Dick Barton
Encyclopedia
Dick Barton - Special Agent was a popular radio
programme on the BBC Light Programme
. Between 1946 to 1951 it aired at 6.45 each weekday evening and at its peak it had an audience of 15 million listeners. Despite popular belief, it was not actually the BBC
's first daily serial. However, its spectacular popularity has led to it being much better remembered than any of its ancestors.
The serial followed the adventures of ex-Commando
Captain Richard Barton (Noel Johnson
, later Duncan Carse
and Gordon Davies) who, with his mates Jock Anderson (Alex McCrindle
) and Snowy White (John Mann
) solved all sorts of crimes, escaped from dangerous situations and saved the nation from disaster time and again.
Beginning in 1948, the Hammer
film company made three Dick Barton films and, long after the radio series had been replaced by The Archers, Southern Television made a television version in 1979. Dick Barton has also been adapted into a tongue-in-cheek stage play and a spoof radio comedy. Each version has featured the original's memorable signature tune, Devil's Galop by Charles Williams
.
. The scripts were written by Edward J. Mason
and Geoffrey Webb
and, listened to in the 21st century can seem very hackneyed and clichéd, almost to the point of parody. It gave rise to a popular catchphrase of the late forties "With one bound Dick was free!" which made light of the fact that no matter how dangerous the cliffhanging situation Dick found himself in every evening, he would always escape by the easiest - and usually most contrived - method.
Early ideas for the character's name included "Bill Barton" and "Rex Drake". However, the production team finally settled on the more dynamic Dick Barton. After the series had been on the air for some time, the BBC (conscious that the biggest audience for the programme was schoolboys) wrote a strict code of what Dick and his chums could and couldn't do, one clause famously stating "Sex plays no part in his adventures."
was first broadcast at 11.45 am on the Light Programme
(later reconstituted into the still extant BBC Radio 2
). The Archers was never as popular as Dick and his friends, but conservative forces within the BBC (led by drama head Val Gieulgud) had never felt comfortable with Barton's sensationalism. The Archers was viewed as far more 'suitable' fare for post-war Britain and it was allowed to take over Dick's slot in Easter 1951. When Jock Gallagher became head of the Midland Region of BBC Radio in the early 1970s, he said that he had always hated The Archers because it killed off his boyhood hero, Dick Barton. The notion that The Archers killed Dick Barton is too firmly ingrained to ever be shaken off.
as Dick Barton, John Mann
as Snowey White, William Fox
as Colonel Gardiner, Alex McCrindle
as Jock Anderson and Margaret Robertson as Jean Hunter.
In the late 1990s, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a sequel/pastiche called Richard Barton, General Practitioner, in which Dick Barton's son Richard is a country doctor caring for his apparently senile father, who retreats into fantasies based on his past adventures, believing that there are devilish enemies lurking around him. The series was written by Edward Mason's son, and featured Moray Watson
as Dick Barton and Robert Bathurst
as his son Richard.
In 2009, BBC Audiobooks released Dick Barton and the Mystery of the Missing Formula (ISBN 978-1408410523), a reading of a novel based on the radio serials written by Mike Dorrell and read by Toby Stephens
.
film company made three Dick Barton films, which were intended to be the beginning of a long-running series. Don Stannard
, the star, was killed in a car crash, and Hammer decided to discontinue the series after the production of only three films. Hammer shelved plans to film the next Dick Barton film, Dick Barton in Africa written by John Gilling
.
, one of the smaller ITV Network Companies
, made a series of Dick Barton - Special Agent which ran in an early evening slot on the ITV Network.
Like the original, it ran in 15 minute segments and was again accompanied by the iconic theme tune, the titles playing against an animated dagger and target motif. The production was blighted by financial troubles though and some critics said it was a mistake to try to resurrect the character.
The cast of the show were Tony Vogel
as Dick Barton, Anthony Heaton as Snowey White, James Cosmo
as Jock Anderson, John Gantrel as Sir Richard Marley. The 32x15 minutes episodes were transmitted by most of the ITV network on Saturdays and Sundays between January and April 1979. Southern, however, screened the show across consecutive nights from Mondays through to Thursday in the radio series' original timeslot of 6.45 to 7.00pm
The complete series was released on DVD in March 2009, and in 2010 reruns of Dick Barton are being shown on the British satellite television channel Film 24
. Rumours have suggested that a revival starring actor Nigel Havers
was being planned, but to date this has come to nothing.
