Gaynor Macfarlane

Gaynor Macfarlane is a radio drama director and producer for BBC Radio Drama at Pacific Quay, Glasgow.

Career

Macfarlane directed the first, second, fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth radio series of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

In the theatre, Macfarlane has directed Wit by Margaret Edson, Folie à Trois by Sarah Wooley and The Past is not a Place by Beatrice Colin for the Stellar Quines Theatre Company; The Birds by Aristophanes and After the Rain by Sergi Belbel at the Gate Theatre; The House of Desires by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Burdalane by Judith Adams at the Battersea Arts Centre; Damon and Pythias at the Globe and Helen at the RNT Studio. She has been Literary Manager of the Gate Theatre, Script Advisor at the National Theatre and Dramaturg at the Globe during its first season. She has translated plays for the Almeida and Chichester Festival Theatre.[1]

Radio plays

Radio Plays Directed or Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane
Date first broadcast Play Author Cast Synopsis
Awards		 Station
Series
21 August 1999 So Much Blood Simon Brett dramatised by Bert Coules Bill Nighy, Jimmy Chisholm and John Paul Hurley Charles Paris takes his one-man show to the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, filling a vacant spot at a student venue which is a hotbed of behind-the-scenes drama, until a stage dagger turns murderously into a real one. BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play[2]
21 February 2000 – 3 March 2000 The Hours Michael Cunningham abridged by Alison Joseph Buffy Davis, Geraldine James and Elizabeth McGovern A meditation on love, loss and time. Echoing Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, it gives a moving and eloquent account of one day in the lives of three very different women. BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama[3]
25 July 2000 Summer Sectioned John Binnie Lorelei King and Colin Stinton An elegiac and moving encounter with the woman who was the muse of playwright Tennessee Williams – his sister Rose. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play[4]
23 October 2000 – 3 November 2000 The Weight of Water Anita Shreve dramatised by Beatrice Colin Nancy Crane, Derbhle Crotty, Emma Fielding and Karl Johnson On the night of 5 March 1873, two women, both Norwegian emigrants, were murdered on the Isles of Shoals. In the present day, a newspaper photographer discovers a cache of papers that appear to give an eyewitness account of the murders. BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama
17 April 2001 Zander's Boat Grace Barnes Vicki Masson, Rose McBain and Wendy Seager Three generations of Shetland women reflect on their lives, on love and loss. Edith is coming to terms with the death of her son, Sylvia prays for a miracle, and Marie is finding the courage to live alone. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
8 July 2001 Wit Margaret Edson adapted for radio by Judith Adams Nancy Crane, Jasmine Hyne, John McGlynn, Stuart Milligan, Margaret Robertson, John Sharian, Adam Sims and Tracy Wiles A brilliant scholar discovers that she has cancer and, through several courses of exhausting chemotherapy treatments, is forced to learn about wit, compassion and – finally – death. BBC Radio 4
8 November 2002 Zeitgeist Man Iain Heggie Forbes Masson, Liam Brennan, Gayanne Potter, Eileen McCallum, Chris Young, Jo James and Cora Bissett A biting comedy about writing, the media and the dream of catching the zeitgeist.

Unsuccessful novelist, Hugh Crombie, inadvertently offers an idea to aspiring writer, Dekky Duff. A year passes and Dekky is hailed as the new sensation Scottish writer. He is the real thing, a genuine working class hero, a hospital porter turned novelist. Hugh is enraged and sets out to convince the world that he is the true Zeitgeist Man.

