British Radio Drama, 1945-63

Description

British Radio Drama, 1945-1963 reveals the quality and range of the avant-garde radio broadcasts from the 'golden age' of British radio drama. Turning away from the cautious and conservative programming that emerged in the UK immediately after World War II, young generations of radio producers looked to French theatre, introducing writers such as Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco to British radio audiences. This 'theatre of the absurd' triggered a renaissance of writing and production featuring the work of Giles Cooper, Rhys Adrian and Harold Pinter, as well as the launch of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Based on primary archival research and interviews with former BBC staff, Hugh Chignell places this high-point in the BBC's history in the broader context of British post-war culture, as norms of morality and behavior were re-negotiated in the shadow of the Cold War, while at once establishing the internationalism of post-war radio and theatre. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgements A Note on Terminology Introduction Notes Chapter 1: Post-war Britain Notes Chapter 2: The post-war BBC Radio Drama Department Notes Chapter 3: Radio drama, 1945–53 Notes Chapter 4: Technologies of production and consumption Notes Chapter 5: Radio drama and the absurd Notes Chapter 6: Giles Cooper Notes Chapter 7: Features Department dramatists Notes Chapter 8: Realist radio drama Notes Chapter 9: The 1960s Notes Conclusion Notes List of Programmes Radio dramas cited Bibliography Post-war radio drama Published scripts Commercially available recordings Index