, directed by Ted Craig
. Musical direction was by Stefan Bednarczyk. It premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
in December 1998 to great acclaim. It was revived in 1999 and productions then toured Britain between 1998 and 2001. Following its success, further "episodes" were written and performed at the Warehouse Theatre
:
December 1999 was Dick Barton Episode II, The Curse Of The Pharaoh's Tomb by Phil Willmott
. Musical direction was by Stefan Bednarczyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
.
December 2001 was Dick Barton Episode III, The Tango Of Terror by Phil Willmott
. Musical direction by Stefan Bednarczyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
. It later toured to Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
, Guilford & Swan Theatre
, Stratford-upon-Avon.
December 2002 was Dick Barton Episode IV, The Flight of the Phoenix by Duncan Wisbey
and Stefan Bednarcxyk, directed by Ted Craig
. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
.
December 2003 was Dick Barton Episode V, The Excess of Evil by Duncan Wisbey
and Stefan Bednarcyk, directed by Ted Craig
. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
.
December 2006 was Young Dick Barton by Duncan Wisbey
, lyrics by Stefan Bednarczyk and directed by Ted Craig
. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
.
December 2008 was Young Dick Barton Episode II, The Devil Wears Tweed by Duncan Wisbey
. Music and lyrics by Stefan Bednarczyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
.
December 2009 was Dick Barton, Quantum Of Porridge by Duncan Wisbey
. Music and lyrics by Stefan Bednarcyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
.
December 2010 was Dick Barton, A Fist Full Of Barton by Kit Benjamin and Philip Ives, musical director was Stefan Bednarczyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
.
In February 2011, BBC Radio 4 and a number of national newspapers reported that almost 340 episodes of Dick Barton (actually 338 episodes) recorded in the late 1940s had been recovered from the NFSA National Film and Sound Archive in Australia; these re-recordings, using the original BBC scripts and music cues, starred Douglas Kelly as Barton with Moira Carleton, Clifford Cowley, Richard Davies, William Lloyd and Patricia Kennedy. The BBC's AudioGo company have currently released a number of these on CD.
The following Dick Barton radio serials are now available to buy on CD (or as downloads) via the BBC's AudioGo label:
STORY 1 'Dick Barton and the Secret Weapon' (AKA 'Dick Barton: Special Agent) written by Edward J.Mason and originally broadcast in November 1972
STORY 2 'Dick Barton and the Paris Adventure' (which takes place right after "The Secret Weapon") written by Edward J. Mason and originally broadcast in Australia 14 March - 14 April 1949
STORY 3 'Dick Barton and the Cabatolin Diamonds' (which takes place right after "The Paris Adventure") written by Geoffrey Webb and originally broadcast in Australia 18 April - 19 May 1949
STORY 6 'Dick Barton and the Smash and Grab Raiders' written by Ronnie and Arthur Colley and originally broadcast in Australia August - September 1949. (RELEASED: 3 November 2011)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dick-Barton-Smash-Raiders-Audio/dp/1445865114/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1320237747&sr=8-5
STORY 7 'Dick Barton and the Tibetan Adventure' written by Edward J. Mason and originally broadcast in Australia 19 September - 14 October 1949.(RELEASED: 3 November 2011)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Barton-Tibetan-Adventure-Edward-Mason/dp/1445865122/ref=pd_sim_b_1
STORY 9 'Dick Barton and the Affair of the Black Panther' written by Geoffrey Webb. (RELEASED: 5 January 2012)
STORY 10 'Dick Barton and the Vulture' written by Edward J. Mason. (RELEASED: 5 January 2012)
The Dick Barton radio series has recently been relaunched in the UK on the new radio station BBC Radio 4 Extra which was previously BBC Radio 7 and further Dick Barton CDs have been announced by AudioGO (using the NFSA recordings).
Films on the IMDB database
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
programme on the BBC Light Programme
BBC Light Programme
The Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was rebranded as BBC Radio 2...
. Between 1946 to 1951 it aired at 6.45 each weekday evening and at its peak it had an audience of 15 million listeners. Despite popular belief, it was not actually the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's first daily serial. However, its spectacular popularity has led to it being much better remembered than any of its ancestors.
The serial followed the adventures of ex-Commando
British Commandos
The British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe...
