monkeyfudge.com

• Website: http://monkeyfudge.com/category/audiodrama/

monkeyfudge.com is the website of Gavin Byrne, who is involved in producing radio drama for near_fm_90.3 in a variety of genres. The website offers links to the radio shows, as well as some details about their production.

The Brennan Mob is a six part comedy half-hour comedy drama set in Dublin. When the father of the family is arrested for pretending to shoot a young Garda with his finger after being stopped while driving in a bus lane, all manner of complications arise. His celebrity model daughter is hoping to marry the son of one of the richest businessmen in the city, but her father's escapade being reported in the tabloids leads the businessman to believe his son is going out with the daughter of a gangster. Misunderstandings arise one after the other thereafter.

What will the future hold for Humanity?

Dante's Domain – Three part apocalyptic Radio Drama Series from the pen of Jack Byrne and performed by the near drama company.

A new 3 part drama anthology series by local writers and performed by local drama groups.

'Playing for Time' by Henry Hudson Set in a concentration camp in Eastern Europe in early 1945. Levi Esser is a middle-aged Jewish violinist. He plays in the camp orchestra and so avoids the gas chambers. Generations of Esser's used the violin that Esser plays. He planned to hand it on to his only son, Rene but Rene was killed in the war. Esser wants a young inmate, Shimon, to take his place in the orchestra so the instrument will continue to be played thereby preserving the memory and traditions of the Jews and of the Esser's in particular.

'The St. James Rejoice Boarding House' by Jack Byrne A half hour radio drama adaptation of James Joyce's 'The Boarding House' from Dubliners, this years Dublin City Libraries 'One City, One Book' choice. The storyline is original and deals with the tribulations of a male boarder in the titled boarding house. The house is run by an old haridan and her flighty daughter who eventually beguiles the boarder into bed and an unwanted pregnancy.

'Gangsters, Donkeys & Spiritual Juice' by Denis Byrne The play is set in Dublin in the 1980s. In a Dublin Northside estate riddled with crime and political corruption a kid named Micko sees a vision of the Virgin Mary. Crowds gather and an idolised local politician with criminal connections tries to take advantage of the situation.

A 3 part radio drama anthology series dedicated to the memory of founding member of the Near Drama Company, Kay Farrell.

Adaptions of stories by James Joyce.

Ivy Day In The Committee Room In a committee room, Mat O'Connor, a canvasser for Richard Tierney, a candidate in an upcoming municipal election, discusses child-rearing with Old Jack, who tries to keep a fire going. Joe Hynes, another canvasser, arrives and needles O'Connor on whether he's been paid for his work yet. He proceeds to defend rival candidate Colgan's working class background and maintains that Tierney, although a Nationalist, will likely present a welcome address at the upcoming visit of King Edward VII. When Hynes points out that it is Ivy Day, a commemoration of Charles Stewart Parnell, a nostalgic silence fills the room. Another canvasser, John Henchy, enters and derides Tierney for not having paid him yet. When Hynes leaves, Henchy voices a suspicion that the man is a spy for Colgan. Henchy badmouths another canvasser, Crofton, just before Crofton himself enters with Lyons. Crofton had worked for the Conservative candidate until the party withdrew and gave their support to Tierney.

The talk of politics drifts to Charles Stewart Parnell, who has his defenders and detractors in the room. Hynes returns and is encouraged to read his sentimental poem dedicated to Parnell. The poem is highly critical of those who betrayed him, including the Roman Catholic Church, and places Parnell among the ancient heroes of Ireland. All applaud the performance and seem to forget their differences for the moment.

A Painful Case Mr. Duffy, a middle-aged bank cashier, deliberately lives in an isolated suburb of Dublin. He is characterized as very meticulous and ordered and has little social contact. At a concert one night, Duffy makes the acquaintance of Mrs. Emily Sinico, a married mother. They start up a relationship that is innocent enough to be condoned by Mrs. Sinico's husband, who believes the two's discussions revolve mostly around his daughter and the possibility of a relationship between her and Duffy. The two draw closer together, and one night Mrs. Sinico impulsively takes his hand and presses it to her cheek, but Duffy is not pleased at the development and ends their meetings. Four years later, he reads that Mrs. Sinico has been struck by a train and killed. The newspaper article, the title of which provides the title of the story, contains an account by her husband, who states that she began drinking two years ago. The details of the accident suggest that she may have committed suicide. He reacts at first with revulsion, concluding that some inherent weakness led to her drinking and the accident, but he slowly comes to believe that it was his rejection that condemned her to solitude and death. He reflects on his own loneliness: “No one wanted him; he was outcast from life's feast.” The story ends with Duffy listening to the silence of the surrounding night atop a hill overlooking Dublin where he and Sinico used to sit down and talk, where he realizes just how lonely he really is.

Rivitin' History is a two part satirical drama by Pat Meehan.

Meet Marion Monroe and 'Duck the Bullets', as they are taken in by Professor Henri DuFornicate's ability to travel back through time in ancient Ireland.

A three-part audio drama anthology series.

'The Reading' by Helen McNamara. This play examines the position of a so-called 'common law wife' when it comes to wills and the law. This radio play examines the plight of such a woman and how she can be cast aside despite caring for a man whom she loved and was mot his wife in legal terms. It graphically portrays the raw greed of some people when property is involved. This a bleak look at the nasty side of life.

'Poodles' by Denis Byrne This play explores the haphazard effort of young drug addict aided by his hapless girlfriend from well-to-do families to rob a small cafe to get money to feed their habit. The play breaks through the veneer of respectability and what goes on in these families. However, the cafe owner, whose own nephew died from drugs, saves the day by forcing the young man to fight his demons, re-discover his artistic abilities and start on the road to recovery.

'Black Monday' by Henry Hudson. This is a most unusual play as the main characters are presented by the voices of a bowler hat worn by a stockbroker and a greasy cap worn by a down and out. The play is set in 1987 and examines the destruction of the stockbroker by the utter collapse of the stock markets. This is a bleak look back at that time, which was never supposed to happen again. But it reflects, in an ironic way, of what is happening in the current turmoil on stock markets today.

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