That is absurd. It is fascinating that, in the quote above, Bernard Shaw spotted so early that the 'invisible play' demanded new techniques and a new aesthetic. It did however commission a thrilling play from David Pownall to mark the anniversary of the first full-length B.B.C. Shakespeare.
Radio drama is a large industry.
Around 300 new plays are commissioned each year. But pessimism has long been the professional attitude to radio drama. Hardly had it been invented than its demise was predicted, when once sound came to cinema. He was writing in the darkest hour for British radio, when the mass audience moved over to television in the mid 1950s . Gielgud's 'Cinderella' or the eighth art whose potential is still to be realised in this digital age.