 BBC Radio 4 Friday Play[5]
19 April 2003 Turtle Diary Russell Hoban Geraldine James, Bill Nighy, Suzanne Heathcote, Martin Hyder, Isobel Middleton and Graham Turner The turtles in London Zoo become the mutual obsession of two lonely strangers who dream of setting free the turtles and themselves. BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play
28 October 2003 The Time Between Two Tides Andy Macdonald William Barlow, Kate Dickie, Tony Kearney, Gary Lewis, Steven McNicoll, Nick Underwood and Wendy Seager A refugee boy is chased into the River Clyde. When a local lad leaps in to save him, both are trapped under a wharf building. In the time that it takes for the tide to change, and for a rescue to be mounted, truths are revealed about the boys, their families and the city in which they live. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
11 June 2004 Soft Fall the Sounds of Eden Sharman Macdonald Frances Grey, Patricia Kerrigan, Phyllida Law, Cal Macaninch, Shauna Macdonald, Colette O'Neil and Iain Robertson What is Paradise? The hot Dumfries countryside in late summer is transformed into a Garden of Eden of sorts as diverse groups of locals enjoy the sunshine and reflect on their lives.

A beautiful and evocative play about freedom, the impact of the choices we make, and about picking brambles on a hot afternoon in Scotland.

 BBC Radio 4 Friday Play
10 September 2004 The Daddy[6] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Joseph Marcell, Janice Acquah, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Jude Akuwudike, Chuk Iwuji, Maynard Eziashi, Peter Gevisser, Noma Dumezweni, Emmanuel Ighodaro, Willie Jonah, Ben Thomas, Alibe Parsons, Bhasker Patel, Nancy Crane, Tehmina Sacranie and Heather Mann Precious Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, takes on her first case – and a news secretary. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
17 September 2004 The Bone[7] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict Precious Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, sets out to discover the truth about Nandira Patel's boyfriend and to solve the case of the mysterious bone. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
24 September 2004 The Maid[8] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict Mma Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, has good news. However, she must also face a scheming maid, find out the truth behind a doctor's erratic behaviour and take on a new case about a missing American. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
1 October 2004 Tears of the Giraffe[9] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict Mr J. L. B. Matekoni has a surprise for Mma Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Meanwhile, the case of the missing American man has still to be solved. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
28 January 2005 Folie à Trois Sarah Wooley Eileen McCallum, Colette O'Neil, Molly Innes and Chris Young Three women live together in an ordinary suburb in the West of Scotland. After a chance encounter with a street evangelist, the youngest decides not to face the 21st century and the threat of imminent apocalypse, and sets out to persuade the others to join her. But how will they do it and what happens if one of them changes her mind? BBC Radio 4 Friday Play
30 August 2005 The Chief Justice of Beauty[10] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict Precious Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, is worried about her fiancé, Mr J. L. B. Matekoni. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi takes on a case for the Chief Justice of Beauty. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
6 September 2005 The Confession[11] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict and Joseph Marcell Precious Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, has to find two women wronged in the past by her client, Mr Molefelo. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
13 September 2005 The Kalahari Typing School for Men[12] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict Precious Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, discovers that the agency has competition, and Mma Makutsi embarks on an entrepreneurial enterprise. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
20 September 2005 The Admirer[13] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict Precious Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, makes an unhappy discovery and Mma Makutsi finds an admirer at the Kalahari Typing School for Men. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
18 December 2005 – 31 December 2005 The Razor's Edge W. Somerset Maugham dramatised by Ronald Frame Nicholas Le Prevost, John Light, Megan Dodds, Edward Petherbridge, Sam Dale, Amerjit Deu, Paul Dinnen, Philip Fox, Laurel Lefkow, Carolyn Pickles and David Bannerman Young veteran Larry Darrell returns to Chicago after the First World War, and finds it difficult to fit back into society. To the dismay of his fiancé, Isabel he heads for Paris where he embarks on a spiritual quest to find the answers to his many questions. BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial[14]
1 January 2008 There Is No Such Thing as Free Food[15] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Ben Onwukwe, Janice Acquah, Jude Akuwudike, Ayesha Antoine, Sam Dale, Maynard Eziashi, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Paterson Joseph and Kedar Williams-Stirling Precious Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, is preoccupied both professionally and personally by the subject of food. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
