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For the moderately committed Radio 4 listener, single words have the power to trigger urgent movements of the hand towards any button that might end the imminent aural assault. For me, they are "comedy", "Ambridge" and – for a real Ninja leap in the direction of "off" – "drama".
But do those of us who flee in the face of radio plays, with their am-dram turns and dodgy accents, also malign the form? As part of a series of posts to celebrate 75 years of its Radio Drama Company, the BBC has published a charming post by a veteran actor whose memories might give you pause.
David Timson joined what used to be called the BBC Drama Rep, a company of 35 dedicated actors, in 1972. More than 40 years later, he's still a regular and recalls a golden age when the company included the "diminutive, round" actress Marjorie Westbury.
"The joy of radio is that it doesn't matter what you look like, and you get to play roles you would never play elsewhere," he writes, adding: "Marjorie used to spend her spare time in the studio between takes, knitting, and there was a piece of graffiti in Studio B10 that said: 'Marjorie will never die; she'll simply unravel'."
The company occupies a smaller chunk of Broadcasting House today, Timson adds, with just 16 actors, but any edition of the Radio Times reveals a wealth of contemporary in-house and visiting talent that feels at odds with radio drama's reputation among many.
Arts + Ents News in PicturesShow all 50 1 /50Arts + Ents News in Pictures Arts + Ents News in Pictures 15 September 2015 Workmen install an artwork by British artists Jake and Dinos Chapman entitled 'Cyber Iconic Man' during a photocall in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit in Sheffield Cathedral in northern England. The artwork is a part of an exhibition entitled 'Going Public' which takes place across five venues in Sheffield city centre and features pieces from four private collections. The exhibition opens on 16 September and runs until 12 December 2015
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 14 September 2015 Lincoln Townley puts the finishing touches to Meryl Streep’s portrait. The self-taught portrait painter has been selected as Bafta’s official artist in LA
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 13 September 2015 A performance protest by a coalition of artists at the British Museum in central London, protesting against corporate oil sponsorship of the arts in Britain
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 12 September 2015 Artist, designer Blaine Halvorson conducts an art demonstration in front of his installation "Walk, Don't Run" during Spring 2016 New York Fashion Week
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 11 September 2015 A visitor walks past light effects at the exhibition "Discover the Power of Light" presented in the Atomium monument, to commemorate the International Year of Light and Light-based technologies 2015 (IYL2015), recognised by UNESCO, in Brussels, Belgium
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 10 September 2015 Stoker Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire poses by a sculpture by British artist Barbara Hepworth entitled 'Three Obliques (Walk In)' that features in the 'Beyond Limits' exhibition in the grounds of Chatsworth House near Bakewell, northern England
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 9 September 2015 A new mural is unveiled on wall of Century 21 department store across from the World Trade Center site in New York. The 65ft by 225ft mural called '#NYCISBEAUTIFUL', was created by street artist Mr. Brainwash and features iconic New York City sights and scenes
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 8 September 2015 To mark the year that the Queen came to the throne (1952), artist Quentin Devine has created a portrait of the Queen, using exactly 1,952 coins - each bearing her effigy. The portrait was produced on a grand scale (213cm x 183cm)
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 7 September 2015 Artist Barnaby Barford with his work 'Tower of Babel', a six metre tall ceramic sculpture composed of 3,000 individual pieces depicting genuine London shop fronts displayed in the V&A Museum's Medieval land Renaissance Galleries
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 6 September 2015 People visit 'The Beach' art installation at the National Building museum in Washington. The Beach is an interactive architectural installation that covers 10,000 square feet and includes an ocean of nearly one million recyclable translucent plastic balls
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 5 September 2015 People take part in The Color Run Night at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, east London
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 4 September 2015 Artist Kenny Hunter unveils a life-size Asian elephant sculpture, cast in part from scrap locomotive parts from the nearby Govan shipyards, at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. A year in the making, the 11 tonne sculpture is part of the Legacy 2014 project commemorating the city's hosting of the Commonwealth Games last year
