Dr Burton received the accolade for his audio drama Man Friday, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and directed by Mary Ward-Lowery.
The audio drama centres on the re-imagining of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, from Man Friday’s point of view. Colonialism, economics, race relations, religion: all are considered here through the prism of the developing relationship between Man Friday – or Kofi – and the shipwrecked Crusoe.
Judges Nicola Baldwin, Lucy Gough, Christopher Douglas and Ming Ho said: “A hugely entertaining take on the Robinson Crusoe story. Friday is an upper-class castaway outraged by Crusoe’s entitled behaviour. But we suspect there’s more to Friday than the arrogant posho we first encounter – and sure enough there is.
“A slow burn brilliantly achieved, this play skilfully uses the inspiration of a classic tale to reframe assumptions about race and class in a witty and engaging way. Long narrations are often the radio writer’s lazy option, but Edson Burton’s are exquisite. This is a terrific writer with a deep love of language and a thorough understanding of structure.”
Edson Burton received the prize of £3,000, sponsored by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, at the BBC Audio Drama Awards on 30 March 2025. He was presented the award by writer and actor Paterson Joseph.
Dr Burton, a lecturer in the Department of English, said: “Adapting Man Friday was both a challenge and an opportunity. A challenge in the sense that this was a well-known and highly cherished novel likely to stoke the ire of its fans, an opportunity in that its problematic depiction of Man Friday gave me considerable room to manoeuvre.
“As it so happened, in reacquainting myself with the text, I stumbled across the almost minor details of Crusoe’s own enslavement, his journey to Guinea to purchase Africans for his Brazil plantations. My version was to put these almost casual plot points front and center. By doing so I was also, crucially, able to reimagine the relationship between Crusoe and Man Friday. I hope I have achieved something that speaks to our polarized times.”
“For me then on many levels Man Friday was a coming together of my creative and academic writing, and my love for speculative fiction and historical realism. While the Tinniswood Award celebrates the script the drama could not have come to the attention of the dramas were it not for the sterling work of my long-time producer/director Mary Ward Lowery, the actors and the production team.”
The Tinniswood Award was established by Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and the Society of Authors to perpetuate the memory of Peter Tinniswood as well as to celebrate and encourage high standards in radio drama.
You can listen to Edson Burton’s Man Friday here. For an in-depth discussion of Man Friday follow the link to an interview between Dr Burton and poet, playwright and novelist Gabriel Gbadamosi https://writersmosaic.org.uk/spotlight/man-friday/.