Intermission is a very short radio play I wrote in 2015. It recently passed the tenth anniversary of its broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1—Ireland’s national broadcaster—and I thought I’d mark the milestone with a short post about how the play came to be produced, and how it felt to hear it broadcast live over the internet from the other side of the world.
This is the only radio play I’ve ever written. All my other plays have been for the stage. But when I finished this one, I felt strongly compelled to try and get it in front of an audience. There was something about it I was genuinely satisfied with—especially its slightly meta quality, which I’d aimed for and, I think, achieved. It felt like something that deserved to be heard.
I did some research into production companies and broadcasters who might take it on. RTÉ Radio 1 was clearly at the top of the list. I knew the play was very short, but I believed in it. I printed out a copy, found the right address, and sent it off to Ireland.
A week or two later, I was out walking my dog one night when my phone rang. The number wasn’t Australian—I nearly didn’t answer, assuming it was spam. But I picked up, and a thick Irish accent introduced herself as Goretti Slavin, producer at RTÉ Radio 1. She was warm and charming. She told me that most people in the office had read my play—and they loved it. They wanted to produce it. Would I be okay with that? And how did one thousand euro sound as payment?
It was, without exaggeration, the best phone call I’ve ever received.
Soon after, I signed the contract and Goretti began updating me on the production. It came together in about two weeks. There were no rewrites—just some subtle additions: sound design, background effects, a little music. The actors (there are only two characters) were excellent.
I wanted to hear it live, not as a replay. The show it aired on—Drama on One—broadcasts Sunday nights in Ireland, which meant a 5:00am Monday start here in Brisbane. I set an alarm, plugged headphones into my laptop, and lay there in the dark, wide awake and listening.
Hearing it go to air live was one of the best moments of my creative life.
Intermission is still available online. If you’d like to listen, here’s the link:
👉 https://www.rte.ie/radio/podcasts/20795788-intermission-by-peter-ayscough/
I hope you enjoy it.
desperate nothings 