The BBC Radio 4 comedy drama

How to Survive the Roman Empire, by Pliny and Me: The Complete Series 1-3

Kieran Hodgson stars as Pliny the Younger in Hattie Naylor’s engaging drama charting the fortunes of a household in Ancient Rome.

HATTIE NAYLORs’ credits include Ivan And The Dogs, The Night Watch, Going Dark, As the Crow Flies, and Bluebeard. Ivan and the Dogs (Soho Theatre and ATC) was nominated in the Olivier Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre, won the Tinniswood Award in 2010, and has been performed to further acclaim internationally. The film adaptation of the play: Lek and the Dogs, directed by Andrew Kötting premiered at the London Film Festival 2018.

Kieran Hodgson stars as Pliny the Younger in Hattie Naylor’s engaging drama charting the fortunes of a household in Ancient Rome. 
 
The Emperor Domitian has informers everywhere; no-one is safe. He rules Rome with a rod of iron, and is dangerously unstable and paranoid. In the snake-pit of Imperial Rome, all Pliny the Younger wants to do is get his letters ready for publication. 
 
Except if he, his mother Marcella, their Greek cook Doris (who narrowly missed out on becoming the next Oracle at Delphi), and Venta, their slave with secretarial skills have any chance of surveying, they are going to have to negotiate a political minefield, keep their eyes peeled for spies and, most of all, not do anything to annoy the Emperor. 
 
Easier said than done. 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Pliny the Younger………………..Kieran Hodgson 
Venta………………………………..Nigel Barrett 
Marcella……………………………Joanna Scanlan 
Doris the Cook…………………Mia Soteriou 
Regulus……………………….Matthew Gravelle 
Lucipor…………………………Ewan Bailey 
Produced by and directed for radio by Kate McAll 
Written by Hattie Naylor

BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Samuel Pepys - After the Fire

A further BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of the famous diarist's writings, starring Kris Marshall and Katherine Jakeways.

"...balancing domesticity, business and history so vividly and unexpectedly it sounds as if 1660 were the day before yesterday."

Daily Telegraph (review of the first series)

Samuel Pepys was born on 23 February 1633, the son of a London tailor. He graduated from Cambridge in 1654, and in 1655 he married Elizabeth St Michel. He started work for Sir Edward Montague, a relation who later became the 1st Earl of Sandwich, and through him first went to sea. Pepys later found work with the Navy Office, eventually rising to become Secretary of the Admiralty. He also became a JP, an MP and a Fellow of the Royal Society. In later life he was accused of being part of the anti-monarchist ‘Popish Plot’, and was twice imprisoned for it. Upon his second release he retired to Clapham, then considered to be ‘in the country’. Samuel Pepys died on 26 May 1703. His diaries, which had been written in code, were bequeathed to Magdalen College, Cambridge, where they can still be viewed.

Kris Marshall (My Family) stars in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of the famous diarist's account of the aftermath of the Great Fire of London. 
 
Following on from the acclaimed radio dramatisation of Pepys' complete diaries, this further instalment of his chronicles focuses on events following the cataclysmic inferno that destroyed much of the capital four hundred years ago. 
 
When the Great Fire of 1666 was finally extinguished, little remained of London but smouldering rubble. Samuel Pepys witnessed firsthand the impact it had on the city and its people, and would be haunted by what he had seen for the rest of his life. Thousands of homes and many key buildings had been destroyed or damaged, including St Paul's Cathedral. 
 
Now aged 70, in poor health, and living with his servant Will in Clapham, Pepys remembers the devastation. He recalls burying his prize Parmesan to keep it safe, standing in Moorfield among the homeless as London burned, going out in his carriage to look at the ruins, and viewing the plans for the new city that would rise from the ashes – its centrepiece a magnificent cathedral that would be hailed as a masterpiece. 
 
