On The Ceiling (BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play)

A BBC Radio 4 play by Nigel Planer about some of the people involved in the decoration of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Nigel Planer is best known for his role as Neil in The Young Ones. An award-winning actor, writer and comedian, he has appeared in numerous television and stage productions. His radio credits include playing Lionel Fox in Gloomsbury, and scripting the BBC Radio 4 plays The Magnificent Andrea and On the Ceiling.

High up on the wooden scaffolding tower of the Sistine Chapel, two fresco plasterers get on with the day’s work preparing the ceiling for their boss Michelangelo who has not bothered to turn up for work again. As they do so, they bemoan the uselessness of the great master.  Pope Julius and Cardinal Alidosi visit the chapel to inspect the progress of their commission. They are never very impressed, and the Pope is more concerned about getting Michelangelo to do his funeral monument at a knock-down price.  ‘On the Ceiling’ is not about great artists; it is about those people whose names don’t go down in history: the ones who do the essential drudge work, their frustration at their lack of genius and their pride in their own technical expertise. In this version of events, low elements combine to make high art.  Starring Phil Daniels as Lapo, Bryan Dick as Loti, Gary Waldhorn as Pope Julius and Roger Lloyd Pack as Cardinal Alidosi. Directed by Mary Peate.   ‘On the Ceiling’ was originally broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 7 February 2009 and repeated on 11 December 2010.

Nigel Planer

Roger Allam

Sally Orrock

Brian Bowles

Jane Wittenshaw

Sam Dale

Stuart McLoughlin

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

At the heart of this explosive BBC Radio 4 comedy-drama are two morally opposed characters, both in love with the same woman, who has just - tragically - died. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 22 March 2011, The Magnificent Andrea is the first original radio play by Nigel Planer ('The Young Ones', 'Hairspray'), in which two wonderful characters, Barry (Roger Allam) and Nigel (Nigel Planer), collide and wrestle over the memory of their shared inspirational warrior woman - and of course, her home. Andrea's former husband, boozy columnist Barry, is at the tail end of a career marked by low achievement in pugnacious, snide journalism. By contrast, Nigel - recent partner until her sudden death - is an alternative but ultra-orthodox, politically-correct naturopath. We join Barry after a typically hearty breakfast on his way from Chelsea to attend the funeral in South London, where he confronts his squeaky-clean nemesis Nigel. The lugubrious Barry is appalled at the ceremony, and it is while milling outside that the basically decent Nigel makes the mistake of inviting Barry back to the house - Barry's house - for the reception. There the fireworks really start... 'The Magnificent Andrea' also stars Sally Orrock, Brian Bowles, Jane Whittenshaw, Sam Dale, Joanna Monro and Stuart McLoughlin.

Nigel Planer

Books by Nigel Planer

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