Aaron Robertson is a writer, an editor, and a translator of Italian literature. His translation of Igiaba Scego’s Beyond Babylon was short-listed for the 2020 PEN Translation Prize and the National Translation Award, and in 2021 he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant. His work has appeared in the New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, n+1, The Point, and Literary Hub, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Aaron Robertson

Aaron Shapiro

Aaron T Beck

Aaron Vallance

Aaron Young was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and read Politics and Communications at The University of Liverpool. He is a BAFTA-nominated director, producer and executive producer with over 20 years of experience across projects for the BBC, PBS, Channel 4, Channel 5, UKTV, UK Film Council and Arts Council England. A long-time collaborator of acclaimed historian, James Holland, he is the producer and director of the BAFTA-shortlisted BBC titles ‘Battle of Britain: The Real Story’ and, ‘Dam Busters: The Race to Smash the German Dams’, as well as ‘The Battle for Malta’, ‘Normandy ’44: The Battle Beyond D-Day’, the RTS-nominated ‘Imphal &amp; Kohima: Britain’s Greatest Battle.’, and the 3-part series, 'Normandy '44: D-Day and the Battle for France. His most recent credits include 'Hidden Histories of WWII', 'Lost Temples of Cambodia', the RTS-winning ‘Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany’, and ‘Prue Leith: Journey with My Daughter’. Aaron was named in the inaugural list of BAFTA ‘Brits to Watch.’ He is the co-owner of award-winning film and television production company, Bright Button Productions, and lives with his wife and children in Poundbury, Dorset.

Aaron Young

Aatish Taseer

Abbe Prevost

Abbey Bryant is an NYC-based award-winning illustrator. With her BFA in Children's Book Illustration, her notable illustrated books include Nautilus award winner Hazel Mist, Hypnotist as well as an Enchanted Fairy House Kit with Scholastic's Klutz! 
 
As a queer illustrator, LGBTQ+ themes and stories hold a spot near to her heart. Most days she can be found around the city drawing New Yorkers or sketching trees at the park.

Abbey Bryant

Abbey Clancy is a model, television presenter and the host of chart-topping podcast The Therapy Crouch. She was the runner-up of Britain's Next Top Model in 2006, winner of Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and went on to present Britain's Next Top Model. Later this year she will host Celebrity Homes on ITV.

Abbey Clancy

Abbie Greaves studied at Cambridge University before working in a literary agency for a number of years. She was inspired to write her first novel, The Silent Treatment, after reading a newspaper article about a boy in Japan who had never seen his parents speak to one another before. 
 
Abbie lives in Brighton with her boyfriend.

Abbie Greaves

Abbie Ross is a British author and psychotherapist. Her first book, Hippy Dinners, a funny and poignant memoir of her bohemian childhood in 1970s North Wales, has been optioned by Baby Cow, who are developing it into an 8-part television series. 
Before turning to writing, Abbie had a successful career as a producer at Aardman Animations, the acclaimed studios behind Wallace &amp; Gromit and the film Chicken Run. 
Today, she divides her time between her thriving psychotherapy practice in Bristol, and her writing, and finds that the two careers complement each other perfectly.

Abbie Ross

Abbie Spallen

Abbie Taylor lives in Dublin. She works as a doctor and has two daughters.

Abbie Taylor

Abby L Yates co-founded the Ghostbusters with Erin Gilbert. Ghosts from Our Past was her first book, now finally back in print.

Abby L Yates

Abby Lee

Abby Rawlinson is an integrative therapist with a private practice based in east London, UK. Her work mixes traditional psychotherapeutic theories with cutting-edge, evidence-based techniques into a style that feels relatable, down-to-earth, and compassionate. Abby regularly contributes to articles, including but not limited to Stylist, Elle, BBC, Harpers Bazaar, Sheerluxe, Women's Health, and Psychologies. She can be found on Instagram @therapywithabby or online at therapywithabby.co.uk

Abby Rawlinson

Abby Wambach is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, FIFA World Cup champion, six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award and one of Time’s Most Influential People. She is a founder of Treat Media, an award-winning media company that makes art for humans who want to stay human. Abby is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wolfpack and the New York Times bestseller Forward. Named one of the ‘50 Most Powerful People in Podcasting,’ she is co-host of the chart-topping podcast We Can Do Hard Things, which has received over a half billion plays. Abby is an executive producer of the Sundance award-winning film Come See Me in the Good Light, part owner of the NWSL’s Angel City Football Club and sits on multiple boards. Her most recent book, We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life’s 20 Questions, created with Glennon Doyle, Amanda Doyle and Treat Media, is being hailed as ‘the guidebook for being alive.’

