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Drama
Afternoon Play
45' Every weekday afternoon at 14:15
The Afternoon Play is about storytelling. It may be called the Afternoon Play, but it is a slot with a huge scope and license in both subject matter and form.
What we broadcast here
First and foremost we want to tell the listener a good story. The glory of the slot is its enormous range - anything and everything goes in this slot - contemporary and period drama, comedy, biography (but see below), issues driven plays, drama documentary, family plays, crime and thriller, poetry, romance fantasy, etc. It can be a play, a dramatisation (of short stories, letters, memoirs or non fiction - last year we dramatised the WG Hoskins geography text book The Making of the English Landscape) a dramatised feature, a narrative poem, a sequence of short plays.
But: do you have a good story?
Obviously we have to work within the constraints of entertaining a large audience in the afternoon, but there is no drama slot within broadcasting with as much editorial latitude as The Afternoon Play. Find new ways to tell stories and we will play it out here; be imaginative.
In the last round we commissioned a play from a flow chart.
Headlines
We are looking for three crucial things:
We will use series and serials to create a sense of occasion or an event in the schedule.
SERIES:
We are looking for Drama Series, i.e. plays with a self contained storyline with characters who follow through from episode to episode. We are looking for something fresh and distinctive that will appeal to the Radio 4 audience - we are not interested in hospitals or medicine (Doctors on BBC ONE daily at 1400 does that) detectives etc will have to be very unusual (we already have McLevy, Baldi, Dixon, Poirot, etc. Character is as important as situation/setting).
We are also looking for portmanteau collections of plays. Find an umbrella or a format or a theme (eg Ways to Leave Your Lover) and group three, four or five plays. The Canterbury Tales and Shakespeare Retold were both very clever ways for BBC ONE to reinvent the single play - the key to their success was retelling familiar but great stories in a completely fresh way. We will also consider groups of dramatisations to celebrate a particular writer.
We are looking to build on the success of To Serve Them All My Days with one serialisation stripped across the week. There is very limited scope here and if you have ideas you will need to discuss it with the Commissioning Editor. We will also commission the occasional two part dramatisation and original play.
BIOGRAPHY
Of course we will still do biographical plays, but with the new Last Word (the obituary programme) and with Great Lives moving to the afternoon there will be a little less of an appetite for them.
Simply dramatising someone's life is a non starter - the rule of thumb is will the play work if you substitute the name of the famous person for a name like Smith. If the answer is no then it probably isn't a good play and the answer is no we don't want it. Your subject also needs to be someone about whom the audience care about.
TONE
Think about the audience for this slot. There is only so much gloom they can take. Listen to Amy's Spaghetti - a comic take on grief.
This is not a social work slot: of course we want plays about contemporary social and domestic issues, but they need to be handled imaginatively and often with a light touch. Shameless takes people at the very bottom of the heap and makes them fun and life affirming.
Plays should be about something - this is not a greenlight to fill the slot with plays about issues, but even the most imaginative flight of fancy needs to connect with life as the audience lives it. Listen to the delightful reversioning of Daphnis and Chloe, a fairy tale with recognisable people in recognisable situations. It does not take place in a sealed aesthetic bubble.
We are always looking for good comedy drama.
Drama documentaries play well in this slot, but how the drama and the actuality are going to work together is crucial. Would the story be better treated as a documentary feature?
TALENT
New, different and diverse voices are the lifeblood of the Afternoon Play. New writing and writers are central to the Afternoon Play. A writer's second commission is as important to us as the first.
SATURDAY PLAY
Saturday 14:30 60'
We are looking for compelling narrative driven stories. Plot is crucial.
They should not be extended Afternoon Plays. The Saturday Play is the home of genre fiction.
We are looking for:
crime and detective stories
ghost stories
great trials
love stories
mysteries
thrillers
We are looking to schedule them in short seasons, so if your story doesn't fit into any of the above genres it may well not get bought. We want the Radio 4 equivalents of A Beautiful Mind, The Sixth Sense, Ocean's Eleven, Syriana, Munich, The Bourne Identity, Gosford Park, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Sexy Beast, Good Night and Good Luck, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, etc., i.e. popular high class entertainment, the kind of show you would buy a ticket for if it was in the cinema.
