Juliet Ace
Born (1938-06-27) 27 June 1938
Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, South Wales
OccupationDramatist
LanguageEnglish
EducationRose Bruford College of Speech and Drama

Ann Juliet Ace (born 27 June 1938) is a dramatist and screenwriter who contributed to EastEnders and The District Nurse. She also supplied many original scripts and dramatisations to BBC Radio drama, including The Archers. She wrote the screenplay for Cameleon,[1] which won the Golden Spire Award for Best Dramatic Television Feature at the 1998 San Francisco International Film Festival.[2]

Early life and teaching

Juliet Ace was the third daughter of Charles and Glenys Ace, born and raised in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire in South Wales. She was educated at Llanelli Girls' Grammar School, City of Coventry Training College,[3] which was soon to become Coventry College of Education and be incorporated into the University of Warwick, where she specialised in drama and art. She then trained further at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama.

Ace taught for three years in St Mary Cray before joining a children's theatre company, and then working in weekly repertory at the Grand Theatre, Swansea for two seasons. In 1964, she began to work with children with special needs.

After her marriage to Richard Alexander in 1966 she moved to Dartmouth, Devon, where her husband worked as a civilian lecturer at the Britannia Royal Naval College. For the next 18 years she brought up their two children: Daniel Alexander, now a business consultant, and Catherine Alexander,[4] a theatre director and drama teacher. Meanwhile, Ace continued working with special-needs children, privately and in local schools, and directed and acted with local drama groups.

Stage and radio

Juliet Ace began writing plays in 1976, after taking part in an Arvon Foundation writing course. In 1979 she won a Gulbenkian Foundation/Arts Council of Great Britain Award to work with professional directors and actors on new writing. As a result, her first play, Speak No Evil was produced first as a stage play in Bristol and then as a radio play, directed by Enyd Williams. It was nominated for a Pye Award[5]

After her early work in radio, she moved into television, where she worked with Julia Smith and Tony Holland and was taken from The District Nurse series to the creation of the BBC's EastEnders, and then to the short-lived expatriate soap opera Eldorado.

While her dramatic imagination is rich – a leading character in the radio play Lobby Talk[6] is a parrot – her background in life is also significant. Two successful sequences of radio dramas are uncommonly open semi-autobiographical journeys: first there is young Mattie Jones, growing up in South Wales, who appears as a child in The New Look: Tailor's Tacks, set in 1946, and then completes her growth into a teenager in 1955, four plays later, in Mattie and Bluebottle. An older Mattie, liberated by writing and performed by Patricia Hodge in four plays, starting with The Captain's Wife, and concluding with Upside Down in the Roasting Tin,[7] is a testament to experience.

Juliet Ace tutored theatre undergraduates at Dartington College of Arts as a visiting playwright in 1985–87, and postgraduate students of writing and directing in the Media and Communications Department at Goldsmiths College in 1995–2005. She served as a judge of the Koestler Awards, for writing by prisoners, in the 1990s, and is a BAFTA jury member.

In 1988, her play A Slight Hitch was included in the Oxford University Press collection, New Plays, Volume 1, edited by Peter Terson, which included work by Terson, Arnold Wesker and Henry Livings.

Ace's book about the actor Terence Rigby, Rigby Shlept Here: A Memoir of Terence Rigby 1937–2008, was published in November 2014, and the actor and director Peter Eyre described it in his review as "a fascinating and unusual memoir of a fascinating and unusual actor.... There is an unknown and detailed documentation of his work with Pinter, Peter Hall and Ian McKellen, among others, some of it quite shocking."[8] It includes diary entries from Ace covering decades of her friendship with Rigby, interviews with colleagues such as Michael Gambon, and letters and extracts from an attempted autobiography by Rigby, interrupted by his early death.

In October, 2013, Ace was diagnosed with terminal cancer – her radio plays The Captain’s Wife and Skin had reflected on earlier bouts with the disease – and was given a fifty-fifty chance of surviving until Christmas that year. Nearly five years later, in May, 2018, she saw her play Moving the Goalposts performed at London's Southbank Centre as part of B(old][9] a season celebrating age and creativity. At the festival she was even photographed dancing, holding on to her three-wheeled mobility aid, to the music of another featured artist, Cleo Sylvestre.

