Daragh Carville – författare

A startling collection of plays by playwrights working in the north and south of Ireland, all of which have been groundbreaking events in contemporary Irish theatre At The Black Pig's Dyke by Vincent Woods depicts a group of mummers in the borderland between North and South, blending their rituals of death with the all-too-modern assassins going about their awful task; in Hard To Believe by Conall Morrison an army intelligence agent for the British invokes his Protestant preacher grandfather and his turncoat father who married a Catholic and thereafter denied his background; in Disco Pigs by Enda Walsh two friends bonded in their fantasies and shared baby-talk face into Cork city on their seventeenth birthday; Frank Pig Says Hello by Patrick McCabe (Winner of the 1997 George Devine Award) is about the sullen meanness of a village community towards an innocently simple young man; in Language Roulette by Daragh Carville a group of young people in Belfast come together for a reunion and the underlying atmosphere is anger and revenge; Bat The Father, Rabbit The Son by Donal O'Kelly is a powerful personal story about the reversal of a father-son relationship where the son is envious of the father's unambitious expressiveness.Foreword by the award-winning Irish playwright, Sebastian Barry

A gothic science-fiction thriller, Observatory details the entangled lives of four people across two centuries Observatory is set at the Armagh Observatory and Museum for Astronomy and Natural Philosophy, in both 1799 and 1999. Historian Jon McKenna, hired to compile a computerised catalogue of the Observatory archives, finds his life becoming entangled with that of Nicola McLoughlin, assistant astronomer at the Observatory. Together they work to uncover the two-hundred-year-old story of astronomer Archibald Hamilton and his assistant Robert Hogg - man of science, man of God, and revolutionary. The Observatory, a symbol of both science and religion, becomes the setting for a powerful exploration of nationhood and revolution, love and betrayal."The writing is inspired, deceptively subtle behind its up-front bile and cracked humour" (Guardian)

Were you terrified of the Daleks? Has the familiar Doctor Who theme ever sent a shiver down your spine? Did Saturday teatimes once mean gathering around the television to see where the TARDIS had landed each week? If so, Doctor Who at the BBC is for you. Nicholas Courtney (Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart in the series) traces the development of this incredibly successful series, which first hit our TV screens in 1963. As well as a galaxy of classic moments from the series, he introduces some of the great and good who helped make this series a national institution including many of the actors who ve played the Doctor and his companions, and some of the series most prolific writers and producers. Meanwhile Elisabeth Sladen the Doctor s trusty assistant Sarah Jane travels back in time to discover some little-heard radio gems. There s a 1974 location report from Dartmoor, The Ed Stewart Show broadcast live from Longleat in 1983, Radio 1 s Newsbeat on the recovery of a missing episode, and rare archive interviews with Terry Nation, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Mary Tamm, Douglas Adams and even the mutt-shaped K9. A wealth of comedy is also represented with clips from Hello Cheeky, Week Ending, The Skivers and Dead Ringers. The TARDIS is waiting, and the Doctor s friends are at the controls so hop on for a ride, and revisit the scary and fantastic glory days of Doctor Who.

A gothic science-fiction thriller, Observatory details the entangled lives of four people across two centuries

Observatory is set at the Armagh Observatory and Museum for Astronomy and Natural Philosophy, in both 1799 and 1999. Historian Jon McKenna, hired to compile a computerised catalogue of the Observatory archives, finds his life becoming entangled with that of Nicola McLoughlin, assistant astronomer at the Observatory. Together they work to uncover the two-hundred-year-old story of astronomer Archibald Hamilton and his assistant Robert Hogg - man of science, man of God, and revolutionary. The Observatory, a symbol of both science and religion, becomes the setting for a powerful exploration of nationhood and revolution, love and betrayal.

"The writing is inspired, deceptively subtle behind its up-front bile and cracked humour" (Guardian)

A gothic science-fiction thriller, Observatory details the entangled lives of four people across two centuries

Observatory is set at the Armagh Observatory and Museum for Astronomy and Natural Philosophy, in both 1799 and 1999. Historian Jon McKenna, hired to compile a computerised catalogue of the Observatory archives, finds his life becoming entangled with that of Nicola McLoughlin, assistant astronomer at the Observatory. Together they work to uncover the two-hundred-year-old story of astronomer Archibald Hamilton and his assistant Robert Hogg - man of science, man of God, and revolutionary. The Observatory, a symbol of both science and religion, becomes the setting for a powerful exploration of nationhood and revolution, love and betrayal.

