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Radio drama

Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play,[1] radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story: "It is auditory in the physical dimension but equally powerful as a visual force in the psychological dimension."[2] Radio drama includes plays specifically written for radio, docudrama, dramatized works of fiction, as well as plays originally written for the theatre, including musical theatre, and opera.

Radio drama achieved widespread popularity within a decade of its initial development in the 1920s. By the 1940s, it was a leading international popular entertainment. With the advent of television in the 1950s radio drama began losing its audience. However, it remains popular in much of the world.


Recordings of OTR (old-time radio) survive today in the audio archives of collectors, libraries and museums, as well as several online sites such as Internet Archive.


By the 21st century, radio drama had a minimal presence on terrestrial radio in the United States, with much American radio drama being restricted to rebroadcasts of programmes from previous decades. However, other nations still have thriving traditions of radio drama. In the United Kingdom, for example, the BBC produces and broadcasts hundreds of new radio plays each year on Radio 3, Radio 4, and Radio 4 Extra. Like the US, Australia's network the ABC has abandoned broadcasting drama but in New Zealand on RNZ, continues to promote and broadcast a variety of drama over its airwaves.


Thanks to advances in digital recording and Internet distribution, radio drama experienced a revival around 2010.[3] Podcasting offered the means of inexpensively creating new radio dramas, in addition to the distribution of vintage programs.


The terms audio drama[4] or audio theatre are sometimes used synonymously with radio drama; however, audio drama or audio theatre may not necessarily be intended specifically for broadcast on radio. Audio drama can also be found on CDs, cassette tapes, podcasts, webcasts, or other digital downloads as well as broadcast radio.

(1948–69)

Mrs Dale's Diary

on the World Service (1997–2005)[56]

Westway

(2004–10) on the Asian Network

Silver Street

Radio drama around the world[edit]

Australia[edit]

In Australia, as in most other developed countries, from the early years of the medium almost every radio network and station featured drama, serials, and soap operas as staples of their programming; during the so-called "Golden Years" of radio these were hugely popular. Many Australian serials and "soapies" were copies of American originals (e.g., the popular soap Portia Faces Life or the adventure series Superman, which featured future Australian TV star Leonard Teale in the title role), although these were typically locally produced and performed live to air, since the technology of the time did not permit high-quality pre-recording or duplication of programs for import or export.


In this period radio drama, serials and soap operas provided a fertile training ground and a steady source of employment for many actors, and this was particularly important because at this time the Australian theatre scene was in its infancy and opportunities were very limited. Many who trained in this medium (such as Peter Finch) subsequently became prominent both in Australia and overseas.


It has been noted that the producers of the popular 1960s Gerry Anderson TV series Thunderbirds were greatly impressed by the versatility of UK-based Australian actor Ray Barrett, who voiced many roles in Anderson's TV productions. Thanks to his early experience on Australian live radio (where he often played English and American roles), Barrett was considered better than his English counterparts at providing a convincing Mid-Atlantic English ("transatlantic") accent, and he could perform a wide range of character voices; he also impressed the Anderson team with his ability to quickly and easily switch from one voice/accent to another without the sound engineers' having to stop the recording.[62]


The effect of the introduction of television there in the late 1950s had the same devastating effects as it did in the US and many other markets, and by the early 1960s Australian commercial radio had totally abandoned radio drama and related programming (including comedy, soapies, and variety) in favour of music-based formats (such as Top 40) or talk radio ("talkback"), and the once-flourishing Australia radio production industry vanished within a few years. One of the few companies to survive was the Melbourne-based Crawford Productions, which was able to make the successful transition into TV production.


Despite the complete abandonment of drama and related programming by the commercial radio sector, the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) maintained a long history of producing radio drama. One of its most famous and popular series was the daily 15-minute afternoon soap opera Blue Hills, which was written for its entire production history by dramatist Gwen Meredith. It featured many well-known Australian actresses and actors, ran continuously for 27 years, from 28 February 1949 to 30 September 1976, with a total of 5,795 episodes broadcast, and was at one time the world's longest-running radio serial. It was preceded by an earlier Meredith serial The Lawsons, which featured many of the same themes and characters and itself ran for 1299 episodes.


