Dirk Maggs
Encyclopedia
Dirk Maggs, a freelance writer and director working across all media, is principally known for his work in radio, where he evolved radio drama into "Audio Movies," a near-visual approach combining scripts, layered sound effects, cinematic music and cutting edge technology. He pioneered the use of Dolby Surround in BBC Radio. He was among the first nominees for the Directors Guild of Great Britain Outstanding Achievement in Radio Award, and in 2005 he was invited to become one of the first Honorary Fellows of the University of Winchester
for his work in the dramatic arts.
From 2003 to 2005, Maggs produced new episodes of Douglas Adams
' science fiction comedy series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
, adapted from the novels based on the original radio series that Adams wrote. The books that Maggs adapted were written after the radio series ended its original run.
Maggs directed many leading actors in often award-winning productions, including Rowan Atkinson
, Leslie Nielsen
, Christian Slater
, Stephen Fry
, Jonathan Pryce
, Robin Williams
, Hugh Laurie
, Juliet Stevenson
, Jim Broadbent
, Patricia Hodge
, Alison Steadman
, Harry Secombe
and Spike Milligan
.
He co-founded Perfectly Normal Productions Ltd (PNP) with Paul Weir and Richard Adams to create compelling high quality popular audio drama in serialized form for delivery to personal digital players and cell phones.
website entry for Dirk:
One of the plans for the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
radio series was that it would sound like a rock album. It was the intention that it would feature lots of music and various sound-processing techniques during the course of telling the story. All this was decided before Douglas Adams
actually got around to putting pen to paper and writing the thing.
Dirk Maggs has a similar vision. Though he has produced many radio shows, he specialises in the creation of Audio Movies. He aims to create radio with the sense of impact and atmosphere available on the big screen.
These visions are clearly compatible. They must be, as Dirk was Douglas's preferred choice for the job of adapting, producing and directing the last three series concluding The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The programmes (produced with Above the Title Productions
for BBC Radio 4
) feature much of the original cast from the first two radio series. The first of these new series, adapted from the novel Life, the Universe and Everything
, was The Tertiary Phase, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004, and the latter was a double series adaptation of the final two novels, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
and Mostly Harmless
, The Quandary Phase and The Quintessential Phase, broadcast back-to-back in 2005.
, It's Been a Bad Week
and The Russ Abbot Show
, Dirk has also been involved in some more unusual comedy projects.
Between 1990 and 1992 he produced three series of Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel, an updated version of a 1932 Marx Brothers
radio show of the same name. The actors were specifically chosen for their ability to impersonate the Marx Brothers, so that an accurate recreation could be achieved. One of the episodes won the Gold Medal at the New York International Festival.
A similar effort needed to be undertaken for Goon Again in 2001. Produced for the 50th anniversary of The Goon Show
, and with the blessing of Spike Milligan, it was a project Dirk had been planning since he recorded At Last The Go On Show, a documentary for the 40th anniversary of the Goons. Early on, Dirk realised that Goon Again would not work without Sir Harry Secombe
's very distinctive voice. But Sir Harry declined to take part due to his failing health. Fortunately, his son Andrew Secombe was willing give it a go, and so the cast was arranged around him, with the sons of several other cast members getting involved too, creating, in the words of Dirk, "a genetically-engineered tribute band" to the Goons. The show won the 2002 Best Comedy Award from the Spoken Word Producers Association (now the Audio Publisher's Association).
Maggs directed the Johnny Vegas
radio series Night Class in 2002. It was a somewhat darker comedy than Dirk's usual output. This show won the Bronze award in the Comedy category of the 2003 Sony Radio Academy Awards
.
docudrama Superman on Trial, carried on with a 50th birthday tribute to the Dark Knight
: Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome
. This was followed by The Adventures Of Superman, Batman: Knightfall, The Amazing Spider-Man and his final BBC Radio superhero series, Judge Dredd
in 1995. Along the way his production of Superman: Doomsday and Beyond ("Superman Lives" in the US) won the 1994 Audie Award for Best Dramatisation from the American Booksellers Association
and Spoken Word Audio of The Year from Publishers Weekly
.
In 2005 Time Warner audiobooks re-released Dirk's Batman: Knightfall and Superman Lives in the US, prompting a UK re-release by BBC Audiobooks
.
