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Sunday Drama

Sundays, from 3:06 pm to 4:00 pm.

The Sunday Drama celebrates the best of New Zealand's writing and performance. As well as original works written for radio, you can hear dramatic adaptations of novels and stage plays as well as sampling some of the finest radio drama and comedy from around the world.

21 March 2010

Reading for Slaughter by Murray Reece

Slaughter in the Ranks is New Zealand television's hottest, newest cop show - and wannabe actor Martin Ryan will do anything to land the leading role.

Cast:
Martin Ryan - John Wraight
Jennifer Ryan - Perry Percy
Sue Blair - Tine Regtien
Rachel Stanford - Carmel McGlone
George Halliwell - Don Langridge
Shaun Ryan - Huw Lloyd Davies

Engineered by Phil Benge and produced by Steve Danby for Radio New Zealand

The Gullibles by Joe Musaphia

Set in the office of The Sunday Chronical, a big metropolitan newspaper. Ray Marbles, the editor of the newspaper’s Value Magazine consumer supplement deals with his staff, his hen-pecked managing editor, a range of rip-off artists and the gullible consumers who allow themselves to be ripped off.

Part 3 of 6

Can Ray Marbles, and his team handle ‘non’ service stations or will they have to face the chop from the ‘mahjong mafia’.

Cast:
Sean Allan, Erin Banks, Tim Gordon, Bruce Phillips, Jane Waddell, Matthew Chamberlain, Donna Akersten and Jude Gibson

Produced by Adam Macaulay and Duncan Smith and engineered by Phil Benge for Radio New Zealand

28 March 2010

The Days of Sail by Bill Manhire

A Royal Tour, some sheep and a humble gardener form but three pieces  of this mosaic based on a little-known incident which occurred in 1981.

Cast:
Narrator - Peter Vere-Jones
The Queen - Helen Moulder
Aunt - Helen Moulder
Civic Dignitary - Bernard Kearns
Sally - Kerry Fox
Jane - Stephanie Creed

Ghost images and arrested motion obtained with collodion wet plates. Detail froim a photographof Princes Street, Dunedin, c. 1860, taken by William Meluish. A similar photograph provides inspiration The Days of Sail.

Engineered by Andy Fendall and produced by Micahel Peck for Radio New Zealand

The Gullibles by Joe Musaphia

Set in the office of The Sunday Chronical, a big metropolitan newspaper. Ray Marbles, the editor of the newspaper’s Value Magazine consumer supplement deals with his staff, his hen-pecked managing editor, a range of rip-off artists and the gullible consumers who allow themselves to be ripped off.

Part 4 of 6

Ray and the team deal with ergonomic seats, parking cheats and a mouse in a toaster.

Cast:
Sean Allan, Erin Banks, Tim Gordon, Bruce Phillips, Jane Waddell, Donna Akersten and Jude Gibson

Produced by Adam Macaulay and Duncan Smith and engineered by Phil Benge for Radio New Zealand

10 April 2010

Hitler and Me by John McCrystal

A lost tramper stumbles into an isolated mountain hut to discover it is being occupied by two mob members on a “hunting trip”. With the weather closing in he finds himself stuck there and braces himself for a sleepless night – next to Hitler and Sunny - wondering what exactly they have come hunting for. His fears are heightened when the mob members discover he is a crown prosecutor.

Cast:
Hitler – Jim Moriarty
Ron – Mick Rose
Tane – Jason Te Kare

The Gullibles by Joe Musaphia

Set in the office of The Sunday Chronical, a big metropolitan newspaper. Ray Marbles, the editor of the newspaper’s Value Magazine consumer supplement deals with his staff, his hen-pecked managing editor, a range of rip-off artists and the gullible consumers who allow themselves to be ripped off.

Part 5 of 6

Sophie has a date with a very late mouse while Ray and Wilson are uneasy dealing with a new and very personal product.

Cast:
Sean Allan, Erin Banks, Tim Gordon, Bruce Phillips, Jane Waddell and Nic Dunbar and Julian Wilson

Produced by Adam Macaulay and Duncan Smith and engineered by Phil Benge for Radio New Zealand

11 April 2010

Gertrude and Alicia by Elizabeth Smither

“Do not regret growing old: it is a privilege denied to many.” The story of two old friends who meet up again in an old people’s home.

