Rob Shearman
Encyclopedia
Robert Shearman is currently best known as a writer for Doctor Who
and for his ongoing association with Jarvis & Ayres Productions (Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres
) which has resulted in six plays for BBC Radio 4
broadcast in the station's regular weekday Afternoon Play
slot, and one classic serial.
(where he was a contemporary of David Walliams
) and University of Exeter
. During this time, he was regularly seen on stage at the University in various productions.
Whilst a student he worked briefly as a French and Italian translator.
, had a play produced by Francis Ford Coppola
, and has received several international awards for his work in theatre
. Award-winning plays include Fool to Yourself, which premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre
in 1997, and which won the inaugural Sophie Winter Memorial Trust Award, 'Easy Laughter', (Sunday Times Playwriting Award), 'Coupling', (World Drama Trust Award), 'Binary Dreamers', (Guinness Award for Theatre Ingenuity, in association with the Royal National Theatre
). In 1993 he was made resident dramatist at the Northcott Theatre
in Exeter, the youngest playwright to be honoured by the Arts Council in this way, and for them he wrote a series of plays, including his controversial comic fable about God living in suburbia, 'Breaking Bread Together', which later was revived in London. His association with his mentor, Alan Ayckbourn, has been particularly fruitful, with 'White Lies', 'About Colin', and 'Knights in Plastic Armour' proving especially popular.
At this time Shearman was also encouraged to become a director for the theatre, largely reviving productions of his work abroad; in the 1990s he had a recurring engagement with the Teatro Agora in Rome, and more recently, in 2007, the revival he directed of his comedy 'Shaw Cornered', was the stand-out hit as international guest at the Old World Theatre Festival in Delhi.
began with a play written for BBV
Audios, Punchline, in which Sylvester McCoy
played the Dominie, a disguised version of the Seventh Doctor
. This was penned under the pseudonym "Jeremy Leadbetter" (the name of a character from the popular BBC sitcom The Good Life). Several audio plays for Big Finish
followed, The Holy Terror, The Chimes of Midnight and Jubilee all winning best audio drama in the Doctor Who Magazine
polls of their respective years. He has also had Doctor Who short stories published - his most recent being a chapter in the BBC Books novel 'The Story of Martha', due out in December 2008.
Shearman wrote the television episode "Dalek
" for the 2005 series of Doctor Who
produced by Russell T Davies for the BBC
. This was, at Davies' request, a re-working of the themes introduced by Shearman's earlier Big Finish audio play Jubilee
. "Dalek" was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form in 2006, and came in second in terms of votes for its category. Shearman provided an audio commentary for the episode on the Doctor Who – Complete First Series DVD
boxset.
, broadcast on BBC One
.
Shearman also provided the initial script for the second series of the BBC 7
programme The Chain Gang
: Picture This. The series was awarded a Bronze in the Sony Radio Academy Awards' "The Competition Award" category. A further series of The Chain Gang, this time called Paper, Scissors, Stone, was a thirteen part drama series, in which Shearman worked weekly from listeners' suggestions in shaping the story; this won a Silver at the Sony Radio Awards.
His second collection, Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical, was published in late 2009. An odder, darker book than the first, it won the British Fantasy Award, the Edge Hill Short Story Reader's Prize - making Shearman the first writer ever to be nominated twice for this award - and the Shirley Jackson Award. A special collector's edition contained 'The Hidden Story'; a tale about letters found within books, each copy was handwritten by the author, and contained in envelopes within envelopes in a Russian doll effect.
In the same year, Mad Norwegian Press
published Wanting to Believe, a book by Shearman that examines The X-Files
and its spin-off series (Millennium
and The Lone Gunmen
) in a critical fashion. Also in 2009, Shearman collaborated with comedian Toby Hadoke
to watch and comment on every episode of Doctor Who from the programme's debut in 1963 to David Tennant
's final story. The resulting discussions are being published by Mad Norwegian Press in three volumes as Running Through Corridors: Rob and Toby's Marathon Watch of Doctor Who. The first volume, covering the 1960s, was published in 2010; the second volume, covering the 1970s, is scheduled for release in November 2011.
In 2010, Big Finish published seven of his better known stage plays as Caustic Comedies.
His third collection, "half short stories, half novel", is to be published in June 2011, called Everyone's Just So So Special.
