ERSKINE MAY

Look, down the length of the building, like beer bottles in a warm cupboard, the turrets are popping, one by one. And now, listen, round the square, buildings groaning in sympathy, their stones grinding in despair for their suffering brother​.

On the eve of the opening of the new Houses of Parliament in 1850, the architects fall out. While Charles Barry prepares to give a speech on architecture, Augustus N W Pugin goes down to Parliament Square and blows the building up. Barry, with the help of assistant Common librarian Thomas Erskine May, gather the pieces of the shattered building from around London and rebuild it through the night.

Erskine May is an historical fantasy, based on the legendarily fractious partnership between the two architects. It featured some wonderful performances by Roger Sloman as Erskine May, Alex Jennings as Charles Barry, Ewan Hooper as Pugin, Amanda Root as Sarah Barry, Lucy Robinson as Louise May and Queen Victoria, and John Griffin as Angus and Edward. It was directed by Polly Thomas and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the Afternoon Play slot.

Erskine May is also the informal name for the book of rules (Erskine May's Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament) that govern the proceedings of the Houses of Parliament and the play is an attempt to ask questions about the nature of parliamentary democracy by fantasising about its physical architecture.​

It was my first broadcast radio play (though Antique Silver was written and recorded earlier) and it was nominated for the Richard Imison award. It didn’t win because I never do. It was repeated on BBC7 on 7 April 2004 as part of the ‘Producer’s Choice’ season, and 13 times since.

You can listen to Erskine May below.