Tinniswood Award, 2015

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TINNISWOOD WINNER:

FUGUE STATE by Julian Simpson

Official press release from the Writers' Guild, kindly sent by Jo McCrum of the Society of Authors.

Pictures on the BBC site from the audio drama awards ceremony .

PRESS RELEASE, 5 Jan 2016: The Tinniswood Award Shortlist

FAR SIDE OF THE MOORE by Sean Grundy
VAMPYRE MAN by Joseph O'Connor
FUGUE STATE by Julian Simpson

PRESS RELEASE, 15 Dec 2015: The Tinniswood Award Longlist

FAR SIDE OF THE MOORE by Sean Grundy
DREAM OF WHITE HORSES by Linda Marshall Griffiths
VAMPYRE MAN by Joseph O'Connor
FUGUE STATE by Julian Simpson
TOMMIES: 14th October 1914 by Nick Warburton
(NOTES BELOW)

The judges this year are Mike Bartlett, Rachel Joyce and Nell Leyshon.

The shortlist will be announced on 5 Jan 2016.

The Tinniswood Award is presented annually to the best original audio drama script.


NOTES ON THE PLAYS

30 Mar 2015: Far Side Of The Moore
By Sean Grundy. Biographical drama about astronomer and broadcaster Patrick Moore, who presented The Sky At Night from 1957 until his death in 2012, aged 89. The young Patrick lives with his mother in East Grinstead and writes factual works on astronomy. His latest book gets a bad review from an academic, and he is left in despair ... Patrick Moore: Tom Hollander, Lorna: Felicity Duncan, Gertrude Moore: Patricia Hodge, Dr. Henry King: Anton Lesser, Eileen Wilkins: Charlotte Richie, Leonard Miall: David Shaw-Parker, Arthur C Clarke: Simon Treves, Paul Johnstone: Daniel Weyman. Producer: David Morley, director: Dirk Maggs. Indie (Perfectly Normal Productions, I think).

The astronomer Patrick Moore was commemmorated in FAR SIDE OF THE MOORE (R4, 1415, 30 Mar 15), a play by Sean Grundy about the early life of Patrick Moore, the astronomer, and the events surrounding the origins of the programme "The Sky At Night", which he presented for fifty-five years. This received very good reviews from many quarters, including the Daily Telegraph's Gillian Reynolds, the website of "The Sky At Night", and the British Astronomical Society website.

It's set in 1957, and the little-known Patrick is living with his mother in East Grinstead. He studies the heavens and writes popular factual works on astronomy, and science fiction under a pseudonym. When his latest book Suns, Myths And Men gets a bad review from the academic Henry King, Patrick is in despair and, when the phone rings, he expects more bad news. Martin Mobberley said that although the play is fiction, loosely based on facts, they had gone to great lengths to get the certain details right; for example, they recorded one of Patrick's typewriters to get the Woodstock typewriter key-pounding correct. Essentially, this was the story of how a self-taught astronomer and eccentric became the presenter of The Sky At Night. It also talks about Patrick's lost love, who died in a german air raid when he was still a young man. Overall it is a story of triumph against the odds; he would never have been hired without producer Paul Johnstone (Daniel Weyman) having faith in his scientific expertise and natural gift for communication.

Patrick was played by Tom Hollander and his mother by Patricia Hodge. Felicity played Lorna, Daniel Weyman was Paul Johnstone, and Anton Lesser was Dr. Henry King, the jealous academic. Dirk Maggs directed, for Indie producer Perfectly Normal Productions. (ND, Diversity Website review, Apr 2015)

29 Oct 2015: Fugue State
By Julian Simpson. A man in hospital in a fugue state holds the key to strange events which have occurred in a remote village. Can sound recordings prompt his brain into remembering what has happened? Doctor Fallon: Nicola Walker, Patient: Steven Mackintosh, Johnson: Tim McInnerny, Simon: Ferdinand Kingsley, Phoebe/cyclist: Phoebe Fox, other parts: Ben Crowe. Producer: Karen Rose. Indie production (Sweet Talk).

21 Oct 2015: Tommies
Another run of 4 programmes about WW1, illustrating the events of one day exactly 100 years ago. This episode (ep. 1, 21 Oct 1915) is by Nick Warburton. Mickey Bliss returns to the front line as a newly trained officer, but the Allies are still where they were before the start of the battle of Loos. Mickey Bliss: Lee Ross, Commentator: Indira Varma, Pavan: Jassa Ahluwalia, Albert: Colin Hoult, Kinch: David Acton, Lever: Mark Edel-Hunt, Chopra: Neet Mohan.

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Call for Entries – Imison and Tinniswood Awards

Help us celebrate the best audio drama by sending in your writers’ productions. Please forward to all your networks and apply with all supporting materials before 29 September 2015.

Imison Award

Best original script by a writer new to audio drama - £1,500 sponsored by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation. Administered by the Society of Authors. The application form and entry details for the 2016 award can be found here, on the Society of Authors website.

Tinniswood Award

Best original script - £1,500 sponsored by the ALCS. Jointly administered by the Society of Authors and the Writers’ Guild. The application form and entry details for the 2016 award can be found here, on the Society of Authors website.

The awards will be presented on Sunday 31 January 2016 at the BBC’s Audio Drama Awards, Broadcasting House.

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