A return of the Overtone hit which uses digital technology to allow a living person to have a ‘conversation’ with someone no longer with us, using clips from the archives.
“Adam Fowler is a weaver of dreams. Every early afternoon last week, Radio 4 featured another five of his uniquely fabricated conversations with dead people in Unforgettable. On Monday, Geoff Posner, her long-term TV producer, talked to Victoria Wood (1953–2016). How’s it done? Fowler mines the BBC archive for snatches of speech that appear to answer specific questions. In Posner’s case, they were about Wood’s determination to be truthful in script and performance. On Tuesday, Adrian Laing, barrister, “asked” his father, the psychiatrist RD Laing (1927-89), about family life and the basis for his controversial therapy. And so on, through the week, people searching for answers from those they knew personally or professionally, all in 15 minutes. They don’t know what the “answers” are going to be, but these “dialogues” had depth and poignancy. Pure radio.” The Sunday Times
TV director and producer Geoff Posner has an imagined chat with the late Victoria Wood, reliving their classic comedy collaborations like Dinner Ladies and As Seen on TV.
Adrian Laing has an imagined chat with his late father RD Laing, challenging him on his controversial psychiatric methods, his excessive drinking, his frequent depression, and his inconsistent parenting.
Samantha Roddick has an imagined conversation with her late mother, businesswoman Anita Roddick, and realises that the founder of The Body Shop had even more influence on her than she thought.
Isaac Julien has an imagined chat with former collaborator Professor Stuart Hall. The artist and sociologist discuss the future of British identity and the immigrant influence on British art.
Dr Patrick French has an imagined conversation with the late writer Doris Lessing. French, who is Professor for the Public Understanding of the Humanities at Ahmedabad University, is currently writing her authorised biography and draws on his exclusive access to her diaries.
All programmes are available on our Soundcloud Channel.
