Jason's Mates

Peter Strickland is a highly regarded, award winning independent film maker. He has written and directed several Radio 4 dramas, all well received by audiences and critics. In Jason's Mates, Peter satirises the low to high level corruption that permeates some democracies at local level. He has harnessed the style of old, children's television animation in order to create a highly stylised world of reality-based but fictionalised political corruption, exploring it with wit and acute observation.

Peter says, "Jason's Mates is a response to the perennial problems of corruption and almost every incident in the play is loosely based on real life practices or occurrences. Playful satire felt like an appropriate response to something profoundly poisonous in society and I wanted to aim for a tone similar to the BBC animation I grew up on in the 70s. The play is narrated (as well as sporadically sung) and has the feel of a children's show. Presenting adult themes within the context of a children's format felt like the most effective way to tell a story of corruption, which is regrettably ever-relevant. The fictitious locale is also important in order to avoid scrutiny over what is or isn't correct, which will give us the freedom to tell the story of something all too real."

Jason is the Mayor of the prestigious and picturesque town of Ramsonlea. An election is coming up and an opposition candidate called Ernest is promising an overhaul of all the corruption and nepotism that has plagued local government under Jason's watch. Jason's mates have hugely benefited from his rule and become obscenely rich from the funds he's diverted to them and himself.

His friend Portie owns countless companies that win various tenders for roadworks and church renovation, which are invariably done badly to siphon off money, allowing local government to beg for more funds later down the line. His louche and arrogant son Lance is given a high-ranking position after the University is forced to give him top marks. Meanwhile, Ramsonlea Hospital is falling apart and the schools are suffering.