Starring Kris Marshall as Samuel Pepys, this entertaining and enlightening adaptation by Hattie Naylor vividly conjures up the sights and sounds of Pepys' world. Duration: 1 hour 15 mins approx.

The BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

The Diary of Samuel Pepys

Kris Marshall and Katherine Jakeways star as Mr &amp; Mrs Pepys in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of the world famous diaries.

...balancing domesticity, business and history so vividly and unexpectedly it sounds as if 1660 were the day before yesterday.

Kris Marshall and Katherine Jakeways star as Mr &amp; Mrs Pepys in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of the world famous diaries. 
 
Samuel Pepys was 26 when he decided to start keeping a diary, in January 1660. For the next ten years he faithfully recorded the day's events and confessed his innermost thoughts. That diary has since become one of our most important, and fascinating, historical documents. 
 
Pepys gave us eyewitness accounts of some of the great events of the 17th century, including the Great Fire of London and the Second Dutch War. He also told us what people ate and wore, what they did for fun, the tricks they played on each other, what they expected of marriage, and even how they conducted love affairs. He described London - the frozen river Thames, the rising crime rate and the poverty - and recorded the details of his own life: his wife, rivals, lovers and friends, his work for the Navy, his drinking and social life. 
 
Over 350 years may have passed since Pepys first put pen to paper, but the man and his preoccupations feel surprisingly familiar. In this major BBC Radio dramatisation of the journals, the sights and sounds of his world are vividly conjured. This collection comprises all ten radio series plus a special Saturday Drama centring on the Great Fire of London. 
 
 
Featuring Kris Marshall and Katherine Jakeways, as well as; ewan Baily, Rebecca Newman, Matthew Gravelle, Manon Edwards, Blake Ritson, Dick Bradnam, Lee Mingo, Andrew Wincott, John Biddle, Stephen Marzella and Bendan Charleson.

Classic Radio Sci-Fi

Solaris

Ron Cook and Joanne Froggatt star in the first ever radio adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's classic sci-fi ghost story.

When psychologist Kris Kelvin arrives at the scientific research station hovering high above the surface of Solaris, he finds the place deserted except for two scientists, who have been driven mad by some unknown horror. The researchers had been trying to investigate the ocean planet, and probe the secrets of its alien lifeforms. But their clumsy, aggressive approach has provoked a terrifying response from the ocean, which is now confronting them with their most painful repressed thoughts and memories in human form. Kris is faced with the manifestation of his long-dead wife, Rheya, and his guilt over her suicide, but whatever is tormenting the other scientists appears to be much worse... Solaris was first published in 1961 and is a classic of modern science fiction, twice adapted for film - by Tarkovsky in 1972 and Steven Soderbergh in 2002. Stanislaw Lem’s original novel combines a gripping sci-fi ghost story with a powerful debate about guilt and the human condition. The play has an exciting soundtrack by composer Alice Trueman.

Ovid

Sebastian Baczkiewicz

Hattie Naylor

Nick Warburton

Colin Teevan

Lucy Catherine

Toby Jones

Robert Glenister

Deborah Findlay

Rosie Cavaliero

Gbemisola Ikumelo

Burn Gorman

Shaun Dooley

Full Cast

10 Full-Cast Contemporary BBC Radio Dramatisations including Orpheus, Euridice, Phaethon, Echo & Narcissus

Ten contemporary reimaginings of Ovid’s iconic tales, with star-studded casts including Toby Jones, Shaun Dooley and Robert Glenister 
 
The Roman love poet Ovid has influenced writers past and present, with his witty, sexy tales inspiring authors from Shakespeare to Ezra Pound. Included here are ten scintillating retellings that take a fresh look at his classic works, viewing these ancient stories from a modern perspective. 
 