Captain Richard Barton (Noel Johnson
Noel Johnson
Noel Johnson was an English actor.He was the radio voice of Dick Barton special agent on BBC radio and Dan Dare pilot of the future over Radio Luxembourg....
, later Duncan Carse
Duncan Carse
Duncan Carse was born in 1913 and attended Sherborne School. A British actor and explorer, he died on 2 May 2004, aged 90. He had lived in Fittleworth, West Sussex, for over 40 years. His father was the artist A...
and Gordon Davies) who, with his mates Jock Anderson (Alex McCrindle
Alex McCrindle
Alex McCrindle was a British actor. He is best known for his role as General Jan Dodonna in Star Wars.-Biography:...
) and Snowy White (John Mann
John Mann (actor)
John Mann was an English radio actor.He played Snowey White who assisted the hero in Dick Barton for the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951.-External links:*...
) solved all sorts of crimes, escaped from dangerous situations and saved the nation from disaster time and again.
Beginning in 1948, the Hammer
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
film company made three Dick Barton films and, long after the radio series had been replaced by The Archers, Southern Television made a television version in 1979. Dick Barton has also been adapted into a tongue-in-cheek stage play and a spoof radio comedy. Each version has featured the original's memorable signature tune, Devil's Galop by Charles Williams
Charles Williams (composer)
Charles Williams was a British composer and conductor, contributing music to over 50 films...
.
Style
The series was devised by producer Norman CollinsNorman Collins
Norman Collins was a British writer, and later a radio and television executive, who became one of the major figures behind the establishment of the Independent Television network in the UK...
. The scripts were written by Edward J. Mason
Edward J. Mason
Edward J. Mason was born on May 8, 1912 in Birmingham, England and died on February 3, 1971. He was a script writer for radio, television and movies for both the British Broadcasting Corporation and its rival Radio Luxembourg.-Brief biography:Edward J...
and Geoffrey Webb
Geoffrey Webb
Geoffrey Fairbank Webb was a British art historian, Slade Professor of Fine Art and head of the Monuments and Fine Arts section of the Control Commission during World War II....
and, listened to in the 21st century can seem very hackneyed and clichéd, almost to the point of parody. It gave rise to a popular catchphrase of the late forties "With one bound Dick was free!" which made light of the fact that no matter how dangerous the cliffhanging situation Dick found himself in every evening, he would always escape by the easiest - and usually most contrived - method.
Early ideas for the character's name included "Bill Barton" and "Rex Drake". However, the production team finally settled on the more dynamic Dick Barton. After the series had been on the air for some time, the BBC (conscious that the biggest audience for the programme was schoolboys) wrote a strict code of what Dick and his chums could and couldn't do, one clause famously stating "Sex plays no part in his adventures."
Cancellation
In 1951 The ArchersThe Archers
The Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...
was first broadcast at 11.45 am on the Light Programme
BBC Light Programme
The Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was rebranded as BBC Radio 2...
(later reconstituted into the still extant BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
). The Archers was never as popular as Dick and his friends, but conservative forces within the BBC (led by drama head Val Gieulgud) had never felt comfortable with Barton's sensationalism. The Archers was viewed as far more 'suitable' fare for post-war Britain and it was allowed to take over Dick's slot in Easter 1951. When Jock Gallagher became head of the Midland Region of BBC Radio in the early 1970s, he said that he had always hated The Archers because it killed off his boyhood hero, Dick Barton. The notion that The Archers killed Dick Barton is too firmly ingrained to ever be shaken off.
Revivals
In 1972 as part of the BBC's Golden Jubilee, the BBC broadcast a new, abridged, 10 episode version of the very first Barton serial - "The Secret Weapon". The cast included many members of the original cast, including Noel JohnsonNoel Johnson
Noel Johnson was an English actor.He was the radio voice of Dick Barton special agent on BBC radio and Dan Dare pilot of the future over Radio Luxembourg....
as Dick Barton, John Mann
John Mann (actor)
John Mann was an English radio actor.He played Snowey White who assisted the hero in Dick Barton for the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951.-External links:*...
as Snowey White, William Fox
William Fox (actor)
William Hubert Fox TD was a British character actor and writer. Fox enjoyed early success on the stage playing juvenile roles...
as Colonel Gardiner, Alex McCrindle
Alex McCrindle
Alex McCrindle was a British actor. He is best known for his role as General Jan Dodonna in Star Wars.-Biography:...
as Jock Anderson and Margaret Robertson as Jean Hunter.
