Julian Simpson is a British writer and director working in film, television and audio. He is best known for his radio plays for BBC Radio, most of which take place within his "Pleasant Green" universe with loose connections to each other, including The Lovecraft Investigations series, based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft.

Simpson's other works include writing and directing the 1999 film The Criminal, released when he was 23,[1] and the 2013 audio play Kokomo; he also wrote and/or directed for television, including episodes of 24, Doctor Who, Hustle, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, New Tricks, and Spooks.[2] Some of his most frequent audio collaborators include actress Nicola Walker, featured in all of his Pleasant Green works, actress Phoebe Fox, and producer Karen Rose.

Simpson began working on New Tricks Series 5 in 2008, directing two episodes of the show that year and going to write and direct one to three episodes each season until the show's cancelation in 2015. In 2012, during the production of Series 10, Simpson took to Twitter to criticize actor Amanda Redman after Redman complained that the series' writing had become "bland."[3]

Pleasant Green universe

The Pleasant Green Universe is a series of loosely connected radio plays that focus upon strange occurrences. As of 2023, it is made up of seven dramas, beginning with Fragments.

Fragments

Fragments was first aired on BBC Radio 4 on 31 August 2007 as part of its Friday Drama series.[4] The play is set in the village of Pleasant Green, which has become increasingly gentrified and exclusive. One of the villagers, Grant (John Carlisle), has placed devices throughout the town that allow him to record and transmit any sound. Teenager Kelly Sharp becomes intrigued by him and ultimately agrees to become part of a plan to disrupt the gentrification by taking credit for murdering him. In truth Grant actually committed suicide and at the last minute tries to make a recording absolving her, only for Kelly to search for and discover the tape.

The cast featured John Carlisle, Lesley Sharp, Philip Glenister, Sarah Smart, Daniel Ryan, Sean Gallagher, Nicola Walker, and Will Keen.[5]

The Listener

The Listener first aired on BBC Radio 4 on 8 January 2010 as part of its Friday Drama series.[6] The story's plot centres upon a police agent, Mark, who is left without any memories of his past but fears that he may actually be a brainwashed terrorist.[7] As the story progresses he discovers that neither personality is genuine and that he's an undercover agent who habitually has his mind wiped and reprogrammed to assist the government in solving cases.

The cast featured Mark Bazeley, Indira Varma, Nicola Walker, Mark Lewis Jones, Jimmy Akingbola, and Paul Panting.[6]

Bad Memories

Bad Memories aired on BBC Radio 4 on 7 January 2011 and received the Best Use of Sound in an Audio Drama Award at the 2012 BBC Audio Drama Awards.[8][9] The story involves the mysterious disappearance of the Blake family around 2004 and the discovery of their bodies in the modern day. Forensic tests show that they died in 1926 and were found with audio files. Attempts to retrieve the recordings reveal that the family and a visitor was spirited away by Mary Marston, a coma patient believed to have murdered her family.

The cast featured Nicola Walker, Rupert Graves, Steven Mackintosh, Jana Carpenter, Anthony Calf, Imogen McCurdy, Oscar Richardson, Rohan Nijhawan, and Ted Powell.[8]

Fugue State

Fugue State was broadcast on 29 October 2015 on BBC Radio 4.[10] The story starts with attempts to extract the memories of a government agent who had gone to Pleasant Green to investigate a new numbers station, only to end up in a fugue state. As the story progresses it is revealed that the station was an attempt by otherworldly beings to communicate, only for the communication to be too much for the human brain and consciousness to comprehend. Ultimately the agent, as well as some of the medical workers trying to extract his memories, evolve to a new state of being. This story introduces the character of Johnson, who also appears in the series Mythos.[11]

Fugue State was shortlisted for and won the 2016 Tinniswood Award.[12][13] The cast featured Nicola Walker, Steven Mackintosh, Tim McInnerny, Ferdinand Kingsley, Phoebe Fox, and Ben Crowe.[10]

Mythos

Mythos is a drama series made up of three episodes: "Mythos," "Glamis," and "Albion". The series revolves around upon a secretive government agency that investigates supernatural and otherworldly threats, real or perceived, to the world. One of the people working for the agency is Marie Lairre, the ghost of a nun that used to haunt Borley Rectory. She reports to Johnson, the government agent from Fugue State. The first episode features her looking for a spell book in a remote village, while the second has her exploring a secret door in a Scottish castle and taking on a new partner.

The first episode aired on 5 April 2017 on BBC Radio 4 and the second and third episodes aired on the same channel on 25 and 26 April 2018, respectively. The cast for the series included Nicola Walker, Tim McInnerny, Jonathan Bailey, Steven Mackintosh, David Calder, Emma Fielding, Hugh Ross, Phoebe Fox, Jana Carpenter, David Holt, Tracy-Ann Oberman, and David Collings.[11][14][15]

The Lovecraft Investigations

Main article: The Lovecraft Investigations

The Lovecraft Investigations, also known as Mystery Machine, is a podcast made up of four series, each of which is loosely based on stories by H. P. Lovecraft. The first series, based on the story "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward", began airing in January 2019 on BBC Radio 4 and ran for ten episodes.[16][17] The second series was based on the novella The Whisperer in Darkness and ran nine episodes with two bonus episodes/teases beginning in November 2019.[18] The third series, based on The Shadow Over Innsmouth, ran for eight episodes with three bonus episodes in December 2020.[19][20] In 2023, a fourth series, based on "The Haunter of the Dark", was released.

