Ian Curteis Radio Plays

IAN CURTEIS RADIO PLAYS
21.04.00 Eroica
06.04.02 The Falklands Play 90m
17.09.02 After the Break 45m
??.??.03 Miss Morrison's Ghosts
13.06.03 Love 45m, rpt. from 2001
20.06.03 Love, 2
27.06.03 Love, 3
04.07.03 Love, 4
25.11.04 Love, 5
02.12.04 Love, 6
09.12.04 Love, 7

NOTES ON THE PLAYS

EROICA....2000
Beethoven in Vienna. Biographical, at an important point in Beethoven's life.

BANNED FALKLANDS PLAY GOES ON RADIO....2002

-from an article in the Daily Telegraph, 29 November 2001, written by Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent.

A TV play about the Falklands War that the BBC refused to show a decade ago because it was "too Right-Wing" and sympathetic to Mrs. Thatcher is finally to be put on Radio 4 in April, on the 20th anniversary of the start of the war. "The Falklands Play" by Ian Curteis caused enormous controversy when the playwright disclosed in 1986 that the BBC would axe the £1m drama unless he rewrote parts to show Mrs. Thatcher, the Prime Minister, in a less flattering light.

He refused, and the play, which looks at the political background to the war and was commissioned as a major three-hour TV drama to be shown on the 5th anniversary of the Argemtinian invasion, was dumped. There were angry debates in Parliament and the BBC was accused of left-wing bias.

Curteis said yesterday that, with the 20th anniversary looming, he had written to Greg Dyke, BBC Director-General, earlier this year to ask if the Corporation would now consider broadcasting the play. The idea "slowly filtered through the system" and it was agreed it would be cut to a 90-minute radio play.

His anger at the time was heightened because he was asked to write a play sympathetic to Mrs. Thatcher's decision to retake the Falklands as "a corrective" to two other BBC plays, "Tumbledown" and "The Queen's Arms" that had been critical of the Government and, in the second, shown British soldiers as drunken louts. In "The Falklands Play" Curteis showed Mrs. Thatcher in tears. He was asked to rewrite scenes of Mrs. Thatcher's Cabinet meetings to show ministers as hypocrites, taking military decisions for ulterior political motives.

Curteis, formerly married to Joanna Trollope, the novelist , said, "The changes would have totally destroyed what the play was about, but unless I made them, I was told it would be cancelled, which I couldn't believe. But it was. I am a great admirer of the BBC but this was absolutely corrupt. Many at the BBC could not stand Margaret Thatcher". Despite making heavy cuts, Curteis says "the play fulfils my objectives". The Radio 4 spokesman said "there is a big difference between doing something like this very close to the event and after a 20-year gap. The situation has changed".

THE FALKLANDS PLAY - short review
It is now nearly twenty years since our conflict with Argentina, and fifteen years after they pulled the plug, the BBC broadcast The Falklands Play, by Ian Curteis (R4, 1430, 6 Apr 02). A quality production, good dialogue (close to the truth?) and a vivid portrayal of our ex Prime Minister, along with the mediocrity of some of her ministers, whose names we have forgotten. Mrs. Thatcher was accused afterwards in the House of fighting an unnecessary war, and her reply is worth quoting: " Tragic this war may have been, but may I point out to the Right Honourable gentleman that he would not enjoy the freedom of speech which he puts to such excellent use unless people had been prepared to fight for it". Patricia Hodge played Mrs. Thatcher, and there was a strong supporting cast, including John Standing, Patrick Godfrey and Clive Merrison. (Nigel Deacon, VRPCC newsletter, Apr 02)

AFTER THE BREAK 2002
A play about the spy George Blake, and Sean Bourke. With Jack Klaff and John O'Mahoney. George Blake escaped from Wormwood Scrubs thanks to luck and the daring of Sean Bourke. But once in Russia, their enforced exile together doesn't seem to be much better than the cell they once shared. Other cast members: Paul Humpoletz, Jilly Bond, Ian Brooker. Directed by Sue Wilson.

LOVE....2001
An unusual love story between two elderly people; with Bernard Hepton and Barbara Leigh Hunt. When May's husband dies, her friend Ferdy tells her that he has been deeply in love with her for 47 years. She is 76 and he is 79, and their adventures begin. Directed by Tracey Neale; repeated from about a year earlier. This play was written as a one-off, but was well-received, and three more were commissioned.

LOVE, 2....2003
May and Ferdy find an abandoned baby on the steps of the rectory. Meanwhile, Archdeacon Pocket is making enquiries as to the nature of their relationship. Bernard Hepton and Barbara leigh Hunt, with Helen Ayres, Philip Joseph, Jennie Stoller, Martin Hyder, Laura Doddington; dir. Marc Beeby.

LOVE,3....2003
When a journalist looks for scandal among members of the local church community, May and Ferdy's relationship becomes the object of some unwelcome attention. But Ferdy is a shrewd old bird, and he has a plan to turn the tables. With supporting cast Philip Joseph, Martin Hyder, Jennie Stoller, Helen Ayres, Carolyn Jones; dir. Marc Beeby.

LOVE,4....2003
May and Ferdie go on holiday to Wales, but find themselves involved with burglaries and squatters. Same cast as before, with John Baddeley, Stephen Critchlow, Caria Simpson, Priyanga Elan; dir. Marc Beeby.

MISS MORRISON'S GHOSTS....2003
Curious tale based on real events concerning the principal of a woman's college in Oxford. Miss Morrison and her successor, Miss Lamont, go to Paris and experience some odd events. They write a book describing what happened. But the publication triggers doubts about their integrity, and there is an action in the High Court.

....ND comment - nicely illustrates that highly intelligent people don't have any more sense than the rest of us.

LOVE....5,6,7....2004
The final three plays in the series by Ian Curteis. May and Ferdy are living together, but refusing to get married in spite of all the pressures. With Barbara Leigh Hunt, Bernard Hepton, Stuart McLoughlin, Nicholas Boulton, John Rowe, Jennie Stoler, Robert Hastie and Stephen Hogan. Producer/director Marc Beeby.

......There has been another series by Ian Curteis (final, he says) of Love, with Barbara Leigh-Hunt and Bernard Hepton (weekly, beginning R4, 1415, 25 Nov 04) . May and Ferdie are well-known characters to Afternoon Play listeners, and the plots interesting and well worked out. I liked the story of a local widow needing money to avoid having to sell up and move. She has her late husband's manuscript describing his exploits in the war, and she reckons that publication will enable her to settle her debts. That's when the problems start. Simone (the widow) was played by Ann Bell, and the producer was Marc Beeby...N.D., VRPCC newsletter, Dec 2004...

Nigel Deacon / Diversity website / 2006

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