Shearman describes himself as a comedy writer, but it might be truer to call him an absurdist; most of his work, whatever the medium it is written for, is concerned with the effect on ordinary people when they're propelled into extraordinary or fantastical situations. His controversial early play, 'Easy Laughter', purports to be a Christmas domestic comedy, but eventually reveals itself to be set in a world where the season celebrates not only the birth of Jesus but the successful murder of the Jewish race. His WFA nominated short story, 'Damned if You Don't', is at once a story about disillusioned marriage, but also about a man who falls in love with the talking ghost of Hitler's childhood pet dog.
Afternoon Play
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
and for his ongoing association with Jarvis & Ayres Productions (Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres
Rosalind Ayres
Rosalind Ayres is an English actress. Active since 1970, Ayres may be best known by a wide audience for her role was in the 1997 film Titanic, in which she played Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon....
) which has resulted in six plays for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
broadcast in the station's regular weekday Afternoon Play
Afternoon Play
The Afternoon Play is a long-running drama programming strand, broadcast every weekday at 2.15pm on BBC Radio 4. Each play lasts for 45 minutes, and roughly 190 new Afternoon Plays are broadcast each year....
slot, and one classic serial.
Education
Shearman was educated at Reigate Grammar SchoolReigate Grammar School
Reigate Grammar School is an independent co-educational day school located in the town of Reigate, Surrey, United Kingdom. Intake is from 11 to 18, with the majority of its pupils entering at the age of 11, and others entering at 13 and 16.- History :...
(where he was a contemporary of David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
) and University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
. During this time, he was regularly seen on stage at the University in various productions.
Whilst a student he worked briefly as a French and Italian translator.
Career
An established theatrical playwright, Shearman has worked with Alan AyckbournAlan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
, had a play produced by Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
, and has received several international awards for his work in theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
. Award-winning plays include Fool to Yourself, which premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre
Stephen Joseph Theatre
The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain....
in 1997, and which won the inaugural Sophie Winter Memorial Trust Award, 'Easy Laughter', (Sunday Times Playwriting Award), 'Coupling', (World Drama Trust Award), 'Binary Dreamers', (Guinness Award for Theatre Ingenuity, in association with the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
). In 1993 he was made resident dramatist at the Northcott Theatre
Northcott Theatre
The Northcott Theatre is a theatre situated on the Streatham Campus of the University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, England.-History:The Northcott is the seventh building in Exeter to be used as a theatre....
in Exeter, the youngest playwright to be honoured by the Arts Council in this way, and for them he wrote a series of plays, including his controversial comic fable about God living in suburbia, 'Breaking Bread Together', which later was revived in London. His association with his mentor, Alan Ayckbourn, has been particularly fruitful, with 'White Lies', 'About Colin', and 'Knights in Plastic Armour' proving especially popular.
At this time Shearman was also encouraged to become a director for the theatre, largely reviving productions of his work abroad; in the 1990s he had a recurring engagement with the Teatro Agora in Rome, and more recently, in 2007, the revival he directed of his comedy 'Shaw Cornered', was the stand-out hit as international guest at the Old World Theatre Festival in Delhi.
Doctor Who
His association with Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
began with a play written for BBV
BBV
BBV is a video and audio production company specialising in science fiction drama, known for its links with the British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
Audios, Punchline, in which Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...
played the Dominie, a disguised version of the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
. This was penned under the pseudonym "Jeremy Leadbetter" (the name of a character from the popular BBC sitcom The Good Life). Several audio plays for Big Finish
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
followed, The Holy Terror, The Chimes of Midnight and Jubilee all winning best audio drama in the Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
polls of their respective years. He has also had Doctor Who short stories published - his most recent being a chapter in the BBC Books novel 'The Story of Martha', due out in December 2008.
Shearman wrote the television episode "Dalek
Dalek (Doctor Who episode)
"Dalek" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 30 April 2005. It should not be confused with the first Dalek serial, The Daleks...
" for the 2005 series of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
produced by Russell T Davies for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. This was, at Davies' request, a re-working of the themes introduced by Shearman's earlier Big Finish audio play Jubilee
Jubilee (Doctor Who audio)
Jubilee is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Elements of the story were reworked by Rob Shearman to create the television episode "Dalek" in the 2005 series.-Plot:...
. "Dalek" was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form in 2006, and came in second in terms of votes for its category. Shearman provided an audio commentary for the episode on the Doctor Who – Complete First Series DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
boxset.