New Metamorphoses, themed around the topics of desire, seduction and transformation: 
In Zeus and Semele, by Sebastian Baczkiewicz, paparazzo Harry gets in over his head when he is welcomed into the glamorous world he feeds on. 
And in Hattie Naylor’s Echo and Narcissus, Mat joins a gym, while Debbie becomes mesmerised by the boy across the road. 
Myrrah by Colin Teevan sees a teenage girl gripped by a terrible passion, 
and in Callisto by Nick Warburton, a photographer faces a dilemma when he captures a photo he never intended to take. 
Meanwhile, Phaethon by Katie Hims revolves around a family reunion and a promise that cannot be broken… 
 
Transformations continues with the leitmotifs of fluidity, change and the different aspects of love: 
Ceyx and Alcyone centres on the King of Trachis, who is determined to travel by ship to visit the Oracle. But the winds at sea are capricious and cruel, and a storm is coming… 
Pygmalion tells of a sculptor who, alone and broken, becomes enamoured of one of his own statues. Will the goddess of love be kind, and bring her to life? 
In Orpheus and Eurydice, when his beloved wife is killed by a snake, Orpheus travels to the realm of the dead in a desperate bid to bring her back. 
Byblis and Cannus sees a young girl falling hopelessly in love with her own brother… 
And in Baucis and Philemon, an elderly couple find their lives changed when they receive two unexpected guests. 
 
And two bonus programmes: In Our Time: Ovid and Ovid: Changing Times. 
 
With thanks to Keith Wickham of the Radio Circle for supplying the audio recordings. 
 
 
Cast and Credits 
 
Zeus and Semele 
Starring Toby Jones, Daniel Cerqueira, Robert Glenister, Lyndsey Marshal, Peter Mann 
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz 
Produced and directed by Jessica Drumgoole 
 
Echo and Narcissus 
Starring Toby Jones, Carl Prekopp, Laura Molyneux, Burn Gorman, Harry Myers, Deborah Findlay, Gbemisola Ikumelo 
Written by Hattie Naylor 
Produced and directed by Sasha Yevtushenko 
 
Myrrha 
Starring Toby Jones, Gerard McSorley, Marcella Plunkett, Niall Buggy, Derbhle Crotty, Jonathan Forbes, Ben Crowe, Chris Pavlo, Liz Sutherland, Peter Marinker, Kate Binchy 
Written by Colin Teevan 
Produced and directed by Jeremy Mortimer 
 
Callisto 
Starring Shaun Dooley, Joannah Tincey, Rachel Atkins, John Rowe, Anna Bengo, Ben Onwukwe 
Written by Nick Warburton 
Produced and directed by Tracey Neale 
 
Phaethon 
Starring Toby Jones, Rosie Cavaliero, Vincenzo Nicoli, Paul Hilton, Steven Webb, Robert Madge, Liza Sadovy 
Written by Katie Hims 
Produced and directed by Marc Beeby 
 
Transformations 
Written by Lucy Catherine 
Directed by Marc Beeby 
Starring Jim Norton 
Ceyx and Alcyone 
Featuring Clare Corbett, Philip Bretherton, Neil McCaul, Isabella Inchbald, Tayla Kovacevi-Ebong, Abby Andrews 
 
Pygmalion 
Featuring Rupert Holliday Evans, Gary Duncan, Abbie Andrews, Isabella Inchbald 
 
Orpheus and Eurydice 
Featuring Tom Forrister, Madeline Hatt, Neil McCaul, Philip Bretherton, Isabella Inchbald, Clive Hayward 
 
Byblis and Cannus 
Featuring Abbie Andrews, Adam Fitzgerald, Isabella Inchbald, Ellie Darvill, Kath Weare 
 
Baucis and Philemon 
Featuring Sheila Reid, John Rowe, Clive Hayward, Tayla Kovacevi-Ebong 
 
In Our Time: Ovid 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
With Maria Wyke, Gail Trimble and Dunstan Lowe 
Produced by Simon Tillotson 
 
Ovid: Changing Times 
Presented by Tom Holland 
Produced by Mark Rickards 
 
 
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