Great news from the creators of It’s Grim Up North – a comedic romp imagining life during the genesis of Hadrian’s Wall:

A new comedy called It’s Grim Up North will have its premiere broadcast on BBC Radio Cumbria next week (Monday, March 5)

Written by Tyneside-based playwrights Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood, the new series was commissioned by BBC Cumbria managing director Nigel Dyson after he heard the pilot show on the duo’s website.

Waugh and Wood’s national and international comedy stage play hits include Dirty Dusting, Waiting For Gateaux, Son of Samurai and Maggie’s End. They recently wrote a couple of sketches for Geordie TV stars Denise Welsh and Charlie Hardwick at the Sunday For Sammy charity show at Newcastle’s City Hall which was attended by more than 4,000 people. They also scooped the Best Comedy Screenplay award at last year’s New York-based Gotham Screenplay Festival

It’s Grim Up North follows the exploits of dodgy Roman auxiliary soldiers building Hadrian’s Wall in AD126.

The cast comprises Dale Meeks, Dean Logan, Gary Kitching, Mat Hobbins, Karen Traynor, Chris Connel and Jackie Fielding, who play a variety of characters based around Drizzlewort, a milecastle on the wall: Britons from south of the wall, rebellious Picts and auxiliaries from sunnier parts of the vast Roman Empire; hence their dislike of the constant rain in the wilds of Northumberland’s picturesque but cold and wet moors.

Mr Dyson said: “It’s terrific to have such writers as Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood producing new writing for us and it’s fantastic for our audience to be able to enjoy this. I can’t wait to hear it”

Trevor said: “We are grateful to Nigel and BBC Radio Cumbria for being so positive and pro-active. We loved working on the show and it’s great fun. We are always keen to hear feedback via our website.”

The five, six-minute episodes of It’s Grim Up North can be heard live on BBC Radio Cumbria at 10.10am, starting on Monday, March 5, with the subsequent episodes transmitting at the same time throughout the week. Those outside the BBC Radio Cumbria remit can listen to the episodes at “Listen Live” or “Listen Again” on the BBC Radio Cumbria website bbc.co.uk/cumbria. It will be available on-line from March 5 until March 18.

Congrats!

Cool news, folks – the Atlanta Fringe Festival becomes the first festival of its kind in the US to seek out contemporary audio drama productions for streaming during the festival.

Full details:

Now through March 30, Atlanta Fringe is accepting submission in the categories of Radio Plays, Storytelling, and Sound Art. Atlanta Fringe is unjuried and uncensored. Up to 25 submissions will be accepted per category, on a first-come, first-served basis. The application fee is $25.

Radio plays would be considered more fully produced audio drama, using dialogue, music and sound effects to help listeners imagine the story. Examples of classic audio drama include The War of the Worlds and The Lone Ranger. Examples of great radio storytelling can be found on The Moth Radio Hour. Sound art would be considered an exploration of the aural experience, an art form that examines the aesthetics of noise.

The audio submissions will be placed into a secure, password protected web archive available only to those who pay the small $2 fee to access archive. The revenue collected will be distributed among artists featured in the web archive. Each artist will also have the opportunity to interview on the free internet Fringe Radio station to further promote their production. The Atlanta Fringe will include a radio schedule and information in its Official Guide.

The submissions will only be available to the public during the week of the festival, May 7-13. Visit http://atlantafringefestival.submishmash.com/submit for further details and to submit your radio play, story or sound art.

I’ve submitted the pilot episode of our apocalyptic audio drama The Cleansed. By the way, the full Season 1 of our grim post-oil adventure is coming soon… March 9 you’ll hear the first chapter for free on RDR, and then a new episode weekly through Halloween 2012, when we’ll feature the season finale.