"The writing is inspired, deceptively subtle behind its up-front bile and cracked humour" (Guardian)

Were you terrified of the Daleks? Has the familiar Doctor Who theme ever sent a shiver down your spine? Did Saturday teatimes once mean gathering around the television to see where the TARDIS had landed each week? If so, Doctor Who at the BBC is for you. Nicholas Courtney (Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart in the series) traces the development of this incredibly successful series, which first hit our TV screens in 1963. As well as a galaxy of classic moments from the series, he introduces some of the great and good who helped make this series a national institution including many of the actors who ve played the Doctor and his companions, and some of the series most prolific writers and producers. Meanwhile Elisabeth Sladen the Doctor s trusty assistant Sarah Jane travels back in time to discover some little-heard radio gems. There s a 1974 location report from Dartmoor, The Ed Stewart Show broadcast live from Longleat in 1983, Radio 1 s Newsbeat on the recovery of a missing episode, and rare archive interviews with Terry Nation, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Mary Tamm, Douglas Adams and even the mutt-shaped K9. A wealth of comedy is also represented with clips from Hello Cheeky, Week Ending, The Skivers and Dead Ringers. The TARDIS is waiting, and the Doctor s friends are at the controls so hop on for a ride, and revisit the scary and fantastic glory days of Doctor Who.

Our good friend the Doctor may continually jump from the past to the present and back to the future, but he's never really gone away. Since 1963 he has had a massive influence on our popular culture as this second volume of rare material illustrates. Doctor Who has long been a favourite source of inspiration for comedy shows including The Mary Whitehouse Experience, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and Dead Ringers. It has also provided an endless source of features for programmes such as Nationwide, Pebble Mill at One, Woman's Hour and Talkback. All of these and more are featured here. We hear from no less than seven of the first eight actors to play the Doctor on TV: Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann all talk about what it's like to play the role, and the effect it has had on their lives. The Doctor's companions are also well featured, with Elisabeth Sladen, Louise Jameson, Matthew Waterhouse and John Leeson popping up in interviews recorded during their time on the programme. The issue of violence in Doctor Who is discussed by producer John Nathan-Turner, writer Kit Pedler and some very angry parents; director Paul Joyce takes us behind the scenes on the series; and there's a plethora of news items about the Doctor's many returns since 1989. So hold on to your hats the latest journey starts here!

Doctor Who at the BBC combs the avenues of Time and Space for significant spin-off moments from the much-loved TV and radio series. In an exclusive coup, this third volume features a rarely heard ten minute mini-drama starring Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen. Specially recorded for Glorious Goodwood in 1974, it has never been broadcast and features a host of familiar enemies — including the Daleks! Elsewhere on this volume, the radio programme Wavelength meets the cast and production team of The Two Doctors; Nationwide investigates the work of the Radiophonic Workshop in 1983; and a group of schoolchildren give their views on the series in Take Two from 1984. The Grumbleweeds enjoy their own exciting adventure in Dr Nobbut-Just; ‘Ann Robinson’ menaces the Doctor in Dead Ringers; and Jane Asher plays the Doctor’s granddaughter in Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman? Rare interview material includes Frank Bough’s Nationwide encounter with fourth Doctor Tom Baker (plus Mary Tamm and Carole Ann Ford), Lalla Ward’s appearance on Multi-coloured Swap Shop, and a mid-Eighties radio interview with Sarah Sutton. There are also features on the brand new Doctor Who, including comments from Russell T Davies and Christopher Eccleston, and even the seal of approval from Michael Grade…

Explores the demons beneath the shiny surface of the new, metropolitan Belfast. This Other City plays out against a backdrop of coffee shops, beauty salons and overpriced apartments. It’s a Belfast where dodgy deals are done in boutique hotel rooms with a view.