Springline Radio Players

Our Kid and Me Productions in partnership with Springline Radio Players is pleased to present "A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas", commonly known as "A Christmas Carol", is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

On the 23rd December in the bleak midwinter of 1938 the esteemed medium Felicity Fermington is settling down to enjoy an evening with the radiogram and the fire. It is a very low fire indeed; nothing on such a bitter night.  She is obliged to sit close to it, and brood over it.   From within her own consciousness there comes a voice, a voice from the past, not from long past, but from her past. This is the fourth of our Dame Felicity's audio plays, written and directed by a Springline Radio Player, Karen McKivitt. Look out for "Séance for a Spy" which will air in early 2023.

"A Visit from St. Nicholas", more commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823 and later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who claimed authorship in 1837. The poem has been called "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American" and is largely responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today.

‘The Lockdown' begins in December 2019 and charts the emergence of the Covid 19 pandemic and the effect it has on the lives of a middle-aged English couple and their relationship.  Miles is in the process of expanding his estate agency business, and Suzanne, his neglected wife, wants a break from her charity work and is keen to take a holiday in Italy, whilst Miles prefers to concentrate on the development of his company.  An unexpected opportunity arises for her to achieve her wish and this has a profound effect on their future relationship. Dealing with adult themes and containing some strong and graphic language, “The Lockdown” is the debut play by Ralph Wears.  Ralph's aim with this play was to document some of the events that took place during 2019-2020 and the impact the pandemic had on the characters in the play, as a reminder of this unique period in our history.

Our audio play is based on “Dracula”, a novel by Bram Stoker and published in 1897. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking a business trip to stay at the castle of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula. Harker escapes the castle after discovering that Dracula is a vampire, and the Count moves to England and plagues the seaside town of Whitby in North Yorkshire. A small group, led by Abraham Van Helsing, hunt Dracula and, in the end, kill him. Stoker produced over a hundred pages of notes for the novel, drawing extensively from Transylvanian folklore and history. There is widespread disagreement on who the character of Dracula was based on, although Stoker's notes mention that he found the name Dracula in Whitby's public library while holidaying there, picking it because he thought it meant “devil” in Romanian.

What strange things find their way into the boot of your car? Old shoes, shopping, umbrellas, torches, blankets, plastic bags, leaflets, hats, deck chairs, buckets and spades, tins of beans, odd socks, oh and perhaps occasionally...a dead body! This play contains themes that some listeners may find disturbing. Please ensure no children are present whilst listening.

The celebrated medium, Dame Felicity Fermington requests the pleasure of your company at her wedding in the summer of 1938.  She hopes to spend her honeymoon basking in the sun and enjoying the thwack of the tennis balls on Wimbledon's world famous grass.  However, things take a sinister turn at SW19 and her unique talents are required to save the tournament from embarrassment and potential disaster!  This is the third of our Dame Felicity's audio plays, written and directed by a Springline Radio Player, Karen McKivitt. Look out for "Felicity's Christmas Carol" which will air in December this year.

Mix five women cousins of a certain age with one book, one secret, and several glasses of wine for a fun and enjoyable visit. But please remember - what happens at the Cousins' Book Club, stays at the Cousins' Book Club. We are pleased to present our third audio play from the pen of Patricia Motto. Enjoy.

Sarah and Max have a love story. Well, maybe they have a "love" story, or maybe they have a "like" story. Where does the line exist between those two concepts exactly? And, in the end, isn't the real question what is enough? This is our second audio play from the pen of Patricia Motto who lives happily with her shelter dog, Fosse, in Elmhurst in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, USA where she also choreographs for and dances with The Tree Town Tappers.

This is our second audio play written by Chris and we are grateful for him allowing us to present this to our world-wide audience. Chris lives and works in Alberta, Canada and more scripts can be viewed on his website - www.communitytheatreplays.com.