Abby Wambach

Abel &amp; Cole’s story starts in 1988 with Keith Abel flogging potatoes door-to-door. ‘Of course potatoes are organic,’ he thought, ‘they’re vegetables’. However, he quickly discovered how unnecessarily complicated our food system had become and, consequently, realised the huge benefits of going organic and never looked back. In fact, Abel &amp; Cole still get veg from the farm where Keith's first organic spuds came from. 
To this day, their priorities remain the same. Now, selling 100% organic produce, Abel &amp; Cole believe that organic farming (a holistic system that encourages biodiversity) is the very best way to go. It protects our countryside and the critters that inhabit it, insists on the very best animal welfare, supports your local community and, frankly, tastes heaps better. Abel &amp; Cole think so anyway.

Abel & Cole Limited

Abhijit Banerjee, winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, is the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). In 2011, he was named one of Foreign Policy magazine’s top 100 global thinkers. Banerjee served on the U.N. Secretary-General’s High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Abhijit V. Banerjee

Abhishek Mukherjee, 30, is a Delhi-based journalist. He holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from Delhi University, a post-graduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Raipur. He also likes dogs.

Abhishek Mukherjee

Abi Elphinstone grew up in Scotland where she spent most of her childhood running wild across the moors, hiding in tree houses and building dens in the woods. After being coaxed out of her tree house, she studied English at Bristol University and then worked as an English teacher in Africa, Berkshire and London. She is the bestselling and multi-award shortlisted author of RUMBLESTAR (first in The Unmapped Chronicles), SKY SONG &amp; THE DREAMSNATCHER TRILOGY, published by S&amp;S. When she's not writing, Abi volunteers for Beanstalk, speaks in schools and travels the world looking for her next story.

Abi Elphinstone

Abi Falase is a Black British writer and director, reimagining fundamental societal concepts in inventive new worlds. Abi has written and directed a number of plays, including The Village and Rush with the Almedia Theatre, as well as Rift for Immediate Theatre and was shortlisted for the BBC Scriptworks ‘A Thousand Stories’ scriptwriting competition in 2021.

Abi Falase

Abi Titmuss

Abie Longstaff is the eldest of six children and grew up in Australia, Hong Kong and France. She knows all about squabbling, chaos and bossing younger sisters around. So she logically began her career as a barrister. She started writing when her children were born. Her favourite childhood books were Hating Alison Ashley, A Little Princess, Maura's Angel and The Black Stallion and she sneakily reads them again sometimes. Abie lives in Hove with her family.

Abie Longstaff

Abigail Ahern

Abigail is a Brighton-based writer, illustrator and creative producer. Original storytelling has always been at the heart of Abigail's career and she has spent a decade leading social media campaigns for some of the biggest TV &amp; entertainment clients in the world. Abigail also used to perform stand-up comedy and won several tiny trophies for her onstage humour; which involved life-size illustrations, ridiculous songs and rambling stories about her family.

Abigail Balfe

Abigail Docherty

Abigail Foster is a Chartered Accountant and founder of Elent Finance, a financial education company designed to demystify the world of finance and empower you to achieve financial wellbeing. 
 
Abigail has worked with leading financial institutions across the UK, including HMRC, the Bank of England and Downing Street, and global companies such as Google and Goldman Sachs. She hosts a weekly money segment on LBC radio and has also appeared as a finance expert on ITV, Channel 5 and Sky News.

Abigail Foster

Abigail Owen is the #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling author of 30+ books that range from upper YA (18+) epic romantasy to new adult modern mythic romantasy to super spicy adult paranormal romance. She loves magical worlds with plots that move hot and fast, feisty heroines with sass, heroes with heart, a dash of snark, and oodles of HEAs! Other titles include: wife, mother, Star Wars geek, ex-competitive skydiver, AuDHD, spreadsheet lover, Jeopardy! fanatic, organizational guru, true classic movie buff, linguaphile, wishful world traveler, and chocoholic. Abigail currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own swoon-worthy hero, their (mostly) angelic teenagers, and an adorable fur baby.