Other television work
Other television work has included episodes of the 1950s-set rural drama Born and BredBorn and Bred
Born and Bred is a light-hearted British drama series that aired on BBC One from 2002 to 2005. Created by Chris Chibnall and Nigel McCrery, Born and Breds cast was led by James Bolam and Michael French, who play a father and son who run a cottage hospital in Ormston, a fictional Lancashire village...
, broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
.
Shearman also provided the initial script for the second series of the BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
programme The Chain Gang
The Chain Gang (radio series)
The Chain Gang is a British radio series broadcast on the digital radio station BBC 7. There have so far been two series, the first in 2004 and the second in 2007. The format of the series is that the first episode is scripted by the production team and ends with a cliffhanger. Listeners are then...
: Picture This. The series was awarded a Bronze in the Sony Radio Academy Awards' "The Competition Award" category. A further series of The Chain Gang, this time called Paper, Scissors, Stone, was a thirteen part drama series, in which Shearman worked weekly from listeners' suggestions in shaping the story; this won a Silver at the Sony Radio Awards.
Writing
His first book, a collection of short stories called Tiny Deaths, was published by Comma Press in November 2007. It was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and made the longlist for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. In November 2008, it was named Best Collection at the annual World Fantasy Awards. In 2009, one of the stories from the book, 'No Looking Back', was selected by the National Library of Singapore for the Read! Singapore campaign, ensuring the story was published separately as a mini-book and distributed all over the country in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil; the author was flown over to Singapore to give talks and interviews.His second collection, Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical, was published in late 2009. An odder, darker book than the first, it won the British Fantasy Award, the Edge Hill Short Story Reader's Prize - making Shearman the first writer ever to be nominated twice for this award - and the Shirley Jackson Award. A special collector's edition contained 'The Hidden Story'; a tale about letters found within books, each copy was handwritten by the author, and contained in envelopes within envelopes in a Russian doll effect.
In the same year, Mad Norwegian Press
Mad Norwegian Press
Mad Norwegian Press is an American publisher of science-fiction guides and novels. The company has worked with authors such as Peter David, Harlan Ellison, Robert Shearman, Lance Parkin, Elizabeth Bear, Mary Robinette Kowal, Seanan McGuire, Jody Lynn Nye, Catherynne M...
published Wanting to Believe, a book by Shearman that examines The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
and its spin-off series (Millennium
Millennium (TV series)
Millennium is an American television series created by Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files. Millennium aired on the Fox Network from 1996 to 1999. The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, though most episodes were ostensibly set in or around Seattle, Washington...
and The Lone Gunmen
The Lone Gunmen (TV series)
The Lone Gunmen is a television show created by Chris Carter and broadcast on FOX. It was a spin-off of Carter's popular long-running television series The X-Files and a part of The X-Files franchise, starring several of the show's characters. The Lone Gunmen was first broadcast in March 2001 and,...
) in a critical fashion. Also in 2009, Shearman collaborated with comedian Toby Hadoke
Toby Hadoke
Toby Hadoke is an English actor, writer and stand-up comedian. He is particularly well known for his work on the Manchester comedy circuit, where he performs regularly. He runs the multi award winning XS Malarkey comedy club, and is involved with many of the more experimental and financially...
to watch and comment on every episode of Doctor Who from the programme's debut in 1963 to David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
's final story. The resulting discussions are being published by Mad Norwegian Press in three volumes as Running Through Corridors: Rob and Toby's Marathon Watch of Doctor Who. The first volume, covering the 1960s, was published in 2010; the second volume, covering the 1970s, is scheduled for release in November 2011.
In 2010, Big Finish published seven of his better known stage plays as Caustic Comedies.
His third collection, "half short stories, half novel", is to be published in June 2011, called Everyone's Just So So Special.
Shearman describes himself as a comedy writer, but it might be truer to call him an absurdist; most of his work, whatever the medium it is written for, is concerned with the effect on ordinary people when they're propelled into extraordinary or fantastical situations. His controversial early play, 'Easy Laughter', purports to be a Christmas domestic comedy, but eventually reveals itself to be set in a world where the season celebrates not only the birth of Jesus but the successful murder of the Jewish race. His WFA nominated short story, 'Damned if You Don't', is at once a story about disillusioned marriage, but also about a man who falls in love with the talking ghost of Hitler's childhood pet dog.
