UCLU Radio Drama, 14 November 2012
Garry Martins (Rob Beale) spent
most of his thirty or so years on earth working in Blockbuster Video. He had dreams of success - of being a writer,
violinist or opinion-former - but never got round to fulfilling them. Now it's too late; having been run over by an
articulated lorry, he has to account for himself at the gates of heaven in an interview with St. Peter (Stuart Moss), which
doesn't go quite as Garry had anticipated.
I Wanted to Be Useful focuses on the predicament faced by most of us throughout our
lives; we complete our education, move into various forms of employment (or unemployment), start a family (or a partnership),
and ultimately retire, without having made a mark on the world around us. This might be difficult to accomplish, but
needs to be done if only for the purposes of self-fulfilment. Writer Thomas Oléron Evans certainly sympathizes with
his central character, but also suggests that Garry could have done more in his short life to help him pass the entrance exam
into Heaven.
This
ten-minute playlet is both tautly written and ably performed by the four-person cast, including Harriet Mann (Epiphany) and
Elizabeth Kaplunov (Epiphany).
