SOUND SITES / THE RADIO MAGAZINE
Richard Duncan Rudin / December 1997
"IRDP have scored a remarkable first in putting their productions on the Internet so that anyone in the world with access to a computer, modem and 'RealAudio' software can listen to a new play every month. The first 'UK Internet Play of the Month' is a remarkable production of Francis Beckett's satire 'The Sons of Catholic Gentlemen'.....The play can be downloaded in five files, each of around ten minutes. Well worth a listen!
Elsewhere on the IRDP site you can download pages of related information, such as how to write radio drama, details of drama competitions, the background to the prestigious Prix Italia, awards won by IRDP......There are also pages about the history of radio, particularly its power and psychological impact. All of this is very well written, researched and presented."
RADIO THEATER ON THE WEB
Jerry Stearns
"One of the biggest and most certainly the best radio drama production companies in the United Kingdom. I've heard a number of their pieces on National Public Radio here. The Web Site has information about their broadcast schedules, tapes available from them, and a few other interesting and useful items and articles about radio drama. I've never met them, but I like them already."
Jerry Stearns' Radio Theater on the Web
THE IRISH TIMES ON THE WEB
March 1998
"Castlebar-based Irish writer Ken Armstrong's To Sleep is Independent Radio Drama Productions' Play of the Month in Britain - accessible from this smart site via Real Audio."
THE SUNDAY EXPRESS
Ken Garner / Radio Review / July 1998
"If you have access to the Internet, you can hear Vikki Morris's original play Whose Fault Is It Anyway?, broadcast to Londoners in LBC Sunday Playhouse but available on Independent Radio Drama Productions' acclaimed website (www.irdp.co.uk) as its Internet Play of the Month for July - one neat idea the BBC's website doesn't offer."
Sunday Express
VIRGIN.NET
Education Sitewatch page / December 1997
"If you're a fan of radio plays then you'll love this site which offers one play a month.....If you don't, then this is still a site worth checking out because you will never know what it is going to offer."
Virgin.net
LONDON SCREENWRITERS' WORKSHOP
IRDP was listed in LSW's Top Ten sites, and they named us 'Site of the Month' in October '97.
THE STAGE
Alison Reynolds / Link of the Week / August 1998
"The IRDP has put a lot of thought into its work, both on radio and on the web. Using simple, quick loading graphics, the site is very user friendly.
Available both with frames and without, the site has a lot to offer. The IRDP is responsible for the 'Sunday Playhouse' on LBC and lists a full schedule detailing productions past, present and future. IRDP also offers Live Broadcast courtesy of LBC, so Sunday Playhouse can be heard on any computer, anywhere using Netshow 2.0.
It is scrupulously honest in many of its features including a selection of review clips both good and bad. There is also a guide to the 'Principles of Writing Radio Drama' by producer Tim Crook, which is definitely not for the delicate or faint-hearted.
The IRDP are trying to encourage new writers and cover a lot of awards and festivals for new and innovative writing. There is a lot of information on the site for the newcomer including a description of the production process and a list of 'Radio Drama Penpals' - radio writers from all over the world.
As well as his hints for writers, Tim Crook has provided many articles. The main theme of most of these seems to be the impact that radio can have on its listeners. As he explores the reaction to both major news stories and the famous dramatisation of Orson Welles' 'War of the Worlds' he describes an art form that really can capture the imagination and make the world hold its breath.
The IRDP also offers 'real audio' clips of its work, lasting around 8 - 10 minutes each. A perfect distraction for a rainy afternoon. Part of this facility is the 'Internet Play of the Month', an incredible piece of innovation that brought the IRDP close to winning a prestigious award for use of technology in UK radio.
With the wealth of information already available here, I wonder how long we will wait for a feature on 'kitchen sink' drama - it's packed everything else in."
THE GUARDIAN
Anne Karpf / December 1997
"Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the first UK Internet Play of the Month, accessible to anyone with a computer and a modem. It even stars the PM's father-in-law, Tony Booth. Modern or what?
For the listener, too, though at first it seems perverse to put an aural genre on to what is still primarily a visual medium, there are evident benefits. This is "radio drama on demand", accessible (from http://www.irdp.co.uk/playmonth.htm ) on Real Audio stereo whenever a listener chooses, for as long as they choose. And of course there's a potentially global audience."
THE OBSERVER
John Naughton / December 1997
"It's amazing what people are using real audio for. This week, a British outfit called Independent Radio Drama Productions started broadcasting an 'Internet play of the month' on its site (www.irdp.co.uk/playmonth.htm).
The first production stars Tony Booth, the Prime Minister's father-in-law, in Francis Beckett's satire about an oppressive Jesuit public school, The Sons of Catholic Gentlemen. The play consists of five links - each containing a separate episode - on a Web page. Click on an episode, wait a few seconds and out boom Booth and the rest of the cast from one's speakers."
"NEW TIME" RADIO/AUDIO DRAMA
"Independent Radio Drama Productions....A MUST SEE site for the new time radio drama fan!"
A small sample of comments from visitors
"I've been enjoying your web pages. Your radio theatre sounds really exciting!" Hans B., Vancouver, Canada
"Your web site is great! I am a middle school teacher and I found your information of radio drama extremely helpful." Ruth H-W., California, USA
"What a great web site. Bloody wonderful." Andrew D., Italy
"I have spent the past few hours looking at your web site and it is facinating - so much to see, I'm sure I must have missed bits!" Sasha D
"You have created a beautiful and beautifully informative website! I'm miles from anywhere, here in the mountains of Virginia, and now feel I've found a community of like-minded souls (I write for radio). Thankyou." Joel B, USA
"By the way: your website is a nice and interesting place!" Anne B., Norway
"I've just been reading your web page. I think it's superb." Tim K., Japan
"Congratulations on allowing Internet users to access your drama using Real Audio" John H-W., England
"What a great site... I mean it... it's fab... nice, clear navigation with some elegant visual touches!" Ian F., England
"I had a long look at your IRDP site which is, actually, a masterpiece." John P., England
"Relatively recently, I have discovered your radio drama productions. I am yet to listen to one that I haven't enjoyed. Your productions stimulate the imagination and get the listener involved in the story.....Thanks for all the great entertainment! Keep up the wonderful work!" L.Robert B, USA
"I have just discovered your fascinating web site. It's pretty damn good!" Robert G, England
"Thank you for responding to my e-mail so promptly, it was greatly appreciated. I also had the opportunity to hear Aden Gillett's performance of Dracula, thanks to you. I very much enjoyed that story and Mr. Gillett's voice is so compelling in the dark and chilling story that I felt, I too, was watching this being scale the tower wall, with as much fascination and horror, Jonathan Harker felt." Linda C., USA
"I have listened to the IRDP work on NPR in the US and have enjoyed it immensely. While I was born after the golden age of radio, I must profess a preference for it over television and your productions are wonderful gifts to the imagination. Thank you." Maureen G, USA
"Thank you for getting back to me so promptly. I wish the *** strived to do the same, but it seems they generally never answer back......Glad to be able to hear an archived RA version of your productions.....I was able to hear the Dracula production on NPR about a year ago, great job! Loved it!!" Joseph A., USA
(*** = a large British corporation which shall remain nameless for the purposes of this page)
"P.S.: YOUR SITE IS BEAUTIFUL!!" Sandy N., California
(Thank you to everyone who has e-mailed kind comments)
