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RADIO
 WHAT
MUMMY AND DADDY DO
At a London party of media types and intellectuals, a precocious
ten-year-old reveals to a listening young couple more than she intends
about the lives and behaviour of her parents.
Afternoon Play, 20th June 2001. Dir. Michael Fox. Starring twelve-year-old
Alice French, with Mark Chatterton and Sarah Nixon.
'Very funny, very sharp' - Gillian Reynolds, Telegraph.
'Cleverly conveys hypocrisy and self-delusion' - Matthew
Bannister, Times.
'Said something about what we choose to listen to: what people
say, or the way they say it' - Pascal Wyse, Guardian
Available for listening here
HOLIDAY
HOME
A couple try to patch up their marriage with a country idyll, only
to come a-cropper over the forces of nature.
Afternoon Play, 26th December 2000. Dir. Michael Fox.
With Mark Chatterton, Martine Brown and Deborah McAndrew.
Available for listening here
POWER
With the help of their cat, two little girls weave a magic spell
to bring their daddy back.
An adaptation by Elizabeth Baines of her own short
story, first published inNorthern Lights, ed. Marian McCraith (Lancaster
House 1994), & and Power, ed. Elin ap Hywel (Honno, 1997), and
included in her story collection,
Balancing on the Edge of the World
(Salt Publishing).
Afternoon Play, 20th April 2000. Dir. Michael Fox. With Alice French
and Alice Fox as the children and Kathryn Hunt and Ian Shaw as their
parents.
'A strange, worrying and necessary play' - Peter Davalle,
Times.
THE
LIMITS OF DOMINION
An adaptation of the short story by Arnold Bennett, one of a series
of five.
Afternoon Play, Radio 4, 11th April 2000, dir. Michael Fox. With
Gerry Hinks, Stefan Escreet, Rachel Smith and Susie Hawthorne.
 THE
CIRCLE
Six-part satirical series about an unconventional babysitting circle.
To be released as an Audiobook titled The Babysitting Circle 25/01/2024
First broadcast Radio 4, beginning 29th April 1999. Dir. Andy Jordan. With John
McArdle, Sherry Hewson, Jane Hazlegrove, Andrew Whyment, Maxine
Burth, Lyndam Gregory.
'It isn't every writer who in the space of a little under 30
minutes can juggle with three married couples, their respective
children and their attempts to strike a balance between parenthood,
neighbourhood and livelihood.' - Peter Davalle, Times.
'Some sharp-edged satire' - Mail on Sunday.
DRY
SHERRY
An ex-wife organises the funeral of her ex-mother-in-law and comes
up against the tragi-comic protocol problems of divorce-extended
families.
Afternoon Play, 5th March, 1999. Dir. Michael Fox. Starring Deborah
McAndrew.
GROUNDED
A life of high hopes and foolish pretensions recorded in Christmas
letters down the years.
Afternoon Play, 18th December, 1998. Dir. Diane Whitley. Starring
Helen Atkinson-Wood.
'Very good … will find an echo for the millions of people
who form relationships early in their lives but are forced to maintain
them later in life via the mail… A satirical, witty tale'
- Peter Barnard, Times.
 SWEET
BLOOD
A vampire is attracted to the sweet blood of a sixteen-year-old
diabetic girl.
Late Night Serial, Radio 4, 21st Feb - 7th March 1998. Dir. Diane
Whitley. With Con O'Neil as the vampire and Rebecca Callard as the
girl.
'Moody drama. Recommended'- Linda O'Callaghan, Daily Mail
'Vampire fans will enjoy' - SFX Magazine.
MISSING
A young mother goes missing for no apparent reason.
Researched with the help of the Missing Persons Helpline and Greater
Manchester Police.
Afternoon Play, 4th March, 1995. Dir. Michael Fox. With Brigit Forsyth,
Naomi Ratcliffe, Rachel Smith and Andy Wear.
'A perceptive script… Pick of the week.' - Stephanie
Billen, Observer.
'Skilfully portrays the irrational guilt of relatives and the
mounting outside pressure they face.' - Harold Jackson, The
Guardian.
LOST
PARTS
A dark comedy. Missing parts of the jigsaw of a family's life come
to light at a very strange funeral.
Monday Play, 27th February, 1995. Dir. Michael Fox. With Ellie Haddington
and Jane Hazlegrove.
THE
BIRTH MACHINE
Monday Play, Radio 4, 17th February, 1992. Dir. Michael Fox. Starring
Barbara Marten. With Robert Pickavance, David Fleeshman, Sue Jenkins,
Jane Hazlegrove, Mark Chatterton, Kathryn Hunt. Elizabeth's adaptation
of her own critically-acclaimed first novel.
'A scalpel-sharp satire' - Geoffrey Hobbs, Western Mail
THE
BABY BUGGY
A forty-year-old career woman pregnant with her first child focuses
her worries on the choice of pram.
Afternoon Theatre, August 1989. Dir. Susan Hogg. With Linda Bassett
and Barbara Marten
Winner of a Giles Cooper Award
Published in Best
Radio Plays of 1989, Methuen 1990.
'Splendid play' - Anne Karpf, Observer.
'A tightly constructed two-hander' - Nina-Anne Kaye, The
Guardian.
'What sets The Baby Buggy apart is the skill with which Baines
handles her material. She uses radiophonic technique to slide in
and out of internal monologue, in and out of flashback – sound
effects in the former, crossfades in the latter, both perhaps counterintuitive
and thus all the more effective.' - Roger Wood. Full review
here.
RHYME OR REASON
A feminist takes a single mother in hand.
Afternoon Theatre, August 1989. Dir. Robert Cooper and Tony Cliff.
Starring Harriet Walter.
Nominated for two Sony Awards, Harriet Walter winning Best
Actress for her portrayal of Rebecca.
'A very funny parody of the humourless excesses of a certain
kind of feminism… Elizabeth Baines has, in this her first play,
produced a finely tuned and funny script.' - David Self
'A wicked exposure of the self-deluding pretensions of the sillier
end of feminism… Wonderfully recognisable socio-babble/modern
educational jargon… Elizabeth Baines is another new find'
- Val Arnold Forster, Guardian
'Quite beautifully achieved … it is done with such skill
that its grip is irresistible'- Nigel Andrew, Times
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First
showcased by the Writers' Guild at the
Tristan Bates Theatre, London, 14th November, 1997, with actors
Sarah D'Arcy, Stephanie Schonfield and Carol Robb (left), Lizzie
McPhee, Graham Arnold and John Talbot.