New in stock! Docu-drama ‘Family Business’
Family Business is 7digital’s new audio drama for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
It’s a piece of ‘verbatim’ theatre by award-winning playwright Alecky Blythe about family relationships, national identity and shopping.
Family Business is streaming on BBC Sounds, now.
Crafted from real-life recordings made in John Lewis stores across the UK, the funny, provocative, and fast-moving story observes the aspirations of British shoppers making purchases for life's key moments.
In 2014, Alecky started recording interviews with shoppers who were leaving home, furnishing flats, negotiating family changes, weddings, divorces, affairs, christenings and retirement. Ten years later, she talked to the same people to see what life had dealt them.
Alecky’s documentary play (AKA verbatim play) is built from recorded conversations with real people which became lines spoken by actors. The cast didn’t work with scripts, but were fed their lines, spoken by interviewees, through earpieces. They reproduced what they heard as faithfully as they could, down to the last pause and vocal tic.
The cast includes Debbie Chazen, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Andrew Leung, Sarita Gabony, Joe Bolland, Claire Lams and Barry McCarthy.
Created and written by Alecky Blythe
Original idea by Matthew Byam Shaw
Directed by Alecky Blythe and James Dacre
Music and sound design by Adam Cork
Audio production by Richard Power and Frank Stirling
A 7digital production with the Royal & Derngate and Living Theatre Productions for BBC Radio 4
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7digital’s previous comedy and drama productions include:
The Cold Swedish Winter - five series of Danny Robins’ sitcom
The Confessional with Stephen Mangan
WarHorse with Timothy Spall, Brenda Blethyn and Bob Hoskins
Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea with Toby Jones
