Bradley Shoreham returns!!!!
ACOUSTIC: THE CYBER SUITE IN PEMBERLEY FINANCE
A ROOM FULL OF ‘TECHIES’ HARD AT WORK; TYPING ON COMPUTERS. CHIEF GEEK TOBY DRISCOLL IS IN CHARGE.
BRADLEY: (VOICEOVER) My name is Bradley Shoreham. I used to be a soldier. Now I work for a large private company that runs wargames.
MORE TYPING; FAINT BREATHING.
BRADLEY: (VOICEOVER): I spent years as a wargame exercise writer in the army. I created a number of major exercises, including a mock conflict between Turkey and Kurdistan which threatened to become a Third World War. The simulation of wars and disasters: that’s my métier.
MORE TYPING.
BRADLEY: How’s it going?
GEEK 1: Hel-lo?
BRADLEY: Sorry, sorry.
GEEK 2: (SOTTO VOCE) I’ve got something.
GEEK 3: (SOTTO VOCE) What is it?
GEEK 2: I’m forwarding it.
SILENCE AS A MESSAGE IS SENT AND READ, SILENTLY.
BRADLEY: (VOICEOVER): These days I specialise in civilian wargaming. Because everyone does it now: corporations, government departments, laboratories, factories, power plants. They plan and act out potential catastrophes in structured roleplay exercises like children playing cowboys and Indians. Because that’s the best way to contain or even prevent major crises….
******
That’s an excerpt from RANSOMWARE, Episode 2 of the the new series of RED AND BLUE, which starts next week on Radio 4 on Friday 23rd August.
Bradley Shoreham - played by the astonishing Tim Woodward – is a man who writes exercise briefs for wargames; and who loves to plays mindgames. He pushes people to their limit, so they know what those limits are. And, as a professional wargamer, he gets involved in a startlingly wide range of disaster scenarios, from the battlefield to the conference room. In Series 1 (available for download HERE for a paltry £2.99!) Bradley wargamed a conflict between the Turks and the Kurds; he sent the SAS out into the deserts of Arizona; and he plotted the destruction of London over lunch with the charming Bill Paterson.
In series 2, I’ve explored the world of civilian wargaming. All big construction companies wargame disasters; power plants and factories wargame to guard against terrorist threats and disasters; corporations, banks, they’re all at it . Play-acting disaster movies. The Government does it too – the sinisterly named committee known as COBR has a yearly calendar of wargames, including the flooding of London; pandemics; and terrorist attacks.
Do explore these worlds with Bradley…Episode 1 is broadcast next Friday, 23rd August; Ep 2 is the following week; Ep 3 the week after that.
This is what’s in store:
SACRIFICE: Friday 23rd August, 2.15pm Radio 4. Starring Tim Woodward and Harriet Walter. Directed by Toby Swift. (Harriet Walter!!!! She really is a legend…)
RANSOMWARE. Friday 30th August, 2.15pm, Radio 4. Starring Tim Woodward, Michael Bertenshaw and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.
SHADOW. Friday 6th September, 2.15pm Radio 4. Starring Tim Woodward, Liam Brennan, Sean Murray. Directed by Toby Swift.
Thanks to Toby Swift and Sasha Yevtushenko for their wonderful work in getting this series on air. Toby superbly directed two of the episodes – he and I been working together since he bought and directed my two-hander GIN AND RUM, and though I’d never tell him so, he’s a star. Thanks also to the ubane and lovely Eoin O’Callaghan for doing such a fab job on RANSOMWARE, with my favourite actor from MISFITS and UTOPIA, Nathan Stewart- Jarrett.
This show is SO damned hard to write – it means researching a huge number of different worlds, and the books I’ve bought as research fill a rucksack that sits in the corner of my room, totally mucking it up. But it’s been a joy; not least because of Tim Woodward’s mellifluous brilliance in bringing to life a character who is the master of the mind-fuck; but always in a good cause…
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Just listened to Ransomware, another fantastic eipsode, thank you. Bradley Shoreham is showing worrying signs of becoming human, the way he spoke up for Danny.
That was supposed to say episode, not eipsode, grrr.
Yes, he’s clearly mellowing! Glad you enjoyed…
Philip
I just listened to Shadow, great work again. I’m from Inverness so it was great to hear proper Scottish accents and language it a Radio 4 play, it all sounded really authentic. I’ve got a mate who works on the rigs, I’m going to have to get him to listen to this, I think he’d be very interested.
Keep up the good work!
Listened to “Shadow” today on Radio4, having never listened to your radio dramas before. Great show, very exciting. When are the latest three audio-plays going to be released for download? I’d love to find out what I’ve missed already.
I used to work on Taggart and Rebus and I have a great love of Scottish voices…One of our actors, Sean Murray, is from Aberdeen, playing a character from Aberdeen; he said that it’s the first time in his career he’s used his real accent! Hope your mate on the rigs enjoys…
So glad you enjoyed…Series 1 of RED AND BLUE is available for download on the BBC’s Audiogo site, together with a few other plays of mine:
http://www.audiogo.com/uk/brow.....;cat=17620
Series 2 including the eps you missed will start going up there in a couple of weeks – it’s usually about 10 days after the drama vanishes from iPlayer. Hope you enjoy the early Bradley Shoreham too…
Listened to “Shadow” yesterday, enjoyed it just as much as all the other episodes. I’d agree with David Rodgers, it was very exciting and really made me think about the guys who work every day out on the oil rigs. Come on BBC, commission a third series already.
http://www.audiogo.com/uk/red-.....gid-100202
Huzzah! Sorry Mr Palmer, I’m not really trying to hi-jack your website!!
Is it too soon for any news on a third series?
Hi Heather – no please, hijack, hijack! We’re waiting on the commissioner now and my mission is to think of more scenarios in which Bradley Shoreham could play his wargames. Everyone loves Tim Woodward in that role – he’s an under-rated and absolutely brilliant actor. (I loved his dad too, as Callan…)
An obvious one would be a terrorist attack on Whitehall but I think Shoreham versus the Senior Civil Service could be fun to listen to, would the poor man get his head round the doublethink of the Sir Humphrey Appleby types? Having worked in the Civil Service myself I now know that Yes Minister was not a comedy but a hard-hitting expose of the Civil Service.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who appreciates Tim Woodward’s talents as an actor. I think he’s brilliant and under-rated too.
Hi I’m so glad to hear the re-runs again, great work, just fantastic. Missed a couple the first time round. Pleased to hear they’re on again. Thank you to all involved.
A Nuclear licensed site would be interesting, IMHO.
Great to hear Bradey’s voice again! Tim’s got the most magical delivery of any actor I know…so glad you caught up with some you’d missed.