928:
344:, converse in a formal, almost artificial manner that belies the uncomfortable and disturbing truths they reveal about themselves throughout the course of the play. This emphasis on dialogue leaves Adrian's characters constantly seeking a connection with each other, bolstered by the desire to be understood. 'The Man' in
380:
by scrupulously poring over the events that led to them being homeless and derelict. While highly articulate, both men challenge the other's story, almost as if attempting to expose lies and half-truths. By the end of the play, perhaps owing to their alcohol consumption throughout the piece, their
397:, which examines the relationship between audience and playwright by creating an imaginary dialogue between the two, balancing the fine line between fiction and reality and providing the listener with an active role in the drama instead of a passive one.
192:
drama, and the producer of 27 of Adrian's plays, paid tribute to the author – referring to him as "one of the great unknown
British playwrights very much a language man rather than a man who used whizzy, 'show-offy' radio."
327:
Adrian's plays are driven by character and dialogue rather than narrative; they are conversation pieces, usually between two characters, which feature highly stylised language used to a jarring, sometimes surreal, effect. In
200:
was one of Adrian's most experimental works. Consisting largely of a conversation between a middle-aged married couple troubled by the trend towards social realism in television drama, the play won the
108:(28 February 1928 – 8 February 1990) was a British playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his radio plays, which are characterised by their emphasis upon dialogue rather than narrative.
205:
for outstanding writing for radio. As a mark of his status as a playwright, Adrian's plays throughout the 1980s boasted casts made up of distinguished actors – including, amongst others,
989:
249:
was an adaptation of his own radio play broadcast earlier that year. Adrian reworked several of his radio scripts for television, often to varying levels of success. His adaptation of
259:
strand was deemed "unsatisfying" by critic David Wade, who felt that Adrian's stylised dialogue clashed with the physicality of the piece, leaving the play at a disadvantage.
393:) constantly back-pedal when recalling their dim and distant pasts, one memory bumping into the next, often cancelling out the previous remembrance. This is also explored in
796:
Of Rhys Adrian's 32 radio plays, only 13 exist in the BBC archive. The surviving pieces were largely sourced from off-air recordings. Many of his television plays also
116:
Rhys Adrian worked in stage management before becoming a writer, contributing material to summer shows, revues, pantomimes and West End musicals. His first radio play,
994:
263:
also suffered upon its transition to television. Adrian, however, wrote a number of original works for the medium, often as part of anthology series such as
1004:
297:
marked an early departure from the latter series' emphasis on socially aware, issue-based drama towards broad comedy and non-naturalism. In 1973, his play
999:
184:
playing a borderline alcoholic city gent unwinding at a railway buffet at the end of a long and exhausting day. In an introduction to the broadcast,
136:) drive him to incoherent blathering. The play was published by the BBC in a collection of exemplary radio plays that also included works by
124:
in
November 1956. By the early 1960s he was beginning to develop the dramatic style that would become a hallmark of his subsequent work.
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testimonies have become so outrageous as to be nothing but fabrication. Adrian frequently raises the question of his characters'
149:
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245:(1961), his first piece for television, was co-written with Julian Pepper under the pseudonym 'J. MacReady'. 1963's
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contains much information on Adrian's work, including broadcast dates and synopses for selected plays.
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969:
385:, their recollections viewed only through the prism of personal experience. The two nonagenarians in
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broadcast several of Adrian's plays to mark the twentieth anniversary of his death. The plays were
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The
British Television Drama Website includes essays on several of Adrian's contributions to
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desperately wants his declarations of love towards his mistress to be acknowledged, while
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In addition to his work on radio, Adrian wrote a number of television plays.
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as a couple trapped in an extra-marital and over-crowded affair, won the
128:(1964) features a talkative and condescending job interviewer (played by
918:
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series for BBC2, a group of plays based on the short stories of
132:) whose attempts to communicate with an unresponsive applicant (
848:. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. 1966. p. 107.
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attempts to piece together his broken past by engaging lonely
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and Hugh Burden, seek to reclaim their lost past as
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62:
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23:
172:Prize for Literary and Dramatic Programmes at the
364:) in meandering conversation. Similarly, the two
990:20th-century English dramatists and playwrights
301:was transmitted, alongside contributions from
8:
591:(as 'J. MacReady', with Julian Pepper; 1961)
926:
20:
332:(1979), the bereaved central characters,
995:English male dramatists and playwrights
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352:'s disturbed mental patient in 1981's
176:and was later adapted for television.
7:
528:The Night Nurse Slept in the Dayroom
16:British playwright and screenwriter
1005:20th-century British screenwriters
34:28 February 1928 (London, England)
14:
1000:20th-century English male writers
619:I Can Walk Where I Like, Can't I?
