Such Rotten Luck: Series 1 & 2

Synopsis

The complete Series 1 and 2 of the BBC Radio sitcom about the ups and downs of a second-class writerOnce upon a time, there was a struggling writer named Woodhouse Carton, who tried to make his name as an author while simultaneously running his own creative writing class...Over 12 episodes, we follow the frustrated scribe's fruitless search for fame and fortune as, supported by his long-suffering wife Gila and feckless sidekick Seamus, he tries to write the definitive biography of philosophical novelist Wolf Heinrich Graubart - or compose the hit song that will set him up for life.Travelling to Berlin in an attempt to get under the skin of his subject, Woodhouse is confused with contradictory accounts - and confounded by extra expenses. Desperate to make big money, he tries his hand at children's fiction, pens an oratorio, gets a new agent and searches for a patron. With a baby on the way, willl he manage to turn his fortunes around and find success at last?Scripted by award-winning biographer and dramatist Ronald Hayman, this superbly written literary sitcom stars Tim Pigott-Smith as Woodhouse, Zoë Wanamaker as Gila and Stephen Rea as Seamus, with a distinguished cast including Miriam Karlin, Sheila Hancock and Celia Imrie.Written by Ronald HaymanDirected by Piers Plowright and Paul SchlesingerMusic by Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic WorkshopGuitar: Patrice ChevalierCastWoodhouse - Tim Pigott-SmithGila/Monie - Zoë WanamakerSeamus - Stephen ReaWilhelmina/Jutta/Heidi - Susie BrannHarietta Masterson/Samantha/Hildegarde/Hedwig/Muriel - Miriam KarlinHamish McVomitory/Professor Trinklekopf/Blind man/Graubart/Dr Vongalis/Harris - Bill WallisGila's Dad/Colonel/Cedric - Benjamin WhitrowGila's Mum - Joan Matheson/Maxine AudleyPachmann - John MoffattCissie Soskins - Eva StuartFrau Graubart - Eva Stuart/Maxine AudleyGirl in the street/Sasha/Charlotte aged 17 - Susan SheridanMark Grimshaw - Geoffrey WhiteheadMrs Mellon - Sheila HancockPenelope Pomeroy - Celia ImrieMary Jane/Fenella - Maxine AudleyUlrike - Tara DominickMarli Lillene/Jayston - Nickolas GraceGriselda - Victoria CarlingMacGillycuddy - James GreenBongo/Bunty/Tommy/Groom/Dollamore/Benjy - Ronald HerdmanAlun - Timothy BatesonCraggs/Breuster/Hotchkiss - James SimmonsDorothy - Petra MarkhamJasper - Timothy CarltonWith Eva Stuart, Susan Sheridan and Shaun Prendergast as Creative Writing Class membersFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 16-21 September 1989 (Series 1), 21-27 December 1991 (Series 2)CreditsPublished by Penguin Random House LtdLicensed by BBC Studios Distribution Ltd? 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. ? 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd