Kirsty Williams is a radio drama director and producer for BBC Radio Drama at Pacific Quay, Glasgow.
Her play Daniel and Mary received a Bronze Sony Radio Academy Award for Best Drama in 2010.[1]
| Radio Plays Directed or Produced by Kirsty Williams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date first broadcast | Play | Author | Cast | Synopsis Awards |
Station Series |
| 2 January 2006 | Billy[2] | Kenneth Steven | Read by Paul Blair | Stories showcasing new Scottish writing.
A young Celtic supporter gets a life-changing job with a fanatical Rangers fan. |
BBC Radio 4 Scottish Shorts[3] |
| 2 May 2006 – 5 May 2006 | The Caliph's House – A Year in Casablanca | Tahir Shah abridged by Laurence Wareing | Read by Shiv Grewal | Frustrated with his cramped London lifestyle, travel writer Tahir Shah decides to set up home in Morocco. But, when he buys the Caliph's house, he and his family discover they've got more than they'd bargained for: the property is looked after by three guardians who are convinced the house is full of ill-tempered jinns who don't want a new owner moving in on their territory. | BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week[4] |
| 21 August 2006 – 1 September 2006 | Belonging | Ron Butlin | Read by Simon Donaldson | A dark and gripping contemporary psychological thriller about Scottish drifter, Jack McCall – that takes us from the ski slopes of France to a Spanish wilderness. | BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime[5] |
| 6 October 2006 | The Good Shepherd | Laura Marney | Read by James Fleet | When a church is threatened with closure, the pastor sets out on a recruitment drive and meets the most unlikely would-be parishioner. | BBC Radio 4 |
| 1 January 2007 | Housework[6] | Sally Beamish | Read by Joanna Tope | Stories showcasing new Scottish writing.
A woman's life is turned upside down when her husband leaves her. |
BBC Radio 4 Scottish Shorts |
| 18 January 2007 | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Series 3, Part 1: How to Handle Men through the Application of Psychology[7] | Alexander McCall Smith | Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Joseph Marcell, Janice Acquah, Adjoa Andoh, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Chuk Iwuji and Kedar Williams-Stirling | Precious Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, sets out to release her fiancé, Mr JLB Matekoni, from a terrifying obligation.
Meanwhile, a new case comes into the agency and the ladies find themselves on a love quest. |
BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play[8] |
| 25 January 2007 | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Series 3, Part 2: House of Hope[9] | Alexander McCall Smith | Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Joseph Marcell, Janice Acquah, Jude Akuwudike and Noma Dumezweni | Mma Ramotswe and her assistant Mma Makutsi visit some bad girls in their quest to find a husband for their client. But Mma Ramotswe has some marriage problems of her own. When her fiance seems no closer to setting a date for their wedding, she seeks the advice of a crafty friend. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 1 February 2007 | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Series 3, Part 3: The Return of Note[10] | Alexander McCall Smith | Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Janice Acquah, Jude Akuwudike, Adjoa Andoh, Chuk Iwuji, Alibe Parsons, Danny Sapani and Ben Thomas | Mma Ramotswe finds herself in a compromising situation when her past catches up with her. But things are looking brighter for her assistant, Mma Makutsi, when she takes up ballroom dancing. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 8 February 2007 | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Series 3, Part 4: The Ceremony[11] | Alexander McCall Smith | Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Joseph Marcell, Janice Acquah, Jude Akuwudike, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Patrice Naiambana and Danny Sapani | With her agency work under control, Mma Ramotswe has time at last to take care of her own problems. Can she release her fiance, Mr JLB Matekoni, from his rash undertaking to do a charity parachute jump? And will the return of an old love jeopardise her plan to spring a romantic surprise on her husband-to-be? | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 15 February 2007 | The Places In Between[12][13] | Rory Stewart dramatised by Benjamin Yeoh | Greg Wise, Mido Hamada, Omar Berdouni, Nayef Rashed, Nitin Ganatra, Emun Elliott and Tahmoures Tehrani | In January 2002, Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan just after the fall of the Taliban. Surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers, this dramatisation tells the story of this epic journey. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 23 April 2007 | Coconut Chaos[14] | Diana Souhami | Read by Eleanor Bron | Diana Souhami's story interweaves her voyage to Pitcairn Island with the dark and compelling tale of the island's history. | BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week |
| 30 July 2007 | Be Prepared: The Amateur Assassin[15] | Conn Iggulden | Read by Paul Young | Stories inspired by the motto of the Scouting movement.
A clothing retailer accidentally finds himself embroiled in the murder business. |
BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Reading[16] |
| 31 July 2007 | Be Prepared: The Dog Watch[17] | Candia McWilliam | Read by Tamara Kennedy | To mark the centenary of the Scouting movement, a series of stories inspired by their famous motto.
A couple tipsily celebrate their wedding anniversary. |
BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Reading |
| 1 August 2007 | Be Prepared: Imagine[18] | Pauline McLynn | Read by Joanna Tope | To mark the centenary of the Scouting movement, a series of stories inspired by their famous motto.
A woman shows the most incredible capacity to look on the bright side. |
BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Reading |
| 2 August 2007 | Be Prepared: Man's Best Friend[19] | Des Dillon | Read by Nick Underwood | Series of stories inspired by the famous motto of the Scouting movement.
The dark story of a futuristic Britain in which dogs sniff out terrorist threats. |
BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Reading |
| 3 August 2007 | Be Prepared: Vanishing Point[20] | Luke Sutherland | Read by Sandy Grierson | To mark the centenary of the Scouting movement, a series of stories inspired by their famous motto.
A very small man intervenes in a scene similar to a nursery rhyme and helps a young lady in distress. |
BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Reading |
| 14 August 2007 | Cut to the Heart[21] | Nicola Wilson | Mark Bonnar, Sally Hawkins, Anastasia Hille, Georgia Rich, Mark Emerson and Richard Dillane | When Ted leaves Alice for her best friend, it takes ten years for the ripples of betrayal to die down. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 15 October 2007 – 26 October 2007 | The Tenderness of Wolves[22] | Stef Penney dramatised by Chris Dolan | Meg Fraser, Michael Goldsmith, Lewis Howden, Iain Robertson, Lucy Paterson, Nick Underwood, Simon Tait, Steven Cartwright, Richard Greenwood and Angus MacInnes | 1860s Canada. Mrs Ross' son has been missing since the day she discovered the murdered body of her neighbour – she fears her errant son will be blamed, so she treks through the wilderness in a bid to save him. | BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama[23] |
| 9 January 2008 | Jimmy Murphy Makes Amends[24] | Andrew Doyle | David Ireland, Iain Robertson, James Bryce, Gabriel Quigley, Jill Riddiford and Una McLean | Black comedy about friendship and the fear of God. Desperate to save himself from eternal damnation, Jimmy sets out to make amends for all his wrongdoings, only to discover a truth far more terrifying than divine retribution. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 25 January 2008 | My Heart's in the Highlands[25][26][27] | Liz Lochhead | Siobhan Redmond, Lewis Howden and Ann Scott Jones | Roberta's had a strange year, but things are about to get stranger when, preparing a Burns Supper, the man himself turns up in her kitchen. | BBC Radio Scotland Drama[28] |
| 14 February 2008 | A Most Civil Arrangement[29][30] | Colin Hough | Barbara Rafferty | A comedy monologue about a downtrodden woman preparing for her daughter's unconventional wedding. The antidote to Valentine's Day. | BBC Radio Scotland Drama |
| 3 March 2008 – 7 March 2008 | My Father's Country[31] | Wibke Bruhns | Read by Joanna Tope | Wibke Bruhns's chronicle of the life of her father, who was executed in 1944 for failing to disclose a plot to assassinate Hitler.