2 January 2008 The Best Profession for a Blackmailer[16] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Janice Acquah, Maynard Eziashi, Adjoa Andoh, Paterson Joseph and Alibe Parsons Mr Polopetsi, part-time mechanic and would-be assistant detective, takes on a case of his own. Mma Makutsi finds out whether blue shoes are the key to happiness. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
3 January 2008 A Very Rude Woman[17] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Janice Acquah, Ben Onwukwe, Adjoa Andoh, Noma Dumezweni, Maynard Eziashi, Chuk Iwuji0, Paterson Joseph and Alibe Parsons Precious Ramotswe faces change at the agency while Mr J. L. B. Matekoni meets the rudest person in Botswana. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
4 January 2008 Talking Shoes[18] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Ben Onwukwe, Janice Acquah, Adjoa Andoh, Anna Bengo, Noma Dumezweni, William Gaminara, Chuk Iwuji, Paterson Joseph, Naomi Taylor and Ben Thomas A new detective takes on a case for the agency while Mma Ramotswe, among others, has a problem with high blood pressure. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
29 August 2008 They Have Oak Trees in North Carolina[19] Sarah Wooley Alexander Morton, Ellie Haddington, Simon Harrison, Kenny Blyth and Gayanne Potter In 1986, Ray and Eileen's five-year-old son Patrick vanishes in Florida. Twenty two years later, a good-looking American named Clay arrives in their small village, claiming to be their missing son. BBC Radio 4 Friday Play
25 December 2008 The Miracle at Speedy Motors[20] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Ben Onwukwe, Janice Acquah, Jude Akuwudike, Adjoa Andoh, Anna Bengo, Noma Dumezweni, Maynard Eziashi, Emmanuel Ighodaro, Chuk Iwuji and Alibe Parsons Precious Ramotswe, owner and founder of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, is preoccupied – by the absence of postboxes in Botswana, by an anonymous letter and by an adopted child's poignant search for her true family. Meanwhile, Mr J. L. B. Matekoni pursues an expensive cure for their foster daughter Motholeli. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
2 December 2010 An Exceptionally Wicked Lady[21] Alexander McCall Smith Janice Acquah, Nadine Marshall, Ben Onwukwe, Sam Dale, Jude Akuwudike, Maynard Eziashi, Anna Bengo, Noma Dumezweni, Adjoa Andoh, Babou Ceesay and Nyasha Hatendi Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi face an old adversary while a letter from America sets the agency a seemingly impossible task. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
3 December 2010 Canoeing for Ladies[22] Alexander McCall Smith Janice Acquah, Nadine Marshall, Ben Onwukwe, Maynard Eziashi, Nyasha Hatendi, Obi Abili, Chuk Iwuji, Jude Akuwudike, Anna Bengo, Noma Dumezweni and Adjoa Andoh Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi have to face the dangers of crocodiles, hippos and a tiny canoe as their case takes them to the Okovango Delta to trace a safari guide. There is also the problem of Phuti's aunt to solve, as well as the necessity of confronting their old adversary, Violet Sepotho. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
25 April 2011 – 29 April 2011 Out of Africa[23] Karen Blixen dramatised by Judith Adams Emma Fielding, Tom Goodman-Hill, Beru Tessema, Maynard Eziashi and Sean Baker Soon after Karen Blixen relocates to British East Africa, she finds herself alone in a foreign land with the enormous responsibility of trying to operate a successful coffee plantation. To accomplish this, she must get to know the land and the locals who work for and with her. In the process, she learns more about herself. BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Drama
6 September 2011 Occupation[24] Andy Macdonald Alexander Morton, Sally Reid, Brian Ferguson and Tracy Wiles A 50-year-old factory employee finds his own way to make a stand. With orders still on the books, Kenny Gall refuses to leave the factory he has worked in for more than thirty years. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
3 November 2011 A Late Van Just Glimpsed[25] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Ben Onwukwe, Janice Acquah, Adjoa Andoh, Maynard Eziashi and Nyasha Hatendi Mma Ramotswe makes a ghostly sighting and there is disturbing news about Charlie, Mr J. L. B. Matekoni's wayward apprentice and the ladies investigate unexplained, violent attacks on cattle. Meanwhile, preparations are underway for Mma Makutsi's wedding to Phuti Radiphuti, but tragedy awaits outside the shoe shop. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
4 November 2011 The Saturday Big Tent Wedding[26] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Ben Onwukwe, Janice Acquah, Adjoa Andoh, Maynard Eziashi, Nyasha Hatendi, Obi Abili, Beru Tessema, Jude Akuwudike and Gbemisola Ikumelo The ladies solve the case of the murdered cattle. Mma Makutsi is feeling anxious about her upcoming wedding to Phuti Radiphuti and an old friend comes to the rescue. And Charlie is let off the hook. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
23 November 2011 Happy Hour at the Hotel Death[27] Colin Hough Ralph Riach, Ann Louise Ross, Sean Scanlan and Ann Scott-Jones Fed up with their loveless marriages, septuagenarians Avril and Nettie suggest a swinging holiday to their respective spouses. Tam and Boaby respond by planning the holiday of a lifetime. BBC Radio Scotland Drama[28]
6 May 2012 – 13 May 2012 The Great Gatsby[29] F. Scott Fitzgerald dramatised by Robert Forrest Bryan Dick, Andrew Scott, Andrew Buchan, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Melody Grove, Karl Johnson, Sam Dale, Gerard McDermott, Susie Riddell, Tracy Wiles, Patrick Brennan, Christine Absalom and Amaka Okafor F. Scott Fitzgerald's seminal novel, a portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, is perhaps the greatest book on the fallibility of the American dream.

