A Plague on All Our Houses

Radio drama is usually performed by a group of actors in one room, assembled around one microphone. But during the COVID-19 pandemic this became an impossibility—that level of proximity was potentially lethal. Instead, producers had to find ways of keeping people apart while still fostering a company atmosphere. The solution was to use computer screens. While the audio quality on video-conferencing platforms like Zoom was not of a high enough standard for broadcast, using the software to enable actors to act, interact, and react was key. As theater practitioners developed ways of using video conferencing to continue producing visual performances, those working in audio drama found that through the use of such platforms they could maintain the essential interconnectedness of actors working together even when they were vast distances apart. Through interviews with practitioners, this essay looks at productions of early modern plays recorded and aired during the pandemic between spring 2020 and the end of 2021. It primarily focuses on the BBC’s output as the largest producer of such plays but also looks at the work of The Public Theater in New York, which embraced audio as a way of continuing to reach audiences. It shows that screens were an essential part of the creation of these productions and emphasises that the so-called blind medium of radio requires visual, interpersonal contact in order to work at its best.