This family history offers an intimate insight into the experience of being German during a turbulent century. |
BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week |
| 14 April 2008 – 25 April 2008 | The Good Soldier[32] | Ford Madox Ford abridged by Lu Kemp | Read by Toby Stephens | Ford Madox Ford's classic tale of passion and deceit, set in Europe during the early years of the 20th century. The story centres on a friendship between two seemingly happily married couples and the web of deception woven around a long-standing affair. | BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime |
| 21 August 2008 | Sex for Volunteers[33] | Laura Marney and David Ramos Fernandes | Molly Innes, Robin Laing, Louise Ludgate, Steven McNicoll, Stewart Porter and Sally Reid | When Suzy's husband takes a job abroad, her sister encourages her to join a team of first-aiders. However, her plans for Suzy go well beyond the kiss of life. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 9 September 2008 | Blue Sky Thinking[34] | Ben Lewis | Nicola Stapleton, Samuel Roukin, Freddy White, Catherine Shepherd, Sandra Voe and Ben Lewis | Karen's counting down the days to her wedding. But when a scrawny-looking stranger turns up her happy life begins to fall apart. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 29 October 2008 | MacBeth's MacPets[35] | Morna Pearson | Ann Scott Jones, Sheila Donaldson, Ralph Riach and Ashley Smith | Surreal comedy about a pet shop that stocks grannies. | BBC Radio Scotland Drama |
| 13 November 2008 | Quartet[36] | Donna Franceschild | Gerry Mulgrew, Callum Cuthbertson, Stephen McCole and Katy Murphy | With his life empty, save for dreams of former glory as a jazz musician, music teacher Robbie accidentally gains a jazz quartet. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 3 December 2008 | Once I Loved You Long Ago[37] | Louise Ironside | Mary Gapinski | Comedy-drama about a woman who leaves her husband after reading someone else's love letters. | BBC Radio Scotland Drama |
| 7 January 2009 | Kyoto[38] | David Greig | Matthew Pidgeon and Samantha Young | Drama about sexual desire, hotel rooms and climate change. | BBC Radio Scotland Drama |
| 18 February 2009 | The Lottery Ticket[39] | Donna Franceschild | Nitzan Sharron, John Kazek and Meg Fraser | An unlikely friendship blossoms when an asylum seeker and a migrant worker find a stray lottery ticket and think it may be the answer to all their problems. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 7 March 2009 | The Meek[40] | Denise Mina Sound design: Paul Wilson and Dan Lyth |
Meg Fraser, Sarah Gordy, Lucy Paterson, Louise Ludgate, Robert Softley, Ben Lewis and Nick Underwood | Newborn Simone has Down's syndrome but her mother is convinced she has extraordinary powers. Is this complete fantasy or is Simone really in a world where superheroes exist and are being hunted down? | BBC Radio 3 The Wire[41] |
| 16 March 2009 | Where Three Roads Meet[42] | Salley Vickers | John Hurt, Paul Rhys, Sylvestra Le Touzel, John Rowe and Jonathan Tafler | A strange, unworldly figure appears in Sigmund Freud's Hampstead study to present the truth behind the Oedipus myth that the founder of psychoanalysis so famously made his own. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 26 March 2009 | Gondwanaland[43] | Stephen Keyworth | Meg Fraser, Nick Underwood, Rosalind Sydney, Lucy Paterson, Crawford Logan and James Anthony Pearson | Drama inspired by the friendship between family planning pioneer Marie Stopes and explorer Captain Robert Scott. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 18 June 2009 | Desperate Measures[44] | David Ian Neville | Gabriel Quigley, Neil McKinven, Daniela Nardini, Molly Innes, Nicola Jo Cully and Phil McKee | In an old warehouse by the River Clyde, Paul and Mhairi Blaze have built a successful design company. But as the economic downturn bites, they need more than grand designs to save their business and their relationship. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 3 July 2009 | Spam Fritters[45] | Jo Clifford | Sheila Donald, Maynard Eziashi, John Kielty and Melody Grove | A Glasgow grandmother develops an online relationship with a Russian woman who's actually a Nigerian man. | BBC Radio Scotland Drama |
| 25 August 2009 | The Incomplete Works of Dave McCabe[46] | Nick Underwood | Simon Donaldson, Sandy Grierson, Claire Knight, Lorraine M McIntosh, Ann Scott-Jones and Finlay Welsh | Singer-songwriter Dave is given the opportunity to meet his muse and woo her with a song. But he has a problem: he cannot get past the opening lines. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 8 September 2009 | Meryl the Mounted[47] | Colin Hough | Rosalind Sydney, Scott Fletcher, Robert Jack, Una McLean, Sean Scanlan and James Young | Meryl is a mounted police constable with an unhealthy love for her horse; Aiden is a young stable boy with an unhealthy love for Meryl. When their sergeant is found murdered, the pair investigate. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 9 October 2009 | Daniel and Mary[48] | Oliver Emanuel | Robin Laing and Natasha Watson | A frank and moving drama exploring alcoholism from a child's point of view.
