ROBIN BROOKS RADIO PLAYS
Robin Brooks was born in Leeds in 1961 and brought up in Sheffield
and Manchester. He was an exhibitioner at Christchurch College,
Oxford, where he studied English. He started writing for Empty
Space Theatre Co. in 1989. He adapted R.L.Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde", which was performed all over the world from 1990 to
1997. He started writing radio drama in 1992; he has
written serials, series and one-off plays. He wrote "The
Portland Vase", a non-fiction book,
three years ago - about a small ancient vase in the British Museum which has
belonged to kings, emperors, courtesans and artists.
... this info. located with the help of Helen Cunningham - thanks Helen)... N.D.
BBC BROADCASTS
25.11.98 Golden Triangle- The Awakening Conscience
09.12.98 Golden triangle- The Order of Release
09.12.98 Golden Triangle- Love among the Ruins*
27.02.99 The John Buchan weekend*
13.05.99 The immortals
03.09.99 Fire in the Heart (Keats), dram; 15 parts,12m each
25.09.99 Plain Murder
22.05.00 The Art of Love*
01.08.02 Love and Friendship (Jane Austen/Robin Brooks)
12.08.03 A Quick Change*
26.12.03 The Smallest Man in Christendom*
21.01.06 The Fountain Overflows* (Rebecca West) 6 x 55m
12.05.07 My Cousin Rachel (2 eps of 55m)*
28.12.07 A warning to the furious*
SERIES
2000 The man who knew everything*, series 1: Madam Rachel and the waters of life, The Dilke-Crawford Imbroglio, The Pimlico Poisoning, The Ghastly Mordaunt Business.
2003 The man who knew everything*, series 2: The case of Serafino Pelizzoni, The Balham Mystery, Darling Daisy
NOTES
THE AWAKENING CONSCIENCE....1998
William Holman meets Annie Miller, a young beauty who works behind
the bar at the local pub..he decides to turn her into the perfect model
and woman. With Jonathan Firth, Julie Cox, Alan Cox, Damian Lewis. Dir.
Clive Brill.
THE ORDER OF RELEASE....1998
Ruskin insists that Millais paints his portrait whilst he is on
holiday with his wife. The beauty and innocence of Effie make it an
almost impossible task. With Bob Peck, David Tennant and Sharon Small.
Dir. Clive Brill.
LOVE AMONG THE RUINS....1998
Edward Burne-Jones...he looks back over his life and career. He thinks
about his lover, Maria...with Ken Cranham and Maggie Steed. Dir. Clive Brill.
THE JOHN BUCHAN WEEKEND....1999
A pastiche on Richard Hannay...when he signs up for a murder-
mystery weekend he does not expect the drama to begin on his own
doorstep. Stars Alan Cox, Emily Wolf; dir. Clive Brill.
FIRE IN THE HEART....1999
Keats...sorry; poetry is my blind spot - I don't even know what a
"Keat" is...poems and letters adapted by Robin Brooks; with David Tennant,
John Webb, Nigel Cooke; dir. Clive Brill.
THE ART OF LOVE....2000
Robin Brooks' "The Art of Love" (R4 23 May 1415) was a comic
portrayal of the poet Ovid as a rampant womaniser advising others
about their relationships with women. Included is his ultimate
guide to seduction. The only problem is, he ends up on his own.
Bill Nighy played Ovid and Anne-Marie Duff the long-suffering
Cypassis.(VRPCC newsletter, Sep 00)
A QUICK CHANGE....2003
Colin rents out his flat to a theatre company for the
Edinburgh festival. He is roped in as company dogsbody
for the production, discovers that some actresses
don't wear much under their stage gear, and rapidly
gets out of his depth. With Flora Montgomery,
David Tennant, Ashley Jensen, Mark Spalding, Raza
Jaffrey, Alan Cox, Barbara Dryhurst, Jonathan Tafler,
and directed by Fiona McAlpine.
The Man Who Knew Everything....2003
Jack Klaff as George Lewis, the celebrated 19th Century lawyer who defended the indefensible and never lost.
R4, 1415, 28 Jul 03. The Extraordinary Case of Serafino Pelizzioni. Lewis becomes absorbed in a seemingly impossible case, as a murderous pub brawl becomes an unprecedented miscarriage of justice. The other cast members: Julian Wadham, Suzanne Bertish, Poppy Miller, Nicholas Woodeson, Nicholas Murchie, Alan Cox, Christian Rodska, Stephen Mangan, Jonathan Tafler, Sarah Eedle, Anna Stewart; directed by Clive Brill.
R4, 1415, 4 Aug 03. The Balham Mystery A mysterious poisoning tempts Lewis to indulge his skills in cross-examination. With Jack Klaff, Julian Wadham, Alex Lowe, Anne-Marie Duff, Stephen Mangan, Don Warrington, Susan Brown, Ron Cook, Jonathan Tafler, and Regina Freedman. Director Clive Brill.
BLOODY STEFI....2003
R4, 1415, 29 Sep 03; by Robin Brooks and Richard Heacock:
In 1907, the young Hungarian violinist Stefi Geyer was at the height
of her fame, enchanting audiences as much with her physical beauty as
with her playing. That summer, two men fell seriously under her spell.
Both were composers and both were besotted with her. Otherwise, they
could not have been more different: the intense, fiercely intellectual
and pathologically shy Hungarian, Bela Bartok; and the dashing,
hell-raising Swiss Lothario, Othmar Schoeck. Each rival sought to
immortalise his new-found muse by writing her a violin concerto.
With Cathy Sara, Tom Goodman-Hill, James Howard, Alexander Delamere,
Bella Merlin.
Directors Rosie Boulton and Peter Leslie Wild.
THE SMALLEST MAN IN CHRISTENDOM...2003
The true story of Jeffrey Hudson, whose extraordinary adventures
are celebrated in a masque, including his presentation in a pie to King
Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, and his exploits in the
Civil War. He had a curious life; he was court favourite and friend of
the Queen, but came from an unknown farming family. On one occasion
he behaved with a notable lack of commonsense and found himself
involved in a duel. It changed his life.
Lucy Robinson is the commentator, with David Holt as
Jeffrey. Other cast members: Desmond Barrit, Alan Cox, Charlie Simpson,
Julie Cox, John McAndrew, Terry Smith, Felix Still, Tom Raphael Eaves,
Wilfredo Acosta (as himself). SM Wilfredo Acosta; dir. Fiona McAlpine.
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.
MY COUSIN RACHEL....2007
The classic du Maurier chiller. Serial, 2 episodes.
A Warning to the Furious….2007
Christmas 2007. A feminist film-maker and her crew visit the Suffolk coast to make a documentary about ghost story writer MR James. They hope to discover how a respectable bachelor could produce such horrors. A modern tale with very creepy overtones.
Karen ...... Lucy Robinson
Zara ...... Catherine Shepherd
Guy ...... Carl Prekopp
Bob ...... Gerard McDermott
Bookshop man ....;.. Andrew Wincott
Producer/director Fiona McAlpine.
Asterisked items known to exist within VRPCC
Nigel Deacon, Diversity website
