Media practice and new approaches to mise-en-scene and auteur theory in broadcast radio

This PhD by Published Work aims to present a coherent programme of original radio research practice produced by the author and placed in an appropriate academic context that explores new approaches to mise-en-scène and auteur theory. The research methodology employs an interrogation of traditional definitions of mise-en-scène and auteur and then reframes and adopts redefinitions of these theories when used to contextualise broadcast radio.The portfolio consists of the scripts and broadcast recordings of a set of five original BBC Radio 4 plays, and includes reference to a set of related academic publications and conference papers in which critical reflection about the media and creative practice of writing the plays took place. The work draws on approaching four decades of experience as a professional freelance writer and performer. The practice-based research focuses on explorations of the inter-relationships between the form, content and production of the five original radio dramas he was commissioned to write. All of the plays were broadcast by BBC Radio 4, the major public service arena available for radio drama in the United Kingdom, from 2000 to 2012. These years constituted a period of significant change in creative and administrative protocols at the BBC, and form the context for exploration of auteur innovations. The dramas achieved considerable critical attention attracting favourable reviews and provoking public debate. For example, Bell in the Ball (2010) prompted a discussion concerning writing about disability on the BBC’s In Touch programme (2010). It is a significant marker of their quality that a number of the plays have been repeated on various BBC Radio channels, as well as broadcast overseas.As part of the critical interrogation of the author’s media and creative practice, excerpts of the plays have also been included in academic papers presented at national and international conferences