We are pleased to introduce Patricia Motto to our Springline Radio Players website. Patricia's first published work came in the Byford Booster when, at the age of six, she wowed her teacher with two complete correctly punctuated sentences. Since then, she has at various times taught composition at the college level, made sort of a living as a freelance writer, and, because she became fond of nice meals out, graduated from law school and became an attorney specialising in sexual harassment. Her one act play, “The Cousins' Book Club,” won major awards at the Watermelon One Act Festival in Maryland and was produced by the Open Door Playhouse in California. Another of her works, “The Best Friends' Rule” was selected for production at the Dubuque Arts One Act Play Festival. Her work has also been featured at The Arizona Women's Theatre. Patricia lives happily with her shelter dog, Fosse, in Elmhurst in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, USA where she also choreographs for and dances with The Tree Town Tappers.

"Hard Times" was written by Chris McKerracher and adapted for audio by John and David Hunter. Chris is a prolific author and playwright from the tiny town of Calmar in Alberta, Canada. He has an impressive collection of hilarious, inventive plays which have been performed for many enthusiastic audiences in the central Alberta region, as well as in the USA, across Canada, and now in the UK.

It is December 1937 and the acclaimed medium Felicity Fermington is immersed in seasonal preparations. However, a knock on her cottage door brings news of danger…..where will this lead, what will she do and will the spirits guide her? Karen McKivitt continues on from the highly successful audio play "The Lost Lamp of Lorrata". And there are more adventures to follow.

Burke and Hare, the most notorious killers in Scotland's history, were arrested in 1829 for the murder of sixteen people. During the trial, William Hare, after being given a promise of immunity, testified against his former "business" partner, James Burke. Amid a great public outcry, Hare escaped the gallows, was released from custody and then disappeared into the mists of history. But what happened to William Hare? Listen to find out his dark secret. Our audio play was written by Alan Kilpatrick, an Irish/Native American playwright who currently lives in Belgium with his wife and their three dogs. He is the author of some thirty plays which have been staged at the Autry National Center, Los Angeles; the Diversionary Theater and the La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego; the VSA Fourth St. Art Center and Adobe Theater, Albuquerque; the Alternative Theatre and the Horse Trader Theater, New York; the Blue Door Theater, Spokane; the Croydon Warehouse Theatre and the Lion and Unicorn Theatre, London, the Troubadour Theatre Company, Brighton, UK ; and the Eclectic Full Contact Theatre, Chicago. He received his professional training in film  and television at Loyola Marymount University and studied playwriting at the Royal Court Theatre, London.

Box and Cox is a one act farce by John Maddison Morton and is based on a French one-act vaudeville, Frisette, which had been produced in Paris in 1846. The original play was used by Sir Arthur Sullivan for his comic opera, which he renamed "Cox and Box. Box and Cox was first produced at the Lyceum Theatre, London, on 1 November 1847, billed as a "romance of real life." The play became popular and was revived frequently through the end of the nineteenth century, with occasional productions in the twentieth century.  Our adaption was written by Neville Teller and first broadcast across the USA in October 2015 in a production by Shoestring Radio Theatre, San Francisco.

A gentleman musician, and a plum of a lady medium combine forces in a 1930's post luncheon séance to reveal the whereabouts of The Lost Lamp of Lorratata. Where is Lorratata? Why do they need to find the lamp with such urgency? What exactly does the Vicar want and will there be ghastly or ghostly consequences? All will be revealed over the next 40 minutes.

In the morning  room of “The Manor House” Gwendoline and Cecily are gazing attentively out into the garden anticipating the imminent arrival of Jack and Algernon from the garden.

In the garden of “The Manor House”, Jack Worthing's country estate Cecily, Jack's ward is studying with her governess Miss Prism before the unexpected arrival of Algernon Moncrief.

The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae to escape burdensome social obligations. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Algernon Moncrief is playing the piano in the drawing room of his flat in Half Moon Street, Mayfair awaiting the arrival of his formidable aunt Lady Bracknell accompanied by his cousin Gwendolen, and in walks his best friend Jack Worthing.

