We are delighted to announce the winners of the Radio Play competition.
1st Place: ‘Chunky Monkey’ a 45 minute radio play by Emma Howell
‘Chunky Monkey’ is a 45 minute comedy about a Government Minister who uses a year 6 homework assignment as the basis for his energy policy. It was entertaining to see the journey made from Minister to eco-warrior, and the triumph over back-stabbing power-hungry colleagues. Exposing the conflict in priorities between the kids and adults, and between the adults, was a nice touch. A much needed environmental story with a feel good ending.
I was thrilled find out I had won the Green Stories Radio Drama Competition – it has fuelled my determination to get my writing career off the ground and follow my dream of writing about the issues I care so passionately about. At a time when there are so many ‘bad news’ stories about climate change, Green Stories provides hope and inspiration, a much needed antidote to eco anxiety.
Emma Howell
2nd place: ‘Sponge City’ by George Willcox: a six part series of 30 minute episodes.
Sponge City is a detective procedural set in an imagined future where the human race has solved the climate crisis. This came a close second. The world is well-imagined and a detective procedural gives the characters plenty of reasons to explore the dynamics of how it works, thus highlighting transformative green solutions within the standard buddy cop detective genre.
This was a really intriguing and rewarding competition to be a part of, and I really admire what Green Stories is striving to achieve; an optimistic vision of a sustainable future.
George Willcox
3rd Place: Honey Inside by Holly Larrett
This was a perfectly structured 45 minute play set inside a prison where an experienced prisoner mentors a younger inmate. Bee-keeping provides an affirming and joyful escape. Our judges all agreed it was beautifully written and characterised – the reason it slipped to third was that urban bee keeping in itself isn’t a green solution as it can disrupt the natural balance of pollinators. However, we gave it third place as Holly managed to smuggle in some messages about the importance of avoiding pesticides.
I was immediately attracted to the competition’s concept of using positivity and creativity to promote change; it gave me the spur I needed to put pen to paper and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire process. This was my first attempt at a radio play so I was thrilled to have been one of the finalists and it has galvanised me to pursue my writing ambitions.
Holly Larrett