In the 1960s and later, the ABC continued to produce many original Australian radio dramas as well as works adapted from other media. In recent years original radio dramas and adapted works were commissioned from local dramatists and produced for the ABC's Radio National network program Airplay, which ran from the late 1990s until early 2013. In late 2012 ABC management imposed budget cuts and axed a number of long-running arts programs, thereby ending the national broadcaster's decades-long history of producing radio drama (as well as its equally long history of providing daily serialised book readings).

Cyprus[edit]

Since around the early sixties the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (RIK) features radio plays in the Cypriot Greek dialect. They are called Cypriot (radio drama) sketches and they are mainly about Cyprus's rural life, traditions and customs, its history and its culture. The works are written by established writers, but also from new writers through the Writing Contest of Cypriot Sketches issued annually by CyBC (RIK) [63]

Germany[edit]

The first German radio drama was produced in 1923. Because of the external circumstances in postwar Germany in which most of the theaters were destroyed, radio drama boomed. Between 1945 and 1960 there were more than 500 radio plays every year. The German word for radio drama or audio play is Hörspiel. Today Germany is a major market for radio plays worldwide.[64] In particular, audio plays on CD are very popular. A popular audio play serial of Germany and of the world is Die drei ??? (Three Investigators).


Berlin's Prix Europa includes a Radio Fiction category.

India[edit]

Vividh Bharati, a service of All India Radio, has a long running Hindi radio-drama program: Hawa Mahal.

Republic of Ireland[edit]

RTÉ Radio Drama is one of the oldest audio theatre departments in the radio world.[65]

Japan[edit]

Radio dramas began in Japan in 1925, and enjoyed a great level of popularity after the hit of Tankou no Naka.[66][67][68] This resulted in the NHK hiring famous writers to write radio drama scripts for 500 yen, which in 1930 was equivalent to 1 million yen in the present day.[69]


Due to voice acting in Japan having its own distinct culture, audio dramas continue to be popular in Japan, where they are now primarily released on disc as "drama CDs" (ドラマCD). They are also referred to in Japanese as "voice dramas" (ボイスドラマ). Many such audio dramas are based on anime, manga, novels and video games, but there are also many that are completely original.[70] Though most drama CDs are commercial products made by corporate entities, there has been a growing number of doujin audio dramas in recent years due to it being easier for hobbyists to obtain the equipment required to make recordings, and the Internet making distribution easier.

Norway[edit]

Radioteatret (Radio drama in Norway) has existed since 1926.[71]

Poland[edit]

In Poland, radio dramas are sometimes called "the theater of the imagination" (Polish: teatr wyobraźni). The first Polish radio drama, Warszawianka based on Stanisław Wyspiański's play, was produced in 1925 while the first radio drama written for radio was produced in 1929. Polish Radio has been successfully producing radio dramas since then – between 1925 and September 1939, over 2,500 were made.[72] In 1956, Polish Radio started broadcasting Matysiakowie, which is currently one of the longest-running radio plays in the world.[73] Audio plays based on literature are also popular in Poland, this is how the sound adaptations of George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones, Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth or Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead were created.[74][75] Since 1988, the Polish Radio Theater has awarded the Wielki Splendor awards to actors and authors of radio dramas.[76]

Romania[edit]

Radio theatre (Teatru Radiofonic [7]) has a long tradition in Romania. The first piece was played in 1929. The 7000+ piece repertoire includes radio adaptations of both Romanian and international books/plays across many genres interpreted by the greatest Romanian actors of the time.

South Africa[edit]

Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1924 and remained the dominant broadcast medium in the country until the late 1970s. Created by an act of Parliament in 1936, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) aired radio dramas along with news and British content in Afrikaans and English. Radio drama became more prominent with the launch of Springbok Radio, an English and Afrikaans commercial station operated by SABC between May 1950 and December 1985.


