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	{{Short description\|British writer and director}}		{{Short description\|British writer and director}}
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2022}}~~
	~~[[File:Neil Gaiman & Dirk Maggs 2012.jpg\|thumb\|Maggs (right) with [[Neil Gaiman]]]]~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| name = Dirk Maggs		\| name = Dirk Maggs
	\| image =		\| image = Neil Gaiman & Dirk Maggs 2012.jpg
	\| alt =		\| alt =
	\| caption =		\| caption = Maggs (right) with [[Neil Gaiman]]
	\| birth_name = David George Dirk Maggs		\| birth_name = David George Dirk Maggs
	\| birth_date = {{birth year and age\|1955\|2}}		\| birth_date = {{birth year and age\|1955\|2}}

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External links

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	== External links ==		== External links ==
	* {{IMDb name\|1312961}}		* {{IMDb name\|1312961}}
	* {{Official website}}
	* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060618213316/http://www.douglasadams.se/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5357 Transcript of a webchat with Dirk Maggs (June 16, 2005)]		* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060618213316/http://www.douglasadams.se/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5357 Transcript of a webchat with Dirk Maggs (June 16, 2005)]
	* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050207143342/http://www.dirkmaggs.dswilliams.co.uk/ Unofficial Dirk Maggs site]		* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050207143342/http://www.dirkmaggs.dswilliams.co.uk/ Unofficial Dirk Maggs site]

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	{{DEFAULTSORT:Maggs, Dirk}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Maggs, Dirk}}

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External links: Add IMDB entry

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{{Short description|British writer and director}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Neil Gaiman & Dirk Maggs 2012.jpg|thumb|Maggs (right) with [[Neil Gaiman]]]]
{{Infobox person
| name = Dirk Maggs
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = David George Dirk Maggs
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1955|2}}
| birth_place = [[St Helier]], Jersey, Channel Islands, U.K.
| death_date = 
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| other_names =
| occupation = {{ubl|[[Radio producer]]|Writer}}
| years_active =
| known_for = Radio Comedy, Radio Plays, Podcasts, Streamed Audio Productions
| notable_works = Batman Knightfall (BBC Radio 1), Flywheel, Shyster & Flywheel, [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Tertiary to Hexagonal Phases]] with [[Douglas Adams]] (BBC Radio 4), The Sandman for Audible / DC Comics with [[Neil Gaiman]], Acts I, II and III
| website = www.dirkmaggs.com
}}

'''David George Dirk Maggs''' (born St. Helier, Jersey, February 1955) is a British [[freelance writer]] and director. During his career as a Senior Producer in [[BBC Radio]] he made [[radio drama]] adopting a cinematic-sounding approach, combining filmic story construction, layered sound effects, orchestral music and digital recording technology. Maggs introduced productions in Dolby Surround in [[BBC Radio]] and termed the result, "Audio Movies".

Maggs studied Drama for a BEd degree from 1974 to 1978 at King Alfred's College, Winchester. The college gained university status in 2005, when he was invited to become one of the first Honorary Fellows of the [[University of Winchester]] for his work in the Dramatic Arts. In 2019 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his work in the Arts by [[Bournemouth University]].
In December 2021 Maggs was on a team representing the [[University of Winchester]] in BBC TV's [[Christmas University Challenge]].

Maggs was awarded "Best Audiobook Producer" Award by the [[Audio Publishers Association]] at the 2021 Audio Production Awards at the BFI in London.

Maggs is married to Lesley Maggs, née Snow, whom he met in 1978 when they were Studio Managers in [[BBC World Service]]. They have three grown-up sons.

== Radio Comedy productions ==
As a senior Producer in BBC Radio Light Entertainment Maggs produced six seasons of the gently satirical radio comedy series''[[The News Huddlines]]'' between 1989 and 1991.

Between 1990 and 1992 he produced three series of ''[[Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel]]'', an updated version of a 1932 [[Marx Brothers]] radio show of the same name. The actors were specifically chosen for their ability to impersonate the Marx Brothers, so that an accurate recreation could be achieved. One of the episodes won the gold medal at the New York International Festival.

In the late 1990s Maggs produced several series of ''[[It's Been a Bad Week]]'' and ''[[The Russ Abbot Show]]'' for [[Celador]] Productions, aired on [[BBC Radio 2]].

Maggs produced ''Goon Again'' in 2001 for the 50th anniversary of ''[[The Goon Show]]'' with the permission of [[Spike Milligan]]. Starring [[Andy Secombe]] in his father's role of [[Neddie Seagoon]] and featuring the [[John Wilson Orchestra]], it became in the words of Maggs, "a genetically-engineered tribute band" to the Goons. The show won the 2002 Best Comedy Award from the Spoken Word Producers Association (now the [[Audio Publishers Association]]).

In 2002 Maggs directed the [[Johnny Vegas]] radio series ''Night Class''. This show won the Bronze award in the Comedy category of the 2003 [[Sony Radio Academy Awards]].

