Melanie Harris Radio Plays
Melanie is a producer from "up north" - Manchester. Apart from the plays
listed below- that's all I know.... N.D.
My Uncle Freddie ....2004
31 Jul 04. Part of series ....Award-winning comedy series by Alex Ferguson about a boy and his uncle, set on Tyneside in 1939. 5: `I'll Tell You what Love Is'. Charlotte invites Lecky to her tea party for two and tells him that she is going to have a baby - she has been kissed on the mouth by Lecky, so she must be pregnant. With Shaun Prendergast and Jamie Bell. Director: Melanie Harris.
2004 - ALFRED BRADLEY AWARD
Anthony Cropper is the winner of the seventh Alfred Bradley Bursary Award with his play Telling Stories. The judges - playwright and novelist Willy Russell; Caroline Raphael (Commissioning Editor at Radio 4); poet and author Jackie Kay; actor Barbara Marten; Petra Bradley (daughter of the late Alfred Bradley); and Melanie Harris (project director, Northern Exposure) - selected Telling Stories from over 280 entries.
Anthony's play focuses on four people who seem set on destroying each other. They meet for a meal. They bicker and fight, they flirt and tell stories. They chip away at each other, pouncing on weaknesses.
Their varying interpretations of that evening highlight the difficulties of communication. The characters are out to score points and they raise the stakes until one of them breaks.
Willy Russell said: "As soon as I began reading the play, I had that unmistakeable sense of being drawn into an expertly drawn world.
"I liked the script's sense of daring and its ability to present the bleakness of these lives without the play itself ever becoming bleak or nihilistic.
"Although this is a muscular, robust and meaningful drama, the author understands the need to engage and entertain his audience."
-*HEART 60m 2003
A vile murder has been committed.....a repressed young man is
arrested on suspicion of murdering a young woman. His parents, an
ordinary couple, suddenly find themselves in the middle of a
nightmare. This part (the first half of the drama) is told from
their point of view. With Brigit Forsyth and Paul Copley as the
parents; also with Claude Close, Danny Burns, Sarah Parks. Directed
by Kate Rowland. Friday play, 25 Apr 03.
-*ATTACK 60m 2003
The second part of the murder inquiry, from the point of view of
the idiosyncratic female detective leading the investigation. The story
is set against the backdrop of a small town which wants answers and
a quick arrest. Excellent reading of a superb script. With Sarah
Parks as D.I. Hard, Danny Burns as Smithy, Brigit Forsyth as Mary,
Paul Copley as Bill; also stars Sally Walsh, Des Cummings, Claude
Close. A different director... Melanie Harris. Friday play, 2 May 03.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE.....a new initiative...2002
..........The January seminar gave some hope for those interested in writing or listening to radio drama. About forty people attended with the sex ratio in favour of the female by about 65/35. The age range ran from old (me) down to twenty, with the majority in the 40 to 50 age range. Melanie Harris, a BBC Northern (Manchester) producer, ran the event. Some practical exercises were done towards the end of her discourse and the whole was capped by the audio presentation of four openings to radio dramas. (Donald Campbell, writing about "Northern Exposure", a BBC drama initiative, in 2002 - see main articles page for the full text)
I See the Moon ....2001
18 May 01. By Alex Ferguson. A thrilling ghost story about a lost childhood, told by a man whom no one believes. With Cliff Howells, Kathryn Hunt, Russell Dixon and Mary Cunningham. Directed by Melanie Harris.
Roberto Sultana ....1999
14 Sep 99. By Katie Hims. Nine-year-old Shelly writes to her hero Roberto Sultana who is away looking for a man with a limp. Her mother will not eat, talk or get out of bed. Shelly needs some help. With Sarah Tingle, Christopher Horner and Liz Smith. Director Melanie Harris.I seem to remember this as a frenetic comedy ... ND...
The Grey Man ....1997
6 Nov 97. By Gill Adams. Betty and John Wilkinson both live a lie. Their son is dying in California. When John reluctantly travels out to bury him, he hides at the back: he is the grey man in the crowd. With James Bolam and Rachel Davies. Director Melanie Harris.
compiled by Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
