Week 8 Radio Blog

This week’s article for the radio blog was an episode of a radio drama titled “Life Lines”. We drop in on an emergency call line operative answering the phone to a man with suicidal tendencies. The tension and drama of the piece derives from the central character trying to piece together the location of the man on the phone in a race against time to save his life. The episode opens with music and sound effects. There are actors voicing the piece, as it is a radio drama. The dialogue shoots back and forth between the line operative and Pete. The drama is effectively tense and stressful and the audience is successfully captivated by the techniques used, e.g. dialogue, actors, sound effects etc. When the thirteen minute segment reaches its closing minutes, the tension increases exponentially and the result is a tightly paced conclusion. There are sound effects when Ian reaches the door to Pete; we hear him banging the door through the phone trying to enter. The audience is left in suspense with the shuffling sounds as Ian enters the room. Overall, I believe this is an effective Radio drama, both technically and in a narrative sense. I found it captivating for it’s complete duration.