Ivan Shakespeare
A Square of One's Own
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May-June 1996; repeated in 1997.
Complete script of the pilot
episode
Click on Virginia Woof
"Virginia Woof " detail. Artist: Clifford Harper
BBC Radio Times for May 11-17, 1996
| Caution: this play is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United Kingdom and all other countries of The Copyright Union, and is subject to royalty. Those interested in production rights are requested to apply to: The Ivan Shakespeare Estate, by contacting his widow Elspeth MacLean, through the Writers Guild |
Critics' Choice "A savagely funny ... lampoon of the Bloomsbury Set ....do not tune in if you think luvvies should be a protected species." -- Paul Donovan |
The Independent 16 May 1996
" ... A Square of One's Own, Radio 4's new late-night sitcom, a kind
of "Carry on Bloomsbury." ... So it's without shame that I confess, it made
me laugh a lot." |
Today's Radio Choice "Those of us who wince at the very mention of the Bloomsbury Group and recoil at such names as Woolf and Bell and Sackville-West will be delighted that the whole lot of them get the bashing they deserve in a fine new comedy, A Square of One's Own (Radio 4, 11 pm). Ivan Shakespeare's spoof, narrated by the precious 'Lytton Strychnine,' is spot-on .... The tone of voice is just right, the jokes keep on coming. This one could indeed, run and run." -- Nigel Andrew |
The Scotsman 18 May 1996
"From the sublime to the ridiculous: the Bloomsbury Group is a plummy target
for satire, and a new radio 4 series (Wednesdays ) A Square of One's
Own, by Ivan Shakespeare, is milking it for all it's worth. ...Vanessa's
affair with the German 'post-depressionist artist', Hans is hilariously
lampooned, civilised conversation |
Radio Choice "... a broadly humorous spoof with the occasional jab of wit." -- Peter Davalle |
The Sunday Telegraph 19 May 1996
"Sally Grace's performance as Virginia Woof was both hilarious and, in an
accusing way, perfectly worthy of an afternoon play." |
Pick of The Day
Aesthetic considerations and the demands of art are paramount in A Square
of One's Own an appealingly coarse and silly spoof of Bloomsbury life.
|
The five episodes of
"A Room of One's Own"
may be held in the BBC Archives
ComedyCollective Writers Project
Ivan Shakespeare