Giles Cooper Awards
Encyclopedia
The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC
and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chosen from the entire year's production of BBC drama, and published in a series of books. They were named after Giles Cooper
(1918–1966), the distinguished radio dramatist who wrote over 60 scripts for BBC radio and television between 1949 and 1966.
These awards ran annually between 1978 and 1992, instigated by Richard Imison
at the BBC and Geoffrey Strachan at Eyre Methuen. There was no prize money, but publication was a notable mark of permanence in the ephemeral world of broadcasting.
Among the winners listed below are such luminaries as Harold Pinter
, Fay Weldon
, Anthony Minghella
, Tom Stoppard
and Rose Tremain
.
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
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...
and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chosen from the entire year's production of BBC drama, and published in a series of books. They were named after Giles Cooper
Giles Cooper
Giles Stannus Cooper was an Anglo-Irish playwright and prolific radio dramatist, writing over sixty scripts for BBC radio and television. He was awarded the OBE in 1960 for "Services to Broadcasting"...
(1918–1966), the distinguished radio dramatist who wrote over 60 scripts for BBC radio and television between 1949 and 1966.
These awards ran annually between 1978 and 1992, instigated by Richard Imison
Richard Imison
Richard Imison was Script Editor for BBC Radio Drama from 1963 to 1991. In the thirty years that Imison worked for BBC Radio Drama it was the largest patron of original creative dramatic writing in Britain...
at the BBC and Geoffrey Strachan at Eyre Methuen. There was no prize money, but publication was a notable mark of permanence in the ephemeral world of broadcasting.
Among the winners listed below are such luminaries as Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
, Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon CBE is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.-Biography:Weldon was...
, Anthony Minghella
Anthony Minghella
Anthony Minghella, CBE was an English film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007....
, Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
and Rose Tremain
Rose Tremain
Rose Tremain CBE is an English author.-Life:Rose Tremain was born Rosemary Jane Thomson on August 2, 1943 in London and attended Francis Holland School then Crofton Grange School from 1954 to 1961; the Sorbonne from 1961–1962; and graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1965 where she then...
.
List of winners
1978- John ArdenJohn ArdenJohn Arden is an award-winning English playwright from Barnsley . His works tend to expose social issues of personal concern. He is a member of the Royal Society of Literature....
— PearlPearl (radio play)Pearl is a 1978 radio play by award-winning English playwright John Arden. Set in England in the 1640s, the play concerns a young Irish political operative named Pearl, who, with playwright Tom Backhouse, attempts to sway the political climate in favor of the British Parliament, as part of a plan...
(Published separately as per special arrangement with Eyre Methuen) - Richard HarrisRichard Harris (television writer)Richard Harris is a prolific British television writer, most active from the early 1960s to the mid-1990s. He writes primarily for the crime and detecitve genres, having contributed episodes of series like The Avengers, The Saint, The Sweeney, Armchair Mystery Theatre, and Target...
— Is it Something I Said? - Don Haworth — Episode on a Thursday Evening
- Jill HyemJill HyemFormerly an actress, Jill Hyem became a successful British radio and television writer.Her radio plays include "The Ropewalk" , "Remember Me" and "Now She Laughs, Now She Cries"....
— Remember Me - Tom Mallin — Halt! Who Goes There?
- Jennifer Phillips — Daughters of Men
- Fay WeldonFay WeldonFay Weldon CBE is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.-Biography:Weldon was...
— Polaris
1979
- Shirley GeeShirley Gee-Life:She married actor Donald Gee on 30 January 1965; They have two sons; Joby and Daniel and five grandchildren ; Barney, Elliot, Harvey, Maisy and Ethan. She lived in Chelsea from 1965 to 2009...
— Typhoid Mary - Carey HarrisonCarey Harrison-Life:Harrison was born in London to actors Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer, and raised in Los Angeles and New York, where he attended the Lycée Français. Subsequently, in Britain, he attended Sunningdale School, Harrow School, and Jesus College, Cambridge....
— I Never Killed my German - Barrie Keeffe — Heaven Scent
- John Kirkmorris — Coxcomb
- John Peacock — Attard in Retirement
- Olwen WymarkOlwen WymarkOlwen Wymark is an American writer and playwright.-Early life:Olwen Margaret Buck was born on February 14, 1932 in Oakland, California her parents being Philip W. and Barbara Buck...
— The Child
1980
- Stewart ParkerStewart ParkerJames Stewart Parker was a Northern Irish poet and playwright.He was born in Sydenham, Belfast, of a Protestant working class family. While still in his teens, he contracted bone cancer and had a leg amputated...
— Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner - Martyn Read — Waving to a Train
- Peter Redgrave — Martyr of the Hives
- William TrevorWilliam TrevorWilliam Trevor, KBE is an Irish author and playwright. He is considered one of the elder statesman of the Irish literary world and widely regarded as the greatest contemporary writer of short stories in the English language....
— Beyond the Pale
1981
- Peter BarnesPeter BarnesPeter Barnes was an English Olivier Award-winning playwright and screenwriter. His most famous work is the play The Ruling Class, which was made into a 1972 film for which Peter O'Toole received an Oscar nomination....
— The Jumping Minuses of Byzantium - Don Haworth — Talk of Love and War
- Harold PinterHarold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
— Family VoicesFamily VoicesFamily Voices is a radio play by Harold Pinter written in 1980 and first broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 22 January 1981.-Summary:Family Voices exposes the story of a mother, son, and dead husband and father through a series of letters that the mother and son have written to one another and that each... - David PownallDavid PownallDavid Pownall FRSL is a British playwright and author of novels and short stories. Some of his plays have been adapted as films, for instance, Music to Murder By , and others were written as radio plays.-Life and career:...
— Beef - J. P. Rooney — The Dead Image
- Paul Thain — The Biggest Sandcastle in the World
1982
- Rhys AdrianRhys AdrianRhys Adrian Griffiths was a British playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his radio plays, which are characterised by their emphasis upon dialogue rather than narrative.-Radio dramatist:...
— Watching the Plays Together - John ArdenJohn ArdenJohn Arden is an award-winning English playwright from Barnsley . His works tend to expose social issues of personal concern. He is a member of the Royal Society of Literature....
— The Old Man Sleeps Alone - Harry Barton — Hoopoe Day
- Donald Chapman - Invisible writing
- Tom StoppardTom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
— The Dog It Was That DiedThe Dog it was that DiedThe Dog It Was That Died is a play by the British playwright Tom Stoppard.Written for BBC Radio in 1982, it concerns the dilemma faced by a spy over whom he actually works for. The play was also adapted for television by Stoppard, and broadcast in 1988.... - William TrevorWilliam TrevorWilliam Trevor, KBE is an Irish author and playwright. He is considered one of the elder statesman of the Irish literary world and widely regarded as the greatest contemporary writer of short stories in the English language....
— Autumn Sunshine
1983
- Wally K. DalyWally K. DalyWally K. Daly is an English writer for television and radio and one time chairman of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.-Credits:...
— Time Slip - Shirley GeeShirley Gee-Life:She married actor Donald Gee on 30 January 1965; They have two sons; Joby and Daniel and five grandchildren ; Barney, Elliot, Harvey, Maisy and Ethan. She lived in Chelsea from 1965 to 2009...
— Never in my Lifetime - Gerry Jones — The Angels They Grow Lonely
- Steve May — No Exceptions
- Martyn Read — Scouting for Boys
1984
- Stephen Dunstone — Who is Sylvia?
- Robert Ferguson — Transfigured Night
- Don Haworth — Daybreak
- Caryl PhillipsCaryl PhillipsCaryl Phillips is a British writer with a Caribbean background, best known as a novelist. He is now professor at Yale University and a visiting professor at Barnard College of Columbia University.-Life:...
— The Wasted Years - Christopher Russell — Swimmer
- Rose TremainRose TremainRose Tremain CBE is an English author.-Life:Rose Tremain was born Rosemary Jane Thomson on August 2, 1943 in London and attended Francis Holland School then Crofton Grange School from 1954 to 1961; the Sorbonne from 1961–1962; and graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1965 where she then...
— Temporary Shelter
1985
- Rhys Adrian — Outpatient
- Barry Collins — King Canute
- Martin CrimpMartin CrimpMartin Andrew Crimp is a British playwright.Sometimes described as a practitioner of the "in-yer-face" school of contemporary British drama, Crimp though rejects the label...
— Three Attempted Acts - David PownallDavid PownallDavid Pownall FRSL is a British playwright and author of novels and short stories. Some of his plays have been adapted as films, for instance, Music to Murder By , and others were written as radio plays.-Life and career:...
— Ploughboy Monday - James Saunders — Menocchio
- Michael WallMichael WallMichael Wall , was a British playwright. He wrote over forty plays, the most well-known of which are Amongst Barbarians and Women Laughing....
— Hiroshima – The MovieHiroshima – The MovieHiroshima: The Movie is a radio play written by Michael Wall in 1985. It was produced by BBC Radio in that year, and later rebroadcast in 2003...
1986
- Robert Ferguson — Dreams, Secrets, Beautiful Lies
- Christina Reid — Last of a Dyin' Race
- Andrew Rissik — Anthony
- Ken WhitmoreKen WhitmoreKen Whitmore, born Hanley, Staffordshire, December 22, 1937, is a prolific author of radio plays, stage plays, short stories and poetry. His writing is characterised by black comedy and fantastic ideas, such as the complete disappearance of a man’s house, family and dog and the need for all...
