JUNE 24th 2014
Cor blimey! Our first ‘own-brand’ original audio drama,SOMETIME NEVER, by Scott Harrison has won the NEW YORK AWARD for Best Drama (a radio/audio ‘Oscar’)…we are flabbergasted and amazed!
The New York Festival Awards recognise the best radio and audio work from around the world, with amazing productions going head to head to win the coveted and prestigious awards. Entries come from broadcasters on every continent, in every language and it is a real honour to go up against the finest producers in the world.
This is our first year entering the awards as Spokenworld Audio, although our MD (Neil Gardner) has won numerous New Yorks over the years for his radio productions. It is also our first ‘own-brand’ audio drama, our first attempt to forge a path away from the BBC, to prove you don’t have to be Radio 3 or 4 to be a drama producer/commissioner.
This was a team effort from start to finish, and there is no praise high enough for the incredible skills and talent brought to the production by all involved. SCOTT HARRISON wrote a beautiful and thrilling script (in 4 weeks, against a tight deadline!) that allowed the actors to really exercise their thespian chops. SIMON JONES and ROSALYN LANDOR brought their amazing acting talents and a whole shed-load of enthusiasm, bringing the characters to life and adding subtlety and flavour. Direction and sound-design by Neil Gardner pulled the whole thing together, creating light & dark and building a believable audio environment. And the cherry on the top was the sumptuous original score composed by virtuoso JAMES DUNLOP, lifting the entire production to new heights. Congrats to one and all!
So…that is audio drama #1 done, dusted and weighed down by trophies. Time to move on to drama #2…coming soon!
P.S. Congrats to our sister company LADBROKE PRODUCTIONS, who won the Gold New York Award for their documentary LIVING WITH MEMORY IN RWANDA. It seems only right that their last ever BBC radio production, after 30 years in the business, should be lauded with such a worthy award.