WOMAN'S HOUR DRAMA
15' every weekday 10:45/19:45
We are looking for drama that reflects the values of Woman's Hour (intelligent, witty, curious) which sees the world from a woman's perspective.
Take note
This is the hardest one to get right!
Simplicity is the key.
Telling a self contained story with a serial element in a 15-minute episode is probably not the place to try out new writers. Writing a self contained play within 15 minutes is a tough call.
The slot requires editorial boldness - a strong idea, a simple sharp format led by characters whose story we want to follow over several episodes. Getting the audience to fall in love with a character is as important as getting them gripped by the story.
What we are looking for
Dramatisations of classic novels and contemporary fiction will remain a major element of the strand.
Series that will return. We only have Ladies of Letters - it would be good to invent some more likely returners.
Narration works very well in this slot - heavily narrated, minimally dramatised stories are most effective, particularly narration with an attitude as in Vanity Fair or as a memoir (eg The Wills' Girls - adapted from a stage play).
Letters and journals work well.
Detective and crime stories, mysteries or thrillers are welcome.
We like to place a mix of long and short. Proposals for one-week series are welcome, in order to provide a good mix of longer and shorter runs. Runs over two weeks are the exception not the rule.
As well as the traditional serial, the structure might be that of a series with individual stories in each episode. However there will need to be a strong format that unifies the series - it cannot be just a series of short singles strung together on a theme.
FRIDAY PLAY
Friday evenings at 21:00 60'
The Friday Play is changing.
We still want to encourage the very best of new and established writers to the longer original play, we are still looking for original challenging drama to create a 'must listen' radio event. We want to pump up the volume.
Headlines
Serials/Series that get the nation talking - 2- 6 parts or bigger. We want to develop state of the nation, state of the planet, state of life event with impact - our version of Holding On/Traffik/Our Friends from the North/State of Play etc.
Intelligent new thrillers/groundbreaking detectives (single/2 parters)
Single plays under 3 banners
Sex for Grown ups
Truth and Reconciliation
Comedies of Revenge - 'Ways to get Even'
Radio 4 wants to encourage dramas with a sense of ambition, original serials and/or series with a diversity of characters that reflect the contemporary world - plays that entertain, emotionally engage and make the listener look afresh at the way we live now.
The following criteria should be borne in mind:
Sense of excitement. Plays based on real events will be of interest.
Contemporary ideas; innovation, strong narrative and comedy are desirable
New writers are a possibility but not raw talent that is likely to be exposed in the slot.
Finding new ways of looking at something - e.g., exploring politics through the thriller genre or perhaps writers from other fields
Event drama that captures the imagination and the truth
Plays recorded in front of an audience - but the right event, right place
Biographical drama or dramatisation's will be considered only in exceptional circumstances where something new is revealed and the approach is surprising.
Comedy
11:30 Comedy Narrative (Monday, Wednesday and Fridays)
What this slot is for
It introduces a lighter note to the mid-morning schedule.
What we broadcast here
It is the prime slot for situation comedies, entertaining light dramatisations and comedy drama.
We can broadcast dramatisations but they are unlikely to amount to more than one-third of the commissions across a year and in almost all respects will be series not serials. The exception will be the Agatha Christies which we are already committed to.
What we are looking for
Excellent writing, clear, simple plots and smaller casts are what make a successful proposal.
A plot or structure that make it easy for listeners to follow the narrative - this is still a busy time of day.
Characters and situations that are rooted in a reality the audience will recognise or easily engage with.
Surreal or complex pieces do not sit comfortably in this slot, but wry or witty pieces do.
What we are not looking for
We continue to broadcast several series about men and women coping with their early middle age. We are therefore discouraging all such offers this round.
Comedy crime. We have a new series from Simon Brett and will continue to broadcast dramatisations of Agatha Christie.
Series about writers or performers - we have several starting or continuing.
Serials are discouraged. We cannot assume people will catch consecutive episodes.
