Welsh language TV

10 March 2013
Posted in Events

On March 20th at Chapter in Cardiff there will be a Welsh language special event where Guild members will be able to discuss current and future drama output on S4C with the new drama commissioner, Gwawr Martha Lloyd.

She will meet members at 8.00 pm in the committee meeting room for a question and answer session.

Add new comment

Obituary: Robert (Bob) Adams

09 March 2013
Posted in Theatre

By Alannah O’Sullivan

Robert Adams OBE was an extraordinary man. A paratrooper in WW2, he was also a first-rate runner who coached Ghana’s first athletics team and brought them to Britain after the war.

Working back in the UK, he soon became managing director of various firms, the most well known of which was A. H. Mackintosh Furniture in Kirkcaldy. He was awarded an OBE for his services to the industry.

His charitable works are numerous and, on retirement, he created a whole new profession for himself in writing, becoming chair of the Writers’ Guild in Scotland in the 1990s. One of the good friends he made through the Guild was Alan Plater.

Bob’s wit was legendary and he was sought after as an after-dinner speaker. His plays, The Roup and Scrappy, have toured Scotland. He recently had two books published and had just completed a new play based on his experiences in wartime. He was a truly heroic individual and will be sorely missed.

The funeral will be held on Tuesday, 12 March at Dunfermline Crematorium.

Add new comment

Writing The Tailor's Last Stand

05 March 2013
Posted in Theatre

Ian Buckley on why he felt compelled to put his Communist father's story on the stage

tailorBeing the son of a Savile Row tailor, and visiting his small Soho workshop over many years (including stairwell and toilet-cleaning duties!), I got to know the trade of high-class tailor very well.

I also got to know Soho very well. The reason? My father worked from a small, somewhat dark, workshop in a well-proportioned Georgian terraced house that had seen better days. When I knew it in the early 1960s, it was full of tailors like my father, working in their often cramped little rooms, for prestigious high-class gentleman tailors whose grand shops were in Savile Row.

My father's employer was one of the most prestigious of these: Henry Poole. Dad's actual workshop was in Broadwick Street, off Wardour Street and, wonder of wonders, it was in the same house that William Blake, the great English poet, had lived in. It had the blue plaque to prove it! Unfortunately this national treasure has not withstood the march of progress. In its place now stands a squat, ugly block named William Blake House - they haven't even bothered to replace the blue plaque.

Like many tailors my father was, and still is, a strong communist (as is my mother). Fighting against Hitler led him to believe communism was the only system that could withstand fascism. He was also a strong trade unionist, joining the NUTGW (National Union of Tailor & Garment Workers) and fighting for better conditions for his fellow tailors. He combined his communist party duties with his obligations as a trade unionist all his life.

Read more... Add new comment

The Writer in the Digital Era

27 February 2013
Posted in Events

A free event in Edinburgh on the 5th March, 6-9pm

Venue: The Meeting room, The Place, 34-38 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3HU

Defined as the New Guttenberg in publishing, the digital age is giving new opportunities for writers, and presenting new challenges . The evening, hosted by the Writers' Guild of Great Britian, offers an open discussion, with presentations by professionals from different areas in the industry to discuss how this is affecting us all.

Roger Williams current chair of WGGB will explain how the Guild has already gone a long way to challenge and create a solution to TV writers getting paid. Speakers will inlcude Allan Guthrie and Marc Lambert.

For further information, please contact julieannthomason@virgimedia.com

Add new comment

Merseyside and Manchester branch meeting

28 February 2013
Posted in Events

All welcome - 12th March, Manchester Met University: John Dalton Building, Oxford Road

gail-renardGail Renard, Chair of the Guild's Television Committee, will be speaking to a joint Merseyside and Manchester WGGB branch meeting on Tuesday 12 March from 6.30 - 8.30pm.

Gail will discuss the latest happenings on the current TV scene including the new BBC agreement and how the Guild is protecting you and your future income in the digital world. There will be an open Q & A where writers will be able to share their recent work experiences.

Both WGGB members and non-members are invited.

To sign up for the event visit: http://wggbbbctv.eventbrite.co.uk

For further information please contact: Antony Pickthall on 07809 672452 or antony.pickthall@btinternet.com

Add new comment

How radio’s solo parents came alive

27 February 2013
Posted in Radio

Sue Teddern on an idea that keeps on running

soloparents

Writer Sue Teddern (centre) with actors Liz White and Julian Rhind-Tutt

February 2013: I am in Studio 60A at the BBC’s New Broadcasting House and have been instructed by producer David Hunter to swap my comfy Timberlands for a pair of scruffy, strappy stilettoes from the props cupboard. For this is my 'Colin Dexter moment'. I am to play non-speaking Hilary, who must sashay past Tom (Julian Rhind-Tutt) and Rosie (Liz White) in a hotel breakfast room. I sashay with feeling, even though the shoes pinch. If you listen really hard to episode 4 of soloparentpals.com, you might just hear me.

I’ve written a fair amount of radio over the years but soloparentpals.com is my long runner. Series one was broadcast in 2009 and starred Kris Marshall as dumped dad Tom and Maxine Peake as stroppy single mum Rosie who meet online. Top actors are always juggling several choice gigs and, if they’re unavailable, radio’s an easy medium to re-cast, which is why Julian and Liz now have the starring roles. A fifth series will be recorded in August.

Flashback to the late 1980s: I’m attending a class at London’s City Lit in writing for radio. The inspiring tutor, Olwen Wymark, gets us to create a scene starting with: ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ For some reason, I come up with the image of a divorced dad who has his little girl on Saturdays and never knows what to do when she needs to use a public loo. Does he wait outside and look like a pervert? Or does he go in with her … and look like a pervert? His dilemma is solved by a passing mum. And thus are born Tom and Rosie, two emotionally raw single parents looking for love.

They lived in my head for years. After writing 13 episodes of Birds of a Feather, I dusted them off as the central characters of a potential new TV sitcom. Twice. Nothing doing.

Read more... Comments (1)

More Articles...

Just Updated

Biceci, Marco. L.
Biceci, Marco. L.
McLeary, Donald
McLeary, Donald
Crichton, Jamie
Crichton, Jamie
Show more...

Member Login

There are currently two separate logins for Guild members:

Please note that the systems use different usernames and passwords.

Lost Arts campaign

lost-arts

The Writers’ Guild, along with other unions in the arts and culture sector, supports the Lost Arts campaign to monitor and restore Government spending cuts. Visit lost-arts.org to submit information, and follow on Twitter and Facebook.