Daniel Thurman

Afternoon Play: The 40 Year Twitch by Daniel Thurman

Daniel Thurman writes about the making of his BBC Radio 4 comedy drama.

Daniel Thurman, BBC Blogs, 8th June 2011

A terrific performance by Paula Wilcox is central to this amusing drama by Daniel Thurman that explores the dangers of having too much time on your hands. She plays Yvonne, whose world is thrown upside down when, aged 64, she loses her job. Until this cataclysmic moment Yvonne and her husband Neil (Philip Jackson) have drifted along in contented domesticity while he indulged his passion for birdwatching. But suddenly, Yvonne starts to see Neil's hobby as something more sinister; a reason to escape, a desperate cry for freedom - despite the protestations of her pragmatic friend Wendy (the peerless Anne Reid). There are some beautifully observed moments and tremendously witty dialogue that - very much in the vein of Alan Bennett - finds rich humour in the seemingly mundane.

Tony Peters, Radio Times, 8th June 2011