Research and Planning; Radio drama as a form

Radio drama is a form that became popular in the 1920s which was the same decade as it's introduction to the radio. It became inceasingly so in the 1940s.
Radio Drama was made as an interpretation of life, it is realistic, yet unrealistic at the same time. It takes things that happen in everyday life, things that are maybe taboo, that don't actually happen very often and it turns them into something that happens alot. This makes listeners interested because it allows them to escape from aspects of their own life or understand aspects of another person, they may know or have heard of; this is 'escapism'.

What makes it dramatic?
It can be anything, a twist in the plot that is unexpected and makes the audience feel tense or uncomfortable. Radio drama's as a form generally tackle issues such as 'murder', 'rape', 'drugs' but do it in a lighter way than a thriller or a horror would. Sometimes they include lighter topics such as 'love', 'sex', 'affairs', 'getting burgled', 'house burning down' but whatever the twist, the notion is that it should have the listener on the edge of their seat.

Obviously Radio Drama cannot use the same techniques as television to create dramatic sequences because obviously there is no image of any kind. Radio relies on sound effects, voices, silences and music to create dramatic parts. Creeking of doors or floorboards, low, unfriendly voices, long silences with only a few sound effects in and low, slow paced music can all be used to create drama through radio. This is just a general stereotype of radio drama sound effects.