The Stage

Radio 3 to broadcast noise pollution drama by Wade

Published Thursday 23 April 2009 at 14:35

Award-winning playwright Laura Wade has turned her attention to the effects of noise pollution for her latest work - a production for BBC Radio 3 that will star Rory Kinnear and Anne Reid.

Called Hum, the 75-minute play is set in Bristol and is based on a mysterious, low frequency noise that only a small percentage of people in the city can hear.

Wade, whose productions Colder Than Here and Breathing Corpses earned her the 2005 Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, said: “One of the main characters is an environmental health officer, played by Nina Sosanya, who deals with noise pollution issues. Having done research about that, I became really interested in noise as a wider thing, because I had not realised before what an emotive issue it is. It really seems to cut right to the heart of our sensitivities. Sound gets inside you - it’s a physical thing - and someone working in environmental health is often dealing with people who are right at the end of their tether, which is fantastic dramatic territory.”

Wade said she was invited to write the play for the Drama on 3 slot after working with BBC producer and director Steven Canny for a special Radio 3 broadcast to mark the Royal Court’s 50th birthday in 2006.

The 31-year-old playwright also revealed to The Stage that she has recently finished a new commission for the Royal Court and is developing her play Colder Than Here for television with production company Hat Trick.

Hum will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday, May 17 at 8pm