Back in London Mr. Pickwick pays Dodson and Fogg, sends Jingle and his servant to the West Indies to begin afresh, and learns that Emily Wardle is planning to elope with Snodgrass. Mr. Pickwick convinces Mr. Wardle that Snodgrass is a worthy gentleman, and the couple are married in Mr. Pickwick's newly purchased home. In the meantime Sam Weller has been courting a pretty housemaid named Mary, and under Mr. Pickwick's auspices they are married.

The 23rd of April is not only the birthday of the bard with some historical records also suggesting the date of his death, it is one year and one month since the commencement of our first pandemic lockdown. During this year and one month we have all experienced a roller coaster of emotion.  Unprecedented at least within the life experiences of much of our present generation.  Yet at its most fundamental level the human condition and its reaction to the trials and tribulations to which it is subjected remains unchanged throughout the centuries. The raw emotions felt by Shakespeare and his cast of characters were no different to those expressed by us all in our collective 21st Century battle with our viral enemy.

On returning to London, Mr. Pickwick is taken to the Fleet Prison for debtors because he will not pay damages. In prison he witnesses much misery, filth, and squalor and for a brief time he is victimized by two predatory inmates. There he finds Alfred Jingle and his servant in utter destitution and gives them some assistance. Mr. Pickwick tells Sam Weller to leave him, but Sam has himself jailed for debt to be with his kindly master. Dismayed by the misery of prison, Mr. Pickwick rents a cell by himself and comes out only in the evenings. When Mrs. Bardell is arrested and jailed because she cannot pay her lawyers, Mr. Pickwick begins to soften. Further, Winkle has married Arabella and needs Mr. Pickwick to intercede for them with her brother and his own father. Finally Mr. Pickwick decides to pay costs, which releases himself and Mrs. Bardell, and he also pays Jingle's debts.

BBC Radio Oxford's Jerome Sale spends some time talking with David Hunter about the latest in Springline Radio Players audio productions, "The Canterville Ghost", by Oscar Wilde and how the collaboration with Open Door Playhouse, a professional theatre company based in Los Angeles, California came into being.

We are pleased to present the first in our collaborative series entitled “Across the Pond Theatre”, the joining of Our Kid and Me Productions in Oxfordshire, UK and Open Door Playhouse Theatre in California, USA. "The Canterville Ghost" is a humorous short story by Oscar Wilde. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in The Court and Society Review, on 23 February and 2 March 1887. The story is about an American family who moved to a castle haunted by the ghost of a dead English nobleman, who killed his wife and was then walled in and starved to death by his wife's brothers.

Eventually the Pickwickians return to the Wardle farm to celebrate Christmas and the wedding of Mr. Wardle's daughter, Isabella. Amid festivities Snodgrass continues his romance with Emily, and Winkle falls in love with Arabella Allen, a friend of Mr. Wardle's daughters.On Valentine's Day, 1831, Mr. Pickwick is tried for breach of promise. Due to the rhetorical allegations of Serjeant Buzfuz and to the circumstantial evidence, Mr. Pickwick is found guilty and ordered to pay damages, which he refuses to do.

In London, Mr. Pickwick learns that Jingle is in Ipswich and goes there to expose him. Because of a mix-up in bedrooms at an Ipswich Inn Mr. Pickwick is hauled before the justice, a local henpecked tyrant called Mr. Nupkins. Nupkins is visited frequently by Jingle, who is interested in the daughter. Mr. Pickwick extricates himself by proving that Jingle is an adventurer.

In London Mr. Pickwick comes across Sam Weller, a boot cleaner and general handyman whom he takes on as a valet. When Mr. Pickwick tells his widowed landlady, Mrs. Bardell, that he has taken on a servant, she assumes from the ambiguous way he puts it that he intends to marry her. Mrs. Bardell faints in his arms just as Tupman, Snodgrass, and Winkle enter — a compromising circumstance. Mr. Pickwick and his friends go to Eatanswill and are invited to a costume party given by the local literary lioness, Mrs. Leo Hunter, where several varieties of silliness are exhibited. At this party Mr. Pickwick sees Alfred Jingle, whom he pursues to a neighbouring town. Jingle's servant tells Mr. Pickwick that Jingle has designs on a young lady at a boarding school, and Mr. Pickwick decides to prevent the elopement.  

