Quarter 2 Review - 5/8

From the second series of The Price of Fear, I found the best drama was “Is There Anybody There?”  Written by William Ingraham, directed by John Dyas, and starring Vincent Price (as ever), the story had to do with Grizelda (Dilys Laye) and her retiring older sister (Sylvia Coleridge).  Grizelda was a former actress who now supported them both as a medium.  Her spirit guide was an ancient Incan ruler who communicated in an obvious faked, theatrical high-pitched voice.  Grizelda revealed it was a sham to her crestfallen, trusting sister after their recent client (Norman Bird) revealed himself to be not what he seemed.  They were sure he was a journalist who was going to run an exposé on Grizelda.  Grizelda denounced her Incan “spirit” in no uncertain terms, then was discovered dead the next morning.  Her heart had been removed!  The client came back to see the older sister to explain that he wasn’t a journalist and he wasn’t the fuzz, he was a historian who specialized in the Incans.  He had therefore been coming to see Grizelda because she was revealing information about the culture that not even historians knew.  I thought this was wonderfully grotesque, and it had a nice twist (which unfortunately I’ve spoiled for you; I hope you can forgive me).  This drama was originally from 1983.  

I started listening to a new series of horror stories, Haunted, with exceptional theme music, for the World Service.  Directed by Derek Hoddinott, much of the first (and subsequent series) made use of the short stories of prolific author Rosemary Timperley.  I quickly discovered that Timperley had motifs which she frequently recycled, one of which is the lynchpin to this story, “Walking on the Water.”  Nevertheless, of all of the pieces in this series, I think I liked this one the best. As this story seemed a bit shocking for 1979, you’d hope it was broadcast at 11:30 pm, otherwise I’m sure the BBC would get loads of complaints.  Rachel (Anna Cooper) was a child when she went to the seaside with her parents.  She was making sand castles when a strange man came up to her.  All they said to each other was “hello.”  The man was then said to have committed suicide by walking into the sea.  Years later, Rachel married Peter and went on honeymoon in Venice.  Throughout the rest of her life, she kept seeing the man.  All he would ever say was “hello.”  The whole thing would have fallen flat on its face if not for the ethereal performances.  The man told Rachel she’d live on in a whole other plain of existence if she walked out onto the water, as he had, and so she did.  The only thing that let this down was the music, which sounded very much like Hollywood orchestras from the 1950s. 

I couldn’t help including another episode of Haunted, “Listen to the Silence.”  Mary Smith (Gwen Watford) was adopted, she has no family that she knows of and lodges in a house on her own.  She has a job at a bank but no friends.  She has been terrified of silence all her life and puts on the radio constantly to avoid it.  One day she turns off the radio and hears a voice speaking to her:  it’s her grandfather (George Pravda), a Polish sea captain from the late 19th century, who starts telling her all his adventures.  But is he actually her grandfather?

For something more contemporary, perhaps, there is The House on the Hill by Nancy Harris from 2012.  Carol (Philippa Stanton) is a bit of a village busybody and brings a carrot cake to welcome Ann (Stephanie Ricci), who has bought the big abandoned house up on the hill (as you do).  Ann is a piano teacher, and Carol mentions that she has a daughter (Rachel) who she wants to start up with piano again.  This scene is painful as Carol is trying for grateful cheerfulness from Ann, who is just cold and self-absorbed and is making it utterly obvious.  When Carol comes into the house just for a moment, she is disturbed by the interior which doesn’t look lived.  Nevertheless, she has Rachel (a very youthful-sounding Alex Tregear) go for the lessons, despite the typical teenage protests.  However, Carol then starts to notice that Rachel is changing—getting thin and pale, barely eating, and hanging out with her piano teacher on Friday nights.  She is playing gloomy Liszt.  Carol’s husband Derek (Paul Stonehouse) feels like Carol is overreacting. I liked this story, because it was intriguingly vague on whether anything supernatural was going on.  It was directed by Gemma Jenkins.

Quarter 2 Reviews - 4/8

ll three of these excellent dramas showed a strong vein of regionalism, which perhaps helped make them so memorable.  From 2001, Ghost on the Moor by Peter Wolf was literally haunting, though perhaps not in the way you might think.  I enjoyed this tense and atmospheric drama artfully revealed slowly and with engaging and real-seeming characters.  Graeme (Robert Glenister) is haunted by what he did to Katrina (Jasmine Hyde) three years previously.  He’s stopped living his life, just working the night shift at the same petrol station that his tipsy old uncle (Thomas Arnold) does.  In his free time, he goes to the library to look at books of photos, trying to hide the fact he is illiterate.  Geraldine (Jenny Stoller), a recent London transplant to this Yorkshire community, finds him out and tries to get him to join her literacy group.  At first he is reluctant, but there is strong chemistry between them, even though she is rather older.  One of the best performances from Robert Glenister, who is always fine in whatever role he plays. It was directed by Cherry Cookson.

Talking Latin by Carolyn Bonnyman was a very slow burn, and as I listened to it bit by bit over several days, I was about to give up on it.  However, I’m glad I stuck it out as it was a twist at the end, and I had started to care about the characters.  Karen (Julie Dunkeyson) and her husband Steve have a very dysfunctional relationship.  One day, Karen decides just to leave.  She takes the car and the clothes on her back.  Seven years later, she’s still working for Sal Minelli (yes, it’s a joke they exploit) who runs a fast food fry-up shop in Glasgow.  Karen refuses to open up to anyone about her past, but she’s become part of the fry-up family and visits Sal in hospital.  Sal and his wife Francesca (Scots-Italian) are having a ruby wedding anniversary, to which Karen and copper Davie go (in fancy dress as it’s Halloween).  Davie has been trying for a long time to get together with the cagey Karen.  Just when it looks like they’re going to, Steve shows up.  He has gone through a total reversal in his life, now a mature student at university in history and classical languages (hence the title), with a girlfriend and a child on the way.  Will Karen come to terms with her past?  I think why I initially had problems with the play was the extremely Naturalistic dialogue which didn’t seem to say anything, so I kept drifting from it as you would listening to DJ chat or zoo show.  Also, it was difficult for me to identify with Karen, who holds education in contempt; yet I thought the writing was very convincing. With all the characters Scottish, it was an exercise in creating different vocal texture without resorting to accent.  Directed by David Jackson Young, it was originally from 2004.

I quite liked Road to the Borders, a story about a man who had grown up in London with a southern English mother and a very proudly Scots father, who went on and on about being a Borders man.  It was told in a non-linear way, which was definitely part of the charm.  The man was up in Hewick (pronounced, can you believe it, HOIK!) to fulfil his dad’s last wish, to have his ashes scattered in the churchyard.  The man fulfils his duty fully knowing who he might run into there:  his ex-wife.  The lead performance (Jasper Britton) lent a lot of warmth to the character, and it was also impressively bolstered by on location recordings in Hewick, where there IS an annual Reivers Festival.  There was also a very satisfying scene in which the man threw a wet sponge in someone’s face.  Originally from 2012, it was written by Douglas Livingstone and starred Ralph Rhea, Sophie Roberts, Rob Hasty, Callum Docherty, and Vivian Hilegrum.  It was directed by Jane Morgan.

Quarter 2 Reviews - 3/8

Two very different pieces here that were absolutely superb.  I Confess by EV Crowe was showstopping.  This was an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about Anna and Henry, police officers who have just gotten engaged.  Anna is much younger than Henry.  Very drunk after the engagement party, Anna is obsessed by the fact that four people didn’t come to the engagement who said they would:  Henry’s ex-wife and daughter, his best friend, and one of their work colleagues.  At first, Anna comes off extremely unlikeable as hyper-paranoid.  However, Henry speaks to his ex-wife and daughter.  It seems he’s been a very bad father, but you believe him when he says he’s going to start doing better.  He also gets taken by his best friend on a trip down memory lane (literally), and we get the sense that Henry has done some bad, bad things as an old school copper.  I won’t reveal the ending, but this was great—scary, but great.  Particular kudos go to Lee Ross who continues to prove his radio acting mettle.

After Independence is a fantastic play based on a contemporary stage play, and probably Peter Guinness’ best performance.  White Zimbabweans, Guy (Guinness), Kathleen (Sandra Duncan), and Chibo (Beatrice Robinny) are being given a deal by the new government in the 1990s to sell their farm.  Guy makes courageous arguments against Mr Charles (Stefan Adekwila), the government man who has come to take the land from him.  I think what the play is trying to say is that government was ultimately justified in getting the land back because of the unfair subjugation of black Zimbabweans by the tiny white minority, though Guy’s family and those like him have the pay to the price—Chipo is perhaps the worst off as she has nowhere but Zimbabwe to call home (yet, I suppose the argument goes, why can’t she move into a town?).  Good stuff.