Nick Carraway arrives in Long Island and is reacquainted with his distant cousin, Daisy Buchanan. He falls in with her wealthy crowd. His neighbour, the self-made and self-invented millionaire, Gatsby, is the man who has everything – but one thing will always be out of his reach.

 BBC Radio 4 Classic Serial
23 September 2012 Mary Stuart[30] Friedrich Schiller translated by David Harrower & adapted by Robin Brooks Meg Fraser, Alexandra Mathie, Matthew Pidgeon, Robin Laing, Richard Greenwood, Paul Young, Wendy Seagar, Jimmy Chisholm, Laurie Brown, Grant O'Rourke and John Buick One of European theatre's major plays, Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart is a thrilling account of the extraordinary and tempestuous relationship between England's Elizabeth I and her rival cousin, the imprisoned Queen of Scots. BBC Radio 3 Drama on 3[31]
20 March 2013 A Man from a Far Place[32] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Ben Onwukwe, Maynard Eziashi, Beru Tessema, Janice Acquah, Babou Ceesay, Sam Dale, Eleanor Crooks and Jude Akuwudike Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi receive a visit from an extremely important person – a hero, as it happens, of the two detectives at the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Mma Potokwani has had bad news at the Orphan Farm. And one of Mr J. L. B. Matekoni's apprentices, Fanwell, gets himself into deep water. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
21 March 2013 The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection[33] Alexander McCall Smith Claire Benedict, Nadine Marshall, Ben Onwukwe, Janice Acquah, Maynard Eziashi, Beru Tessema, Sam Dale, Obi Abili, Adjoa Andoh, Nyasha Hatendi, Jude Akuwudike and Babou Ceesay Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi have received a visit from an extremely important person – a hero of the two detectives at the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Mma Potokwani has had bad news at the Orphan Farm and the ladies are determined to help her. And Mr J. L. B. Matekoni sets out to clear the name of his apprentice, Fanwell. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play

Sources:

