Enquirer

Blending fact, anecdote and passionate opinion, Enquirer is a rapid response to the unfolding events in the newspaper industry. It is based on interviews with over forty journalists and was first performed in June as a site-specific piece of theatre performed in an empty media office block in Glasgow. 

This specially produced radio adaptation is a co-production between the National Theatre of Scotland, the London Review of Books and Hopscotch Films.

Edited and directed by Vicky Featherstone and John Tiffany, co-edited by Andrew O'Hagan. The Enquirer cast includes: Maureen Beattie, John Bett, Billy Boyd, James Anthony Pearson, Gabriel Quigley and Billy Riddoch.

Produced for Hopscotch Films by Clara Glynn and Carolynne Sinclair Kidd

Boccia Brothers

With the countdown to the London Paralympic Games well under way, this documentary tells the inspiring story of a bid by two brothers from Lanarkshire to be chosen for the once-in-a-lifetime event. Narrated by Billy Connolly, Boccia Brothers follows Peter and Stephen McGuire from Hamilton in the lead up to the selection process for the Games.

Their discipline is Boccia, a sport similar to French boules and which is believed to have ancient Greek origins. The programme picks up the story with the McGuire brothers riding high in the sport's rankings.

Stephen and Peter have an undiagnosed form of Muscular Dystrophy. Their lives have been burdened with their fair share of heartbreak and misfortune, yet they are inspiring and funny throughout. As well as being skilled practitioners of their sport, they are engaging and amusing characters during the journey.

The story of their quest for selection goes from the Scottish Championships to the International Championships in Portugal and on to the crunch date when the contenders find out if they have made a final cut.

Directed by Martin Clark and Cara Connolly

Watching Ourselves: 60 years of TV in Scotland

The best of drama, comedy, sport and documentary from the last 60 years have been dusted off and brought back to the small screen. Marking the sixtieth anniversary of television broadcasting in Scotland this seven-part series paints a picture of Scottish television and society.

With characteristic warmth and humour Greg Hemphill acts as guide through the years of broadcasting history talking to the actors, producers, writers, directors, and viewers who have found parts of their lives immortalised in TV history.

1911: Review of the Year

Hopscotch Films were commissioned by BBC Learning to create a unique window into what life was like one hundred years ago. With a mix of archive, animation and specially shot footage, we tell the story of six amazing events from the perspective of the witnesses. These are the stories you would be reading about in the newspapers one hundred years ago:

Bombing Raids in Libya:  Italian forces attack Libya in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire.  They drop bombs from small planes in the world’s first air raid.

Industrial Unrest in Glasgow: Women protest against a cut in wages and ten thousand workers strike at the Singer factory.

Armed Gang in shootout with the Police: Home Secretary Winston Churchill watches as police and army battle a gang of jewel thieves.

Art Theft in Paris: the Mona Lisa  is stolen from the Louvre.  It’s so famous it’s unsellable, the police suspect it’s a prank by the modernists.

The Conquest of the South Pole: Admunsun triumphs over Scott in a tale of adversity and heroism.

Street Protests for Democracy : Suffragettes storm parliament and smash windows demanding the vote.

Produced by; John Archer, Carolynne Sinclair Kidd

Directed by: Clara Glynn, Dhivya Chetty, Ewan Morrison, Joseph Briffa, Aileen Ritchie



The School of Scottish Studies

The School of Scottish Studies was founded as a part of the University of Edinburgh in 1951 to collect, archive, research and discover everyday life in Scotland; its culture, and lively arts traditions.

Taking their cue from pioneering American folklorist Alan Lomax, and the mid-century Mass Observation movement, the school’s researchers work in the field recording audio and moving image with people across the  length and breadth of Scotland.

As the school celebrates its diamond anniversary, this documentary looks back at this vast and astonishing range of materials, which tell us as much about the time they were made in as about the lives they were seeking to capture. We look to the present and future, as we meet some current researchers as they continue the work. 

Directed by Joseph Briffa

Produced by John Archer

Broadcast on 30th November 2011, BBC Scotland