The RAT Team worked tirelessley to record, film tand upload the short play and this documentary in just 48 hours – we’re thrilled with it.

The Radio Play can be listened to here:

http://soundcloud.com/wirelesstheatre/rat

The RAT Team worked tirelessley to record, film tand upload the short play and this documentary in just 48 hours – we’re thrilled with it.

It’s Monday, and I’m just drawing breath after the busiest, most emotional and the most exhilarating week of my life.  “Never meet your heroes” they say.  Well I met mine last Wednesday and I’m still walking on air.  Stephen Fry is the reason I began writing again, he’s an inspiration in so many ways, a national treasure and I can now knowledgably add that he’s also a perfect gent.

I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer.  As a child I constantly wrote stories, mostly about a young girl who is sent to bed without any supper and then transported to a strange fantastical world.  But a chance remark from a schoolteacher when I was ten (“You’ll never be a writer, Susie, you can’t spell”) cut me to the quick, and consequently I didn’t write another thing for 20 years.  In 2005 however, by which time I had trained and was working as an actress, somebody bought me The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry for Christmas, ‘a witty and entertaining guide to the mysteries of writing poetry’.  I worked through all the exercises as advised and, perhaps most significantly, I took his advice to carry a notebook with me at all times and just ‘doodle with words’; on train journeys, while waiting in cafes, and during my occasional ‘resting’ periods as an actress, this practice has actually become a sort-of therapy for me.  And while poetry and scriptwriting are not exactly the same discipline, the seeds were definitely sown during that time for the moment a few years later when I finally put pen to paper and wrote my first radio play.

Leaves in Autumn was released by the Wireless Theatre Company in 2009 starring Josephine Tewson and Hazel Douglas.  Two more of my radio scripts were subsequently produced by Wireless: Angels in the Dark starring Kim Durham (Matt Crawford in The Archers) and We are not the BBC in which I eventually had the courage to suggest myself for the lead role alongside a very talented cast which included Christopher Timothy in a cameo role playing himself.  The storyline immediately suggested that it could be the first in a series of three, and back in summer 2011, I told director Jack Bowman that there was only one person I wanted to be our celebrity guest in the sequel, and that was Stephen Fry.  Nervously, I wrote a part for Stephen in We are the BBC, the producer, Mariele dispatched it to agent, and some months later came the reply that brought tears of joy to my eyes: Stephen liked the script very much and was happy to record on June 6^th.

Then came the cluster effect: I was cast as Beatrice in a UK tour of Much Ado About Nothing – opening on June 5^th!  The director, Maddy Kerr agreed to let me travel from Stratford-upon-Avon to London on the morning of 6^th June to record my scenes with Stephen, provided I could assure her I’d be back in time for the second night performance of Much Ado.  So having had no more than four hours sleep on the two previous nights following very long and tiring days rehearsing and performing, my three alarms went off at 4:55am on Wednesday and I headed for London.

Stephen was better than magnificent.  A consummate professional, he even managed not to laugh at me when I produced the signed photo he’d sent ‘To Susan’ back in 1992 in response to my teenage fan letter, which I’ve treasured ever since.  As I stood in that studio in Marylebone hearing Stephen speak lines of dialogue that I’d written, I genuinely felt my heart swell with pride.  He performed the three scenes I’d written for him even more brilliantly than I’d imagined he would, and, at our behest, even added in the odd little gem of an ad lib.  My whole reason for wanting to write scripts that make people laugh stems from my ongoing love affair with British comedy which began in the 1980s with such shows as A Bit of Fry and Laurie.  So to have Stephen himself endorse my own comedy script in such an encouraging and positive way is a dream come true.

Writing has a lot to do with confidence.  Knowing that one of my all time comedy heroes likes my work has given me the biggest confidence boost I could possibly wish for.  So thank you Stephen, I plan to carry on writing – when I have time that is, for now it’s straight back to the Much Ado tour.

Susan is touring the UK as ‘Beatrice’ in Much Ado About Nothing until September 2^nd, 2012, tour dates at www.heartbreakproductions.co.uk  We are the BBC starring Susan Casanove and Stephen Fry will be available to download from the Wireless Theatre Company later in the summer.

Example of Audio Formatting

Many thanks

The Wireless Theatre Company have started their very own theatre talk podcast. Join us for Episode One with hosts Mark Ramsay and Ollie Ford. They talk all things theatre, as well as going behind the scenes at the last ever Fringe Report Awards, meet John Park himself, reviews, gossip and general messing around. With great music from Francesco Quadrarolopolo. Check it out!

Written By : John Park

Starring : Angela Bleasdale, John Rochford, Jeremy Drakes, Penelope Granycome, Victoria Grove, Will Harrison-Wallace, Philip Lawrence, Chris Manning-Perry, Julai Papp, Tom Slatter, Olivia Vinall, Sarah Whitehouse, Martin Witts and Eleanor Burke

Edited By : Craig Bulpitt, Malcolm Thorp, Pete Wyer and Tshari King

Directed By : George Maddocks

In Act One of Wild Elusive Butterfly, cargo vessel Turmoil prepares to set sail for the Southern Ocean.  Shipowner Daisy Reculver and cargo owner Tom Devine negotiate terms and conceal desire.  Pregnant Jill and husband Jack explore the limits of marriage.  John and Peter enjoy contentment.  Primordial spirits feel undervalued.  And a tornado is approaching.

