John Mortimer Radio Plays
This page is at an early stage; and any information will be gratefully received. John Mortimer had extensive experience of Law, he wrote a large number of excellent radio plays over a period of about 50 years, was the father of Jeremy Mortimer, the radio producer, and was the creator of "Rumpole".
Summary by ND of an article written by Nesta Pain in 1961:
It was about six years ago that I first asked John Mortimer if he would be interested to write for radio. I knew and admired his work as a novelist and knew that he was a barrister. I thought he might write a dramatic programme with a legal setting. We discussed the idea and he was interested. But he was busy.
Weeks passed, and months, and I heard nothing. I rang him up from time to time but still no script arrived. Then, two years later, a friend told me that John had an idea for radio. I rang him and found that it was true.
Laid out in a couple of pages, the plot of The Dock Brief sounded strange. An elderly unsuccessful barrister gets a dock brief to defend a murderer (impossible, as any barrister, including John Mortimer, will tell you). The barrister, who has not had a brief for years, goes to see his client and instead of trying to find out the facts, he spends his time rehearsing imaginary scenes in court in which he ties the witnesses in knots, melts the hearts of the jury and dazzles the judge. The fantasy is shattered when the pair are summoned to court and reality has to be faced. When the case is over, the barrister cannot hide from his despair; but soon his fantasy life reasserts itself and the play ends on a note of wry gaiety.
The play is a minor masterpiece and was awarded the Prix Italia in 1957. It was also on television and later performed at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith and the Garrick.
An interesting result of the play is that John now prefers to write for performance rather than writing novels.
Nesta Pain
Readers may wonder why I've included the 2023 play "Never Mind the Bollocks" by Michael Eaton at the end of the listings. You'll understand if you read through the cast list. - Ed.
BBC BROADCASTS
1957 The Dock Brief*
1976 Mr. Luby's Fear of heaven*
1982 Edwin
.........The dandelion killer*
.........The Spinster's Hoard*
1988 Glasnost
c1990 A collection of eccentricities
1999 Know what I mean?
2000 The summer of a dormouse*
2000 2000 Tales - The Editor's Tale
2001 A Collection of Eccentricities
2002 Ceremonial in three flats*
2003 Rumpole and the Primrose Path*
2003 Rumpole and the scales of justice*
2003 Rumpole and the vanishing juror*
2004 Every Breath You Take
2004 Lie Down, Comic, 60m*
2008 Mr. Luby's Fear of Heaven, remake*
1980 RUMPOLE episodes (all in VRPCC collectionsS)
Rumpole and the Expert Witness 22/09/1980
Rumpole and the Course of True Love 29/09/1980
Rumpole and the Perils of the Sea 06/10/1980
Rumpole and the Age for Retirement 13/10/1980
Rumpole and the Case of Identity 15/09/1980
Rumpole and the Fascist Beast 08/09/1980
Rumpole and the Show Folk 01/09/1980
Rumpole and the Defence of Gutherie Feat 25/08/1980
Rumpole and the Man of God 18/08/1980
Rumpole and the Rotten Apple 11/08/1980
Rumpole and the Gentle Art of Blackmail 04/08/1980
Rumpole and the Dear Departed 28/07/1980
Rumpole and the Confession of Guilt 21/07/1980
Roy Moore has contacted me and supplies the following information about a series entitled
"John Mortimer Presents: The Trials Of Marshall Hall."
Roy writes:
...the individual plays which make up at least part of the series are as follows:
961119 - The Black Trunk
961126 - The Camden Town Murder
961203 - A Hint Of Arsenic
961207 - A Death At Christmas
961214 - The Case Of The Green Bicycle
"Sensational British Trials" included the following titles, two of which (#) already
appear in your listings:
The Case Of The Dandelion Killer #
The Case Of The Spinsters Hoard #
The Case Of The Fire In Room 66
The Case Of The Deadly Nightcap
The Case Of The Liverpool Poisoner
The Case Of The Villa Madeira
....Many thanks, Roy - N.D.
Asterisked items known to exist in VRPCC collections
NOTES
The Dock Brief....1957
Legal cases- with Michael Hordern, David Kossoff",
16.05.57, 3rd Prog, 60 min. Produced by Nesta Pain. Plot summarised above, in the introduction.
MR LUBY’S FEAR OF HEAVEN ....1976
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 19th Feb 1976. Lewis Luby , a lecturer and authority on the poet Byron, is at one moment enjoying British Council sherry on the balcony of an Italian palazzo and the next moment he is somewhere entirely different.... followed by an interlude.
