BBC 2 planning 'event drama'

By Matthew Hemley for The Stage

New BBC2 controller Janice Hadlow has revealed she plans to make original drama “the major event of the week” on the channel and draw inspiration from its previous successes including literary adaptations and series such as Our Friends in the North.

Speaking exclusively to The Stage, Hadlow, who was previously controller of BBC4 and replaced Roly Keating as head of BBC2 at the end of last year, said she was looking for dramas that audiences know “no one else is going to do”.

Let's hope she heeds the words of Guy Hibbert (whose work she praises), and allows writers to write without interference.

Google Book Settlement delay

From Ryan Singel for Wired:

Google’s attempt to build the digital library of the future was slowed down significantly Tuesday, as the judge overseeing a landmark court settlement between the search giant and all U.S. copyright holders gave authors four more months to decide whether to join, fight or opt-out of the deal.

There's more background about the Google Book Search Settlement, including Guild advice to UK writers, on the Guild website.

BBC "right not to replace Tranter"

On his Guardian blog, Gareth McLean argues that the BBC is right not to replace Head Of Fiction Jane Tranter and commends their pursuit of a "flatter, simpler editorial structure".

...from the outset, the head of fiction post was a folly, an entirely unnecessary and anti-creative construction, an unhealthy concentration of power in the hands of one person. Who that person was is actually irrelevant. Such a consolidation of control over scripted comedy, drama, film and acquisitions is improper, irrespective of what you think of the person who wields the power. It was too big a job for one individual, regardless of how "good" their taste.

All Together Now? British Theatre after Multiculturalism

Michael Boyd, Richard Eyre, Vicky Featherstone, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Stewart Lee are among theatre practitioners who will be gathering at the Warwick Arts Centre near Coventry in June to discuss whether theatre has a role in defining Britishness and bringing communities together.

Titled All Together Now? British Theatre after Multiculturalism, the conference will be held over the weekend of 13-14 June 2009.

Under Labour, the arts were charged with challenging social exclusion, celebrating diversity and reasserting Britishness. But is there a contradiction between diversity and national identity? Should theatre foster cohesion or challenge it? If multiculturalism is dead, should theatre be promoting it? Is the theatre's role to encourage tolerance or provoke outrage? What has been the experience of the National Theatre of Scotland and the National Theatre on the south bank?

These and other questions will be debated during panel discussions, whose subjects will embrace national arts policy, how repertory theatres should relate to their communities, whether identity politics still has a role in drama's agenda, and if theatre should be allowed or even encouraged to offend. The conference will begin with a discussion on Shakespeare and history, led by the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and it will end with a panel consisting of a former director of the National Theatre in London, the current director of the National Theatre of Scotland, and the chair of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

The current line-up of speakers includes playwrights Richard Bean, Howard Brenton and Kwame Kwei-Armah , comedian and writer Stewart Lee; directors Richard Eyre, Simon Reade, Michael Boyd (RSC) and Jonathan Church (Chichester); Barrie Rutter of Northern Broadsides and Vicky Featherstone of the National Theatre of Scotland; Stuart Rogers of the Birmingham Rep, and Lisa O'Neill-Rogan of the Bolton Octagon; academic Lynette Goddard, commentator David Aaronovitch and writer Kenan Malik; Barbara Matthews of the Arts Council, Conservative arts spokesman Ed Vaizey MP and 2012 Cultural Olympiad chair Jude Kelly.

The conference organisers are playwrights Steve Waters, Julie Wilkinson and Guild President David Edgar, playwright/academic Dan Rebellato and Janelle Reinelt of Warwick University. In December 2007 the organising group produced a sell-out one day conference on the last decade of British Theatre (How was it for us? Theatre under Blair) at the Writers' Guild Centre in Kings Cross.

The Warwick Arts Centre conference starts at 11.00am on Saturday 13 June and finishes at 4.00pm on Sunday 14June. The registration fee is £100 (£50 student rate) which includes attendance on both days and a conference banquet on Saturday evening. Onsite accommodation for the Saturday night is available at a supplement of £50. Bookings can be made at the conference website.

For other booking methods and enquiries, please contact Janelle Reinelt at j.reinelt@warwick.ac.uk.

The conference is supported by generous contributions from Royal Holloway University of London, the University of Warwick, and Warwick Arts Centre.

Apple rumoured to be planning 'Mediapad'

Despite the relative success of Amazon's Kindle e-reader in the US, it might take a company like Apple to bring such devices to the mainstream. Rumoured plans for a 'mediapad' - like an iPod Touch but with a larger screen - could be the start, reckons David Coursey for PC World.

The larger screen would be a more pleasant way to view movies or the Internet than an iPod or iPhone and the device could have decent speakers, too. By using a touch screen, Apple could save space necessary for Kindle's keyboard, resulting in a smaller device.

While not pocket-sized, the Apple mediapad would be easy to carry and offer an entertainment experience a smaller device could not match. Reading a book might be such an experience, right?

Adopt a playwright

For the second year OffWestEnd.com is running an 'adopt a playwright' scheme, inviting patrons to "buy time for struggling new playwrights to write".

