Paul Elkins

Await Further Instructions

A dysfunctional family awake on Christmas morning to discover they’re sealed inside their house by a mysterious black substance. On television, a single line of text reads: “Stay Indoors and Await Further Instructions.”

The Blood Lands

Young urban couple Ed and Sarah are set to begin a new life when they move from London into an isolated borders Scottish farmhouse. After falling in love with the 19th century Castle Farm and seeing its potential as a fixer-upper they are anxious to get started on the renovations. In bed on their first night Sarah thinks she can hear noises in the darkness but Ed is disbelieving saying it’s her imagination playing tricks. Persisting in her fear they are not alone in the house, she forces Ed to investigate. When he doesn’t return after a scarily long period, she goes downstairs to investigate only to be confronted by a welcoming committee of masked intruders. As she desperately searches for Ed, a terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues with the mysterious assailants. But what do they want and what horrors do they have planned for the two newcomers?

The Brides in the Bath

Dramatisation of the real-life case of George Joseph Smith who was hanged in 1915 for the murder of his three wives, each of whom he killed in turn by drowning them in the bath while trying to make the deaths look like accidents.

A Is for Acid

Dramatisation of the true story of the notorious 'acid bath murderer' John Haigh, who murdered women and disposed of their bodies in vats of acid in the 1940s. He was only caught when the gallstones of one of his victims failed to dissolve in the acid and were detected by the pathologist who examined the residue from the acid bath.

The Falklands Play

The Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of history. It was originally commissioned by the BBC in 1983, for production and broadcast in 1986, but was subsequently shelved by Controller of BBC One Michael Grade due to its alleged pro-Margaret Thatcher stance and jingoistic tone. This prompted a press furore over media bias and censorship.The play was not staged until 2002, when it was broadcast in separate adaptations on BBC Television and Radio.