The SABC launched Radio Bantu in 1960s, broadcasting first in isiZulu and soon followed by other African languages, intended to serve as the apartheid state's propaganda channel. However, radio drama broadcast in African languages contributed to subverting the apartheid government by shaping culture and identity while challenging apartheid ideologies. Radio dramas were not subjected to the same level of apartheid editorial scrutiny, and therefore provided a forum for ideas without openly addressing politics.[77] Radio drama evolved with changing socio-economic contexts. Female characters began to feature more prominently.[78]


Radio drama continues to be a mainstay of South African radio. SABC's drama studios in each of the country's 9 provinces produce dramas for all 19 SABC radio stations.[79] Recognizing radio's reach, some private sector entities have also invested in radio drama, such as Standard Bank's 5-minute Iketsetse Zenzele radio drama which aired for 8 years to raise awareness about financial literacy, fraud, and cybercrimes.[80] Non-governmental organizations widely use radio drama as part of campaigns for health awareness and rights activism, such as the long-running Soul Buddyz series focused on adolescent health,[81] Masiphephe Radio Drama addressing gender-based violence,[82] and the Plague in the Time of King Kapital and Queen Corona focused on Covid-19 awareness.[83]

Thailand[edit]

A low power radio station "M.C.O.K. Radio 2" (formally Pira FM) introduces a new programming block called M.C.O.K. Television – aims to replace the regular evening music programmes. The programming block is composed of British radio dramas and an Audio-Described version of British TV programmes such as Doctor Who, EastEnders and Horrible Histories.


Since 1 November 2021, Radio dramas were scrapped and replaced with more (Audio-Described) programmes – All At Sea, Dad's Army, Mrs. Brown's Boys and The Outlaw. The radio station broadcasts on 87.2 MHz every evening / late night. Due to the nature of low-power VHF propagation, the coverage is very limited, the radio station can be heard only in Lat Luang (Bangkok / Samut Prakan area). It is the first radio station in Thailand to broadcast both English radio / TV programmes on FM.

Mainland China[edit]

Before 2010, radio dramas on mainland China were usually performed by organisations associated with the Chinese Communist Party, such as the Central Radio Drama Troupe (Chinese: 中央广播剧团), which was founded in 1954.[84] Their content was also deeply related to the historical events of the corresponding period and they largely served as propaganda. 10,000 Pieces of Clipboards (Chinese: 一万块夹板), produced by the China National Radio in 1950 to commemorate the Feb 7 General Strike (Chinese: 二七大罢工), is considered to be the first radio drama after the CCP established the regime in mainland China. Similar radio dramas include The North Korean Zoya - Kim Yu Ji (Chinese: 朝鲜丹娘——金玉姬) and Thanks to Stalin (Chinese: 感谢斯大林).[85]


With the development of the Internet and the spread of Japanese ACG culture, ACG fans on mainland China began to independently produce radio dramas at around 2010. These radio dramas are usually not broadcast on radio stations, but uploaded to online audio platforms like MissEvan.[86]

Tim Crook, Radio Drama: Theory and Practice. London; New York: Routledge, 1999.

Armin Paul Frank, Das englische und amerikanische Hörspiel. München: Fink, 1981.

Stephen G. Eoannou, Yesteryear: SFWP, 2023.  9781951631192

ISBN

Walter K. Kingson and Rome Cowgill, Radio Drama Acting and Production: A Handbook. New York: Rinehart, 1950.

Karl Ladle: Hörspielforschung. Schnittpunkt zwischen Literatur, Medien und Ästhetik. Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag, 2001.

Sherman Paxton Lawton, Radio Drama. Boston: Expression Company, 1938.

Peter Lewis (ed.), Radio Drama. London; New York: Longman, 1981.

Dermot Rattigan, Theatre of Sound: Radio and the Dramatic Imagination. 2nd edition. Carysfort Press, 2003.

Neil Verma, Theater of the Mind: Imagination, Aesthetics, and American Radio Drama. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.

A directory of audio drama websites.

Audio-Drama.com

Instructional podcast on the production of audio drama.

The Audio Drama Production Podcast

Treatise on writing, producing, performing and directing audio plays in the 21st century.

The Well-tempered Audio Dramatist

(archived at the Wayback Machine)

Necrology of Old Radio Personalities

Radio drama workshop.

National Audio Theatre Festivals

Largest online radio drama platform in Mandarin

MissEvan

Radio drama produced by RTHK in Cantonese and English

Classics Radio Drama