Rhys Adrian Griffiths (28 February 1928 – 8 February 1990) was a British playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his radio plays, which are characterised by their emphasis upon dialogue rather than narrative.

Radio dramatist

Rhys Adrian worked in stage management before becoming a writer, contributing material to summer shows, revues, pantomimes and West End musicals. His first radio play, ''The Man on the Gate'', was broadcast by the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

in November 1956. By the early 1960s he was beginning to develop the dramatic style that would become a hallmark of his subsequent work. ''A Nice Clean Sheet of Paper'' (1964) features a talkative and condescending job interviewer (played by

Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE (born Donald Woolfitt; Harwood, Ronald"Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008; accessed 14 July 2009 20 April 1902 ...

) whose attempts to communicate with an unresponsive applicant ( John Wood) drive him to incoherent blathering. ''

Evelyn Evelyn may refer to: Places * Evelyn, London *Evelyn Gardens, a garden square in London * Evelyn, Ontario, Canada * Evelyn, Michigan, United States * Evelyn, Texas, United States * Evelyn, Wirt County, West Virginia, United States * Evelyn ...

'' (1969), which starred

Ian Richardson Ian William Richardson (7 April 19349 February 2007) was a Scottish actor. He portrayed the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's '' House of Cards'' (1990–1995) television trilogy. Richardson was also a leading S ...

and

Pauline Collins Pauline Collins (born 3 September 1940) is a British actress who first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971–1973) and its spin-off, ''Thomas & Sarah'' (1979). In 1992, she published her autobiography, ...

as a couple trapped in an extra-marital and over-crowded affair, won the

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terr ...

Prize for Literary and Dramatic Programmes at the

Prix Italia The Prix Italia is an international Television, Radio-broadcasting and Web award. It was established in 1948 by RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana (in 1948, RAI had the denomination RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane) in Capri and is honoured with the ...

and was later adapted for television. ''Buffet'' (1976) saw

Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...

playing a borderline alcoholic city gent unwinding at a railway buffet at the end of a long and exhausting day. In an introduction to the broadcast,

John Tydeman John Peter Tydeman OBE (30 March 1936 – 1 April 2020) was an English producer of radio and director of theatre plays. He was responsible for commissioning and directing the early plays of Caryl Churchill, Joe Orton, Tom Stoppard and Sue Towns ...

, then head of Radio 4 drama, and the producer of 27 of Adrian's plays, paid tribute to the author – referring to him as "one of the great unknown British playwrights ..very much a language man rather than a man who used whizzy, 'show-offy' radio." 1982's ''Watching the Plays Together'' was one of Adrian's most experimental works. Consisting largely of a conversation between a middle-aged married couple troubled by the trend towards social realism in television drama, the play won the

Giles Cooper Award The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chose ...

for outstanding writing for radio. As a mark of his status as a playwright, Adrian's plays throughout the 1980s boasted casts made up of distinguished actors – including, amongst others,

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...

(''Passing Time''; 1983),

Michael Aldridge Michael William ffolliott Aldridge (9 September 1920 – 10 January 1994) was an English actor. He was known for playing Seymour Utterthwaite in the television series ''Last of the Summer Wine'' from 1986 to 1990 and he had a long career as a ...

(''Outpatient''; 1985) and Peter Vaughn (''Toytown''; 1987). His last radio play, ''Upended'', was broadcast in 1988.

Screenwriter

In addition to his work on radio, Adrian wrote a number of television plays. ''Big Time'' (1961), his first piece for television, was co-written with Julian Pepper under the pseudonym 'J. MacReady'. 1963's ''Too Old for Donkeys'' was an adaptation of his own radio play broadcast earlier that year. Adrian reworked several of his radio scripts for television, often to varying levels of success. His adaptation of ''Evelyn'' for the BBC's ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' strand was deemed "unsatisfying" by critic David Wade, who felt that Adrian's stylised dialogue clashed with the physicality of the piece, leaving the play at a disadvantage. ''Buffet'' also suffered upon its transition to television. Adrian, however, wrote a number of original works for the medium, often as part of anthology series such as ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramati ...

'', ''

Theatre 625 ''Theatre 625'' is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and ...

'', ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canadi ...

'', ''

ITV Playhouse ''Playhouse'' is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour ...

'' and the aforementioned ''Play for Today''; his 1971 play ''

The Foxtrot ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' marked an early departure from the latter series' emphasis on socially aware, issue-based drama towards broad comedy and non-naturalism. In 1973, his play ''The Withered Arm'' was transmitted, alongside contributions from

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...

and David Mercer, as part of the ''

Wessex Tales ''Wessex Tales'' is an 1888 collection of tales written by English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, many of which are set before Hardy's birth in 1840. In the various short stories, Hardy writes of the true nature of nineteenth-century marria ...

'' series for BBC2, a group of plays based on the short stories of

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

Style and themes

Adrian's plays are driven by character and dialogue rather than narrative; they are conversation pieces, usually between two characters, which feature highly stylised language used to a jarring, sometimes surreal, effect. In ''No Charge for the Extra Service'' (1979), the bereaved central characters,

Elizabeth Spriggs Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

and Nigel Stock, brought together by a

dating agency A dating agency, also known as a marriage bureau, marriage agency, matrimonial bureau or matrimonial agency, is a business which provides matchmaking services to potential couples, with a view toward romance and/or marriage between them. Variat ...

, converse in a formal, almost artificial manner that belies the uncomfortable and disturbing truths they reveal about themselves throughout the course of the play. This emphasis on dialogue leaves Adrian's characters constantly seeking a connection with each other, bolstered by the desire to be understood. 'The Man' in ''Evelyn'' desperately wants his declarations of love towards his mistress to be acknowledged, while

Hugh Burden Hugh Archibald Nairn Burden''The Daily Telegraph'', 25 July 1962 (3 April 1913 – 16 May 1985) was a British actor and playwright. Hugh Archibald Nairn Burden was the eldest son of Harry Archibald Burden, a colonial official, and Caro Cecil n ...