Moving the Goalposts, despite the gloomy prognosis of Ace's doctors, gave her character Mattie a new lease of life, charting the frustrations, comedy and medical implausibility of her intellectual and physical survival beyond the predictions of concerned consultants. With Cheryl Campbell taking the role of Mattie for the stage, and directed by Nancy Meckler, it was a triumph of wit over malady. Ace joined Campbell and Meckler on to the stage to discuss the process of writing and realising the play. Jude Kelly, who chaired the discussion as one her last acts as departing Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, gave warm praise to the honesty and resilience of Ace's writing, citing her recognition of its truth through her own experience with a family member. Moving the Goalposts saw further life in a BBC broadcast[10] in March 2020, with the Welsh actor Pam Ferris taking the role of Mattie

Public appreciation

Juliet Ace lives in London.[11] In September 2014 she was made a fellow of the renamed Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, in a ceremony which also made Katie Mitchell and Jenny Sealey Honorary Fellows.[12]


Radio plays

Radio Plays written by Juliet Ace
Date first broadcast Play Director Cast Notes Station
Series
6 September 1980 Speak No Evil Enyd Williams Elizabeth Morgan, John Griffiths and Rhys Powis Runner-up Society of Authors/Pye Award[5] BBC Radio 4 Thirty-Minute Theatre
5 February 1983 Dreams Remembered[13] Shaun MacLaughlin Steve Hodson, Petra Markham, Sean Barrett and Jo Anderson BBC Radio 4

Thirty-Minute Theatre

10 December 1983 A Time Between Comets Enyd Williams Iwan Jones, Rhys Thomas, Simon Williams and Guto Harri BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Theatre

7 August 1984 Model Answers[14] or, Tarzan and the Cross-eyed Baby Shaun MacLaughlin Elizabeth Proud and Marcus D'Amico Runner-up Sony Awards[5] BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Theatre

18 February 1986 Embroideries Shaun MacLaughlin Stephen Thorne and Elizabeth Proud BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

25 February 1986 The Red Shoes Penny Gold Anna Massey, Martin Jarvis and Natasha Pyne BBC Radio 4

Thirty-Minute Theatre

13 May 1986 Jonathan George Can Walk on the Water Shaun MacLauglin Peter Jeffrey and Shirley Dixon BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

30 October 1988 – 18 December 1988 Crown House[Note 1] Graham Gauld Martin Jarvis, Jane Asher, Margaret Rawlings, Dinah Sheridan, Richard Pasco, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Gayle Hunnicutt and Dominic Rickhards Adapted from Peter Ling's trilogy of Crown House novels. Eight 30-minute episodes. BBC Radio 4
17 November 1988 Digressions Shaun MacLaughlin Jenny Funnell BBC Radio 4
8 January 1990 The Spur Shaun MacLaughlin Christian Rodska, Anthony Jackson, Vincent Brimble and Anne Morrish BBC Radio 4

Monday Play

22 November 1990 Lobby Talk [Note 2] Shaun MacLaughlin Andrew Sachs, Stephen Thorne, Steve Hodson, Christian Rodska, Kim Wall, June Barrie, William Eedle, Danny Schiller, Meg Davies, Jonathan Nibbs and Kate Lynn-Evans BBC Radio 4
2 November 1991 The Little Walls[Note 3] Ned Chaillet Alex Jennings, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Kate Bufferey, Vivian Pickles, Norman Jones, Helen Cooper, Terence Edmond, Timothy Morand, Eric Allen, Ronald Herdman, Siriol Jenkins, Cassie MacFarlane, Neil Roberts, David Sinclair, Matthew Sim and Auriol Smith Winston Graham's novel was the first winner of the Crime Writers' Association Crossed Red Herring award for best crime novel of the year BBC Radio 4

Saturday Play Gold and Silver Daggers Season

10 March 1992 Jacob's Folly Penny Gold Jennie Linden, Paola Dionisotti and John Church BBC Radio 4
8 April 1993 Truth Confined Shaun McLoughlin David Learner, Charles Simpson, Melinda Walker and Kate Binchy BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

7 August 1995 Twin Reaction –

Part One: Look Again

 Shaun MacLoughlin Jenny Funnell, Carolyn Backhouse, Eric Allen, Cornelius Garrett, Lindsay Mack, Ian Sanders, Rachel Oldfield, Paul Nicholson, Janet Dale, Marilla Robson, Brian Gear and Jilly Bond Three-part police drama BBC Radio 4
14 August 1995 Twin Reaction –

Part Two: Come Follow

 Shaun MacLoughlin See Part One BBC Radio 4
21 August 1995 Twin Reaction –

Part Three: Double Trouble

 Shaun MacLoughlin See Part One BBC Radio 4
9 October 1995 Zinar's Tower Shaun MacLoughlin Zia Mohyeddin and Karzan Krekar BBC Radio 4

Monday Play

30 August 1997 Love Story[Note 4][15] Ned Chaillet Ingri Damon, Mark Leake, Patrick Allen, Sheila Allen, John Guerrasio, David Brooks, William Dufris, Gerrard McDermott, Tracy-Ann Oberman and Christopher Wright

Harpsichord: David Roblou

 BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play[16]

90 Minutes

8 May 1998 The Captain's Wife[17] Ned Chaillet Patricia Hodge BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
14 May 1999 The New Look:

