Hi-wireless will spread Highland drama via podcasts
HIGHLAND drama steps off the stage and takes to the airways this month with the launch of Hi-Wireless.
With a first phase comprising five new short radio plays and a four-part mini-series, the initiative is the brainchild of the Right Lines team of Euan Martin and Dave Smith.
Launched this week with Angus Dunn’s "Shaman In The Kitchen" the plays will be broadcast via the internet on the Northings website (www.northings.com) rather than conventional radio. Each runs for around 10 minutes and will be released at the beginning of each month until December when Right Lines’ own contribution, "Morrison’s Van", will be serialised over four consecutive nights.
"The whole thing actually came about because we had a rather ambitious idea to try and combine a radio play, live theatre, local writers and the internet," Euan Martin explained.
"Once we had tossed that around for a couple of weeks we concluded it was maybe a bit too ambitious and we went for the simpler idea of trying to encourage new writing by putting together a wee project for very short radio plays."
Martin, based in Moray, and Smith, who lives in Tain, originally planned to write one play and commission four others, but after receiving extra funding from HI-Arts decided to commission five pieces, and do their own as a four-part mini-series.
Part of the funding provision was that there should be a Gaelic element, so one play is entirely in Gaelic.
"We had 23 responses," Martin said.
"Myself, Dave and Fiona Hampton did the selection, working from a short synopsis supplied by the writers. They all had merit, and we could have done them all if we had the money."
Dunn’s "Shaman in the Kitchen" will be followed by Iain Hector Ross’s "Harris Tweed and Golden Slippers" in August, Gavin Humphreys’ Gaelic drama "Eireaball Na Dibhe (The Hangover)" in September, Phil Barda’s "Piper on the Roof" in October and Jan Storie’s "Rinse Aid" in November.
With the exception of the Gaelic play, recorded at Dave Smith’s home with actors Artair Donald and Seonaid Johansen, the plays were all recorded by James Bryce at Acorn Audio in Universal Hall, Findhorn. The actors included Ron Emslie (who worked with Right Lines on "Whisky Kisses", and more recently played Willy Loman in "The Death of a Salesman" at Eden Court), Helen Mackay, Garry Collins, Jackie Goode, Morna Young and Lynn Dalgetty.
"Most of the writers hadn’t written for radio before, including ourselves and we discovered in the recording process that it really is an art in its own right," Martin said.
"It’s a very difficult thing to get right. There are an infinite number of ways that you can deliver a sentence and there is no visual backup to help convey the meaning, as there would be on stage.
"We are currently re-designing our own website and we’ll look to have them on there as well at some point. Once they have gone on-line, they will be available to listen to anytime and to download as podcasts.
"If this is successful we hope to extend it in future. We both feel this is an exciting way forward — in these difficult economic times it isn’t easy for theatre companies to get money to put on shows and this is a different way of getting new writing out there.
"And once you start in on it, you begin to look at your back catalogue and start to think, well, that play could be converted for radio . . ."
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Hi-Wireless launched on northings.com on Monday and Euan Martin and Dave Smith’s play, "Blood From a Stone", can be seen at The Ironworks, Inverness, on Saturday 12th November as part of the Play Pieces series of lunchtime plays.
Hi-Wireless dramas 2011
July — "Shaman in the Kitchen" by Angus Dunn.
August — "Harris Tweed and Golden Slippers" Iain Hector Ross.
September — "Eireaball Na Dibhe (The Hangover)" by Gavin Humphreys (Gaelic language).
October — "Piper on the Roof" by Phil Barda
November — "Rinse Aid" by Jan Storie.
December — "Morrison’s van" (four part mini-series) by Euan Martin and Dave Smith.
All plays can be access via the Northings website www.northings.com