In 2019 Maggs directed [[The Goodies]] in "The Big Ben Theory" for [[Audible (service)]]

== Drama and Science fiction productions ==
Early in his career, Maggs worked on audio adaptations of comic book material. He started in 1988 with the 50th Anniversary [[Superman|Man Of Steel]] docudrama ''Superman on Trial'', carried on with a 50th birthday tribute to the [[Batman|Dark Knight]]: ''[[Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome]]''. This was followed by ''The Adventures Of Superman'', ''Batman: Knightfall'', ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and his final BBC Radio superhero series, ''[[Judge Dredd]]'' in 1995. Along the way his production of ''[[Superman: Doomsday and Beyond]]'' ("Superman Lives" in the US) won the 1994 Audie Award for Best Dramatisation from the [[American Booksellers Association]] and Spoken Word Audio of The Year from ''[[Publishers Weekly]]''.

In 2005, Time Warner audiobooks re-released Maggs's ''Batman: Knightfall'' and ''Superman Lives'' in the US, prompting a UK re-release by [[BBC Audiobooks]].

In 1996, Maggs was contacted by 20th Century Fox and asked to create a British-based "parallel-quel" to their summer science fiction blockbuster ''Independence Day''. The resulting programme, ''Independence Day UK'', took place in the same world, and at the same time as the film, but showed a British perspective on the alien invasion. This also won the 1996 Talkie Award for Best Production. The next year, with the blessing of director [[John Landis]], Maggs produced and directed his own adaptation of ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'' for [[BBC Radio One]]. For this he won the 1997 Talkie Award for Best TV/Film Adaptation.

In 1999, he produced a five-part adaptation of [[Stephen Baxter (author)|Stephen Baxter]]'s alternative history novel ''[[Voyage (book)|Voyage]]''. The premise is simple. When [[Apollo 11]] reached the moon, [[John F. Kennedy|JFK]] (having survived that day in Dallas) set a new target for the space programme: [[Mars]]. ''Voyage'' is the story of a space-race that never was but so easily might have been. Maggs's adaptation was presented on [[BBC Radio 4]], and received 1999 Talkie Award for Best Use of Music as well as the 2000 Sony Radio Academy Bronze Award for Best Drama.

Maggs directed adaptations of several [[Agatha Christie]] short stories for Radio Four, and a production of [[Bill Naughton]]'s ''[[Alfie (play)|Alfie]]'' for the [[BBC World Service]].

In 1992, [[Douglas Adams]] approached BBC Radio Light Entertainment to ask if Maggs would collaborate on bringing Adams's science fiction comedy series ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' "back home to BBC Radio", as Adams put it. Contractual issues delayed the production and was not until 2003 to 2005 that Maggs adapted, produced and directed [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Tertiary to Hexagonal Phases|new episodes]] from Adams's last three novels which were based on the premise of the original radio series written by Adams.

In 2013, Maggs wrote and co-directed (with Heather Larmour) a dramatisation the [[radio drama|radio play]] [[Neverwhere (radio play)|''Neverwhere'']], based on the television series ''[[Neverwhere]]'' by [[Neil Gaiman]]. This was followed by similar productions of [[Neil Gaiman]] and [[Terry Pratchett]]'s Good Omens, and BBC Radio versions of [[Neil Gaiman]]'s [[Stardust (Gaiman novel)|Stardust]] and How The Marquis Got His Coat Back.

In 2017, he scripted a BBC Radio 4 production of Gaiman's [[Anansi Boys]], which won the British Fantasy Society's Best Audio Award.

In 2016, Maggs was approached by Audible Originals to adapt and direct ''Alien: Out Of The Shadows'' by [[Tim Lebbon]], the first in a series of three stories set in the [[Alien (film)|''Alien'']] film universe. This was followed by ''Alien: River Of Pain'' and ''Alien: Sea Of Sorrows''. As part of the Alien's 40th anniversary, Maggs adapted and directed an audiobook version of [[William Gibson]]'s unproduced screenplay of [[Alien 3]], which was then released on May 30, 2019 and made available on [[Audible (store)|Audible]].<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://www.audible.co.uk/?ref=Adbl_ip_rdr_from_US&source_code=AUK30DFT1BkWS0826159058&ipRedirectFrom=US&ipRedirectOriginalURL=pd%2FAlien-III-Audiobook%2FB07QY3KR81 |title = Audible UK | Free Audiobook with 30-Day Trial}}</ref> The production starred [[Michael Biehn]] and [[Lance Henriksen]], who reprised their roles of [[Dwayne Hicks|Corporal Hicks]] and [[Bishop (Aliens)|Bishop]] from the film [[Aliens (film)|''Aliens'']].

== The Sandman Audio Dramas (Audible Originals/DC Comics) ==

In the early 1990s Maggs was introduced to [[Neil Gaiman]] by a mutual friend, Phyllis Hume, of [[DC Comics]] International Business Affairs. For nearly three decades Maggs and Gaiman looked for a way to turn Gaiman's [[The Sandman (comic book)|''The Sandman'']] comic book series into audio drama. With combined support from [[Audible (service)|Audible]] and DC Comics, the project finally got under way in 2019.