42:8 February 1990 (London, England)
814:No Charge for the Extra Service
540:No Charge for the Extra Service
330:No Charge for the Extra Service
860:"Search - BBC Programme Index"
229:; 1987). His last radio play,
1:
510:Memoirs of a Sly Pornographer
454:A Nice Clean Sheet of Paper
552:Watching the Plays Together
395:Watching the Plays Together
198:Watching the Plays Together
126:A Nice Clean Sheet of Paper
92:Watching the Plays Together
1021:
980:English male screenwriters
892:Cambridge University Press
460:Helen and Edward and Henry
383:reliability as 'narrators'
673:Henry the Incredible Bore
661:The Drummer and the Bloke
492:The Gardeners of My Youth
233:, was broadcast in 1988.
877:Best Radio Plays of 1982
340:, brought together by a
50:playwright, screenwriter
287:and the aforementioned
120:, was broadcast by the
771:Getting in on Concorde
595:No Licence for Singing
418:The Passionate Thinker
160:(1969), which starred
943:The Diversity Website
886:John Drakakis (Ed.),
713:Thirty-Minute Theatre
643:Thirty-Minute Theatre
629:Between the Two of Us
466:Between the Two of Us
401:Partial list of works
106:Rhys Adrian Griffiths
800:. In February 2010,
761:Mr and Ms Bureaucrat
633:ITV Play of the Week
623:ITV Play of the Week
498:I'll Love You Always
985:Prix Italia winners
898:John Russell Taylor
888:British Radio Drama
607:Too Old for Donkeys
442:Too Old fot Donkeys
412:The Man on the Gate
378:intelligence agents
247:Too Old for Donkeys
118:The Man on the Gate
677:For Amusement Only
666:The Wednesday Play
504:A Chance Encounter
389:(John Gielgud and
266:The Wednesday Play
203:Giles Cooper Award
87:Giles Cooper Award
334:Elizabeth Spriggs
309:, as part of the
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150:Stephen Grenfell
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223:Peter Vaughn
221:; 1985) and
218:
211:Passing Time
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186:John Tydeman
177:
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138:Colin Finbow
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975:1990 deaths
970:1928 births
934:Rhys Adrian
919:Rhys Adrian
802:BBC Radio 7
698:The Foxtrot
654:Theatre 625
448:Room to Let
406:Radio plays
350:Hugh Burden
338:Nigel Stock
294:The Foxtrot
272:Theatre 625
180:(1976) saw
174:Prix Italia
146:Simon Raven
75:Prix Italia
55:Nationality
25:Rhys Adrian
964:Categories
832:References
818:The Clerks
564:Outpatient
534:The Clerks
436:The Bridge
370:The Clerks
362:Harry Towb
219:Outpatient
97:Outpatient
47:Occupation
360:Patrick (
358:signalman
213:; 1983),
142:Joe Orton
134:John Wood
731:The Joke
589:Big Time
372:(1978),
243:Big Time
936:at the
908:; 1963)
906:Penguin
894:; 1981)
883:; 1983)
881:Methuen
871:Sources
787:; 1982)
777:; 1979)
767:; 1978)
757:; 1976)
747:; 1974)
737:; 1974)
727:; 1973)
715:; 1972)
705:; 1971)
693:; 1971)
679:; 1968)
669:; 1968)
657:; 1967)
645:; 1966)
635:; 1965)
625:; 1964)
615:; 1963)
603:; 1961)
576:Upended
570:Toytown
231:Upended
227:Toytown
196:1982's
190:Radio 4
58:British
925:
810:Buffet
806:Evelyn
792:Legacy
751:Buffet
684:Evelyn
578:(1988)
572:(1987)
566:(1985)
560:(1983)
554:(1982)
548:(1981)
542:(1979)
536:(1978)
530:(1976)
524:(1976)
522:Buffet
518:(1975)
512:(1972)
506:(1972)
500:(1970)
494:(1970)
488:(1969)
485:Evelyn
480:(1969)
478:Echoes
474:(1968)
468:(1967)
462:(1966)
456:(1964)
450:(1963)
444:(1963)
438:(1961)
432:(1960)
430:Betsie
426:(1960)
420:(1957)
414:(1956)
346:Evelyn
261:Buffet
251:Evelyn
178:Buffet
157:Evelyn
99:(1985)
94:(1982)
84:(1969)
81:Evelyn
516:Angle
66:Drama
63:Genre
923:IMDb
824:and
639:Ella
472:Ella
336:and
305:and
164:and
148:and
39:Died
31:Born
921:at
368:in
170:RAI
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