— Gingerbread House - Valerie Windsor — Myths and Legacies
1987
- Wally K. DalyWally K. DalyWally K. Daly is an English writer for television and radio and one time chairman of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.-Credits:...
— Mary's - Frank Dunne — Dreams of Dublin Bay
- Anna Fox — Nobby's Day
- Nigel D. Moffatt — Lifetime
- Richard NelsonRichard Nelson (playwright)Richard Nelson is an American playwright and librettist. He wrote the books for the musicals James Joyce's The Dead and the Broadway version of Chess.-Personal life:Nelson was born in Chicago, Illinois....
— Languages Spoken Here - Peter TinniswoodPeter TinniswoodPeter Tinniswood was an English radio and TV comedy scriptwriter, and author of a series of popular cricketing novels...
— The Village Fête
1988
- Terence FrisbyTerence FrisbyTerence Frisby is a London-based playwright and novelist, best known as the author of the play There's A Girl In My Soup.-Personal life:...
— Just Remember Two Things: It's not Fair and Don't be Late - Ken Blakeson — Excess Baggage
- Anthony MinghellaAnthony MinghellaAnthony Minghella, CBE was an English film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007....
— Cigarettes and Chocolate - Rona MunroRona MunroRona Munro is a Scottish writer. She has written plays for theatre, radio, and television; was the author of the screenplay of Ken Loach's Ladybird, Ladybird and co-author of Aimée & Jaguar by German director Max Färberböck.Munro is also known for being the author of the last Doctor Who television...
— Dirt Under the Carpet - Dave Sheasby — Apple Blossom Afternoon
1989
- Elizabeth Baines — Baby Buggy
- Jennifer JohnstonJennifer JohnstonJennifer Johnston is an Irish novelist, winner of the Whitbread Book Award for The Old Jest in 1979, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1977...
— O Ananias, Azarias and Misael - David Zane MairowitzDavid Zane MairowitzDavid Zane Mairowitz , is a writer. He studied English Literature and Philosophy at Hunter College, New York, and Drama at the University of California, Berkeley.In 1966 he emigrated to England, where he worked as a freelance writer...
— Stalin Sonata - Richard NelsonRichard Nelson (playwright)Richard Nelson is an American playwright and librettist. He wrote the books for the musicals James Joyce's The Dead and the Broadway version of Chess.-Personal life:Nelson was born in Chicago, Illinois....
— Eating Words - Craig WarnerCraig WarnerCraig Warner is a playwright and screenwriter who lives and works in Suffolk, England. He wrote The Queen's Sister for Channel 4, which was nominated for several BAFTA awards , Maxwell for BBC2, which starred David Suchet as Robert Maxwell, and The Last Days of Lehman Brothers, for which he was...
— By Where The Old Shed Used To Be
1990
- Tony BagleyTony BagleyTony Bagley is a British writer. He has written, among other scripts, the radio comedies Married and Rubbish. He also wrote for the television series Specials....
— The Machine - David Cregan — A Butler Did It
- John Fletcher — Death and the Tango
- Tina PeplerTina PeplerTina Pepler is a dramatist who works in radio, television and film. She was born in Baghdad, Iraq and during her childhood lived in the Middle East, the United States, and France. She now lives in Bristol....
— Song of the Forest - Steve Walker — The Pope's Brother
1991
- Robert Glendenning — The Words are Strange
- John PurserJohn PurserJohn Purser, born in 1942 in Glasgow, Scotland, is an eminent composer, musicologist, and music historian. He is also a playwright.He initiated the reconstruction which commenced in 1991 of the Iron Age Deskford Carnyx, producing a replica which was first played in 1993 by trombonist John Kenny.The...
— CarverCarver (play)Carver is a radio drama by the Scottish composer and writer John Purser about the 16th century Scottish composer Robert Carver. It premiered on BBC Radio 3 on 31 March 1991, in a production recorded on 2 December 1990, produced by Stewart Conn and with music by the Taverner Consort conducted by... - Tom StoppardTom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
— In the Native StateIn the Native StateIn The Native State is a radio play by Tom Stoppard. First broadcast by the BBC in 1991 it was later adapted by Stoppard into the stage play Indian Ink.... - Steve Walker — Mickey Mookey
- Craig WarnerCraig WarnerCraig Warner is a playwright and screenwriter who lives and works in Suffolk, England. He wrote The Queen's Sister for Channel 4, which was nominated for several BAFTA awards , Maxwell for BBC2, which starred David Suchet as Robert Maxwell, and The Last Days of Lehman Brothers, for which he was...
— Figure with Meat