made in manchester

Dreaming of Foxes imagines a meeting between the late poet laureate Ted Hughes (above) and an old school friend

An audio drama about the late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes – which was originally made for online only by Made in Manchester – is to be broadcast on Radio 4 Extra next week (Friday, April 26^th 2013)

In Dreaming of Foxes (which is based loosely on a true story) Ted is reunited with a long-lost schoolboy friend after almost fifty years. But what do these men have in common now except memories of old haunts and the landscape which inspired them both?

Written by Aelish Michael, Dreaming of Foxes stars Robert Garrett as Ted Hughes and Ian Blower as his friend Douglas Greenwood.

It was recorded on location at Ted Hughes’ former home at the Arvon Centre in Heptonstall in West Yorkshire. It was directed by Joyce Branagh and produced by Iain Mackness.

Writer Aelish Michael says: ‘Dreaming of Foxes started out as a stage-play for the Ted Hughes Festival in Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the death of the late Poet Laureate in his home town. I am thrilled to see it take on a new life as a radio drama and reach a much wider audience.’

Aelish Michael wrote MIM’s drama for 5Live Don’t Cry for Me, Maradona about Bobby Robson and she also penned the critically acclaimed stage play The Demolition Man which was premiered at The Bolton Octagon.

Last year MIM won a BBC Audio Drama Award for Rock by Tim Fountain (about the Hollywood actor Rock Hudson) and the company has made critically acclaimed pieces about Oscar Wilde, computer pioneer Alan Turing, death row and the 1984-85 Miners’ strike.

MIM Creative Director and Executive Producer Ashley Byrne adds: ‘Made in Manchester makes programmes in all genres for broadcasters all around the world but we are particularly passionate about history and drama. We are delighted that the Radio 4 Extra audience is to get the chance to hear Dreaming of Foxes. It’s a really engaging piece which I think gets to the heart of the late Poet Laureate’s personality.’

Dreaming of Foxes will be broadcast at 11.15am on Friday, April 26^th on BBC Radio 4 Extra. It will be repeated at 9.15pm that night and at 4.15am on Saturday, April 27^th.

About the Actors

Actor Robert Garrett stars as Ted Hughes

Robert played Ted Hughes in the theatre version of Dreaming of Foxes. This RADA trained actor’s TV credits include Elizabeth R, Family at War, Heartbeat, Money for Nothing, Emmerdale, Brookside and Liverpool One and for radio – Brief Lives for BBC Radio 4.

Actor Ian Blower plays Douglas Greenwood

Ian is a seasoned theatre and TV actor. His television credits include parts in Juliet Bravo; Coronation Street; The Bill; Casualty; Heartbeat; Emmerdale; A and E; Back Up; All Quiet On The Preston Front; Max and Paddy, Island at War; Northern Lights Silent Witness and Doctors.

The children are played by Joe Cotton, Joseph Moorhead and Kieran Bell

About the music

The music was written by Matthew Ganley. Matthew, whose acting credits include Hollyoaks, Emmerdale, The Bradford Riots and Block, has also written music for several theatre pieces.  For further information about Matthew contact www.happystormtheatre.co.uk

For more information about writer Aelish Michael go to www.aelishmichael.com

Presenter - comedian and actor David Mitchell

Made in Manchester has produced a four part series on the history of British comedy for BBC Radio 2.

The first episode in the run, which is presented by comedian and actor David Mitchell (of Peep Show/Mitchell and Webb fame) will be broadcast next Tuesday night at 10pm – 5^th March 2013

Producer Phil Collinge says: “We’re covering a hundred years in four hours, so there’s something for everybody in there – lots of laughs and more than a little social history too. Look out for how much today’s comedy can be traced back to the days of music hall too. It’s almost like a ‘six degrees of separation’ of comedy!”

Part One of ‘Radio 2’s History of British Comedy’ goes back to before the First World War while the second part in the series looks at how comedy evolved between 1939 and the early 60s. The heyday of British TV comedy in the 60s and 70s is celebrated in Part 3 while the final episode brings things up to date by looking at how comedy has changed in more recent times.

Executive Producer and MIM Creative Director Ashley Byrne says: “From Dick Emery and Tommy Cooper to Hattie Jacques, Benny Hill and the Carry Ons, Made in Manchester has a strong track record producing docs in this area. And we’re delighted to make this special series for Radio 2 having produced so many of the network’s previous comedy icon documentaries.”

At Christmas, MIM produced an hour long documentary for Radio 2 about the life and times of legendary impressionist Mike Yarwood while the company’s most recent doc for the BBC was for Radio 1 earlier this month when Annie Mac hosted Twitfalls about young people and the pitfalls of social media.