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If the editor would like to do stand alone plays on the radio using actors who also play in the archers, then good luck to him. But foisting it into the archers using the well worn vehicle of Lynda, and heralding the play with a nasty rant at her well meaning volunteers in the show, doesn’t work.
Whatsmore, surely nudity is a visual thing. Has the editor forgotten this is radio? I am very disappointed with the new way the old panto is being used. The old panto was bad enough, but this is ten times worse.
Please, Sean, just do your plays on a Saturday and get the actors in it if you want, but it doesn’t work in the archers any more. I want to hear normal farming stories and have the other stories moved forward, not this ridiculous festive padding.
And calendar girls isn’t even festive!
In my opinion.
Over on the BBC’s official Archers FB page, plenty of people are saying they enjoyed ‘Calendar Girls’, and the dissenting views are in the minority. Personally, I enjoyed it very much too. And the (more or less) annual ‘Lynda’s show’ story-line is one of my favourites.
I have to say I enjoyed it too. I saw it as very much removed from The Archers generally – there was the story about the build-up to it but when the play itself was broadcast I kind of forgot I was listening to anything Archers-related, other than the fact that some of the voices were familiar. As a play generally, I’m not sure it totally worked on the radio but that’s no fault of the actors – it’s just quite a visual thing. Personally I was recalling the film all the way through!
I agree with Sara.
Pantomime isn’t really my thing and Linda’s “schtick” of turning into an overweening writer/director wears thin year on year, so a few snippets heard during the usual Christmas week episodes was just about tolerable and amusing.
I was underwhelmed by “Blithe Spirit” last year and still can’t quite get to the end of “Calendar Girls”. I listened for an hour and had had enough. Like Sara, I’m not sure it worked because of the nudity – or visual lack of it on radio. You can get away with all sorts on radio (but not bad voice acting). I haven’t seen the film or the stage production but I wonder if it’s been done as a radio play before? I thought it wasn’t very good. The script didn’t engage me and felt flat. It was a bit “meta” with professional actors playing their roles in The Archers as amateur actors playing their roles in “Calendar Girls”. And the accents were grating and unconvincing. So I probably won’t go back and listen to the end of it.
I’m beginning to dread next year’s effort already …
I agree with Samantha and like the yearly tradition of Linda choosing a show, fretting about it, trying to corral the usual village suspects into participating, and putting it together (to use a Sondheim line). I do see the last two year’s broadcast performances as something of stand alones, separate from The Archers itself. I look forward to next year’s-someone suggested The Vagina Monologues-that would be interesting!
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