For many radio listeners, Dirk's comic book adaptations oozed the atmosphere and fun of the original comics in a way that the movies and other audio productions completely failed to do.
In 1996, Dirk was contacted by 20th Century Fox and asked to create a British-based "parallel-quel" to their summer science fiction blockbuster Independence Day. The resulting programme, Independence Day UK, took place in the same world, and at the same time as the film, but showed a British perspective on the alien invasion. This also won the 1996 Talkie Award for Best Production. The next year, with the blessing of director John Landis
, Dirk produced and directed his own adaptation of An American Werewolf in London
for BBC Radio One. For this he won the 1997 Talkie Award for Best TV/Film Adaptation.
In 1999 he produced a five-part adaptation of Stephen Baxter
's alternative history novel Voyage. The premise is simple. When Apollo 11
reached the moon, JFK
(having survived that day in Dallas) set a new target for the space programme: Mars
. Voyage is the story of a space-race that never was but so easily might have been. Dirk's adaptation was presented on BBC Radio 4
, and received 1999 Talkie Award for Best Use of Music as well as the 2000 Sony Radio Academy Bronze Award for Best Drama.
short stories for Radio Four, and a production of Bill Naughton
's Alfie
for the BBC World Service
.
He has directed the sound mix on three short 3D films that are played in motion simulator capsules. Dirk has also worked on audiotape adaptations of Terry Deary
's Horrible Histories
books and is audio director for the Animated Mr Bean television series, which means that everything heard in the show has gone through Dirk's hands at some point.
For the feature-length computer animated version of The Magic Roundabout, Dirk voice-directed principal character sessons with such luminaries as Robbie Williams
, Kylie Minogue
, Jim Broadbent
, Ray Winstone
and Joanna Lumley
.
Dirk's influence has spread to computer games. He is credited as Voice Director on the highly acclaimed adventure game, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon featuring Rolf Saxon
and Sarah Crook.
In late 2005 Dirk set up a production company to create high quality audio drama in serialised form for delivery to personal digital players and cell phones. Following introductions by Robbie Stamp
, Douglas Adams
's business partner (and Executive Producer of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film), Paul Weir (highly experienced in musical composition, sound design and software development) and Richard Adams (an expert consultant on interactive media) joined forces with Dirk. Their intent was to launch a website dedicated to excellence in audio entertainment, Perfectly Normal Productions (the name is a gentle tribute to Douglas Adams). The plan was to produce and distribute innovative audio productions direct to "the many people who demand something more exciting from their earbuds".
Maggs was reportedly writing a novel for children based on his 1998 BBC Radio 4
Audio Movie, The Gemini Apes. He is scheduled to appear at Eastercon
LX, the 60th British National Science Fiction Convention, in 2009.
University of Winchester
The University of Winchester is a British public university primarily based in Winchester, Hampshire, England. Winchester is a historic cathedral city and the ancient capital of Wessex and the Kingdom of England.-History:...
for his work in the dramatic arts.
From 2003 to 2005, Maggs produced new episodes of Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
' science fiction comedy series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
, adapted from the novels based on the original radio series that Adams wrote. The books that Maggs adapted were written after the radio series ended its original run.
Maggs directed many leading actors in often award-winning productions, including Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
, Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
, Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
, Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
, Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
, Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Stevenson
Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, CBE is an English actor of stage and screen.- Early life :Stevenson was born in Kelvedon, Essex, England, the daughter of Virginia Ruth , a teacher, and Michael Guy Stevenson, an army officer. Stevenson's father was in the army and was posted to a new place every...
, Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
, Patricia Hodge
Patricia Hodge
Patricia Ann Hodge is an English actor.-Early life:The daughter of the Royal Hotel owner/manager Eric and his wife Marion , Hodge attended Wintringham Girls' Grammar School on Weelsby Avenue in Grimsby and then St...
, Alison Steadman
Alison Steadman
Alison Steadman OBE is an English actress. She established her career with roles such as Beverley in Abigail's Party and Candice Marie in Nuts in May for the director Mike Leigh, to whom she was once married. In addition to her stage and radio work, she has had lead roles in The Singing Detective,...
, Harry Secombe
Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
and Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
.
