Sara Davies Radio Plays
THE GLASS MAN....2006
By Martin Sorrell (R4, 21 Sep 06, a repeat of a play broadcast in Dec 05) was about an unusual medical condition causing sufferers to believe they are turning to glass. The 'glass delusion' - a state of profound anxiety now associated with severe depression - was relatively common in the Middle Ages. King Charles VI of France was a sufferer and had iron ribs sewn into his clothing to protect himself in case of a fall while in 1610, Cervantes wrote a novella The Glass Graduate about the condition.
Neil Sorrell, Martin's musician brother, senior lecturer at York University, was asked to create 15 minutes of music for the play, using only the sounds of glass. He used as his instruments wine glasses, large vessels from the University's Department of Chemistry and even the inside of a vacuum flask. He enlisted the help of second-year postgraduate student in the Department of Music, Chilean Felipe Otondo, to act as recording engineer.
It took 24 hours of studio time to produce 15 minutes of music. Directed by Sara Davies, it starred Cark Prekopp, Saskia Reeves, Barbara Flynn and Stephen Perring.
The play included interviews with glass makers and also had a contribution from Andrew Solomon, who has written about the delusion.
LETTERS FROM AFRICA....2005
R4, 1415, 29 Jun 05, the story of Karen Blixen's years in Africa, was dramatised by Sheila Hannon, from her letters. Karen had an unusual life: marriage to a man old enough to be her father, moving from England to Africa, and a long, passionate love affair. Eleanor Bron was Karen, Ian McElhinney played her husband, and Sara Davies directed.
VENUS....2004
17 Mar 04; by Angela Turvey. Woman's Hour serial.A five-part fictionalised account of the true story of the Hottentot Venus, Sara Baartman, who travelled to England in 1810 from her native South Africa and was exhibited around the country in a cage as a scientific curiosity.
Janice Acquah,
Peter Gevisser,
Mark Meadows,
Ben Tinniswood,
Cornelius Garrett. Produced by Sara Davies.
The Prison Father....2003
By Caspar Walsh, 24 Oct 03. The story of a man's coming to terms with the memory of his father who wasn't there for him, based on a real sequence of letters sent to writer Caspar Walsh by his own father from prison. Jake Geneva is an apparently successful businessman, but he has a secret which threatens to destroy his relationship with his partner and young son. To resolve his dilemma, he must find a way of escaping from the shadow of his father, who was imprisoned for embezzlement. With David Hemmings, Mark Meadows, Billy Kenber, Lisa Coleman, and Edward Blancke. Director Sara Davies.
Dear Little Burney ....2000
July 2000. The journals and letters of Fanny Burney, adapted by Jennifer Howarth in 15 parts. 1: `A Most Important Event'. In 1778, Fanny Burney is 26 and her novel `Evelina' is published anonymously to instant acclaim. With Juliet Aubrey, Timothy West and Eleanor Bron. Director: Sara Davies.
compiled by Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