ND's summary ... "Mr. Luby wakes up in hospital with no idea of where he is - until he sees the angels on the ceiling". Repeated as afternoon theatre, 15 Sep 84. Rebroadcast by ABC, c1998.
Lewis Luby: John Gielgud,
Tommy Fletcher: Peter Woodthorpe,
English guide: Leslie Heritage,
French guide: Gilles Dattas,
Italian guide: Leonardo Pierroni,
German guide: Michael Wolf,
Japanese guide: Yasuko Nagazumi,
Jennifer: Deborah Paige,
Her mother: Norma Ronald,
Her father: Michael Shannon,
Nun: Gigi Gatti,
Miss Waterlow: Madi Hedd,
Dr Benjamin: Robert Rietty,
Sophie: Hana-Maria Pravda,
Producer: John Tydeman.
EDWIN....1982
By John Mortimer; R4; specially commissioned by the BBC to mark its 60th Anniversary, first broadcast as The Monday Play
on 18th October 1982. 60m. Cast:
Sir Fennimore Truscott QC....Emlyn Williams
Lady Margaret Truscott.........Sylvia Coleridge
Thomas Marjorie Banks........Michael Gough
Director: John Tydeman. (info from Margaret Hobbs)
GLASNOST....1988
Sunday 13th November, BBC Radio 4. One of a season of six plays GLOBE THEATRE by leading writers broadcast both on Radio 4 and on the BBC World Service.
....Whilst on an official visit to Moscow, a lady novelist begins to find the attentions of the young Russian guide and interpreter something more than just flattering. But has he other motives?
Anthea: Anna Massey,
Vladimir: Boris Isarov,
Brian: Clive Merrison,
Charles: Philip Voss,
Misha: Michael Poole,
Galya: Anna Mazzotti,
Actor:Peter Craze,
Actor: Gennady Pokrass,
Director: John Tydeman .
The dandelion killer and The Spinster's Hoard
Dates nk; famous trials, presented by John. Mortimer
and dramatised by Michael Butt. 30 min each.
Afternoon Play: 1,000 Years of Spoken English ....1999
30 Nov 99.
A double bill. In `Know What I Mean?' by John Mortimer, Patricia Hodge and Michael Kitchen star in the story of a marriage between a barrister and a management consultant which is threatened by a caller. In `The Verger Queen' by Neil Bartlett, starring Bette Bourne, a verger in a historic church is disturbed by a tour party which sparks memories of hundreds of years of the church and the coded world of a once secret sexual culture.
The Summer of a Dormouse....2000
Written for Paul Scofield, with
Alex Jennings, Imelda Staunton",,R4,60 min. Friday play 1 Sep 00. Dir.
Marilyn Imrie. An elderly man stands in the darkening garden of a vicarage by the sea and looks back on a life which seems to have passed as swiftly as Lord Byron's dormouse summer. Cast list:
Henry Troutbeck Pottinger: Paul Scofield
As a Younger Man: Alex Jennings
As a Boy: Joe Roberts
Mavis Whitney: Imelda Staunton
Felicity Rouxcastle: Joanna David
Rev Henry Pottinger: Oliver Ford Davis
Dawn Pottinger: Gemma Jones
Mr Rouxcastle: John Rowe
The One Man Band: Willy Brown Uniband
Accordian Player: Kevin Street
.... (info from Margaret Hobbs)
2000 TALES – THE EDITOR’S TALE
26 Oct 2000. A wiley old hack (played by David Swift) tells the story of a theatre critic who ruins an actress's life, not through bad notices, but by praising her too highly. Director - Jeremy Mortimer.
A COLLECTION OF ECCENTRICITIES
R3, 3 Sun 23rd Dec 2001. By Linda Smith, Fiona Shaw, Tom Kelly, Katie Hims, Lavinia Murray, Parv Bancil , Kathryn Hunter and John Mortimer. An evening in celebration of Hogarth's A Rake's Progress, recorded at Wilton's Music Hall in London's East End on 30 November. Using the Hogarth paintings as inspiration, this extraordinary collection of writing talents present eight contemporary, funny, poignant and downright strange slices of eccentricity. With music from musician/composer Harvey Brough. Producer: Kate Rowland.
Ceremonial in 3 flats....2003
Jubilee holiday play, 4 Jun 02. A specially-commissioned drama to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee. A group of strangers are brought together by the mystery of television to witness the crowning of the young queen. As the historic event unfolds the shared experience gently pulls people together until secrets are revealed and friendships are forged.