He co-founded Perfectly Normal Productions Ltd (PNP) with Paul Weir and Richard Adams to create compelling high quality popular audio drama in serialized form for delivery to personal digital players and cell phones.
Biography
Adapted from the h2g2H2g2
h2g2 is a British-based collaborative online encyclopedia project engaged in the construction of, in its own words, "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from the science fiction comedy series...
website entry for Dirk:
One of the plans for the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
radio series was that it would sound like a rock album. It was the intention that it would feature lots of music and various sound-processing techniques during the course of telling the story. All this was decided before Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
actually got around to putting pen to paper and writing the thing.
Dirk Maggs has a similar vision. Though he has produced many radio shows, he specialises in the creation of Audio Movies. He aims to create radio with the sense of impact and atmosphere available on the big screen.
These visions are clearly compatible. They must be, as Dirk was Douglas's preferred choice for the job of adapting, producing and directing the last three series concluding The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The programmes (produced with Above the Title Productions
Above the Title Productions
Above the Title Productions is a UK independent radio and TV production company based in London. The company specializes in the making of drama, music, comedy and feature programmes, principally for BBC Radio. The company's past works include adaptations of Agatha Christie mysteries, radio...
for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
) feature much of the original cast from the first two radio series. The first of these new series, adapted from the novel Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything is the third book in the five-volume Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy science fiction series by British writer Douglas Adams...
, was The Tertiary Phase, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004, and the latter was a double series adaptation of the final two novels, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy" written by Douglas Adams. Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just before it was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, as described in The...
and Mostly Harmless
Mostly Harmless
Mostly Harmless is a novel by Douglas Adams and the fifth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It is described on the cover of the first editions as "The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhikers Trilogy"...
, The Quandary Phase and The Quintessential Phase, broadcast back-to-back in 2005.
Comedy productions
As well as producing episodes of standard radio comedy series such as The News HuddlinesThe News Huddlines
The News Huddlines was a long-running BBC Radio 2 topical comedy sketch show starring Roy Hudd that ran for fifty one series from 1975 until 2001. Each episode lasted for half an hour and consisted of topical sketches, songs and one-liners.-Performers:...
, It's Been a Bad Week
It's Been a Bad Week
It’s Been a Bad Week is a British radio comedy on BBC Radio 2, first broadcast on 11 February 1999. It is presented by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, and is also referred to as Punt and Dennis: It's Been a Bad Week. More than 100 episodes have been broadcast , the latest series ending on 22 June 2006....
and The Russ Abbot Show
The Russ Abbot Show
The Russ Abbot Show was a British television comedy series which starred Russ Abbot and ran on the BBC from 1986 to 1991, and for 14 episodes on Granada Television from 1994 to 1995...
, Dirk has also been involved in some more unusual comedy projects.
Between 1990 and 1992 he produced three series of Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel, an updated version of a 1932 Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
radio show of the same name. The actors were specifically chosen for their ability to impersonate the Marx Brothers, so that an accurate recreation could be achieved. One of the episodes won the Gold Medal at the New York International Festival.
A similar effort needed to be undertaken for Goon Again in 2001. Produced for the 50th anniversary of The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
, and with the blessing of Spike Milligan, it was a project Dirk had been planning since he recorded At Last The Go On Show, a documentary for the 40th anniversary of the Goons. Early on, Dirk realised that Goon Again would not work without Sir Harry Secombe
Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
's very distinctive voice. But Sir Harry declined to take part due to his failing health. Fortunately, his son Andrew Secombe was willing give it a go, and so the cast was arranged around him, with the sons of several other cast members getting involved too, creating, in the words of Dirk, "a genetically-engineered tribute band" to the Goons. The show won the 2002 Best Comedy Award from the Spoken Word Producers Association (now the Audio Publisher's Association).
Maggs directed the Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his angry rants, portly figure, high husky voice and support of St Helens rugby league club. More recently he has moved into dramatic acting.-Early life:He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of four children of Laurence...
radio series Night Class in 2002. It was a somewhat darker comedy than Dirk's usual output. This show won the Bronze award in the Comedy category of the 2003 Sony Radio Academy Awards
Sony Radio Academy Awards
The Sony Radio Academy Awards , started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. They are run by ZAFER Associates in association with the Radio Academy...