In the late 1990s, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a sequel/pastiche called Richard Barton, General Practitioner, in which Dick Barton's son Richard is a country doctor caring for his apparently senile father, who retreats into fantasies based on his past adventures, believing that there are devilish enemies lurking around him. The series was written by Edward Mason's son, and featured Moray Watson
Moray Watson
Moray Watson is an English actor.Watson's father was killed in Belgium in World War II. He was educated at Eton College and made his first appearance on stage whilst still a student at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art at a matinee performance in memory of Ellen Terry at Hythe, Kent...
as Dick Barton and Robert Bathurst
Robert Bathurst
Robert Guy Bathurst is an English actor. Bathurst was born in the Gold Coast in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. His family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1959 and Bathurst was enrolled at an Anglican boarding school...
as his son Richard.
In 2009, BBC Audiobooks released Dick Barton and the Mystery of the Missing Formula (ISBN 978-1408410523), a reading of a novel based on the radio serials written by Mike Dorrell and read by Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens is an English stage, television and film actor who has appeared in films in both Hollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day , Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre and Philip...
.
Films
Beginning in 1948, the HammerHammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
film company made three Dick Barton films, which were intended to be the beginning of a long-running series. Don Stannard
Don Stannard
-Selected filmography:* Pink String and Sealing Wax * Don Chicago * Caesar and Cleopatra * Death in High Heels * Dick Barton: Special Agent * The Temptress * Dick Barton Strikes Back...
, the star, was killed in a car crash, and Hammer decided to discontinue the series after the production of only three films. Hammer shelved plans to film the next Dick Barton film, Dick Barton in Africa written by John Gilling
John Gilling
John Gilling was an English film director and screenwriter, born in London. He was chiefly known for his horror films, especially for Hammer Films, for whom he directed Shadow of the Cat , The Plague of the Zombies , The Reptile and The Mummy's Shroud, among others...
.
Television
In 1979, Southern TelevisionSouthern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
, one of the smaller ITV Network Companies
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, made a series of Dick Barton - Special Agent which ran in an early evening slot on the ITV Network.
Like the original, it ran in 15 minute segments and was again accompanied by the iconic theme tune, the titles playing against an animated dagger and target motif. The production was blighted by financial troubles though and some critics said it was a mistake to try to resurrect the character.
The cast of the show were Tony Vogel
Tony Vogel
Tony Vogel is an actor. He played St Andrew in Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth , and the title role in the 1979 television adaptation of Dick BartonTrivia: Graduated from RADA in 1963.-Known For:...
as Dick Barton, Anthony Heaton as Snowey White, James Cosmo
James Cosmo
James Cosmo is a prolific Scottish actor, with numerous credits in film and television since the late 1960s and Cosmo is still currently acting. Cosmo was born in Clydebank, Scotland, the son of actor James Copeland...
as Jock Anderson, John Gantrel as Sir Richard Marley. The 32x15 minutes episodes were transmitted by most of the ITV network on Saturdays and Sundays between January and April 1979. Southern, however, screened the show across consecutive nights from Mondays through to Thursday in the radio series' original timeslot of 6.45 to 7.00pm
- Adventure One written by Clive ExtonClive ExtonClive Exton was a British television and film screenwriter, sometime playwright, and former actor. He is best known for his scripts of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster, and Rosemary & Thyme.-Early career:He was born Clive Jack Montague Brooks in Islington, London,...
, in ten parts. Demobbed after six years in the army, old friend Sir Richard Marley asks Barton to look into the disappearance of his daughter Virginia (Fiona FullertonFiona FullertonFiona Elizabeth Fullerton is a Nigerian-born British actress.She is perhaps best known for her role as KGB spy Pola Ivanova in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill and as Alice in the 1972 film Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.Fullerton made her film debut in 1969 with a role in Run Wild, Run...
) and son Rex (Kevan Sheehan). They come up against master criminal, Melganik played by John G Heller.
- Adventure Two written by Julian Bond, in eight parts. At a late night celebration at the "Blue Parrot", Barton and his colleagues rescue a young girl, Lucy Cameron (Debbie Farrington) from being attacked. She tells them that her father, George Cameron (Colin RixColin Rix-Selected filmography:* Strongroom * Panic * The Body Stealers * The Triple Echo * Aces High * The Medusa Touch * Porridge * Eye of the Needle * Dance with a Stranger...