Violinist Thomas Kemp,
Guy: Nigel Havers,
Annabel: Patricia Hodge,
Jakub: Andrew Sachs,
Tony Laidlaw: Chris Barrie,
Denise: Letitia Dean,
Teresa: Indira Varma,
Jonathan: Christopher Kelham,
Producer: Pam Fraser Solomon.
Rumpole And The Primrose Path ....2003
R4,1415, 24 Sep 03. The many passionate devotees of the cases of Horace Rumpole, barrister at law, can rejoice: despite scurrilous rumours to the contrary, put forward at the beginning of this first in a new series of stories, Rumpole proves to his colleagues, clients, and his wife Hilda that he has certainly not yet set forth on the primrose path to the eternal bonfire. He's very much alive and well, and as adept as always at getting to the heart of a crime. Rumpole exposes criminal practices at the nursing home where he has been sent to recuperate after a heart attack, which has left him in dire need of claret, cheroots and good company. With Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Michael Cochrane, Nigel Anthony, Sophie Thompson, Joanna David, Carole Boyd, David Shaw-Parker. Directed by Marilyn Imrie.
Rumpole And The Scales Of Justice....2003
R4, 1415, 1 Oct 03. When Rumpole is called upon to defend a senior member of the police force in court, his relish for the tragedy of Shakespeare's Othello, and his old acquaintances among the south London criminal fraternity prove very useful, and help him balance the scales of justice in favour of the oft maligned defence barrister. With Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Michael Cochrane, Geoffrey Whitehead, Ewan Bailey, Ian Masters, David Shaw-Parker, John Rowe. Directed by Marilyn Imrie.
Rumpole and the Vanishing Juror....2003
R4, 1415, 8 Oct 03. Rumpole's admiration for the integrity of the Old Bailey jury is legendary, but in this story he encounters a juror in a murder trial who has a personal and very dramatic agenda. With Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Sophie Thompson, and Bruce Alexander. Directed by Marilyn Imrie.
(....the above remarks on "Rumpole" are paraphrased from Radio Times)
Lie Down Comic....2004
R4, 2 Jan 04, Fri play, 60m. The story of a comedian who befriends one of his female fans. She is dying
and raging against it. The two initially don't hit it off, but
eventually find inspiration in each other's company. They end up talking
about their shared fear. Jo: Sinead Cusack,
Tickety-Boo: Alison Pettitt,
Nat: Tom Hollander,
Christine: Tilly Gaunt,
Producer: Marilyn Imrie. Additional material by
Kevin Day.
THE LAST ADVENTURE....2005
By John Mortimer. R4, 1 Oct 2005. In January 1824, Lord Byron arrived in Missolonghi determined to fight for Greek independence from Turkish rule. The story of his three months as commander-in-chief of a small and unruly force of mercenaries and freedom fighters is also the story of the last days of his extraordinary life.
Lord Byron: Michael Sheen,
William Fletcher: Nicky Henson,
Col Stanhope: Gerard Murphy,
Pietro: Stuart McLoughlin,
William Parry: Owen Teale,
Prince Mavrocorda: Peter Polycarpou,
Dr Bruno/Servant 3: Harry Myers,
Cpt James Kennedy:Hugh Ross,
Lukas/Servant 2: Jamie Doyle,
Producer/Director Jeremy Mortimer.
MR LUBY'S FEAR OF HEAVEN....2008
31 Dec 08; remake of the classic play by John Mortimer. Mr. Luby wakes up in an Italian hospital, underneath the big toe of God. Is he in heaven, or what? Stars Jeremy Irons, Stephen Critchlow, Marsha Fitzalan, Chris Pavlo, Donnla Hughes, Dan Starkey, Flaminia Cinque. Producer Jeremy Mortimer.
31 Dec 23: Saturday Play - Never Mind the Bollocks
By Michael Eaton. Play about the court case between the Nottingham branch of Virgin Records and the local police. The shop displayed the Sex Pistols album 'Never Mind the Bollocks' and the police objected. John Lydon, Malcolm McLaren & Richard Branson: Jon Culshaw, David Ritchie QC & Inspector Newton: Nicholas Boulton, John Mortimer QC: Alistair McGowan, WPC Julie Storey: Alane Ramsay, Christopher Searle & Sgt. Stone: Wilf Scolding, Prof. Kinsley: John Wark, the commentator: Gemma Whelan, Narrator: Philip Jackson. Produced by David Morley.
Nigel Deacon / Diversity Website
I am also grateful to Jeremy Mortimer who recently sent me additional information on some of the plays. .... ND, Nov 2024.