After some mishaps in the cricket match and Mr. Tupman falling in love with Rachael; and Mr. Snodgrass with Emily, Tupman is outsmarted by the vivacious, unscrupulous Jingle, who elopes with Rachael. Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Wardle pursue Jingle and Rachael to London, where, with the help of a lawyer, Mr. Perker, they buy off Jingle and save Rachael Wardle from an unhappy marriage. They continue on by coach to London and there Mr. Pickwick comes across Sam Weller, a boot cleaner and general handyman whom he promised to take on as a valet, subject to approval from his widowed landlady, Mrs Bardell.  

After the Pickwickians meet to begin their first journey they meet Mr. William Wardle, a country squire who invites them to his estate at Dingley Dell. After some mishaps, Mr. Pickwick and his friends arrive at Mr. Wardle's Manor Farm, where they enjoy card games, flirting, storytelling, hunting, and a cricket match. Mr. Tupman falls in love with Mr. Wardle's spinster sister, Rachael; and Mr. Snodgrass falls in love with his daughter, Emily.

The Pickwickians have met Mr Jingle who turns out to be a supposed actor and con man. At their first stop, Mr. Jingle insults a local doctor, and the doctor proposes a duel. Because of a mistaken identity, however, Mr. Winkle receives the challenge, not Mr. Jingle. Will the angry doctor realise his mistake, or will the duel be pursued?

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (also known as The Pickwick Papers) was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with Sketches by Boz published in 1836 Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to supply descriptions to explain a series of comic "cockney sporting plates" by illustrator Robert Seymour and to connect them into a novel. The book became Britain's first real publishing phenomenon, with bootleg copies, theatrical performances, Sam Weller joke books, and other merchandise. Our Kid and Me Productions have presented the audio play in nine episodes, commencing on Boxing Day, 26 December 2020 with the other eight episodes being release from January 2021 in two week intervals.

Our Kid and Me Productions is pleased to present “Twas The Night Before Christmas. On the eve of Christmas day, one hundred and ninety years ago today, wealthy landowner and august Columbia professor Clement Clarke Moore completed a seasonal poem to read to his children. He penned the whimsical little tale — a throwaway, really, in comparison to his great and respected writings in Greek and biblical literature — from a desk at his comfortable, snow-covered mansion which the family called Chelsea. The poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” and often referred to as “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas,” would eventually help define the Santa Claus mythology. It is perhaps the most important source in shaping the physical appearance and ritual behaviour of the North Pole gift-giver and would provide inspiration to New York illustrators like Thomas Nast and, in the 20th century, the Coca-Cola advertising of Haddon Sunblom.  And Clement Clarke Moore is even credited with naming the eight reindeer.

Our Kid and Me Productions in partnership with Springline Radio Players is pleased to present "A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas", commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

Our Kid and Me Productions is pleased to present a new audio drama by Ken Starling entitled "Christmas Letters". Keeping in touch with relatives you rarely see is sometimes solved by a letter tucked inside a Christmas card. Over time, these fit together rather like a jigsaw puzzle. But is the final picture the one you were expecting?

The following one-act play is reprinted from Read-aloud Plays. Horace Holley, the author wrote several short, one-act plays with a view for them to be read aloud as well as being performed on stage. Our approach is through the audio media of one of his 1916 plays.

"The War of the Worlds", a science fiction novel by H.G. Wells,  first published serially by Pearson's Magazine in the U.K. and by The Cosmopolitan magazine in the U.S. in 1897. The novel details a catastrophic conflict between humans and extraterrestrial “Martians.” It is considered a landmark work of science fiction, and it has inspired numerous adaptations and imitations. Our audio play is inspired by Orson Wells radio broadcast in October 1938 and featured Trenton, New Jersey, USA as the place that the first Martian invasion commenced. The location has been changed to Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK and although the accents may be different, the plot remains the same.

