Radio Play 2025

Cable Car Calamity

On 2 July 2025, a large and appreciative audience attended the world premiere of Gay Duffield’s latest radio play, Cable Car Calamity. The title suggested an evening of mystery and intrigue, and no one was disappointed! The performance was a follow up to Gay’s three previous works, Battering at Battery Point, Death on the Tassie Tourist Train and Death on the Appymiafasansea.

Music maestro Len Spaans put together some startling sound effects and compiled a challenging set of songs in the music quiz that accompanied the play. Audience members were asked to answer 20 questions, including their prediction of who the murderer was. And what a surprise that turned out to be!

The actors played their roles brilliantly and had the audience on the edge of their seats as the cable car lurched its way up Kunyani / Mount Wellington toward the new Springs Hotel. A death-defying scream midway through the journey suggested a gruesome murder. However, this was not the case. It was simply the result of an unfortunate accident suffered by Mrs Willoughby Wendy Wiknelman who had had too much to drink.

In the end, it was revealed that nobody had been murdered! In fact, the whole thing has been a set up by The Springs hotel Manager Theodora Thora Throppleby to test the suitability of one of passenger –Randolph Reginald Rumblebottom – for the position of Security Officer at the hotel He failed the test!

A great night was had by all, and we all left wondering if Gay and Len might have another shocking murder mystery in the pipeline with which to dazzle and traumatise a Battery Point audience.

Dramatis Personae

MR BARTHOLOMEW BARNABUS BRISTLETHWAITE (ex- detective now crime writer): Stepen Reid
MRS BRINLEY BRIANNA BRISTLETHWAITE (wife and grandmother): Kathy Rundle
MR WILLY WALLY WINKLEMAN (swimsuit model): David Rowe
MRS WILOUGHBY WENDY WINKELMAN (bathing suit model): Bev Paterson
MRS THEODORA THORA THROPPLEBY (businesswoman): Trish Knight
MR RANDOLPH REGINALD RUMBLEBOTTOM (between jobs): Richard Catt
LULU LILI LAMOUR (sexy and voluptuous French tourist): Katrina Schlunke
NARRATOR: Charles Morgan