Talent
This slot can provide an opportunity to build a programme around performing talent from a diverse range of communities and backgrounds that we are particularly keen to attract to Radio 4. Ideas for this should be discussed with the Commissioning Editor before anyone is approached.
Audiences
Shows recorded in front of an audience, for example Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show, bring energy and warmth to this time of the day and repeat well at 18:30. So we are encouraging further proposals in this vein.
18:30 Comedy
What this slot is for
This slot provides a variety of energetic 'as live' entertainment formats performed and written by the best of the established and burgeoning talent for early-evening listeners, many of whom are newly arrived home from work or still travelling. It is also a recognised entry point for certain listeners new to the network.
Talent
We will treat our listeners to the best of new and established performing and writing talent in the country from a range of communities and backgrounds.
We are interested in either single or short run series featuring major comedy talent who cannot perhaps commit to a full four or six part run.
What we are looking for
The programmes will be witty. Coarse or crude humour does not work.
The structure will be simple as listeners will be busy doing other things. They may be able only to dip in and out of the programme. This is why panel games with rounds, sketch shows and so on are particularly successful here.
We are very keen to find new:
situation comedies;
panel games;
stand-up or live performance;
sketch shows
When we are commissioning, we will be looking to maintain the balance between genres.
Take note
We have in the schedule new interview or talk formats in this and the Late Night Entertainment slot. So we are not encouraging further ideas in this vein this round.
What we are not looking for:
quizzes - these are placed at 13:30 (but are not for tender this round);
topical shows, as we have several returning or new series in a variety of formats;
shows about the media or spoof radio or television programmes;
vehicles for talent in which each week they take a wry look at ……
comedy drama that has a continuing or developing narrative.
This is not the slot to test the boundaries of taste or form.
Audiences
These programmes will be recorded with an audience. The act of sharing laughter with the studio audience enriches and energises the listening experience at this busy time of the evening.
23:00 Entertainment
What this slot is for
This is a performance space for those with an idiosyncratic voice who through entertainment, performance or conversation want to explore the world in a way not afforded by other parts of the schedule at a time of the day when listeners are prepared to see the world differently under cover of nightfall.
It is also a safe space in which less experienced talent can find their radio legs and established talent try something new.
What we broadcast here
We will want to carry on developing new comedic, dramatic and poetic genres that will bring sharp wit and intelligence to the network. The sophistication of this audience (generally well into middle age) cannot be overestimated. Here is where the listener might be occasionally treated to more complex programmes, though simple, easy listens are also hugely appreciated at this time of night. Providing a mix of the two will be central to the commissioning decisions.
Talent
Special singles or short run series from major talent are welcome as we appreciate they are not always able to commit the time to a longer run.
We are committed to continue offering patronage to new talent from a rich diversity of backgrounds and communities.
Offers of programmes that allow new comic writing and performance to flourish are particularly welcome. This is the slot where we hope to develop talent and formats that can be later moved to the 18:30 mainstream slot.
The commissioning pattern will also establish a mix of the two.
We are looking for:
new innovative formats along the lines of The 15 Minute Musicals, Julian Fox: Concrete Poetry or All Bar Luke that will bring surprise to the slot both in terms of content and sound;
ideas for panel games;
late-night situation comedy;
new ways of bringing talent together who perhaps may not be ready to undertake a full series, each, perhaps, offering a single programme.
Proposals are invited for 15' short-form ideas, too.
Take note
We are not looking for:
shows about the media or spoof radio or television programmes or about working in the same
topical satirical programmes, as there is a full range of these scheduled at 18:30;
monologues - as this programme follows Book at Bedtime, these are discouraged and should always be discussed with the Commissioning Editor before they are offered or too much development has been done on them;
interview or 'chat' shows - we have new ones already in the schedule, including Jon Ronson On ..., Armando Iannuci's Charm Offensive and Chain Reaction;
situation comedies or comedy dramas about men and women in their middle years.
This slot should include new talent from all around the UK and from all communities.
Careful consideration should be given to how audiences and location might enhance the show.
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