Thanks for passing by!
It’s Phil Krstic here, the Producer for Rich Forrest, Dominique Hodge and Michael Passingham’s Level Two Radio Drama. Here you will experience a very special ‘behind the scenes’ view on just how we can produce a radio drama.
Lets get to the point – what’s it all about?
Our radio drama is called ‘Saving the World – One Fare at a Time’ In this one-off, contemporary comedy-drama, a taxi driver-cum-detective makes repeated attempts to make the world a better place by interrogating his passengers. Playing off the chatty taxi driver stereotype, our hero, Jack, tries to solve crimes he’s read about in local papers and seen on local news. Using a hidden Dictaphone, he tries to weed out information from unsuspecting customers and gets a picture of the crime he is trying to solve. Today, his task is to solve a murder of a local, high-profile businessman. It is a tall order, but today may be his big chance, when a regular customer isn’t acting at all normal.
Meet the Characters:
Jack – A taxi driver in his mid-thirties, in a nondescript small town in the midlands. He feels that he could be doing a lot better than this, and yet he has not managed to progress any further than the local bypass. His town is quiet, but he still manages to find the things to investigate. He really believes that, one day, he will strike the bigtime. Until then, he’ll just have to keep investigating unruly neighbours clipping hedges, and other suburban dramas. He is able to interrogate his customers by using his ‘taxi’ driver voice, which is almost ‘mockney’ and very enthusiastic. In reality, he is quiet and reserved.
Ben – A fifty-nine year old desk police officer who always deals with Jack’s investigations. He realises that recording conversations with a hidden microphone is legally questionable, but it isn’t doing anyone any harm, so he brushes that issue aside. Ben is sympathetic to Jack, and is kind at heart. He often makes fun of Jack’s investigations, but still listens to all of the evidence that he has prepared. Nothing ever comes of Jack’s stories, but Ben likes a good laugh every now and then, plus it makes Jack feel recognised, if only for a moment.
Kelvin – A forty-something self-titled entrepreneur. He is a regular customer of the cab company, and Jack is his normal driver. Normally he isn’t particularly likeable, and today he seems very tense and doesn’t seem keen to answer any of Jack’s questions. However, the small amount of information he does give arouses Jack’s suspicions.