1st Broadcast 25th November 2005 BBC Radio 4
Dirk Maggs
Helen Chattwell
Above The Title Productions for BBC Radio 4
A new play by acclaimed writer Mike Stott about a man who falls in love with a veal calf. Melvin is roped (literally) into delivering a veal calf,
but in a moment of sentimentality decides to save the poor creature from slaughter. He persuades the farm to sell him the beloved Mirabelle,
and hides the calf from his neighbour in the garage, but the mooing and mucking out soon give the game away,
not to mention Mirabelle's appetite for garden shrubs...
Or
Moments of revelation come to us all in time, but rarely do these epiphanies
involve veal calves. Playwright Mike Stott (who created last year's superb comedy
drama Norman, starring Johnny Vegas) has written a poignant and gently humorous
story about an unassuming accountant who accidentally gets involved in the delivery
of a calf at the same time that his wife is committing suicide at home. His
response to her bloody death is to decide that the newborn cow will not be reared
to end up in a slaughterhouse. Philip Jackson stars as Edwin, the accountant-turned-
mother-cow, and Alison Steadman is Connie, the no-nonsense frisky farmer who
does as much as Mirabelle to heal his bruised view of life.
RADIO TIMES reviewer: Jane Anderson
| Character |
Actor |
Edwin |
Philip Jackson |
Connie |
Alison Steadman |
DC Boone |
Graham Turner |
Humpty |
Rupert Degas |
Mr Pickering |
Toby Longworth |
Miss Cattermole |
Gwyneth Powell |
Not known at this time
16th September 2005
Not known at this time
Nothing yet
1 Episode 45 minutes long
Nothing yet
This kind of play - part magic realism, part absurdism, part bad taste romp
- can be difficult to pull off, but it was saved by the exemplary direction
of Dirk Maggs."
MOIRA PETTY The Stage & Television Today, Dec 1st 2005
"... tender and robust in equal measures ... laugh out loud stuff."
ELISABETH MAHONEY The Guardian Dec 2005
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