Tailor's Tacks

 Tanya Nash Stephanie Wookey and Jennifer Hill BBC Radio 4
21 May 1999 The New Look:

Beeny's Camiknickers

 Tanya Nash Stephanie Wookey and Jennifer Hill BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

28 May 1999 The New Look:

Celluloid Lady

 Tanya Nash Stephanie Wookey and Jennifer Hill

Afternoon Play

6 December 1999 Her Infinite Variety –

Play One: Writing to Veronica

 Ned Chaillet Eleanor Moriarty Five 15-minute plays inspired by Shakespeare's Women. BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour Serial

7 December 1999 Her Infinite Variety –

Play Two: Talking to my Shrink

 Sarah Brown Gavin Muir and Gemma Saunders BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour Serial

8 December 1999 Her Infinite Variety –

Play Three: Diary of a Dutiful Daughter

 Ned Chaillet Anna Massey BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour Serial

9 December 1999 Her Infinite Variety –

Play Four: And All That Jazz

 Ned Chaillet Bette Bourne BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour Serial

10 December 1999 Her Infinite Variety –

Play Five: Dirty Linen

 Ned Chaillet Elizabeth Bell and Oliver Cotton BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour Serial

24 January 2000 Private Papers[Note 5][18] Tanya Nash Angela Pleasence, Nichola McAuliffe, Simon Armstrong and Jenny Funnell BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour Serial

21 August 2000 Small Parts[19] Ned Chaillet Patricia Hodge The second play written for Patricia Hodge about Mattie. BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
22 January 2001 Young Victoria[20] Cherry Cookson Imogen Stubbs, Anna Massey, Adrian Lukis and Christopher Cazenove Ten-part serial about the early life of Queen Victoria, based on her letters and diaries. BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour Serial

3 December 2001 Money for Old Rope Gilly Adams Di Botcher, Aled Pugh and Jennifer Vaughan BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

1 September 2001 The Marseilles Trilogy: Marius[Note 6] Ned Chaillet Richard Johnson, Simon Scardifield, Monica Dolan and Andrew Sachs BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play
8 September 2001 The Marseilles Trilogy: Fanny[Note 6] Ned Chaillet Monica Dolan, Richard Johnson, Andrew Sachs and Simon Scardifield BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play
15 September 2001 The Marseilles Trilogy: César[Note 6] Ned Chaillet Richard Johnson, Simon Scardifield, Monica Dolan, Andrew Sachs, Tam Williams, Steve Hodson, Stephen Thorne, Struan Rodger, Phillip Joseph and Sean Baker BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play
27 September 2002 Blind Gilly Adams Mali Harries and Jennifer Hill BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

12 December 2003 Dead-Heading the Roses[21][22][23] Ned Chaillet Jill Balcon, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cheryl Campbell, Graham Crowden and William Hootkins BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

20 February 2004 Mattie and Bluebottle Alison Hindell[24] Mali Harries, Mared Swain and Matthew Gravelle The fifth and final play about Mattie Jones growing up in Wales. BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

23 February 2004 – 5 March 2004 The L-Shaped Room[Note 7][25] Alison Hindell Lynne Seymour, Trevor Laird, John McAndrew, Bill Wallis and John Rowe Ten-part serial BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour Serial

8 March 2004 Skin Ned Chaillet Patricia Hodge BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

16 May 2005 The Backward Shadow[Note 7] Alison Hindell Siriol Jenkins, Rachel Atkins, Simon Ludders, Nickie Rainsford and John McAndrew Ten-part sequel to The L-Shaped Room BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour Serial

10 January 2008 Chocolate Frigates[26] Tracey Neale Todd Carty, Lindsey Coulson, Jamie Kenna and Nick Sayce BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

2 June 2008 Shredder[27] Jane Morgan Gwen Taylor, Stephen Thorne, Avril Elgar, Helen Longworth, Nyasha Hatendi, Steve Hodson and Stephen Critchlow BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Play

19 March 2020 Moving the Goalposts Tracey Neale Pam Ferris BBC Radio 4

Afternoon Drama

Notes:

  1. ↑ By Peter Ling and Juliet Ace
  2. ↑ By Juliet Ace and Vic Aiken
  3. ↑ By Winston Graham, dramatised by Juliet Ace
  4. ↑ By Erich Segal, dramatised by Juliet Ace
  5. ↑ By Margaret Forster, dramatised by Juliet Ace
  6. 1 2 3 By Marcel Pagnol, adapted by Juliet Ace from a translation by Margaret Jarman
  7. 1 2 By Lynne Reid Banks, dramatised by Juliet Ace