The aim is quite simply to encourage new voices from every corner of our multifaceted society by buying them the time to write. We want to make sure that talented new writers from backgrounds that offer them little encouragement or financial support do not give up but are given a fair chance to prove themselves and take their place among our culture's storytellers.

Every year an Advisory Panel of 'talent scouts' and 'experts' will recommend and short-list new writers who show talent and need help. One writer will be chosen for adoption each year.

In The Guardian, Alfred Hickling considers the merits of the scheme.

Adopting a playwright is a fine idea. But if you really want to subsidise unpublished authors and out-of-work actors, you could always go down the established route and open a restaurant.

DVRs - the revolution that wasn't

Unusually, some good news for the TV industry: it seems that Digital Video Recorders, frequently predicted to have a devastating effect on commercial TV revenues by allowing viewers to skip adverts, seem to have had little impact.

From The Economist:

Families with DVRs [in America] seem to spend 15-20% of their viewing time watching pre-recorded shows, and skip only about half of all advertisements. This means only about 5% of television is time-shifted and less than 3% of all advertisements are skipped. Mitigating that loss, people with DVRs watch more television.

BAFTA TV Awards winners

Winners at last night's BAFTA TV Awards included:

• Single Drama - White Girl (written by Abi Morgan)
• Drama Series - Wallander (written by Richard Cottan and Richard McBrien, from the books by Henning Menkell)
• Drama Serial - Criminal Justice (written by Peter Moffat)
• Continuing Drama - The Bill ( see writing credits)
• Comedy Programme - Harry and Paul (created by Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse)
• Sitcom - The IT Crowd (written by Graham Linehan)
• Audience Award - Skins (created by Jamie Brittain amd Bryan Elsley)
  

Webby honour for Brothers McLeod

Sticks, a series of animations by the Brothers McLeod (including Guild member Myles), has been named an Official Honoree of the 2009 Webby Awards to recognise its "standard of excellence".

Guild members can look forward to an article by Myles in the next issue of UK Writer.

Here's the first Sticks. The other two are also available online.

Andrew Motion steps down

On the BBC News website the Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, talks about his ten years in the role.

You wrote eight special poems while laureate. Are there any of which you're particularly proud?

Overall, I think of them as left-handed poems written by a right-handed poet. Some of them don't work at all well.

I tried to write something for Prince William's 21st birthday in the style of a rap, because I thought "he's a young person and I'll do it in a kind of humorous way" and I wish I hadn't done it really, I wish I'd stayed on the higher ground.

New ITC rates

The new rates payable to writers under the WGGB agreement with the Independent Theatre Council (ITC) has been announced. You can download the new ITC rates (pdf) from the Guild website.

Martin Baum on the phone-in experience

On the Writers' Guild wesbite, Martin Baum recounts the experience of taking part in Richard Bacon's BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in talking about his book, To Be or Not To Be, Innit – A Yoof-Speak Guide To Shakespeare.

There was another guest. A traditionalist who held a different view to mine who was sat on her own in an unmanned studio in Liverpool - and this taught me the valuable broadcasting lesson that out of sight is out of mind, especially if you’re not actually in the studio at the time of transmission. Unfortunately for the lady ’cross the Mersey, the balance of air time given was very much tipped in my favour.

What Guild members are getting up to

ABBY AJAYI wrote the episode of Holby City "Running on Empty" going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Tuesday 28th April.

SARAH BAGSHAW wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 28th April.

MARK BURGESS'S radio play A King's Speech is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Thursday 30th April.

RICHARD BURKE wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 29th April.

MICHAEL CHAPLIN'S radio play Two Pipe Problems going out in two parts on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th April.

ANNA CLEMENTS wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Tuesday 28th April.

TIM DYNEVOR wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Thursday 30th April.

JEREMY FRONT wrote the episode of Murder Unprompted: a Charles Paris Mystery, staring Bill Nighy its going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Wednesday 29th April.

DIANA GRIFFITHS' radio play Therese Raquin concludes on Radio 4 at 9:00pm on Radio 4 at 9:00pm on Saturday 25th April.

DAWN HARRISON wrote the episode of Doctors "Someone to Watch over Me" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Wednesday 29th April.

JANE HOLLOWOOD wrote the episode of Heartbeat "Looking for Isabelle" going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Sunday 26th April.

DEBBIE HORSFIELD wrote the episode of All the Small Things going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Tuesday 28th April.

KAREN HUGHES wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 27th April.

JULIE JONES wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Wednesday 29th April.

DAVID KANE wrote the episode of Taggart "Grass" going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Thursday 30th April.

NICK KING wrote the episode of Doctors "Playing Away" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Monday 27th April.

ROB KINSMAN wrote the episode of Doctors "Lucky" going out on BC1 at 1:45pm on Tuesday 28th April.

KAREN LAWS wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Monday 27th April.

JANE MARLOW wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Friday 1st May.

JIMMY MCGOVERN wrote the episode of The Street going out on BBC1 at 10:45pm on Wednesday 29th April.

DAVID NOBBS co-wrote the episode of Reggie Perrin going out on BBC1 at 9:30pm on Friday 1st May.