) has been kidnapped by the evil Muller (Guy Deghy) who is after the deadly poison he has developed.
- Adventure Three written by Clive Exton, in six parts. Celebrating from the last adventure, Dick's Aunt Agatha (Stella Kemball) rings up and tells him that her house has vanished. A further phone call from Sir Richard Marley reveals that scientist, Harold Jenkins (Peter GodfreyPeter GodfreyPeter Ronald Godfrey is an English former professional association football player. He played for Charlton Athletic, Exeter City and Gillingham between 1955 and 1967.-References:...
) has perfected his ultimate weapon and Barton and comrades soon find themselves up against Melganik again.
- Adventure Four written by Julian Bond, in eight parts. Dandy Parkes (Terence Seward), a middle-aged playboy and Amanda Aston (Marsha FitzalanMarsha FitzalanLady Marcia Mary Josephine Fitzalan-Howard, better known as Marsha Fitzalan is an English actress.-Personal:...
), wife of a respected Whitehall official are threatened by the Drew Brothers (Ernie Drew by Bernard KayBernard KayBernard Kay is a British actor with an extensive theatre, television and film repertoire.Kay began his working life as a reporter on Bolton Evening News, and a stringer for The Manchester Guardian. He was conscripted in 1946 and started acting in the army...
}.
The complete series was released on DVD in March 2009, and in 2010 reruns of Dick Barton are being shown on the British satellite television channel Film 24
Film 24 (channel)
Film24 was a British production company and television channel, available on Sky channel 157.The channel averaged around 170,000 viewers a week, for the first five months of 2010, before the channel entered liquidation, it averaged 800,000.-History:...
. Rumours have suggested that a revival starring actor Nigel Havers
Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers is an English actor. He is probably best known for his BAFTA-nominated role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire, and for his role as Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up...
was being planned, but to date this has come to nothing.
Stage musical
A stage musical, Dick Barton Episode I, Special Agent, written by Phil WillmottPhil Willmott
Phil Willmott is a British director, playwright, arts journalist, teacher, and founder of London based theatre production company, The Steam Industry.He was the Artistic Director of the Finborough Theatre in London's Earl's Court from 1994 to 1999....
, directed by Ted Craig
Ted Craig
Ted Craig FRSA is an Australian-born theatre director who is best known as the artistic director of the Warehouse Theatre, South London, England.Craig was born and educated in Melbourne, Australia...
. Musical direction was by Stefan Bednarczyk. It premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
in December 1998 to great acclaim. It was revived in 1999 and productions then toured Britain between 1998 and 2001. Following its success, further "episodes" were written and performed at the Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
:
December 1999 was Dick Barton Episode II, The Curse Of The Pharaoh's Tomb by Phil Willmott
Phil Willmott
Phil Willmott is a British director, playwright, arts journalist, teacher, and founder of London based theatre production company, The Steam Industry.He was the Artistic Director of the Finborough Theatre in London's Earl's Court from 1994 to 1999....
. Musical direction was by Stefan Bednarczyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
.
December 2001 was Dick Barton Episode III, The Tango Of Terror by Phil Willmott
Phil Willmott
Phil Willmott is a British director, playwright, arts journalist, teacher, and founder of London based theatre production company, The Steam Industry.He was the Artistic Director of the Finborough Theatre in London's Earl's Court from 1994 to 1999....
. Musical direction by Stefan Bednarczyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
. It later toured to Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, Surrey presents in-house productions which often tour and transfer to London's West End. Other performances include opera, ballet and pantomime. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, the company has two performance venues, a main theatre and the smaller Mill...
, Guilford & Swan Theatre
Swan Theatre (Stratford)
The Swan Theatre is a theatre belonging to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is built on to the side of the larger Royal Shakespeare Theatre, occupying the Victorian Gothic structure that formerly housed the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre that preceded the RST but was...
, Stratford-upon-Avon.
December 2002 was Dick Barton Episode IV, The Flight of the Phoenix by Duncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey is an English actor, musician, writer and impressionist. He is often credited as simply Wisbey.-Recordings and Appearances:...
and Stefan Bednarcxyk, directed by Ted Craig
Ted Craig
Ted Craig FRSA is an Australian-born theatre director who is best known as the artistic director of the Warehouse Theatre, South London, England.Craig was born and educated in Melbourne, Australia...
. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
.
December 2003 was Dick Barton Episode V, The Excess of Evil by Duncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey is an English actor, musician, writer and impressionist. He is often credited as simply Wisbey.-Recordings and Appearances:...
and Stefan Bednarcyk, directed by Ted Craig
Ted Craig
Ted Craig FRSA is an Australian-born theatre director who is best known as the artistic director of the Warehouse Theatre, South London, England.Craig was born and educated in Melbourne, Australia...
. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
.
December 2006 was Young Dick Barton by Duncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey is an English actor, musician, writer and impressionist. He is often credited as simply Wisbey.-Recordings and Appearances:...
, lyrics by Stefan Bednarczyk and directed by Ted Craig
Ted Craig
Ted Craig FRSA is an Australian-born theatre director who is best known as the artistic director of the Warehouse Theatre, South London, England.Craig was born and educated in Melbourne, Australia...
. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
.
December 2008 was Young Dick Barton Episode II, The Devil Wears Tweed by Duncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey is an English actor, musician, writer and impressionist. He is often credited as simply Wisbey.-Recordings and Appearances:...
. Music and lyrics by Stefan Bednarczyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
.
December 2009 was Dick Barton, Quantum Of Porridge by Duncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey
Duncan Wisbey is an English actor, musician, writer and impressionist. He is often credited as simply Wisbey.-Recordings and Appearances:...
. Music and lyrics by Stefan Bednarcyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
.
December 2010 was Dick Barton, A Fist Full Of Barton by Kit Benjamin and Philip Ives, musical director was Stefan Bednarczyk. This was commissioned by and premièred at the Warehouse Theatre
Warehouse Theatre
The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing theatre with one hundred seats in the centre of the London Borough of Croydon, south London, England based in an oak-beamed former cement Victorian warehouse...
.
CD Releases
The BBC's 1972 remake of the very first Dick Barton serial has been available to buy on CD and tape for many years. For some time, this was the only Dick Barton radio material that was commercially available. However, this has now changed...In February 2011, BBC Radio 4 and a number of national newspapers reported that almost 340 episodes of Dick Barton (actually 338 episodes) recorded in the late 1940s had been recovered from the NFSA National Film and Sound Archive in Australia; these re-recordings, using the original BBC scripts and music cues, starred Douglas Kelly as Barton with Moira Carleton, Clifford Cowley, Richard Davies, William Lloyd and Patricia Kennedy. The BBC's AudioGo company have currently released a number of these on CD.
The following Dick Barton radio serials are now available to buy on CD (or as downloads) via the BBC's AudioGo label:
STORY 1 'Dick Barton and the Secret Weapon' (AKA 'Dick Barton: Special Agent) written by Edward J.Mason and originally broadcast in November 1972
STORY 2 'Dick Barton and the Paris Adventure' (which takes place right after "The Secret Weapon") written by Edward J. Mason and originally broadcast in Australia 14 March - 14 April 1949
STORY 3 'Dick Barton and the Cabatolin Diamonds' (which takes place right after "The Paris Adventure") written by Geoffrey Webb and originally broadcast in Australia 18 April - 19 May 1949
STORY 6 'Dick Barton and the Smash and Grab Raiders' written by Ronnie and Arthur Colley and originally broadcast in Australia August - September 1949. (RELEASED: 3 November 2011)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dick-Barton-Smash-Raiders-Audio/dp/1445865114/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1320237747&sr=8-5
STORY 7 'Dick Barton and the Tibetan Adventure' written by Edward J. Mason and originally broadcast in Australia 19 September - 14 October 1949.(RELEASED: 3 November 2011)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Barton-Tibetan-Adventure-Edward-Mason/dp/1445865122/ref=pd_sim_b_1
STORY 9 'Dick Barton and the Affair of the Black Panther' written by Geoffrey Webb. (RELEASED: 5 January 2012)
STORY 10 'Dick Barton and the Vulture' written by Edward J. Mason. (RELEASED: 5 January 2012)
The Dick Barton radio series has recently been relaunched in the UK on the new radio station BBC Radio 4 Extra which was previously BBC Radio 7 and further Dick Barton CDs have been announced by AudioGO (using the NFSA recordings).
Further reading
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