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 3 September 2015 The Wave which is part of Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper is installed at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield. The Sculpture which begins a UK tour will be open to the public on 5 September and will run until 10 January
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 2 September 2015 People walk past hand-painted vinyl balls floating in the MacArthur Park Lake as part of a large-scale public arts installation organized by the Portraits of Hope charity in Los Angeles, California. The work titled 'The Spheres at MacArthur Park' involves filling the park's 8.39-acre lake with about 3,000 balls, each 4 to 6 feet in diameter and covered in bright floral and fish patternses
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 1 September 2015 A policeman stands in front of the sculpture 'Bending Man' by Yue Min Jung, during the arrival of German President Joachim Gauck (unseen) at the NRW-Forum in Duesseldorf, Germany. Gauck visited the China 8 exhibition of contemporary Chinese art that runs until 13 September
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 31 August 2015 An Indian artist with his body painted with the likeness of a tiger dances before a tableau with a picture of tiger during the 'Pulikali' or Tiger Dance procession in Thrissur, Kerala state, India
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 30 August 2015 A group of people wearing full solid-coloured bodysuits walk along a promenade as they take part in a street art performance in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, Israel. Some 40 people participated on Saturday in the performance, initiated by a group of artists called Prizma Ensemble, as part of the city's annual international street art and street theatre festival. The group says the performance deals with concepts of identity and movement in public spaces.
Reuters
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 29 August 2015 People look at exhibition hang above a river during the 27th 'Visa pour l'Image' Annual international festival of photojournalism in Perpignan
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 28 August 2015 The inflatable sculpture "Everybody Always Thinks They Are Right" by U.S. artist Stefan Sagmeister is displayed at La Villette as part of the exhibition "L'air des Geants", "The Air of the Giants", in Paris, France,
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 27 August 2015 Singer Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine performs onstage at What Stage during Day 4 of the 2015 Bonnaroo Music And Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 26 August 2015 People walk through the 'Spark Your City Urban Jungle' giant interactive kaleidoscope that has been installed between Waterloo station and London's Southbank, England
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 25 August 2015 A woman peers out through a glass wall of the "JumpIn!" ball pit, an interactive art installation by creative agency Pearlfisher made up of 81,000 white balls, in New York City. The installation is hosted at the agency's new SoHo office and open to the public from August 21 till September 21, to promote how play can yield results for creative thinking
Reuters
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 24 August 2015 South African artist Mbongeni Buthelezi works on a portrait in his Johannesburg Studio. Buthelezi is turning discarded bits of plastic into sought-after works of art. The plastic bubbles pop under Buthelezi's fingertips, calloused from manipulating the hot, molten material he uses to create large abstract pieces and portraits.
AP
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 23 August 2015 Mexican artist Rivelino with his 25-ton, 14.5 meter long sculpture, You, consisting of two giant fingers as it is installed in Trafalgar Square, London. The two index fingers, equal in weight, colour and size point towards each other as a reflection on human equality.
PA
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 23 August 2015 Hand-painted vinyl balls float in the MacArthur Park Lake as part of a large-scale public arts installation organized by the Portraits of Hope charity in Los Angeles, California on August 23, 2015. The work titled ``The Spheres at MacArthur Park,'' involves filling the park's 8.39-acre lake with about 3,000 balls, each 4 to 6 feet in diameter and covered in bright floral and fish patterns.
AFP/Getty
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 22 August 2015 Performers participate in the opening ceremony of the 15th IAAF World Championships at the National Stadium in Beijing, China
Reuters
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 21 August 2015 People interact with "Pixel Wave 2015" a projection art installation by France's Miguel Chevalier and local designers Carolyn Kan and Depression that features geometric patterns that react to movements and interactions of people, during the Singapore Night Festival at the Singapore Design Center.
Reuters
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 20 August 2015 A steward is seen outside Bansky's 'Dismaland' exhibition, which opens tomorrow, at a derelict seafront lido in Weston-Super-Mare, England. The show is Banskys first in the UK since the Banksy v Bristol Museum show in 2009 and will be open for 5 weeks at the Topicana site.
