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Radio Drama Festival
John Brigg
What do you get when you put a bunch of folk in a closed room,
ply them with food and drink and then – with the lights still on –
ask them to sit quietly for 30 minutes at stretch? Oh, and the folk
are all theatricals, quite used to raising their voices and letting
them be heard…
Well, a remarkable act of communal silence was what we got at
the Santola on the 28th November last year because we were all
listening attentively to the Pirates' Radio Play Evening, the first –
hopefully – of many.
Simple, I thought, a radio play. Just read a script into a
microphone, add some music and sound effects from the internet
and bung it all together on the computer. But the more I listened,
the more it became apparent that skill, competence and a great
deal of hard work are needed to put together even a simple radio
play. And if you're also looking to make it good, well then multiply the effort by at least ten. Pleasingly,
there was much evidence of such multiplication having been applied in preparation for the evening.
There was splendid work to hear which had all the hallmarks of good radio drama: solid forethought,
excellent script, intelligent acting, apt and supportive sound effects and many hours of editing.
There were three longer pieces, one a delightful contribution from Fran Potasnik and Adrian Diffey from
their Radio Ara days with multiple voices (mostly by Adrian!) and recorded – amazingly for us now, just
a few years later – on a tape-recorder! The other two were original adaptations of short stories: The
Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke adapted and directed by Philip Dutton; and The Machine
Stops by E.M. Forster, adapted (very well indeed) by Rachel Parker and directed by Malcolm Turner.
Here was atmosphere, interest, surprise and engaging entertainment.
The other contributions were shorter pieces, one a ridiculously funny Abbott and Costello, Who's on
First, done at relentless pace by Alex Teligadis and David Mittel, the others classroom works from Mike
West's ISL drama students. These were entirely self-written and produced and recorded without
sophisticated equipment. Although the ideas were good and the enthusiasm palpable (yes, even on the
radio), the results were varied and some could have done with a good edit. For such short pieces, the
need for an uncluttered story line, distinct voices and carefully chosen sound effects becomes even
more apparent. I particularly liked the piece dubbed The Garden of Eden, a quirky take on the Adam
and Eve story. (After listening to these pieces, the question begged itself as to whether young people
today have ever heard a radio play? A pity really, radio can be a wonderfully imaginative medium.)
So all in all a very good evening. Thanks to Philip for seeding and germinating the idea and nurturing it
through to fruition. I look forward to the next one.

Last changed:Jan 13 2009at7:29 PM