"The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is the eighth Sherlock Holmes short story, and the tenth Holmes story overall by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was originally published in the Strand Magazine in February 1892, with illustrations by Sidney Paget, and later as the eighth story in the collection The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The story tells of Helen Stoner, a soon-to-be married young woman who suspects her stepfather may be trying to kill her in order to retain control of her inheritance. Convinced of her stepfather's intentions, she turns to Holmes for help.

While on vacation in London, Richard Hannay becomes embroiled in an international spy ring related to the mysterious "39 steps." Then he meets agent Annabella Smith, who is soon killed in his apartment. He must elude the police, who are hunting him for murder, while he tries to stop the Professor Bartlett from sending secrets out of the country. Hannay is assisted by Pamela, an unwilling accomplice and their adventure to discover the truth leads them to the Highlands of Scotland and eventually to the West End of London.

In celebration of Shakespeare's birthday during the Coronavirus "lock down" the Royal Shakespeare Company invited fans of the Bard to upload on social media their favourite pieces and quotes from his complete works. This is a contribution from one such Springline fan from Act I, Scene I of Richard III.

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is of one of 56 short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and first published in the Strand Magazine in January 1892. The story follows Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they hunt down the people involved in stealing a blue gem (or carbuncle) that was discovered in a goose gullet. The first suspect, who turns out to be a red herring is the man in the hat.  

"The Monkey's Paw" is a supernatural short story by author W. W. Jacobs, first published in England in the collection "The Lady of the Barge" in 1902. In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, but the wishes come with an enormous price for interfering with fate The White family prevents a guest from destroying a monkey's paw that has the power to grant wishes. Mr. White wishes for money, which he is granted by the factory his son works at after his son's gruesome death. They then wish for their son to come back, and something knocks at the door. When Mrs. White opens the door, nothing is there, as Mr. White's third wish caused whoever was there to disappear.

Synopsis: With more creditors than clients, the Fiona Buckingham Introduction Agency is struggling to make ends meet. Cheap do-it-yourself dating through newspaper Lonely Hearts columns has reduced the membership to almost single figures making it ever harder to match clients up. Even Fiona's secretary, two-finger typist Beverly is getting worried. Things start to look up when, within the space of two days, two new members join. Reluctant Trevor Hopkins, who likes spiders but prefers to sit downstairs on buses, has been sent along by his aging mother. The other new recruit, Brigadier Gregory Chadwick, a wealthy widower looking for solace, seems to take a shine to Fiona. Could Gregory be the answer to all Fiona's problems?

"The Monkey's Paw" is a supernatural short story by author W. W. Jacobs first published in England in 1902. In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of the monkey's hand, but the wishes come with an enormous price for interfering with fate. This dramatised production was adapted for audio by David Hunter.

Springline Radio Players present 'The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle', a festive story starring Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous detective and his assistant; Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson,

Making Ends Meet - by Peter Higginbotham is a play performed and recorded by Springline Radio Players (www.springlineradioplayers.com. Synopsis: With more creditors than clients, the Fiona Buckingham Introduction Agency is struggling to make ends meet. Cheap do-it-yourself dating through newspaper Lonely Hearts columns has reduced the membership to almost single figures making it ever harder to match clients up. Even Fiona's secretary, two-finger typist Beverly is getting worried. Things start to look up when, within the space of two days, two new members join. Reluctant Trevor Hopkins, who likes spiders but prefers to sit downstairs on buses, has been sent along by his aging mother. The other new recruit, Brigadier Gregory Chadwick, a wealthy widower looking for solace, seems to take a shine to Fiona. Could Gregory be the answer to all Fiona's problems? The text of Making Ends Meet is included in Peter Higginbotham's book Mr Malaprop's Revenge! A Collection of Sketches, Poems, Plays and Other Writing (available on Amazon - www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EWP4RTY/ref=as_li_tl?tag=theworkhouse)