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 19 August 2015 As part of The Big British Airways Take Off, which features great value fares on flights and holidays, the airline has created what's believed to be the world's biggest piece of coin art. Six hundred thousand coins were delivered from a London bank vault to British Airways' aircraft hangar where a team of seven took six hours to create the 10 metre by eight metre image of The Statue of Liberty. New York is British Airways' flagship destination.
Getty Images for British Airways
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 18 August 2015 David Bowdich FBI Assistant Director in Charge, left, and and FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Rivas speak at a news conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, announcing the investigation into the theft of valuable art. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for help in finding two N.C. Wyeth paintings stolen from a home in Portland, Maine. Four were recovered from a pawn shop in Beverly Hills, California, in December, and are estimated to be worth up to $2 million. But the remaining two were never found.
Reuters
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 17 August 2015 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (2nd R) take a tour of the German Pavilion at the Expo 2015 on August 17, 2015 in Milan, Italy.
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 17 August 2015 An explosion goes off as Chinese actors playing Japanese soldiers are are filmed in a battle scene during filming of the series "The Last Noble," set during the second Sino-Japanese War on August 13, 2015 in Fangyan, China. Seventy years after the end of World War II, there is still widespread resentment across China toward Japan and its wartime misdeeds. Many of the films are shot in and around Hengdian Studios, Asia's largest production company.
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 16 August 2015 Brazilian twins and street artists 'Os Gemeos' put finishing touches to their new New York mural on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 15 August 2015 In a photo released at the Disney Expo Lucasfilm shows actors Riz Ahmed, from left, Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, Jiang Wen and Donnie Yen, in the first image from upcoming film, "Star Wars: Rogue One."
AP
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 14 August 2015 An artist performs in a labyrinth of 3,000 candles at Tempelhof park (Tempelhofer Feld) in Berlin, Germany. The maze, called "Die Grosse Reise" ("The Big Trip"), was opened to the public today by the theater group Theater Anu & Magica and will run through August 23.
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 13 August 2015 Indian kite maker, Jagmohan Kanojia displays kites colored with the Indian national flag and depicting Indian freedom fighters, at his home's workshop in Amritsar, India, 13 August 2015. The kites are Kanojia's latest creations made for the India's Independence Day celebrations on 15 August
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 12August 2015 Passengers take the 3D painted "Wonderful" tram in Guangzhou, China. The "Wonderful" tram decorated with 3D cartoon forests and animals paintings which were designed by WansBrother, holder of Guinness World Record for the longest 3D ground painting, would run 30 times a day for one month in Guangzhou.
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 11 August 2015 Mexican clowns Cazzo, Lazzo and Pozzo from Triciclo Rojo attend a photocall to promote their show 'VAGABOND, where will the wind take you?' during Edinburgh Festival Fringe Day 5 at Newhaven Quay Lighthouse, Edinburgh, Scotland
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Arts + Ents News in Pictures 11 August 2015 A woman photographs a painting by DR Congolese artist JP Mika, entitled Kiese Na Kiese (Happyness and Joy) during the exhibition 'BeautÈ Congo 1926-2015 - Congo Kitoko' on August 11, 2015 at the Fondation Cartier in Paris
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 10 August 2015 a graffiti mural commemorating the 'August Agreements' and Solidarity Movement anniversaries by Polish artist Biko in Szczecin, Poland. A mural depicting the history of the Solidarity Movement with Pope John Paul II, the gate of the Szczecin Shipyard, Martial Law in Poland and a famous election campaign poster of Solidarity Movement with Gary Cooper will illustrate the commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the August Agreements' signing.
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 8 August 2015 Hall lit up to celebrate 50 years of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus as thousands of people attended the opening of the Edinburgh International Festival.
