is a writer and comedian who was part of our London Voices writer development group in 2017. The London Voices group is made up of writers we have identified through our open submission script windows and other opportunities, through talent scouting and on recommendation. Archie went on to gain a placement as Writer in Residence in Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Drama London and explains how it made him radically reassess his opinion of Radio Drama...
I was the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Drama writer in residence from September 2018 – March 2019. There hadn’t been a writer in residence for a couple of years at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ and I felt privileged to have been the first one for a while. After all, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ is a worldwide institution and I am, at best, a sedentary slob who has somehow managed to convince people that his words and thoughts have some significance (if you’re still reading, thanks). Here’s what I learned while I was there, what I found surprising and some other stuff that I ain’t worked out yet...
Archie Maddocks (photo credit: Tom Leishman)
What I thought before I started
Being totally honest, like in every one of the movies after holding a gut full of bullets and a litany of slashes (what a weird reference) - I thought radio was dead, it just didn’t know it yet. In my head (and often out of my mouth, I’m never one for tact) I would complain “who really listens to radio when you can do literally anything else? I mean, sh*t, I would rather learn Mongolian throat singing than listen to a plummy, prissy story about some middle class angst”. (Incidentally, Mongolian throat singing is pretty damn hard). Anyway... For me, Radio Drama was an outdated concept akin to and – we’d survived it and now were living in the promised land of choice rather than necessity. Long story short, I assumed that radio wasn’t for me. I don’t know where that perception actually came from. I don’t know whether through osmosis or ignorance (probably both) but I had always assumed that radio drama was for over-60s. Don’t get it twisted, I felt honoured to be picked to be the Writer in Residence, what an opportunity. I just held a bunch of beliefs that were based on little factual research. And what I found out is that the reality was very different.
What I think now
Having been in the building for so long, working next to excellent, hard-working people, I think that radio drama is a wonderful resource that we should be taking advantage of way more. Doing some self-analysis (which is never good, let’s be honest, brings up way more problems than solutions in the short term – long term, meh, haven’t got there yet), I realised that my attitude towards Radio Drama came from a warped perspective that I was yet to shake free from. It’s given me a new found appreciation for a thing that I didn’t really understand. I forced myself to listen things I wouldn’t normally listen to because I thought “I don’t care about the war, I know everything I need to know” or “who really cares about a farmer in Yorkshire and his issues with hay?”. Listening in, I found that there was so much more than I expected.
The beauty of Radio Drama, is because you can’t see it, it forces you to pay greater attention to what you’re listening to. In doing that, I noticed the depth of character, the wonderful soundscapes that created nuanced and complex atmospherics. I heard stories I’d never heard before and consequently, widened my interests of the world. Having immersed myself deeper into Radio Drama, it made me hate myself (which I do anyway, I’m a writer and comedian after all, kinda part of the job) for not having tuned in earlier. What kind of fool-made-arrogant-ediat writes off something they know nothing about? The more I listened, the more I felt that I had gone years and missed out of some of the cleverest, most ambitious and brilliant pieces of work out there. To be a part of something like that, humbled me greatly.
Now, I’ve done a full one-eighty and find myself tuning in to the radio rather than watching YouTube. I’ll catch up with the past week and catch an afternoon play or two rather than scroll through Facebook to find out what I should be outraged about next. For me, Radio Drama has insisted that I open myself up to new stories and curate my own listening rather than follow blindly to what others are prescribing. It kind of feels like an exclusive club which I’m thrilled to have discovered and be a part of. Anyway, long story short – Radio Drama is great and people should listen to it because it will improve your life.
What needs to be done
Like Machete (don’t know how long I’m going to keep on with this reference) Radio Drama isn’t dead, and probably never will be. It might change, get scarred up and have to adapt, but that’s what all great things do to survive right? Sure there can be more diversity, of course there can be, but when is that not the case? I think the biggest challenge with Radio Drama is building a new audience while not alienating the current one. In order to find new people, you have to grab them and demand attention. I think (as if my opinion means anything, most times, I don’t even respect it) radio has to become more innovative and take greater risks, which could cause some upset, but will probably yield greater rewards. A new, younger, diversified audience will become interested because the stories will reflect their lives and experiences.
It is an interesting time for the Audio Drama format – with recording equipment cheap and readily available, people are able to create their own stories, ones based in their reality, which results in an audience that becomes familiar with that experience and buys into that reality even more. Essentially, “niche” is sort of becoming mainstream through the support it gets from people in the know. While that may feel like it’s making things harder, what it’s actually proving is that there is an audience out there for any story that is told – they’re hungry and they are willing to engage, but that has to be a two way street. To paraphrase field of dreams “if you write it, they will come” (I’m not entirely sure I know how paraphrasing works but I done the best I could).
The future of Radio Drama
Personally, I’m excited for the future. Change is happening and I think that can only be good for Radio Drama. Adaptation will be needed, sure, but what will come out of the change is new, innovative, fiercely supported work. Radio can move towards feeling more inclusive for a lot of people. It can help instigate a shift in culture and, with people enjoying greater control over their own entertainment and programming, it can make more people master of their own universe (I hate that that is the sentence I’m ending this with, but there we go).
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