Animal Farm by George Orwell dramatised for UK independent radio in 1987

There was a time when UK independent radio had a public sector broadcasting remit and audio drama was encouraged to be a part of its output of music, news, phone-in and community programming.

In 1987, Independent Radio Drama Productions came on the scene- long before BBC Radio had ever thought of a Channel 4 style of commissioning from outside producers.

IRDP would pioneer sound drama on LBC in London with a dramatisation of Samuel Pepys’s diary in five minute episodes in a lunch-time programme presented by Steve Jones. The FT’s radio critic B.A. Young was so impressed he declared ‘Hats Off to Independent Radio Drama Productions.’

The company was launched by directors Tim Crook and Richard Shannon and they were looking at innovative ways of developing audio drama as a dramatic art-form, entertainment and form of education and cultural expression and celebration of literature.

They would launch ground-breaking interactive audio-drama programming, new writing competitions and festivals, and dramatisatons of classical novels and literature in multiple formats of duration- sometimes one hour showcases, at other times in five and ten minute sequences in magazine and phone-in programmes.

In 1987, the educational division of the publishers Macmillan were interested in combining their study guide on George Orwell’s Animal Farm with a broadcast and cassette version of the novella and fable.

Crook and Shannon wrote a script and put together a sponsorship/funding package that would have had Orwell’s famous novel heard throughout the UK on independent radio stations in five x ten to twelve minute episodes and distributed with the study guide in audio-cassette form.

The writing was also structured so the dramatisation could work as ten x six minute episodes.

This is the first time the dramatisation script can be read and appreciated. It aimed to be more radiophonic and shorter than previous BBC dramatisations.

The narrative voice and point of view was pivoted through the character of Benjamin- the intelligent and somewhat cynical donkey on the farm and close friend of the hard-working horse Boxer.

The writing duo would share the writing credits for collaborative projects with one of them undertaking most of the writing and the other pitching in with ideas, adjustments and improving rewrites. In this case Tim Crook was the lead writer and Richard Shannon the script editor.

Macmillan was very enthusiastic and so were LBC and a number of ILR stations.

In those days ownership of commercial radio stations was much more diverse and the regulating authority, the IBA (Independent Broadcasting Authority) ran a scheme known as ‘Secondary Rental’ whereby the stations could enjoy relief on their IBA levy when investing in cultural or public sector broadcasting projects.

But the project was stopped in its tracks when the literary agency representing the George Orwell estate said no. There was no explanation either in letter form or by way of telephone conversation; somewhat dominated by the emphatic repetition of the word ‘No.’

There was no interest in negotiating a licence for the UK audio drama rights either by way of radio broadcasting or audio-cassette distribution- very much then in its infancy as a commercial retail form.

This is not a criticism. It may well have been the case that the dramatic rights in these forms had already been optioned.

Now the copyright in most of George Orwell’s published writings has expired, the lost dramatisaton of his world famous parody and fable on when violent revolution goes wrong from the point of view of his donkey, Benjamin, can now be seen and read in its original script form, and sadly not heard.

This is because IRDP is long gone and lost to history. It stopped trading in 2002.

In its heyday IRDP linked up with the US public broadcaster NPR (National Public Radio), and it is certainly possible that had the audio dramatisation rights been available, a transatlantic IRDP/NPR co-production could have been an enormous success.

Proposal for dramatising George Orwell’s Animal Farm for UK independent local radio and educational cassette publishing in 1987. Page One.

Proposal for dramatising George Orwell’s Animal Farm for UK independent local radio and educational cassette publishing in 1987. Page Two.

Introduction to IRDP dramatisation for radio of George Orwell’s Animal Farm in 1987

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode One, Page Two.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode One, Page Three.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode One, Page Four.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode One, Page Five.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode One, Page Six.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode One, Page Seven.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode One, Page Eight.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode One, Page Nine.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode One, PDF file.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode Two. PDF File.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode Three. PDF File.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode Four. PDF File.

Radio Dramatisation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm by Tim Crook and Richard Shannon in 1987. Episode Five. PDF File.

-o-

All Kultura Press online publications are on Open Access to support the dissemination of knowledge and understanding about journalism, journalism history and other subjects. The research and writing for this ongoing project is not funded in any way. If you would like to assist covering any of the costs involved, do consider making any kind of donation and/or subscribing monthly or yearly using the form below. Many thanks for your consideration.

-o-

More Open Access online publications from Kultura Press Chelsea History and Studies George Orwell Studies Media Law Studies Writing Audio Drama That’s So Goldsmiths Journalism History Studies Somerset Maugham Studies Dad’s Army Studies Joseph Conrad Studies Maigret History and Studies Writing for Broadcast Journalists 3rd Edition