus, a 30-year-old Parisian infant teacher, faced an armed gunman in her classroom. He handed her a note which began, `This is a hostage-taking...' With Adjoa Andoh, Tom Mannon, Sarah Rice and John Rowe.
NOTES ON 'PRODUCERS' CHOICE'
VANILLA....1999
A darkly comic fable full of ice cream, starring
Derek Jacobi. The character he plays is strange and hypnotic; he draws
you into his story, which is a kind of grotesque fairy
tale. The writing leads us to a secret ingredient
at the heart of the play. What the ingredient is, is never
actually said, but we're invited to imagine it. What we
imagine is always more powerful than what we're told.
It all
starts with a taste of vanilla. Cast: Derek Jacobi,
Adjua Andoh, Ben Crowe, Alison Pettitt, Gavin Muir....(taken
from Claire's introduction to the BBC repeat)
ALTABAN THE MAGNIFICENT....1999
This is a bold piece of writing from Sebastian Baczkiewicz. The central
character is a seven foot mute magician. This was quite a challenge for
me as a radio producer. The setting is Berlin, immediately after the second
World War. A young British scientist who is very out of his depth
in this fractured and threatening world imagines things that aren't there.
He's led into an area which is strictly off-limits and is told later that it does
not exist. Then he's accused of murder. This is a thriller with a supernatural
edge to it. Clive Swift plays the mysterious stranger, Mund.
....(taken
from Claire's introduction to the BBC repeat)
NO JOAN OF ARC....1997
This play is based on the story of a French teacher, Laurence
Dreyfus. who won the Legion d'Honneur for her bravery. What
interested me about her story was not just her courage but the
ordinariness of the setting for it. Laurence taught in an infant
class in a Paris suburb. There was nothing about that day or
that school to suggest why it was a target for the extraordinary
events which took place. Laurence and her class of tiny children
survived because she was able to draw on her skills as a teacher to
negotiate. Bryony Lavery's play is utterly gripping, very moving,
and has something to say about the nature of heroism. Adjua Andoh
(whom many of you will know from "Casualty") plays Laurence
Dreyfus.....(taken
from Claire's introduction to the BBC repeat)
Nigel Deacon, Diversity website
