Piers Beckley
Blog posts in total 153
Posts
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Chris Wilson - Lump-Boy Logan
Chris Wilson won the 2009 Alfred Bradley Bursary Award for his script Playing the Game, a new version of which will air as part of Radio 3 drama series The Wire under the title Lump-Boy Logan. So here's Chris to talk about the play: Chris Wilson I write about horse-racing for a living. I ...
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Upcoming Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ writersroom events
Two Q&A sessions have just been announced. William Ivory, writer of Minder, Common as Muck, The Sins, and The Invisibles will be in conversation with Kate Rowland, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Creative Director of New Writing, about his work and his new film, Made in Dagenham. William will be talking in Central Lo...
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New Interviews
Just a quick "hello" to point out that there are three new interviews on the website you might want to take a peek at. Cheryl Taylor is the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Controller, Comedy Commissioning. Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Sebastian Baczkiewicz talk about writing for radio. Tony Basgallop talks about writi...
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TV Blog Updatiness
There are a couple of new writer-centric updates over on the TV Blog that are worth a few moments of your time. Kevin Cecil talks about his new sitcom The Great Outdoors. (And again, with different words, on the Comedy Blog.) Mark Gatiss talks about the genesis of Sherlock.
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Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TV Blog
If you're not already aware of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TV blog, you may not know that they've been interviewing the people involved with various TV shows over the last couple of months. Here's the list so far. Robert Jones, writer of Lennon Naked Mike Bullen, writer of the pilot Reunited (and Cold Feet...
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Festival Report
TV Drama - The Writers' Festival, created and organised by the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ writersroom for writers with a successful broadcast credit or commission, has successfully come and gone. More than 240 professional writers descended upon the Leeds College of Music for two days to listen to the likes of Stephen Butchard discussing his painstaking research on Five Daughters, Matthew Graham talking about the difficulties of ending Ashes to Ashes, Tony Marchant arguing against biopic culture, and Adam Curtis explaining why most TV drama is rubbish. We had a packed schedule, with three streams running simultaneously most of the time, so there was always something to do. Many thanks to event curators and advisory board Tony Marchant, Jack Thorne, Alice Nutter, Toby Whithouse, and Stephen Butchard who helped to choose and shape the event, ensuring that it was an open, honest platform to explore what it means to be a writer in 2010, to appreciate how programmes are made, and to understand the craft, art, and business of writing.
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Windsor Fringe Marriott Results
The results for the seventh Windsor Fringe Marriott Award for New Drama Writing have been announced. Of the ten shortlisted plays, six - including one of the three winners - came via the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ writersroom opportunity page. The three winning plays are: "Man of Straw" by N. Cowell "Click" by Jan Perry "We that are Left" by Peter Harrison
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TV Drama - The Writers' Festival - Closing date for applications
It's just over a fortnight now until TV Drama - The Writers' Festival, and it's getting towards the last chance to get your application in. Applicants must have a broadcast credit or commission. Please make sure that you tell us about your work when you apply. The closing date for applicat...
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Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3 Drama Pilot Scripts
We've just uploaded two scripts from the recent series of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3 Drama Pilots in our script archive. Pulse by Paul Cornell Stanley Park by Leo Richardson
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Opportunity Knocks
Three big opportunities up on the opps page today, so I thought it's worth calling them out in the blog. Newsjack is the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's open-call topical comedy show, and that means anyone can submit material. The deadline is Monday noon for sketches (starting this Monday, 14th June), and Tuesday 5pm ...
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TV Drama - The Writers' Festival - Schedule
We've been busy beavering away over the last couple of weeks sorting out what's going on at the TV Drama Writers' Festival on the 30th June / 1st July, and we're starting to get a handle on what's going on. The scheduled sessions so far include: Poacher turned gamekeeper Toby Whithouse, To...
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Scotland: Write Here, Write Now - the winners
We're pleased to be able to announce the winners of the Scotland: Write Here, Write Now competition from earlier this year. Joanna Bolouri for Lewd Awakenings Rebecca McFarland for The Madam of Morningside Rob Drummond for Early Release The Executive Editor Comedy, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Scotland, Jemma Ro...
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Dappers
Dappers, the third of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3's Drama Pilots is written by Catherine Johnson. She talks about filming the series - and the differences between that and being on the set for Mamma Mia! over on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3 blog. You can watch Dappers online from tomorrow on on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3 blog, or on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3 on Thursda...
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Paul Cornell on Pulse
We asked writer Paul Cornell to talk about writing a scene in his new medical horror drama pilot Pulse. You can watch Pulse on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3 at 9pm on Thursday June 3rd, or right now on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3 blog. You may want to watch the show first - spoilers ahead. There's one scene in the pilot script of Pu...
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Stanley Park
The second and third of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3's new drama pilots, Dappers and Stanley Park, are going to be uploaded to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3 blog tomorrow, and will air on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ3 on Thursday 10th June. While you're waiting, Leo Richardson, creator and writer of Stanley Park, talks about his aims and inspiration for the ser...
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Tony Doyle Winner on Tony Doyle Winning
We asked the winner of this year's Tony Doyle Bursary, Vanessa Pope, if she'd say a few words on the blog about winning the prize, and what it's meant for her. "The Eastside Princess" very nearly didn't make it out of Belfast to be judged for the 2010 Tony Doyle Bursary. The screenplay had be...
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Scotland: Write
We've finally chosen the winners for the Scotland: Write Here, Write Now competition, and in our Terms & Conditions it says that their names will be published on the Writersroom website. Are you still happy to do that for us? They are: Joanna Bolouri, Rebecca McFarland, and Rob Drummond. ...
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Pulse
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ 3 is just about to start a new series of Drama Pilots. The last time this happened, Being Human was commissioned as a result. Anyways, the first pilot, Pulse, airs on Thursday 3rd June at 9pm. But you can watch it online here already. (Genuine Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ thing. Not a naughty-torrent.) The...
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Whither SWYWTHery?
Tim Wright is the writer of digital experiences including Online Caroline, Mount Kristos, and In Search of Oldton. His two new plays, Say What You Want To Hear, aired earlier this year on Radio 4. Tim wrote two pieces for us about the project. You can read the first here. This is the second. ...
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Five Days in May
We're looking for scripts based around the events of the five days in May this year after the general election, but before a new government had been formed. We're not looking for scripts to make - we're looking for scripts that we can post online. To enter, send us a 5-10 minute script for...