(Wireless Theatre Company, March 2012)

Inability to be honest with a loved one.  Failure to sustain a relationship.  Powerlessness to save a child.

Wild Elusive Butterfly is primarily a love story.  Daisy and Tom negotiate, and navigate the pitfalls that love and loss bring.  The people in their lives (and sometimes beyond) help make them who they are – and try to shape them into who they were meant to be.

A dictionary definition of loss is ‘detriment, disadvantage or deprivation from failure to keep, have or get’.   The play’s characters are almost all recovering from or dealing with this emotional or physical dispossession.  They have sacrifices to face, choices to make.  Their stories intertwine whilst they search, ignore and try to fill their individual voids.

What is the cost of honesty?  In a business world where communication is prime, personal lives fall apart as characters struggle with what they need to say, what they should say – and what they want to say.

Loss can push friendship to its limit; relationships can be stretched; individuals make unrealistic demands.  Sometimes, only help from beyond the present world and lifetime can provide the clarity needed to go on.

And you can never go back.

(Josephine Arden, March 2012)

Alice In Wonderland with filth.

(Jeremy Drakes, March 2012)

Download

http://www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk/index.php?option=com_jotloader&Itemid=15&cid=22&id=148&download=SHJ_Episode_Three_Review_Edit.mp3&file=SHJ_Episode_Three_Review_Edit.mp3&save=0 

Stream

Written By : Gareth Parker and Robert Valentine

Starring : Christopher Finney, Matthew Jure, Jessica Dennis, Lizzie Goodall, Jack Bowman, Ben Whitehead, Ceri Gifford, Colin Holt, Jamie Cartwright , Debbie Leigh-Simmons , Jonathan Hansler, Mariele Runacre Temple, Trevor Cuthbertson, Andrew Macbean , Charlie Adams

Edited By : Andrew Swann

Music By : Francesco Quadraroupolo

Episode 3, The Face of the Fiend.  As the forces of darkness threaten to frame an innocent man for the monstrous attacks, Smith and Charlotte must escape the villainous Lord Wayland and solve the mystery of Springheel Jack – or die in the attempt! Do listen to parts 1 and 2 first – The Ghost of Clapham Common and The Crypt of Evil.

Running Time : 30 mins 44 secs

Written By : Stuart Price

Starring : Paul Anthoney, Jessica Dennis, Neil Frost, David Beck, Samantha Schefele, Siri Steinmo, Monika Pomeroy, Emily Wilden, Nadia Nadif, Ben Whitehead, Richard Michael Morse, Claire Sundin, Chris Rogers

Edited By : Tshari King

Directed By : Stuart Price

Music By : Michael Bruce

Recorded LIVE at The Roundhouse in Camden in collaboration with Roundhouse Radio, The Piper and Musicians of Bremen is one of six productions recorded over three nights this December and is a dark adaptation by Stuart Price, with music and lyrics by Michael Bruce.

This production kicked up quite a storm with the audience and was featured on page 5 of The Evening Standard – check it out!

Live Credits:

Directed by Stuart Price

Produced by Alexander Mee and Mariele Runacre Temple

Head of Sound Tshari King

Sound Recording by Matt Blair and Malcolm Thorp

Editing by Tshari King

Lighting Design by Gareth Brown

Original Music by Michael Bruce

Written By : Celyn Ebenezer

Starring : Becca Horn, Cassie Vallance, Owain Rhys Davies, Tom Slatter, Greg Page and Armani Zardoe

Edited By : Tshari King

Directed By : David Beck

Music By : Francesco Quadraruopolo

Recorded LIVE at The Roundhouse in Camden in collaboration with Roundhouse Radio, The Robber Bridegroom is one of six productions recorded over three nights this December. The Robber Bridegroom is a dark adaptation of the Brother’s Grimm tale. 

Running Time : 24 mins

Written By : Gareth Parker

Starring : Kristin Atherton, Catherine McDonough, Tom Slatter, Trevor Cuthbertson, James Duckworth, Terry Jermyn, Denis Quilligan, Andrew Ward, Armani Zardoe and Tom Swarman

Edited By : Matt Blair

Music By : Francesco Quadraruopolo

Recorded LIVE at The Roundhouse in Camden in collaboration with Roundhouse Radio, The Fearless Youth is one of six productions recorded over three nights this December. The Fearless Youth is a dark adaptation of the Brother’s Grimm tale by Gareth Parker. 

Live Credits:

Directed by Jack Bowman

Produced by Alexander Mee and Mariele Runacre Temple

Head of Sound Tshari King

Sound Recording by Matt Blair and Malcolm Thorp

Editing by Matt Blair

Lighting Design by Gareth Brown

Original Music by Francesco Quadraruopolo

LIve SFX performed by Tom ‘Pikey Esquire’ Swarman

 Running Time : 32 mins