.
Science fiction productions
Early in his career Dirk became known for directing adaptations of comic book storylines. He started in 1988 with the 50th Anniversary Man Of SteelSuperman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
docudrama Superman on Trial, carried on with a 50th birthday tribute to the Dark Knight
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
: Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome
Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome
Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome is a 1989 BBC Radio 4 broadcast, produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the popular comic book character Batman. The story was originally written by Simon Bullivant and Dirk Maggs...
. This was followed by The Adventures Of Superman, Batman: Knightfall, The Amazing Spider-Man and his final BBC Radio superhero series, Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
in 1995. Along the way his production of Superman: Doomsday and Beyond ("Superman Lives" in the US) won the 1994 Audie Award for Best Dramatisation from the American Booksellers Association
American Booksellers Association
The American Booksellers Association is a non-profit industryassociation founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States and Canada. The ABA and its members support freedom of speech, literacy, and programs that encourage reading...
and Spoken Word Audio of The Year from Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
.
In 2005 Time Warner audiobooks re-released Dirk's Batman: Knightfall and Superman Lives in the US, prompting a UK re-release by BBC Audiobooks
BBC Audiobooks
BBC Audiobooks is a publisher of audiobooks and also a range of spoken word and large-print titles.BBC Audiobooks has published unabridged audio novels, and also the BBC Radio Collection which incorporates dramatisations and non-fiction output derived from BBC Radio programming.In 2010, BBC...
.
For many radio listeners, Dirk's comic book adaptations oozed the atmosphere and fun of the original comics in a way that the movies and other audio productions completely failed to do.
In 1996, Dirk was contacted by 20th Century Fox and asked to create a British-based "parallel-quel" to their summer science fiction blockbuster Independence Day. The resulting programme, Independence Day UK, took place in the same world, and at the same time as the film, but showed a British perspective on the alien invasion. This also won the 1996 Talkie Award for Best Production. The next year, with the blessing of director John Landis
John Landis
John David Landis is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He is known for his comedies, his horror films, and his music videos with singer Michael Jackson.-Early life and career:...
, Dirk produced and directed his own adaptation of An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 British-American horror film, written and directed by John Landis. It stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne....
for BBC Radio One. For this he won the 1997 Talkie Award for Best TV/Film Adaptation.
In 1999 he produced a five-part adaptation of Stephen Baxter
Stephen Baxter
Stephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :...
's alternative history novel Voyage. The premise is simple. When Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
reached the moon, JFK
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
(having survived that day in Dallas) set a new target for the space programme: Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. Voyage is the story of a space-race that never was but so easily might have been. Dirk's adaptation was presented on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, and received 1999 Talkie Award for Best Use of Music as well as the 2000 Sony Radio Academy Bronze Award for Best Drama.
Other productions
Dirk directed adaptations of several Agatha ChristieAgatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
short stories for Radio Four, and a production of Bill Naughton
Bill Naughton
William John Francis Naughton, or Bill Naughton was an Irish-born British playwright and author, best known for his play Alfie.-Early life:...
's Alfie
Alfie
Alfie is a 1966 British film directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Michael Caine. It is an adaptation by Bill Naughton of his own novel and play of the same name. The film was released by Paramount Pictures....
for the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
.
He has directed the sound mix on three short 3D films that are played in motion simulator capsules. Dirk has also worked on audiotape adaptations of Terry Deary
Terry Deary
Terry Deary is a children's author now living in Burnhope, County Durham, England.A former actor, theatre-director and drama teacher, Deary says he began writing when he was 29...
's Horrible Histories
Horrible Histories
Horrible Histories is a series of illustrated history books published in the United Kingdom by Scholastic. They are designed to engage children in history by concentrating on the unusual, gory, or unpleasant. The series has proved exceptionally successful in commercial terms...
books and is audio director for the Animated Mr Bean television series, which means that everything heard in the show has gone through Dirk's hands at some point.
For the feature-length computer animated version of The Magic Roundabout, Dirk voice-directed principal character sessons with such luminaries as Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
, Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
, Ray Winstone
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
and Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
.