Read by Helen Moulder, produced by Prue Langbein and engineered by Phil Benge for Radio New Zealand

The Gullibles by Joe Musaphia

Set in the office of The Sunday Chronical, a big metropolitan newspaper. Ray Marbles, the editor of the newspaper’s Value Magazine consumer supplement deals with his staff, his hen-pecked managing editor, a range of rip-off artists and the gullible consumers who allow themselves to be ripped off.

Part 6 of 6

Sophie has a date with a very late mouse while Ray and Wilson are uneasy dealing with a new and very personal product.

Cast:
Sean Allan, Erin Banks, Tim Gordon, Bruce Phillips, Jane Waddell and KC Kelley

Produced by Adam Macaulay and Duncan Smith and engineered by Phil Benge for Radio New Zealand

14 March 2010

Ring of Fire by Susy Pointon

A young New Zealand woman journeys with her friend, a sick Australian swami, back to his famuily on a huge outback cattle station.

Read by Joanne Simpson, engineered by Phil Benge and produced by Steve Danby for Radio New Zealand

The Gullibles by Joe Musaphia

Set in the office of The Sunday Chronical, a big metropolitan newspaper. Ray Marbles, the editor of the newspaper’s Value Magazine consumer supplement deals with his staff, his hen-pecked managing editor, a range of rip-off artists and the gullible consumers who allow themselves to be ripped off.

Part 2 of 6

Our increasingly stressed editor is under pressure from the boss, and Sophie and Wilson are trying to stamp out corruption.

Cast:
Sean Allan, Erin Banks, Tim Gordon, Bruce Phillips, Jane Waddell and David McKenzie

Produced by Adam Macaulay and Duncan Smith and engineered by Phil Benge for Radio New Zealand

7 March 2010

Scherzo by Stuart Hoar

Most cities stumble by in cheerful anonymity; most of us have no mental image of Vienna or Bogota or Manila or Harare. “Venice” is as much a head-space as a physical location; But Venice, for some reason, holds a peculiar fascination, a fascination compounded by the innumerable artists who have been drawn to the place – Monteverdi, Byron, Thomas Mann, Wagner, Britten, Italo Calvino.

It’s probably Calvino’s version of Venice (in Invisible Cities) that stands behind Stuart Hoar’s “Scherzo” – the city as chameleon. His protagonists, Jim and Marilyn Smith, each arrive in Venice with certain expectations – and those expectations are royally fulfilled. Jim is the romantic who has insisted on building Venice into the schedule; Marilyn has reluctantly agreed. The visit becomes a catalyst in the unravelling of their marriage.

We do not generally hard-sell the travelogue aspect of radio drama, but this one really is in glorious Technicolor. Engineer Phil Benge and producer Steve Danby spent several months in Venice recording atmospheres and ambiences to lend verisimilitude to the play; the actors were recorded on location in the Piazza san Marco. (Wot do you fink this is, TELEVISION? Actually we faked it all using FX off CDs. Phil Benge is Very Clever.)

The music for this production is largely from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – music originally written in Venice for Venetian musicians. However – we’ve used the Canadian Brass’s transcription for brass instruments instead of the usual string arrangement. (Listen for a brief cameo by tenor Roberto Alagna and his two guitarist brothers, and for Michael Wilson’s award-winning rendition of “Nessun Dorma”.)

“Scherzo”, by the way, is a fake Italian word based on the German word for “joke”.

Cast:
Jim - Michael Wilson
Marilyn - Janet Fisher
Chiara - Michele Amas
Emerson - Peter Daube

The Gullibles by Joe Musaphia

Set in the office of The Sunday Chronical, a big metropolitan newspaper. Ray Marbles, the editor of the newspaper’s Value Magazine consumer supplement deals with his staff, his hen-pecked managing editor, a range of rip-off artists and the gullible consumers who allow themselves to be ripped off.

Part 1 of 6

Editor-under-siege, Ray Marbles, has his staff chasing parking wardens and fending off the Mahjong club. 

Cast:
Sean Allan, Erin Banks, Tim Gordon, Bruce Phillips, Jane Waddell and Gavin Rutherford

Produced by Adam Macaulay and Duncan Smith and engineered by Phil Benge for Radio New Zealand

28 February 2010

The Circus of Errors by Sam Trubridge with music by Phil Brownlee

21 February 2010

Being Brave by Tina Pepler

This unusual and inspiring BBC drama-documentary by award-winning writer Tina Pepler (Song of the Forest; Sisters), looks at the way in which horses are being used to help change lives – from corporate clients to troubled teenagers.