Afternoon PlayAfternoon PlayThe Afternoon Play is a long-running drama programming strand, broadcast every weekday at 2.15pm on BBC Radio 4. Each play lasts for 45 minutes, and roughly 190 new Afternoon Plays are broadcast each year....
- "About Colin" (2 February 2000)
- "Inappropriate Behaviour" (17 August 2002)
- "Afternoons with Roger" (11 June 2003)
- "Forever Mine" (14 June 2004)
- "Teacher's Pet" (28 June 2005)
- "Towards the End of the Morning" (4 & 11 September 2005)
- "Odd" (19 April 2006)
Selected theatre works
- Dented Crowns (1991)
- Couplings (1991)
- Easy Laughter (1992)*
- Breaking Bread Together (1993)
- The Mayor of Casterbridge (adapted from Hardy) (1993)
- The Magical Tales of the Brothers Grimm (1993)
- White Lies (1994)*
- Great Expectations (adapted from Dickens) (1994)
- Fool to Yourself (1995)*
- Binary Dreamers (1996)*
- Mercy Killings (1997)
- About Colin (1998)
- Desperate Remedies (adapted from Hardy) (1998)
- Jekyll and Hyde (adapted from Stevenson) (1998)
- Knights in Plastic Armour (1999)*
- Inappropriate Behaviour (2000)*
- Pride and Prejudice (adapted from Austen) (2000)
- Shaw Cornered (2001)*
- Published in Caustic Comedies.
Fiction books
- Tiny Deaths (2007)
- Love Songs for the Shy and Cynical (2009)
- Everyone's Just So So Special (2011)
Doctor Who plays for Big Finish Productions
- The Holy TerrorThe Holy TerrorThe Holy Terror is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
(Sixth DoctorSixth DoctorThe Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
, FrobisherFrobisher (Doctor Who)Frobisher is a fictional character who appeared in the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who in the 1980s. He was a companion of the Sixth and Seventh Doctors...
; November 2000) - The Chimes of MidnightThe Chimes of MidnightThe Chimes of Midnight is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
(Eighth DoctorEighth DoctorThe Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
, CharleyCharley PollardCharlotte Elspeth Pollard, or simply Charley, is a fictional character played by India Fisher in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions, many of which were broadcast on BBC Radio 7, based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A young woman...
; February 2002) - The Maltese PenguinThe Maltese PenguinThe Maltese Penguin is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
(Sixth DoctorSixth DoctorThe Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
, Frobisher; June 2002) - JubileeJubilee (Doctor Who audio)Jubilee is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Elements of the story were reworked by Rob Shearman to create the television episode "Dalek" in the 2005 series.-Plot:...
(Sixth DoctorSixth DoctorThe Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
, Evelyn SmytheEvelyn SmytheDr. Evelyn Smythe is a fictional character played by Maggie Stables in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A professor of history from the 20th century with a fondness for chocolate, she is a...
; January 2003) - DeadlineDeadline (Doctor Who audio)Deadline is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The Doctor Who Unbound dramas pose a series of "What if...?" questions.-Plot:...
(Doctor Who Unbound, featuring Sir Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
; September 2003) - ScherzoScherzo (Doctor Who audio)Scherzo is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the beginning of the "Divergent Universe" saga which continued until The Next Life.-Plot:...
(Eighth DoctorEighth DoctorThe Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
, Charley; December 2003) - My Own Private Wolfgang100 (Doctor Who audio)100 is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. As the 100th release, it is made of four one-part stories, by different authors, rather than the usual multi-part serial...
(Sixth DoctorSixth DoctorThe Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
, Evelyn SmytheEvelyn SmytheDr. Evelyn Smythe is a fictional character played by Maggie Stables in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A professor of history from the 20th century with a fondness for chocolate, she is a...
; September 2007)
Critical guidebooks
- Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium and The Lone Gunmen (2009)
- Running Through Corridors: Rob and Toby's Marathon Watch of Doctor Who (Volume 1: The 60s) (with Toby HadokeToby HadokeToby Hadoke is an English actor, writer and stand-up comedian. He is particularly well known for his work on the Manchester comedy circuit, where he performs regularly. He runs the multi award winning XS Malarkey comedy club, and is involved with many of the more experimental and financially...
) (2010)