Dirk's influence has spread to computer games. He is credited as Voice Director on the highly acclaimed adventure game, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon featuring Rolf Saxon
Rolf Saxon
Rolf Saxon , is an American actor living in London.Saxon was born in Alexandria, Virginia. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England where he was awarded the Gold Medal on his graduation, and also studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco,...
and Sarah Crook.
In late 2005 Dirk set up a production company to create high quality audio drama in serialised form for delivery to personal digital players and cell phones. Following introductions by Robbie Stamp
Robbie Stamp
Robbie Stamp was the CEO of The Digital Village, a position that came about partly because of his friendship with author Douglas Adams, whose works inspired the site. Stamp was also the executive producer of the movie version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.Robbie was a producer of...
, Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
's business partner (and Executive Producer of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film), Paul Weir (highly experienced in musical composition, sound design and software development) and Richard Adams (an expert consultant on interactive media) joined forces with Dirk. Their intent was to launch a website dedicated to excellence in audio entertainment, Perfectly Normal Productions (the name is a gentle tribute to Douglas Adams). The plan was to produce and distribute innovative audio productions direct to "the many people who demand something more exciting from their earbuds".
Maggs was reportedly writing a novel for children based on his 1998 BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
Audio Movie, The Gemini Apes. He is scheduled to appear at Eastercon
Eastercon
Eastercon is the common name for the British national science fiction convention. From 1948 until the 1960s, the convention was held over the three-day Whitsun bank holiday at the end of May. Since then it has been held over the four-day Easter holiday weekend...
LX, the 60th British National Science Fiction Convention, in 2009.
Alphabetical list of Dirk Maggs radio productions
- 2001: A Space Odyssey2001: A Space Odyssey (novel)2001: A Space Odyssey is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It was developed concurrently with Stanley Kubrick's film version and published after the release of the film...
- At Last The Go On Show (documentary about The Goon ShowThe Goon ShowThe Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
) - Agatha Christie's Hound of Death
- An American Werewolf in LondonAn American Werewolf in LondonAn American Werewolf in London is a 1981 British-American horror film, written and directed by John Landis. It stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne....
- Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution
- Agatha Christie's The Gates of Baghdad
- Agatha Christie's The £199 Adventure
- Agatha Christie's The Gypsy
- Agatha Christie's The Last Seance
- Alfie Elkins and his Little Life
- All Fingers and Thumbs
- Bunn & Co
- Bunn & Co II
- Batman: The Lazarus SyndromeBatman: The Lazarus SyndromeBatman: The Lazarus Syndrome is a 1989 BBC Radio 4 broadcast, produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the popular comic book character Batman. The story was originally written by Simon Bullivant and Dirk Maggs...
- Batman: KnightfallBatman: Knightfall"Knightfall" is the title given to a major Batman story arc published by DC Comics that dominated Batman-related serial comic books in the spring and summer of 1993...
- Ben-Hur
- Beginnings - Millennium Soundscape
- Carrott's Comedy Choice - Series 2
- Death Rides The Airwaves
- "Dirk Gently's Holistic detective agency: The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul"
- Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel - Series 1 - 3
- Goon Again - 50th Anniversary Goon Show
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Tertiary to Quintessential PhasesThe Tertiary Phase, Quandary Phase and Quintessential Phase are radio adaptations of the books Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish and Mostly Harmless produced in 2003 and 2004 by Above the Title Productions for BBC Radio 4...
- Series 3 - 5 - Independence Day UKIndependence Day UKIndependence Day UK is a one-hour BBC Radio 1 science fiction special, first broadcast on August 4, 1996. The show is a spin-off of the movie Independence Day and depicts the movie's alien invasion from a British perspective...
- Inside Sasha
- Ivan The Cobbler
- Independence Day UKIndependence Day UKIndependence Day UK is a one-hour BBC Radio 1 science fiction special, first broadcast on August 4, 1996. The show is a spin-off of the movie Independence Day and depicts the movie's alien invasion from a British perspective...
- It's Been A Bad WeekIt's Been a Bad WeekIt’s Been a Bad Week is a British radio comedy on BBC Radio 2, first broadcast on 11 February 1999. It is presented by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, and is also referred to as Punt and Dennis: It's Been a Bad Week. More than 100 episodes have been broadcast , the latest series ending on 22 June 2006....