Mary's nine years old. When she comes down to breakfast to find her dad's still up from the night before and still drinking vodka, she decides it's time to leave home. |
BBC Radio Scotland Drama |
| 22 December 2009 | The Three Knots[49] | Linda Cracknell | Finn den Hertog, Robert Jack, Gerda Stevenson, Hannah Donaldson and Jimmy Chisholm | Two men stranded on a mountain on a stormy December night in 19th-century Scotland meet a mysterious old woman who believes she can control the elements. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 26 December 2009 | Educating Rita[50] | Willy Russell | Laura Dos Santos and Bill Nighy | A comic, sparky and touching portrayal of the relationship between a working-class Open University student and her middle-aged, alcohol-fuelled tutor. | BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play[51] |
| 12 January 2010 | My Romantic History[52] | D C Jackson | Sandy Grierson, Cora Bissett, Gabriel Quigley, Jordan Young and Juliet Cadzow | Poignant and witty drama about love and memory. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 19 January 2010 | The Lonely[53] | Paul Gallico dramatised by Rebecca Hughes | Michael Goldsmith, Laura Rees, Sam Dale, Tracy Wiles and Piers Wehner | During the Second World War an American airforce lieutenant suffering from battle fatigue and a young English WAAF officer become lovers. But when he returns to America to break off his engagement, things get complicated. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 26 January 2010 | The Ca'd'oro Cafe[54] | Donna Franceschild | Elspeth Brodie, Robin Laing and John Kazek | Dark and moving comedy about love, money and desperation | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 20 February 2010 | Life on the Edges[55] | Nicola Wilson | Sheila Reid, Billy Seymour, Toby Jones, Laura Dos Santos and Nigel Hastings | Deano's never met his grandmother, Ellen. But his mother's committed suicide and he's been placed in her care. Alone together they each occupy their own imaginary worlds. Ellen sees things - a bear in a white anorak, Victorian chimney sweeps, the disembodied head of Ian Beale. Deano, used to spending hours on his computer, is missing the imaginary world he created on Second Life. Then his avatar turns up in his new bedroom and their adventures begin again. When Deano and Ellen's imaginary worlds collide, a dark and tragic tale unfolds. | BBC Radio 3 The Wire |
| 28 February 2010 | La Princesse de Clèves[56] | Madame de Lafayette translated and freely dramatised by Jo Clifford | Melody Grove, Candida Benson, Liam Brennan, Robin Laing, Laurie Brown, Meg Fraser, Irene MacDougall, Ralph Riach and Crawford Logan | Set in the 16th Century, the play follows the life of a beautiful young lady newly presented to Court. It's the reign of Henri II and Mary Queen of Scots is safely ensconced in France. It's a time of dangerous liaisons when one step out of line could ruin a woman and her family. | BBC Radio 3 Drama on 3[57] |
| 7 March 2010 | Of Mice and Men[58] | John Steinbeck dramatised by Donna Franceschild | David Tennant, Liam Brennan, Jude Akuwudike, Christopher Fairbank, Melody Grove, Neil McKinven and Richard Madden | Dramatisation of John Steinbeck's 1937 novel about migrant workers in 1930s California whose dream of one day owning a place of their own is tragically destroyed. | BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial[59] |
| 29 March 2010 – 9 April 2010 | Dancing Backwards[60] | Salley Vickers | Read by Eileen Atkins | Violet Hetherington's husband has recently died.
Alone, she decides to take a cruise-ship crossing to visit her old friend, Edwin, in New York. As she journeys across the Atlantic the quiet Violet begins to blossom. |
BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime |
| 4 June 2010 | Personal Best[61] | Lesley Hart | Sally Reid | A dark and surreal drama set almost entirely inside the mind of a runner during a half-marathon.
