Callum Mitchell on Channel 4
In December 2021, BBC Radio 4 broadcast Newlyn writer Callum Mitchell’s poetic drama-documentary Solomon Browne, which depicts the 1981 Penlee lifeboat disaster.
Solomon Browne is Mitchell’s first work for radio, written to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the disaster. It was made in Cornwall with the help of family members of those who lost their lives, and includes monologue, recorded testimonies and actual radio comms from the day.
Callum narrates, and the voices of Jo Payne, Baden Madron, Jane Torrie and Neil Brockman can be heard describing the events of that day; Mousehole Male Voice Choir performs Calm is the Sea.
Mitchell is an Associate Artist at Truro’s Hall For Cornwall and recipient of the 2020 Nick Darke Talent Award; he spent 2021 on attachment as part of the BBC Writersroom Cornish Voices programme. After being Assistant Director on Mark Jenkin’s BAFTA-winning film, Bait, he recently took up the same role for Jenkins’ latest film, Enys Men.