MOYA O'SHEA is performing in fellow Guild member Mark Burgess's radio play A King's Speech going out on 2:15pm on Thursday 30th April.

CHRISTOPHER REASON wrote the episodes of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Tuesday 28th and Thursday 30th April.

HEATHER ROBSON wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Monday 27th April.

DAN TETSELL co-wrote the episode of Rudy's Rare Records "Take Me Home, Country Roads" going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Monday 27th April.

JOANNA TOYE wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Sunday 26th till Friday 1st May.

Arts Council England to invest extra £44.5 million

From The Arts Council:

Arts Council England will invest an extra £44.5 million in artists and arts organisations over the next two years to help maintain artistic excellence during the economic downturn.

These counter-recessionary measures were announced by Chair Dame Liz Forgan, in a speech at an Arts Council sponsored seminar, Maximising the importance of arts and culture through the economic downturn, today 24 April 2009, in London...

The new funds have been made available by the Arts Council radically reducing its Lottery cash balances over the next two years.

Wired edited by JJ Abrams

The latest (US) issue of Wired magazine is guest edited by writer and director JJ Abrams.

As you might expect from the creator of Lost, it contains some hidden messages (none of which, apparently, work online).

Can a writer be too famous?

With The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown's follow-up to his global bestseller The Da Vinci Code, set for release later this year, Hillel Italie asks if fame can damage a writer's work.

"Lost Symbol" took far longer to complete than his previous books. In his increasingly rare public statements, Brown has lamented that he can no longer fly on commercial planes because of autograph seekers and expressed shock at the vehemence of the questions he faced while promoting the book.

Like other celebrities, he has learned the meaning of being sued. His most extended comments in the past few years came in a 69-page court statement he submitted for a copyright infringement case filed against him (and eventually rejected) in London.

"As soon as 'The Da Vinci Code' was published and had become a runaway success, I found myself in a firestorm of controversy," Brown wrote in his statement. "I had never experienced this kind of media attention, and it was very difficult at times (especially the criticism from Christians). Often at my book signings, I found myself interrogated publicly by an angry Christian scholar who quizzed me on details of Bible history from the novel."

Blue plaque commemorates Stewart Parker

From BBC News:

A blue plaque marking the birthplace of Belfast playwright and poet Stewart Parker has been unveiled by his niece.

Lynne Parker performed the ceremony at the house in Larkfield Road, Sydenham, in the east of the city where her uncle spent his early years.

Stewart Parker died in 1988 after battling cancer. He was 46 years of age.
Among the works for which he is best known are the plays Spokesong and Catchpenny Twist.

Update: Also, the winners of the annual Stewart Parker awards for new playwrights have been announced.

Rhianna Pratchett interview

On the Guild website I've put up the interview with video games writer Rhianna Pratchett that was the cover story in the most recent issue of the Guild's magazine, UK Writer.

How does writing a game story compare to say, a TV series or feature film?

I’d say it has a little more in common with TV writing, rather than film writing, because you’re trying to tell a story in a small space while executing scenes and establishing characters quickly and succinctly. That’s while still trying to squeeze colour, personality, imagination and good writing into the mix! Ultimately you’re not dealing with a linear medium, nor one in which the needs of story are particular well established or respected. That can be pretty challenging, even for experienced games writers. Understanding how games work and what gamers want from them is actually not something you can walk in from another medium and just know. You have to have had some experience of games and, ideally in my opinion, be a gamer yourself, even if it’s just casually. No one would expect to write a movie having never watched one or read a screenplay.

Gregory Burke's new play

In The Guardian, Mark Fisher talks to playwright Gregory Burke about his new play, Hoors

Until recently, Burke, now 41, was touting Hoors as the "disappointing follow-up to Black Watch" - displaying the self-deprecating humour typical of this man brought up in the tough expat naval community of Gibraltar, and in a working-class area of Dunfermline during the miners' strike. But he does have a point: it will be tough for Hoors to match the success of Black Watch, his riveting story of "The Gallant Forty-Twa", as the now-amalgamated Scottish regiment was known. Based on interviews with soldiers who served in Iraq, Black Watch hurtled its cast from a smoky Fife pool room to a world of bullets, bombs and brutal death. Last month, it picked up four Olivier awards, including one for best new play.

Today, Burke is feeling much more positive about Hoors, which opens at Edinburgh's Traverse next month before touring the UK: "I really like the script. It's funny and it's done all the things I wanted it to do." There are several reasons why Burke chose the play's title. "It's not a searing verbatim exploration of the sex industry. It's a metaphor. We're all whores. We all believe in what we believe at the time, and say what we want to get somewhere. How often do we reveal our true feelings?"

Martin Baum on Richard Bacon show

Guild member Martin Baum will be on the Richard Bacon phone-in programme on BBC Radio Five Live tonight from midnight, talking about his book,To Be Or Not To Be, Innit - A Yoof-speak Guide to Shakespeare.

The book, as those of you who read Martin's article in the Guild magazine last year will remember, was self-published and has become a huge hit that has attracted a massive amount of publicity - including an appearance on Richard and Judy.