Further radio, audio and stage work

  • The Archers BBC Radio 4 Twenty-five episodes
  • Brassic Eight-part series for teenagers for BBC Radio 5 (Beginning 4 January 1991)
  • Kiss Me Quick. A serial for teenagers. Directed by Sally Avens and Nandita Ghose. 7 eps. BBC Radio 5. Beginning January 1994.
  • Westway BBC World Service soap. Directed by David Hutchison and Anne Edyvean. Pilot plus 24 Episodes. (From 1997)
  • Patricia Hodge is Mattie – A Liberated Woman AudioGo Audiobook comprising three BBC one-woman plays featuring Patricia Hodge as the character Mattie and a fourth play, Upside Down in the Roasting Tin reflecting Mattie's life seen over many Christmases.
  • Moving the Goalposts.[28] A play for one woman. Directed by Nancy Meckler and performed by Cheryl Campbell. 20 May 2018. Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, London. Ace's alter ego, Mattie, offers a wry and searing late act as she relives five years of surviving cancer, with intact wits and minimal medical intervention, apart from an annoying and frustrating dependence on steroids – a witty refrain in the text.

Television series

  • The District Nurse (4 episodes )
    • Episode #1.9 (6 March 1984)
    • Episode #2.6 (20 November 1984)
    • Episode #2.7 (27 November 1984)
    • A Terrible Itch (12 April 1987)
  • EastEnders - Twenty-five episodes including:
    • Episode #1.26 (16 May 1985) Episode 26: Den and Angie decide to try to save their marriage and to end their respective affairs.
    • Episode #1.60 (12 September 1985)
    • Episode #1.95 (14 January 1986)
    • Episode #1.138 (12 June 1986)
    • Episode #1.201 (15 January 1987)
    • Episode dated 26 September 1989
  • Eldorado
    Twelve episodes for the expatriate BBC soap, beginning with Episode 13 shown on 3 August 1992

Films for television

  • Out of Order[29] TV Movie BBC 2 directed by Prudence Fitzgerald starring Sarah Badel 1984
  • Llygad Y Ffynnon Feature-length film for the Welsh language station S4C directed by Huw Eirug. 23 October 1994.
  • Cameleon Prize-winning Welsh film directed by Ceri Sherlock with an award-winning performance by Aneirin Hughes. 1997 drama of a young soldier deserting in the Second World War to return to South Wales where he hides in the connected attics of a terrace of houses, adapting to the different households.[30]

Journalism and publications

  • Tony Holland Obituary, The Guardian, 3 December 2007
  • Speak No Evil. Bristol Playwrights Company. 1981
  • New Plays, Volume 1 (ed. Peter Terson) OUP ISBN 9780198312567
  • Rigby Shlept Here: A Memoir of Terence Rigby 1937-2008, 2014, ASIN: B00Q25491I

References

  1. ↑ Cameleon at IMDb
  2. ↑ Winners 1998 San Francisco Film Festival
  3. ↑ City of Coventry Training College in the early 1950s – a film.
  4. ↑ Catheine Alexander biography at Central School of Speech and Drama
  5. 1 2 3 Juliet Ace – agent's biography – The Agency Archived 26 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ English Wordplay – opening segment Lobby Talk
  7. ↑ Patricia Hodge is Mattie – A Liberated Woman at AudioGo
  8. ↑ Peter Eyre review, Rigby Shlept Here', Amazon
  9. ↑ Moving the Goalposts at Southbank Centre's {B}old Festival, 2018
  10. ↑ Moving the Goalposts by Juliet Ace, BBC Radio 4, 19 March 2020
  11. ↑ Interview with Juliet Ace – Fitzrovia News, 8 February 2011
  12. ↑ Rose Bruford College Graduation 2014
  13. ↑ Dreams Remembered, Radio Four, 1983, BBC Genome
  14. ↑ Afternoon Theatre: Model Answers, Radio Times
  15. ↑ Love Story review, Sue Gaisford, The Independent, 31 August 1997
  16. ↑ BBC – Saturday Play
  17. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – The Captain's Wife
  18. ↑ Private Papers – episode guide
  19. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – Small Parts
  20. ↑ BBC – Young Victoria episode guide
  21. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – Dead-Heading the Roses
  22. ↑ Dead-Heading the Roses – Radio Pick of the Day – Phil Daoust, The Guardian, 12 December 2003
  23. ↑ Dead-Heading the Roses review – Elisabeth Mahoney, The Guardian, 15 December 2003
  24. ↑ Alison Hindell – BBC biography
  25. ↑ Radio Times – The L-Shaped Room episode guide Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – Chocolate Frigates
  27. ↑ BBC – Afternoon Play – Shredder
  28. ↑ Moving the Goalposts' at Southbank Centre, London, 2018'
  29. ↑ Out of Order at IMDb
  30. ↑ Cameleon Awards at IMDb
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