On July 15, 2020, [[Audible (service)|Audible]] released an adaptation of the comic book series as a multi-part audio drama directed by Dirk Maggs with music by [[James Hannigan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.audible.com/about/newsroom/the-sandman-by-neil-gaiman-to-become-an-audible-original/|title="The Sandman" by Neil Gaiman to Become an Audible Original|publisher=Audible|date=March 4, 2020|access-date=May 14, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/james-mcavoy-lead-sandman-audible-drama-1294222|title=James McAvoy to Lead 'Sandman' Audible Drama (Exclusive)|last=Couch|first=Aaron|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=May 13, 2020|access-date=May 14, 2020}}</ref> The voice cast included Gaiman as the Narrator, [[James McAvoy]] as [[Dream (character)|Dream]], [[Kat Dennings]] as [[Death (DC Comics)|Death]], [[Taron Egerton]] as [[John Constantine]], [[Michael Sheen]] as [[Lucifer (DC Comics)|Lucifer]], [[Riz Ahmed]] as the [[Corinthian (comics)|Corinthian]], [[Andy Serkis]] as [[Matthew Cable|Matthew the Raven]], [[Samantha Morton]] as [[Element Girl|Urania Blackwell]], [[Bebe Neuwirth]] as The Siamese Cat, [[Arthur Darvill]] as [[William Shakespeare]], and [[Justin Vivian Bond]] as [[Endless (comics)|Desire]]. The production spent two months at #1 in [[The New York Times Best Seller list]]

The follow-up, ''The Sandman: Act II,'' was released on 22 September 2021, and featured most of the original cast. New additions to the cast included: [[Regé-Jean Page]] as [[Orpheus]], [[Jeffrey Wright]] as Destiny, [[Brian Cox (actor)|Brian Cox]] as Augustus, [[Emma Corrin]] as Thessaly, [[John Lithgow]] as [[Joshua Norton]], [[David Tennant]] as [[Loki]], [[Bill Nighy]] as [[Odin]], [[Kristen Schaal]] as Delirium, [[Kevin Smith]] as [[Merv Pumpkinhead]], and [[Niamh Walsh]] as Nuala. Neuwirth also returned, but portrayed [[Bast (DC Comics)|Bast]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/sandman-act-ii-audible-premiere-date-james-mcavoy-returns-cast-1235024922/|title = 'The Sandman: Act II' on Audible Premiere Date Set, James McAvoy Returns to Lead Star-Studded Cast|date = July 22, 2021}}</ref>

''The Sandman: Act III'' is again adapted and directed by Maggs and is due for release some time in 2022.

== Productions in other media ==

Maggs was audio director for the first ''Animated Mr Bean'' television series 1999-2001 starring [[Rowan Atkinson]].

For the feature-length computer animated film of ''The Magic Roundabout'', Maggs voice-directed principal character sessions with actors including [[Robbie Williams]], [[Kylie Minogue]], [[Jim Broadbent]], [[Ray Winstone]] and [[Joanna Lumley]].

Maggs is credited as Voice Director on the highly acclaimed adventure game, ''[[Broken Sword#Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon|Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon]]'' featuring [[Rolf Saxon]] and Sarah Crook.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|1312961}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060618213316/http://www.douglasadams.se/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5357 Transcript of a webchat with Dirk Maggs (June 16, 2005)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050207143342/http://www.dirkmaggs.dswilliams.co.uk/ Unofficial Dirk Maggs site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130926131502/http://crazydogaudiotheatre.com/leading-audio-producer-dirk-maggs-speaks-to-crazy-dogs-roger-gregg/ Interview with Dirk Maggs]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/dirk.shtml Director profile of ''Hitchhikers Guide'']
* [http://www.perfectlynormal.net Perfectly Normal Productions]
* [http://sci-fi-online.com/Interview/05-11-15_DirkMaggs.htm Interview with Dirk Maggs at ci-fi-online.com]
*[http://www.sci-fi-online.com/2007_Reviews/audio/07-03-05_batman-knightfall.htm Review of ''Batman: Knightfall'' on CD at sci-fi-online.com]
*[http://sci-fi-online.com/2006_Reviews/audio/06-05-01_SupermanDoomsday.htm Review of ''Superman: Doomsday & Beyond'' on CD at sci-fi-online.com]
*[http://www.suttonelms.org.uk/dirk-maggs.html Dirk Maggs Radio plays]



{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maggs, Dirk}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:BBC Radio drama directors]]
[[Category:BBC radio producers]]
[[Category:British voice directors]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Winchester]]

Dirk Maggs - Revision history

Kurt at 19:56, 10 January 2023

Kurt: /* External links */

Kurt: clean up

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Anameofmyveryown: /* External links */ Add IMDB entry