Based around an interview with renowned horse whisperer, Andrew Froggatt (right) - who works on New Zealand’s beautiful Kapiti Coast - the drama focuses on Greg and Alice.

Greg is struggling in the current recession to keep his business afloat and alienating his work colleagues and his family in the process. Alice can’t relate to her step-parents after her mother’s death. Neither believes horse-whispering has anything to offer them. But they’ve yet to meet Rob and each other.

The cast includes Barnaby Kay (Conspiracy, Shakespeare in Love); Nicola Miles-Wildin (The Glass Menagerie); Ivan Kaye (Cold Comfort Farm; The Bill); Nigel Hastings (The Changeling); Farzana Dua Elahe (Eastenders); Sally Orrock (The Gods Weep) and Lisa Stevenson (The Football Factory).

Produced at the BBC by Marion Nancarrow.

Listen to Being Brave

14 February 2010

Summer/Autumn Season of New Drama: The Newest of the New

Student Shorts 2010 - Part 2

The second set of three plays from the winners of the 15-minute playwriting competition

Skin Deep by Ole Maiava (Banana Boat Writers - Auckland)

A John Doe with Nazi tattooed on his neck arrives unconscious to a Hospital. Police believe he’s a victim of a racially motivated attack by a couple of Polynesian boys. Then two Polynesian boys arrive claiming the patient is their cousin.

Cast: Shadon Meredith, Natano Keni, Asalemo Tofete, Moana Ete, Lyndee-Jane Rutherford
Director: Jason Te Kare
Studio engineer: Phil Benge

Crazy in Love by Ness Simons (Whitireia Wellington)

Ros and Tali’s less than amiable separation leaves one of them on the edge. But which one? And who will look after the cat?

Cat: Amy Tarleton, Ban Abdul, Kate Prior, Emily Regtien, James Kupa
Director: Adam Macaulay
Studio engineer: Phil Benge

Where’s Wiki’s House Gone Dad?  by Rob Tuwhare (Te Arapiki Maori Writers - Auckland)

Set against a backdrop of the near hysteria surrounding the 1953 Royal Tour and the Tangiwai disaster.

A young boy Stephen is upset that his friend Wiki’s house is to be demolished because it will be an eyesore for the Royal party who are scheduled to pass by.

Cast: John Wraight, Nikki MacDonnell, Amelia Reid, Jed Brophy, Hewitt Humphrey, Rob Tuwhare is a member of group
Director: Duncan Smith
Studio engineer: Phil Benge

Sunday 7 February 2010

Summer/Autumn Season of New Drama: The Newest of the New

Student Shorts 2010 - Part 1

Three of the six winners of this year’s short play competition.

Each year RNZ Drama runs writing workshops for tertiary level writing students across the country. Participating writers are given to opportunity to write a 15-minute radio drama script for the Student Shorts competition.

Bridge to Portobello by Gwyneth Hyndman (VUW Wellington)

Daniel and Simon are close friends. They’ve both finished their law degrees in Dunedin and make a bet they’ll be hot shot lawyers by the time they’re 30. But Simon’s mental health means he’s not going to win. Instead he opts to take the fantasy Bridge to Portobello.

Cast: Aaron Alexander, Hadleigh Walker, Madeleine McNamara, Tansy Hayden
Director: Prue Langbein 
Studio engineer: Phil Benge

Guitar Lessons by Richard Finn (VUW Wellington)

When Guy and his best mate Ted start taking guitar lessons with the beautiful Ms Belle they have no idea what a merry dance they are have embarked upon.

Cast: James Kupa, Liz Kirkman
Director: Duncan Smith
Studio engineer: Phil Benge

Taking the Bait  by Ness Simons (Whitireia Wellington)

Nico is due in court today but his mum and grandfather can’t find him anywhere. The police come looking for him in connection with an arson at a gang pad and think he may have done a runner. Then they learn Nico has gone fishing ... with the man who killed his father.

Cast: Lawrence Wharera, Jodie Rimmer, Peter Hayden, Kerehi Paurini
Director: Jason Te Kare
Studio engineer: Phil Benge