Ruth's done this race before, she raised over £500 for a cause that's close to her heart. This year, she'll double that, but only if she beats her best ever time. It's the race of her life and she's in the lead, until her mind begins to wander. |
BBC Radio Scotland Drama |
| 11 June 2010 | Philip and Sydney[62] | Alan Pollock | Pip Carter, Tim McInnerny, Melody Grove, John Rowe, Sam Dale and Gunnar Cauthery | In This Be The Verse, Philip Larkin famously bemoans the impact parents have on their children. Philip and Sydney uncovers some of the reasons why Larkin may have had such a profound sense of anguish. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 23 July 2010 | No Help When Dead[63] | David Ashton | David Ashton, Angela Darcy, Finn den Hertog, Steven McNicoll and Wendy Seager | A state of the nation play set during a Paisley pub's first ever poetry slam.
As an ultra-nationalist and an ultra-morbid poet prepare to compete against a scantily clad Biblical-rapper, a man professing to be William McGonagall arrives to take stock of Scotland's brave new lyrical world. |
BBC Radio Scotland Drama |
| 30 July 2010 | Trouble and Shame[64] | David Ireland | Gary Lewis, Robert Jack and Veronica Leer | Hunter's a Glaswegian with big plans for Northern Ireland. The First Minister and the Deputy First Minister are from opposite ends of the political spectrum and they're not getting on, but Hunter thinks he knows how to help. The answer is to kidnap them. | BBC Radio Scotland Drama |
| 4 September 2010 | Translations[65][66] | Brian Friel adapted for radio by Michael Duke | Samuel Barnett, Mark Bazeley, John Paul Connolly, Dermot Crowley, Roisin Gallagher, David Ireland, Aoife McMahon, Gerard McSorley, Eugene O'Hare and Eileen Walsh | It's the summer of 1833. In a hedge-school in Donegal, the schoolmaster's prodigal son is about to return from Dublin. With him are two army officers. Their aim is to create a map of the area, and, in the process, replace the Irish place-names with English equivalents. It's an act with unexpected and violent consequences. | BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play |
| 6 September 2010 | The Cracks[67] | Rob Evans | James Anthony Pearson, Liam Brennan and Paul Thomas Hickey | Michael's a teenager who feels like his life's about to begin. He's travelling from Leeds to London for a date with a guy he's met online. David's a forty year-old man who feels like he might be over the hill. When his partner announces he's leaving, David's life finally caves in. Michael and David's worlds are about to collide as each wanders Soho on a quest that will change them forever. |
BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 17 September 2010 | Tiny[68] | Ben Lewis | Joshua Jenkins, Julia McKenzie, Mark Heap, Peter Marinker and Alison Pettitt | A nervous young man lives at the dead end of a dead-end town. On his eighteenth birthday he comes into his inheritance. With a little help from an old teacher, he finds it equips him to broadcast over the internet. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 23 September 2010 | The Second Mr Bailey[69][Note 1] | Andrew Doyle | Sam Swann, Richard Greenwood, Owen Whitelaw, Gerda Stevenson, Gabriel Quigley and James Bryce | John is a young gay man living in Edinburgh in 1967. Homosexuality is about to be legalised in England, but not in Scotland. When John takes up lodgings with the enigmatic Mrs Margaret Bailey, he begins to experience what life as a conventional straight man could be like. But Margaret is no ordinary house-wife; she's slowly turning John into a replica of her husband. And John's beginning to like it. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
| 30 October 2010 | The Vanishing[70] | Tim Krabbé dramatised by Oliver Emanuel | Samuel West, Melody Grove, Ruth Gemmell, Liam Brennan, Natasha Watson, Claire Knight and Robin Laing | Rex and Saskia stop at a petrol station. Saskia goes in to buy drinks and is never seen again. Eight years later, Rex is so haunted by her disappearance that he sets out to discover what happened to her, regardless of the cost.
A chilling love story that takes us to the heart of the perfect crime. |
BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play |
| 19 December 2011 | Down and Out in Auchangaish[71] | Donna Franceschild | Liam Brennan, Wendy Seager, Kyle McPhail, David Ireland, Lesley Hart, Simon Tait and Robin Laing | Cal's about to turn eighteen and he's sleeping rough. Ziggy keeps setting fire to his hotel. And Gino, the local chipshop owner, wants to help everyone. Everyone except his wife, that is. | BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play |
Notes: