Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Quarter 1 Reviews- 006 Contemporary Drama- Old


006 Contemporary Drama – Old

I was blown away by 24 Kildare Road; I thought it was new and wondered who on Earth this talented new radio writer was.  Turns out it was Katie Hims; of course it was.  By the end of it, it actually bore all the hallmarks of a Katie Hims story:  loved ones separated for decades, secrets, but a happy ending.  However, the characters and dialogue are just stunning, and it’s a wonderfully revealed mystery that at first glance seems like a shocking tragedy.  The story starts with children Ryan (Harry Grasby) and Jackson (Aaron Gelkoff) who discover the body of an elderly woman in a snow-covered park.  They alert police officers Mick (David Reed) and Hayley (Christine Bottomley); off to the scene are sent paramedics Ozzy (Ikky Elyas) and Ned (Will Kirk).  A young woman on her way to Hull who is meeting up with an online boyfriend in the flesh for the first time shares a train carriage with Marion (Marcia Warren), an elderly woman whose family has recently sent her from her home in Leeds to a care home in London.  Her daughter had recently died of cancer.  At the care home, Kadija (Nahel Tzegai) and Pat (Heather Craney) were trying to find the whereabouts of Marion, only slowly revealed by Rose (Jessica Turner).  In Hull—actually Bridlington—Marion takes a taxi to 24 Kildare Road, where she is trying to find Joe (John Rowe).  When she can’t find him, we are led to connect her with the body in the park.  However, the story is not so simply concluded.  Excellent performances complement plenty of cliffhangers. 24 Kildare Road was directed by Mary Peate in 2010, and also starred Ian Conningham, Neil McCaul, Amanda Wilkin, Sinead MacInnes, Greg Jones, Neil Dudgeon, and Amelia Bullmore.

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