Theatre

Stage Plays Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane
Date Title Author Cast Synopsis Theatre Company Notes
November 1996 Burdalane[34] Judith Adams Nick Fletcher, Lorraine Hilton, Dean McGuirn, Jamie Roberts, Isobel Middleton, Tracy Wiles, Lyn Christie, Rose Keegan, Kate Laurie, Raewyn Lippert, Michael Larkin and Lawrence Crawford On a voyage to the remote island of St. Kilda in the 18th century, Alexander Carlisle, a scientist, is going to check the condition of a mad woman. Only she's not mad, she's angry. The woman in question is Rachel Erskine, Lady Grange, whose husband has declared her dead, staged an elegant Edinburgh funeral marred solely by the second Lady Grange's attendance, and shipped her off to St. Kilda to rot. One Horse Productions, Battersea Arts Centre "Burdalane's strength derives from Judith Adams' script (an outstanding first play) and Gaynor McFarlane's direction, which together bring to life a strange matriarchal society. It's enough to give historical drama a good name." Adrian Turpin, The Independent[35]
28 May 1997 – 28 June 1997 The Birds Aristophanes Two disillusioned people go to live among their feathered friends Gate Theatre
3 December 1997 – 21 December 1997 The House of Desires Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz adapted by Peter Oswald 17th-century Mexican comedy in which five people, madly in love with one another, are locked up in one house. One Horse Productions Battersea Arts Centre
1 March 2003 – 29 April 2003 Wit[36] Margaret Edson Alexandra Mathie, Jonathan Battersby, James Mackenzie, Molly Innes, Joanna Tope, Natalie Bennet, Chris Young and Jessica Richards The last hours of Dr Vivian Bearing, a university professor of English, dying of ovarian cancer. Stellar Quines Theatre Company


"One of the most satisfying and enjoyable evenings of drama Scottish Theatre has produced for a while." (The Scotsman)[37]

Alexandra Mathie was awarded the Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland for Best Actress.

3 November 2004 Folie à Trois[38] Sarah Wooley Eileen McCallum, Colette O'Neil, Molly Innes and Chris Young Three women live together in an ordinary suburban street in the West of Scotland. After a chance encounter with a street evangelist, the three decide to make a suicide pact rather than face the 21st century and the threat of imminent apocalypse. But how will they do it and what happens if one of them changes her mind? They also decide to keep the curtains open in case they miss the spectacle of cosmic disintegration. Stellar Quines Theatre Company Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh


In collaboration with BBC Radio 4 – see Folie à Trois broadcast on 28 January 2005

30 June 2005 The Past is not a Place[39] Beatrice Colin When three female journalists arrive at a health spa on an isolated island, they expect a few days of relaxing detoxification. But this is no ordinary holiday destination, as they quickly discover. As lust, regret and betrayal all threaten to crack their fragile equilibrium, the women come face to face with what brought them there and why. Stellar Quines Theatre Company Tron Theatre, Glasgow

References

  1. ↑ Gaynor MacFarlane – Biography, Stellar Quines Theatre Company.
  2. ↑ BBC – Saturday Play
  3. ↑ BBC – Woman's Hour Drama
  4. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play
  5. ↑ BBC – Friday Play
  6. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Daddy
  7. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Bone
  8. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Maid
  9. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Tears of the Giraffe
  10. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Chief Justice of Beauty
  11. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Confession
  12. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Kalahari Typing School for Men
  13. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Admirer
  14. ↑ BBC – Classic Serial
  15. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: There Is No Such Thing as Free Food
  16. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Best Profession for a Blackmailer
  17. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: A Very Rude Woman
  18. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Talking Shoes
  19. ↑ BBC – Friday Play – They Have Oak Trees in North Carolina
  20. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Miracle at Speedy Motors
  21. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: An Exceptionally Wicked Lady
  22. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: Canoeing for Ladies
  23. ↑ BBC – Woman's Hour Drama – Out of Africa
  24. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – Occupation
  25. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: A Late Van Just Glimpsed
  26. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Saturday Big Tent Wedding
  27. ↑ BBC – BBC Radio Scotland – Happy Hour at the Hotel Death
  28. ↑ BBC – BBC Radio Scotland – Drama
  29. ↑ BBC – Classic Serial – The Great Gatsby
  30. ↑ BBC – Drama on 3 – Mary Stuart
  31. ↑ BBC – Drama on 3
  32. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: A Man from a Far Place
  33. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency: The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection
  34. ↑ Burdalane – Live and Theatre Work – Judith Adams website
  35. ↑ Burdalane – Reviews, Judith Adams website.
  36. ↑ Wit – Stellar Quines Theatre Company
  37. ↑ Correction – The Scotsman, 23 March 2003.
  38. ↑ Folie à Trois – Stellar Quines Theatre Company
  39. ↑ The Past is not a Place – Stellar Quines Theatre Company


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