First Light
Radio by Al Smith
Rob first asked me to direct him in RADIO back in 2007, after he’d seen it performed at the Scarborough Festival by the Kandinsky Theatre Company. It’s taken us a while to find the right moment to go ahead with the project but I’m glad we finally made it!
Needless to say, Charlie’s story is as poignant today as it has ever been. But more than being simply a critique of war, RADIO is a touching tribute to a lost loved one, delicately illustrating an entire family’s demise through one man’s pursuit of The Dream, whilst exploring the life-changing consequences, both good and bad, for ourselves and those around us, of the smallest of decisions we make every day...
The more time I have spent with RADIO, the more I have grown to love the story. Should you get to see the play, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have,
Lucy x
A play about memory, love and spaceships, RADIO parallels a young man’s coming of age with the birth and death of the Apollo Space Program, and explores the consequences of our losing sight of the Earth.
Synopsis:
Set in the geographical center of the United States, Radio is about Charlie Fairbanks, a farmer-turned-flag maker's son who shoots for the Moon. A play about memory, love and spaceships, Radio parallels a young man’s coming of age with the birth and death of the Apollo Space Program, and explores the consequences of our losing sight of the Earth.
Al Smith comments:
"I am tremendously flattered to hear that First Light have chosen to stage Radio as their inaugural piece. I wrote it as a tiny project for the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe, and I quite expected that it would have a very brief life, and then never be seen again."... How strange to now think that it’s now been performed in New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and beyond!
"Radio’s a very personal play for me. In 1963, my newly-married parents moved to the United States where my father had secured a post-doctoral position with the team of scientists who were choosing the various landing sites on the surface of the moon for the forthcoming Apollo missions. His stories about that era of manned-space-flight have inspired me greatly, and I’m sure there’s a great chunk of that relationship in the play. I do hope you enjoy it!" "Break a leg!"
Special Thanks
Roy Palmer and his photography.
Stuart Guest at Colebourne Primary School.
Ian Craddock at The Old Joint Stock Theatre.
Misty’s Big Adventure for ‘Between Me and You’.
The Byrds, David Crosby & Russ Joslin for 'Hey Mister Spaceman'.
Ben Pearson and Alex McCormack.
and to Sam Dyer & Steven Smith who created the Lighting and Sound.