In a complete series of 10 plays, all available on podcasts, the wonderful David Rudkin has spent a considerable amount of time and energy travelling the length and breadth of our wonderful isle to find 10 places which have perhaps been forgotten or overlooked by the history books, all of which have secret, special and up until now, untold stories to tell. A 'placeprint' I have been reliably informed, is something that we can see in the here and now that has come to us from the past. These ten, remote, harsh locations will speak of the legends of those places.
I have only listened to the first two of these plays so far. I first became aware of David Rudkin as a playwright some 30 + years' ago, and have been a fan of his writing ever since; and so when I heard about these radio pieces, I knew I just had to listen.
The first is titled, 'River, Of Course'. This is a monologue, and is spoken by a young man, perhaps a ghost or a spirit, who stands on the banks of the river at a place which used to be a sacred river crossing. That is, until the conquering Romans came along and made a ford there. He feels guilty that he has betrayed his tribe and given the Romans the information they wanted. He looks out now across our 21st century landscape and sees how much it has changed since his day. In the 20 minutes' running time of this monologue we very cleverly get to understand, piece by piece, why the famous town is thus-called, and the importance and history behind its name, which all stems from this legend of the river crossing 2000 years' ago. In the spririt of the play, then I won't divulge the name of the famous place, except than to say it is in Warwickshire and is, quite obviously, on the banks of a river.
Performed with clarity and understanding by Richard Lynch, and directed by Jack McNamara, this was an interesting "Time-Team"-esque start to the series, and certainly made me want to listen to more. With perfectly crafted sound / music by Adam McCready making it all the more enjoyable.
The second play remained in Warwickshire; 'Off The Motorway', and tells s strange ghost story from the perspective of the building itself. There's a small church upon a hill, barely noticable but there nevertheless just to the side of the M40. Here it is the church itself that speaks, as well as a ghostly presence which enters half-way through in the form of the church's vicar wearing the clothes of a Templar Knight.
This story is a little more convoluted and yet all the more fascinating because of it. We are drawn in completely and taken on a tale of not just the history of the church, but a secret legend which may or may not be true about the Arc Of The Covenant. Intermingling historical fact with legend and hearsay, as well as managing to convey a sense of loss or longing within the narrative is quite an achievement.
Again directed by Jack McNamara with sound effects by Adam McCready, this was performed by Josie Lawrence (the Church), and Toby Jones (the ghost rector).
I look forward to being able to sit down with a cup of tea in hand to spend more time with Rudkin and his next 8 Placeprints very soon.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 23/6/20
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