Critical reception for The Lovecraft Investigations has been positive.[21] The Verge called the first series "like Serial mixed with True Detective" and it also received praise from The Spectator.[22][23][24]

Aldrich Kemp?

This five-part drama started airing on Radio 4 on 18 February 2022. The cast again includes Phoebe Fox, Nicola Walker, Jana Carpenter, and Tim McInnerny. The story centers upon attempts by Fox's character Clara Page to determine who and where is the titular Aldrich Kemp.[25][26]

In April 2023, BBC released a five-part sequel series, titled Who Killed Aldrich Kemp? aired.[27]

Selected filmography

Film

Television

Selected awards

Year Work Award Category Notes Result Ref.
2001 The Criminal Fantasporto Best Director Won [43]
2001 The Criminal London International Film Festival Best New Director Nominated [44]
2012 Bad Memories BBC Audio Drama Awards Best Use of Sound in an Audio Drama Won [45]
2016 Fugue State BBC Audio Drama Awards Best Use of Sound in an Audio Drama with David Thomas Won [46]
2016 Fugue State BBC Audio Drama Awards Tinniswood Award as writer Won [46][47]

References

  1. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (2001-01-12). "Review: The Criminal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  2. ^ Hand, Richard (2015-11-01). Listen in terror: British horror radio from the advent of broadcasting to the digital age. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-5261-0257-7.
  3. ^ Plunkett, John (2012-08-21). "New Tricks writer launches four-letter Twitter tirade over stars' criticism". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  4. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Friday Drama, Fragments". BBC. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  5. ^ "Fragments". Sweet Talk Productions. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  6. ^ a b "BBC Radio 4 - Friday Drama, The Listener". BBC. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  7. ^ Lamarr, Mark (2008-08-21). "Radio pick of the day: The Listener". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  8. ^ a b "Bad Memories". Sweet Talk Productions. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  9. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - BBC Audio Drama Awards - 2012 Winners". BBC. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  10. ^ a b "Fugue State". Sweet Talk Productions. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  11. ^ a b "Mythos". Sweet Talk Productions. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  12. ^ "Tinniswood Award 2016: shortlist announced". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  13. ^ "Tinniswood Award winner 2016". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  14. ^ "Mythos Episode 2: Glamis". Sweet Talk Productions. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  15. ^ "Mythos Episode 3: Albion". Sweet Talk Productions. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  16. ^ "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  17. ^ "The Curious Case of Charles Dexter Ward". Sweet Talk Productions. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  18. ^ "The Whisperer in the Darkness". Sweet Talk Productions. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  19. ^ "The Lovecraft Investigations". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Exploring the podcast phenomenon with Julian Simpson who has produced hit shows for the BBC". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  21. ^ "The week in audio: The Shadow Over Innsmouth; Hunting Ghislaine and more". The Guardian. 2020-11-21. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  22. ^ Liptak, Andrew (2019-01-27). "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward podcast is like Serial mixed with True Detective". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  23. ^ Jeffries, Stuart. "Radio 4's new H.P. Lovecraft adaptation will give you the chills". The Spectator. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  24. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (2021-03-19). "The 50 greatest podcasts". The New European. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  25. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Limelight, Who is Aldrich Kemp?". BBC. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  26. ^ "The week in audio: Who Is Aldrich Kemp?; I Must Have Loved You; Some Kind of Black". The Guardian. 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  27. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (2023-03-25). "The week in audio: Terri White: Finding Britain's Ghost Children; From Gay to Ze; Who Killed Aldrich Kemp?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  28. ^ "The Criminal (1999)". BFI. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  29. ^ "I Confess (2001)". BFI. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  30. ^ "Murder Prevention[13/11/2004] (2004)". BFI. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  31. ^ "Murder Prevention[20/11/2004] (2004)". BFI. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  32. ^ "In Divine Proportion (2005)". BFI. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  33. ^ "The Word of God (2005)". BFI. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  34. ^ "Spooks[27/10/2005] (2005)". BFI. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  35. ^ "Spooks[10/11/2005] (2005)". BFI. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  36. ^ "Final Curtain (2008)". BFI. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  37. ^ "Hustle[22/01/2009] (2009)". BFI. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  38. ^ "Hustle[29/01/2009] (2009)". BFI. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  39. ^ "Dead Man Talking (2010)". BFI. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  40. ^ "The Almost People (2011)". BFI. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  41. ^ BBFC. "Doctor Who - The Almost People". BBFC. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  42. ^ "The Rebel Flesh (2011)". BFI. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  43. ^ Green, Jennifer (2001-03-05). "Amores Perros sweeps Fantasporto". Screen. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  44. ^ "Bios « Primal Screen". www.primalscreen.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  45. ^ "BBC announces winners of BBC Audio Drama Awards". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  46. ^ a b "BBC Radio 4 - BBC Audio Drama Awards - BBC Audio Drama Awards 2016 Winners". BBC. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  47. ^ "Tinniswood Award winner 2016". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2022-04-03.

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