The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3 programme The Verb is a weekly "Cabaret of the Word", featuring the best poetry, new writing and performance, presented by Ian McMillan. The programme has regularly collaborated with us at Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writersroom, offering the opportunity for four writers from our development groups to gain a 5 minute audio drama commission and the chance to appear as a guest.
The most recent opportunity challenged writers to be experimental with language and to create a short piece of work based around the theme of “Renewal” and any meanings this evoked or inspired.
As with every opportunity we run, we were overwhelmed by the high standard and breadth of ideas that were submitted. Ultimately we selected the four ideas that felt the most original and bold while reflecting and embracing the theme, together with meeting the requirements of the audio medium to grab the listener and give them a new experience.
Having been selected, it was all go for the four writers as they underwent a swift but thorough development process with their Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Drama North Producer. They ended up being some of the first audio dramas to be recorded remotely when we first went into lockdown as a country this time last year.
Despite the initial set-back and the missed opportunity to all be in the same studio for the recording, we're delighted with how each of the dramas has turned out and how they demonstrate each writer's individual talents and voice. Listen to them below.
Ian McMillan presents The Verb on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3 and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Sounds
“I like the way the rhythms of ordinary speech are put under pressure by the needs of the compressed narrative. The sound world, like the writing, seals you into these dramas in a way that never lets you go.” - Ian McMillan (Presenter of The Verb)
“These short dramas can make you feel like you’re caught in someone else’s train of thought – you discover how strange language really is – and that’s something I really value in these scripts" Faith Lawrence (Producer of The Verb)
“They’ve been like little vibrant jewels of sound. - the scripts, have had a precious jewel quality – small moments that stay with you, I like how they’ve taken little everyday moments, a haircut, or an attempt to follow a recipe and show how important they really are” - Jessica Treen (Assistant Producer of The Verb)
Listen to Please, No Shouting in the Reception Area by Jacob Welby
Please, No Shouting in the Reception Area is about a woman who attempts the simple task of getting her passport renewed but is faced with a bureaucracy so convoluted that it tears down the fabric of her own reality.
Please, No Shouting in the Reception Area was broadcast on The Verb on 17th April 2020 - Listen to the whole programme
Listen to Avocado Fried Rice by Alissa Anne Jeun Yi
Avocado Fried Rice is all about a strained mother-daughter relationship, living with dementia and reconnecting with your cultural roots through cooking. ‘Renewal’ in Avocado Fried Rice is the renewal of the mother-daughter relationship - Through learning to cook the recipe her mother has long forgotten, the daughter also gets the opportunity to ‘renew’ and deepen her connection with her heritage - and also to ‘renew’ and reinterpret an traditional, family recipe in her unique, more Westernised way - merging the culture her mum is from and her own; and creating something new and different that celebrates both worlds.
Avocado Fried Rice was broadcast on The Verb on 1st May 2020 - Listen to the whole programme
Listen to Ghosts by Lucy Burke
Ghosts is an exploration of grief, specifically looking at how Freya - a young woman in her twenties - comes to terms with her life continuing when the person she intended on living it out with is taken away unexpectedly. It explores Freya's emerging feelings of guilt and the challenges she faces trying to move forward, of renewing her life plans but in a different way.
Ghosts was broadcast on The Verb on 26th June 2020.
Listen to Reflection by Lettie Precious
We all have insecurities; most of them are fuelled by our own beliefs and experiences through the world we live in. Our insecurities dictate how we see the world and how we think the world sees us. What truths or lies does RED’s reflection tell them? Maybe Peckham High Street has the answer.
Reflection was broadcast on The Verb on 26th February 2021 - Listen to the whole programme