's disturbed mental patient in 1981's ''Passing Through'' attempts to piece together his broken past by engaging lonely

signalman A signalman is a person who historically made signals using flags and light. In modern times, the role of signalmen has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed for ...

Patrick (

Harry Towb Harry Towb (27 July 1925 – 24 July 2009) was an actor from Northern Ireland. Early life and career Towb was born in Larne, County Antrim, to a History of the Jews in Russia, Russian-Jewish father and an History of the Jews in Ireland, Irish- ...

) in meandering conversation. Similarly, the two down-and-outs in ''The Clerks'' (1978),

Freddie Jones Frederick Charles Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.''; at ancestry.com (12 September 1927 – 9 July 2019) was an English actor who had an extensive career in television, theatre and cinema productions for a ...

and Hugh Burden, seek to reclaim their lost past as intelligence agents by scrupulously poring over the events that led to them being homeless and derelict. While highly articulate, both men challenge the other's story, almost as if attempting to expose lies and half-truths. By the end of the play, perhaps owing to their alcohol consumption throughout the piece, their testimonies have become so outrageous as to be nothing but fabrication. Adrian frequently raises the question of his characters' reliability as 'narrators', their recollections viewed only through the prism of personal experience. The two nonagenarians in ''Passing Time'' (John Gielgud and

Raymond Huntley Horace Raymond Huntley (23 April 1904 – 15 June 1990) was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s to the 1970s. He also appeared in the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' as the pragmatic family so ...

) constantly back-pedal when recalling their dim and distant pasts, one memory bumping into the next, often cancelling out the previous remembrance. This is also explored in ''Watching the Plays Together'', which examines the relationship between audience and playwright by creating an imaginary dialogue between the two, balancing the fine line between fiction and reality and providing the listener with an active role in the drama instead of a passive one.

Partial list of works

Radio plays

* ''The Man on the Gate'' (1956) * ''The Passionate Thinker'' (1957) * ''The Prizewinner'' (1960) * ''Betsie'' (1960) * ''The Bridge'' (1961) * ''Too Old fot Donkeys'' (1963) * ''Room to Let'' (1963) * ''A Nice Clean Sheet of Paper '' (1964) * ''Helen and Edward and Henry'' (1966) * ''Between the Two of Us'' (1967) * ''Ella'' (1968) * ''Echoes'' (1969) * ''

'' (1969) * ''The Gardeners of My Youth'' (1970) * ''I'll Love You Always'' (1970) * ''A Chance Encounter'' (1972) * ''Memoirs of a Sly Pornographer'' (1972) * ''Angle'' (1975) * ''Buffet'' (1976) * ''The Night Nurse Slept in the Dayroom'' (1976) * ''The Clerks'' (1978) * ''No Charge for the Extra Service'' (1979) * ''Passing Through'' (1981) * ''Watching the Plays Together'' (1982) * ''Passing Time'' (1983) * ''Outpatient'' (1985) * ''Toytown'' (1987) * ''Upended'' (1988)

Television plays

* ''Big Time'' (as 'J. MacReady', with Julian Pepper; 1961) * ''No Licence for Singing'' (''

''; 1961) * ''Too Old for Donkeys'' (''

''; 1963) * ''I Can Walk Where I Like, Can't I?'' (''ITV Play of the Week''; 1964) * ''Between the Two of Us'' (''ITV Play of the Week''; 1965) * ''Ella'' (''Thirty-Minute Theatre''; 1966) * ''Stan's Day Out'' (''

''; 1967) * ''The Drummer and the Bloke'' (''

''; 1968) * ''Henry the Incredible Bore'' (''For Amusement Only''; 1968) * ''

'' (''

''; 1971) * ''

'' (''Play for Today''; 1971) * ''Thrills Galore'' (''Thirty-Minute Theatre''; 1972) * ''The Withered Arm'' (''

''; 1973) * ''The Joke'' (''BBC2 Playhouse''; 1974) * ''The Cafeteria'' (''BBC2 Playhouse''; 1974) * ''Buffet'' (''Play for Today''; 1976) * ''Getting in on Concorde'' (''ITV Playhouse''; 1979) * ''Passing Through'' (''BBC2 Playhouse''; 1982)

Legacy

Of Rhys Adrian's 32 radio plays, only 13 exist in the BBC archive. The surviving pieces were largely sourced from off-air recordings. Many of his television plays also no longer exist. In February 2010,

BBC Radio 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British Digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio broadcasting, radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a ...

broadcast several of Adrian's plays to mark the twentieth anniversary of his death. The plays were ''Evelyn'', ''Buffet'', ''No Charge for the Extra Service'', ''The Clerks'', ''Passing Through'' and ''Passing Time''.

Sources

* ''Best Radio Plays of 1982'' ( Methuen; 1983) * John Drakakis (Ed.), ''British Radio Drama'' (

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

; 1981) *

John Russell Taylor John Russell Taylor (born 19 June 1935) is an English critic and author. He is the author of critical studies of British theatre; of critical biographies of such figures in film as Alfred Hitchcock, Alec Guinness, Orson Welles, Vivien L ...

, ''Anger and After'' (

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

; 1963)

External links

*
Rhys Adrian
at the

BFI screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lot ...

The Diversity Website
contains much information on Adrian's work, including broadcast dates and synopses for selected plays.

The British Television Drama Website includes essays on several of Adrian's contributions to ''

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Adrian, Rhys 1928 births 1990 deaths British male screenwriters Prix Italia winners 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers 20th-century British screenwriters