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 7 August 2015 An art installation formed with milk churns, made by land art artist Gerard Benoit a la Guillaume, is seen at the Chenau de Mayen in the resort of Leysin, Switzerland. More than 80 milk churns were placed between the Tour d'Ai and the Tour de Mayen summits at an altitude of 2,000 meters (6,561 feet) above sea level under the direction of the artist, to be photographed for his ongoing art project entitled "Milk churns without borders"
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 6 August 2015 Members of the Ukrainian group 'Dakh Daughters Band' striking poses during their performance at the 'Seebuehne' (lit: Lakeside stage) within the 'Zuercher Theater Spektakel' (Zurich Theatre Spectacle) at the 'Landiwiese' venue in Zurich, Switzerland. The international theater and performing arts festival runs from 6 to 23 August 2015
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 5 August 2015 Morph-suited performers David Labanca (orange suit) and Gianmarco Pozzoli (green suit) from Italian dance company Discoteque Machine perform in a giant kaleidoscope at Camera Obscura in Edinburgh to promote their show running from August 7 to 31 at Zoo Southside as part of the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 4 August 2015 The voice of Thunderbirds Parker, David Graham, by a sculpture of Shaun the Sheep titled Thunderbirds Are Go, is one of 70 sheep sculptures placed around the city of Bristol, decorated by artists and celebrities to raise money for the Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 3 August 2015 'Venus of the Rags' by Michaelangelo Pistoletto on display at Tate Liverpool in Liverpool, north west England. Tate Liverpool have unveiled a new display of more than 150 artworks featuring pieces by iconic artists including Sir Peter Blake, Louise Bourgeois, Marcel Duchamp and Eduardo Paolozzi
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 2 August 2015 A street art mural on the facade of a building is pictured in Fanzara near Castellon de la Plana, Spain. Every year new artists come to continue painting murals on the buildings of the town
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 1 August 2015 Hundreds of houses painted in bright colors in what organizers claim is Mexico's largest mural, is part of a government-sponsored project is called Pachuca Paints Itself, in the Palmitas neighborhood, in Pachuca, Mexico. German Crew is the artist collective responsible for painting the mural project. Director Enrique Gomez, who goes by MYBE, said the crew has painted 1,500 square meters with 20,000 liters of paint. The project aims to bring the community together and rehabilitate the area
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 31 July 2015 Black suited and top hat wearing teenagers from Newington College peer through telescopes as they form the human installation The Search for Happiness on Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia. Surrealist artist, Andrew Baines collaborated with Newington College for his latest surreal event
Arts + Ents News in Pictures 30 July 2015 Kaiser Chiefs perform at One Mayfair in London
On Sunday, Jeremy Irons stars in the concluding part of an adaptation of Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea. Kenneth Cranham pops up on Wednesday in a detective drama and, on Thursday, Johnny Vegas directs and acts in The Toffee Tip, a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy. "And they have listening figures that TV at that time of day would kill for," says Jane Anderson, radio editor at the Radio Times. (The BBC happily confirms this. Drama on Radio 4 attracts almost seven million listeners a week.) "But I think many other people have this view that radio drama is always about the Irish potato famine or middle-class people with dark secrets that come back to haunt them. Once you have that in your mind, it's hard to listen without thinking, 'Oh God', and switching off."
Listeners who overcome that instinct are rewarded. Anderson cites as one recent triumph Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell, the biographical play in which John Hurt played the titular columnist. And she recalls the huge impact of Spoonface Steinberg in 1997. The wildly popular play about an autistic girl launched the career of Lee Hall, who went on to write Billy Elliot.
But Fiona Sturges, The Independent's radio columnist, says it's the "grout" between the good stuff that gives radio drama a deservedly bad name. "I can't put my finger on why it's so reliably awful," she says. "I know that the BBC makes a big effort to nurture new talent, but you can do that without airing any old sh*t that comes through the door."
Julie Mayhew represents a younger generation for whom Timson's memories of five-day rehearsal periods and long lunches sound alien. But the actor, playwright and author, whose first radio play, A Shoebox of Snow, was nominated at the first BBC Audio Drama Awards in 2012, defends the invisible stage in its current form. "People don't sit there saying, 'Aren't all books awful?', like they're all the same thing," she says. "You need to find the book you like, or the play you like."
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Try for free Alison Hindle, head of audio drama at the BBC, agrees. "And the fact it attracts such talent is an indication of its cultural value," she says. "Wonderful stars like Benedict Cumberbatch don't do it for the money, I can tell you… "
Hindle accepts that quality varies but adds: "In my view, the writing and performance in radio drama in the past 10 years has improved enormously." I may have to make a date with Johnny Vegas, and sit on my hands.
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