- Series 1 - 4 - Judge DreddJudge DreddJudge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
- Jessica Martin - One Woman Show
- June Whitfield - One Woman Show
- Jesus - The Gospel of St. Luke
- Loose EndsLoose Ends (radio)Loose Ends is a British radio programme originally broadcast on Saturday mornings, and then transmitted early Saturday evenings from 1998 by BBC Radio 4. It was hosted by Ned Sherrin until he became ill in late 2006 with a reported throat infection, and later throat cancer...
- Lean on Me
- Love 40 New Balls Please - Series 1 - 3
- Man of Soup - Series 1 - 2
- Miss Morison's Ghosts
- Nobblers
- Night Class
- On the BlogOn the BlogOn the Blog is a BBC Radio comedy series starring Caroline Quentin , Simon Greenall and Andy Taylor ....
- Series 1 & 2 - Peter PanPeter PanPeter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
- Ringing The Changes - Millennium
- Superman - Doomsday & Beyond
- Superman On TrialSuperman On TrialSuperman On TrialTo celebrate the 50th anniversary of Superman the BBC produced a docudrama about Metropolis’ favorite son. Due to the success of this broadcast the BBC would go on to produce the critically acclaimed Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome...
- Adventures of Superman - Series 1 - 2
- Truly, Madly, BletchleyTruly, Madly, BletchleyTruly, Madly, Bletchley was a BBC Radio 4 comedy series from 1997 written by and starring comedian and impressionist Julian Dutton and produced by Dirk Maggs...
- Series 1 - The Jasper Carrott Trial - Series 1, Series 2
- The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
- The Long Dark Tea-Time of the SoulThe Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (radio serial)The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul is an Above the Title Productions radio adaptation, dramatised by Dirk Maggs and John Langdon of Douglas Adams's The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul...
- The Long Hot SatsumaThe Long Hot SatsumaThe Long Hot Satsuma is a radio comedy sketch show from 1989 featuring Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer, Alison Steadman, Paul B. Davies and Julia Hills...
- The News HuddlinesThe News HuddlinesThe News Huddlines was a long-running BBC Radio 2 topical comedy sketch show starring Roy Hudd that ran for fifty one series from 1975 until 2001. Each episode lasted for half an hour and consisted of topical sketches, songs and one-liners.-Performers:...
- Series 25 - 30 - The Press Gang
- The Russ Abbot ShowThe Russ Abbot ShowThe Russ Abbot Show was a British television comedy series which starred Russ Abbot and ran on the BBC from 1986 to 1991, and for 14 episodes on Granada Television from 1994 to 1995...
- Series 1 - 3 - The Announcers Challenge II
- The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm
- The Russ Abbot ShowThe Russ Abbot ShowThe Russ Abbot Show was a British television comedy series which starred Russ Abbot and ran on the BBC from 1986 to 1991, and for 14 episodes on Granada Television from 1994 to 1995...
- Series 2002 - The Night ListenerThe Night ListenerThe Night Listener may refer to*The Night Listener , a novel by Armistead Maupin*The Night Listener , a 2006 film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette, based on the novel...
- The Gemini Apes
- Tim Merryman's Days of Clover
- Tim Merryman's Days of Clover series
- VoyageVoyage- In music: :* Voyage * Voyage * Voyage , by In Fear and Faith* Voyage , by Ayumi Hamasaki* Voyage , a disco music group** Voyage, an album by the eponymous band...
- Wow Fab Groovy - Series 1
- Why Centennial
External links
- http://dirkmaggs.com/
- Transcript of a webchat with Dirk Maggs (June 16, 2005)
- Interview with Dirk Maggs about the Dirk Gently radio series
- Interview with Dirk Maggs about the Hitcchiker's radio series part 1
- Interview with Dirk Maggs about the Hitcchiker's radio series part 2
- Unofficial Dirk Maggs site
- Interview with Dirk Maggs
- Director profile of Hitchhikers Guide
- Perfectly Normal Productions
- Interview with Dirk Maggs at ci-fi-online.com
- Review of Batman: Knightfall on CD at sci-fi-online.com
- Review of Superman: Doomsday & Beyond on CD at sci-fi-online.com
- Dirk Maggs Radio plays