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John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Producer and writer John Yorke unpacks the themes and impact behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Producer and writer John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

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Opening Lines: My Mother Said I Never Should

My Mother Said I Never Should

BBC Radio 4 - Opening Lines, My Mother Said I Never Should

John Yorke looks at Charlotte Keatley’s 1987 play My Mother Said I Never Should.

The series that takes a look at books, plays and stories and how they work. John Yorke examines the ground breaking 1987 play by Charlotte Keatley, My Mother Said I Never Should.

John Yorke looks at Charlotte Keatley’s play My Mother Said I Never Should, written aged just 25 and first premiered at the Contact Theatre in Manchester in 1987. The story explores the lives and relationships of four generations of mothers and daughters born over the course of the 20th Century. Their very different lives reflect the sweeping societal changes of that period, and how each new generation is able to push further than their parents when it comes to pregnancy, careers and romantic love. 

At the time of its early staging, the work was pioneering for its use of an all-female cast and a non-chronological narrative structure. The play is now one of the National Theatre’s Significant Plays of the 20th Century and is translated in 33 languages. So what makes it so enduring?  

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that  are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4.  From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone.

Contributors:
Charlotte Keatley, playwright 
Brigid Larmour, theatre director and Associate Artistic Director of the Patsy Rodenburg Academy 

My Mother Said I Never Should, BBC Studios Audio
Director:  Nadia Molinari
Actors:  Lesley Nicol, Siobhan Finneran, Matilda Kent, Isla Pritchard, Mimi-Raie Mhlanga

Produced by Lucy Hough 
Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael 
Production Manager: Sarah Wright 
Sound: Sean Kerwin 
Research: Nina Semple

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

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