Let's talk about Dirk!

No not Gently (Douglas Adams Holistic Detective) nor Pitt (Clive Cusslers intrepid adventurer) or even Diggler (Boogie Nights adult actor) but Maggs, nope, you've never heard of him? 

Well let me enlighten you.

I enjoy reading and have, in the last couple of years, discovered audiobooks, with the written, or spoken, word you produce the imagery for the internal movie that you are envisioning, your imagination the only limitation as to the world you build. 

Mostly with audiobooks you will just have somebody reading the book to you, but a bad, or unsuitable, narrator can actually ruin a good book, but also a good, suitable, narrator can make a book, some of my favourite narrators are Neil Gaiman (he does a lot of his own books), Wil Weaton (great sci-fi) and Steven Fry, they all add that little bit extra.

There's a couple of other types of audiobooks available, the dramatisation, novel is acted out, and the semi-dramatisation, single narrator but talky bits acted out, these are what Maggs has become known for.

Dirk Maggs started his career at the BBC training as a studio manager, progressing to senior producer before he left in 1995 to go freelance, in 1997 he joined Celador Production as head of radio productions, he left in 2001, in 2004 he co-founded Perfectly Normal Productions.

Whilst at the BBC Maggs adapted for radio the like of Batman, Superman, Spider-man and Judge Dredd stories, working closely with DC and Marvel and at the same time building a reputation on the Comic-Con circuit as an innovator due to his use of music and ambient sounds, was was later to be coined as "Audio Movies", Maggs introduced the use of Dolby Surround Sound to the BBC to add the extra depth.

He has won lots awards throughout his career, they can be found here.

Maggs has adapted and directed a massive number plays and novels over his prestigious career, these can be found here, but the highlight for me are Hitchhikers Guide To The Universe, Good Omens, Neverwhere and the one I'm currently listening to Sandman.

The list of actors he has worked with is like a who's who of Hollywood and the creme de la creme of the British acting fraternity.

I have never failed to enjoy one of Maggs productions, whether it be one of his radio plays or enhanced narration, they tend to draw me in and makes the whole story more vivid, more real, as good as any special effect rendered on the big screen. 

If you have the imagination fall into the worlds he weaves and lose yourself for a few hours, it's good for the soul!

If you ever see a band called the Riotous Brothers then you might just recognise the drummer as Dirk Maggs.