Abigail Owen

Abigail Ulman was born and raised in Melbourne. She has a BA in Creative Arts from the University of Melbourne/VCA and was a recent Wallace Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University. This is her first book.

Abigail Ulman

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John Webster

A BBC radio full-cast drama collection of John Webster's twin masterpieces, plus two documentaries examining their importance and enduring popularity 
 
One of the great Jacobean playwrights and a contemporary of William Shakespeare, John Webster is best known for his classic revenge tragedies based on real events in Renaissance Italy, The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil. Both are included here, along with two insightful programmes putting the plays in their historical context, and probing the life of their mysterious author - a shadowy character about whom very little is known. 
 
The Duchess of Malfi - When the young, widowed Duchess dares to defy her brothers and marry again, the corrupt duo begin a chilling campaign to destroy her... Intercut with the music of Jimi Hendrix and Laura Marling, this visceral production moves from gentle romanticism to darkest cruelty. Introduced by Professor Emma Smith from Hertford College, Oxford, and starring Pippa Nixon as the Duchess of Malfi. 
 
The White Devil - Set in a murky 1950s underworld of shifting alliances, betrayals and sudden violence, this radical reinterpretation of Webster's bloodthirsty tragedy tells the story of Brachiano, who falls violently in love with the married Vittoria Corombona. Desperate to possess her, he arranges the murder of her husband and his wife - but in doing so, he makes a deadly enemy... Shaun Dingwall stars as Brachiano, with Anna Maxwell Martin as Vittoria. 
 
Role Play - Michael Billington talks to acclaimed actresses Eleanor Bron and Juliet Stevenson about The Duchess of Malfi and its relevance today, and discuss their experiences playing the lead role. 
 
The Skull Beneath the Skin - Elizabethan scholar and biographer Muriel Bradbrook delves into Webster's life and plays, exploring how his childhood and family background informed his writing. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by John Webster 
 
The Duchess of Malfi 
The Duchess of Malfi - Pippa Nixon 
Bosola - Shaun Dooley 
Antonio - Sandy Grierson 
Ferdinand - Alexander Cobb 
Cardinal - Jonathan Keeble 
Delio/Pilgrim - Kevin Harvey 
Cariola/Julia - Jenny Platt 
Silvio/Pilgrim - Rupert Hill 
Doctor - Lloyd Hutchinson 
 
Abridged and adapted by Pauline Harris and Emma Smith 
Directed by Pauline Harris 
Original songs arranged and composed by Jules Maxwell and sung by Shaun Dooley and Jules Maxwell 
Introduction by Professor Emma Smith from Hertford College, Oxford 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 11 July 2021 
 
The White Devil 
Flamineo - Patrick Kennedy 
Vittoria - Anna Maxwell Martin 
Brachiano - Shaun Dingwall 
Francisco - Peter Wight 
Monticelso - Sean Baker 
Ludovico - Harry Myers 
Isabella - Christine Kavanagh 
Gasparo - David Seddon 
Camillo - Sam Dale 
Cornelia - Frances de la Tour 
Marcello - Michael Shelford 
Giovanni - Lloyd Thomas 
Hortensio - Tony Bell 
Zanche - Pippa Bennett Warner 
Dr Julio - Jude Akuwudike 
 
Adapted and directed by Marc Beeby 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 15 August 2010 
 
Role Play 
Presented by Michael Billington 
With Eleanor Bron and Juliet Stevenson 
Produced by Fiona McLean 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 16 July 1997 
 
The Skull Beneath the Skin 
Presented by Muriel Bradbrook 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 29 October 1980 
 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Duchess of Malfi & The White Devil

2 BBC Radio 4 full-cast productions

George Bernard Shaw

15 of the finest works by the world-renowned playwright, as heard on BBC radio 
 
George Bernard Shaw - or Bernard Shaw, as he preferred to be known - was one of Ireland's foremost dramatists and thinkers. His plays range from contemporary satires to historical allegories, and are infused with ideas, insight, wit and wisdom. Included here are some of his best works, adapted for radio and brought together in reverse chronological order in one statement collection. 
 
We begin with his prophetic political comedy The Apple Cart, set in the future and pitting the fictional King Magnus against his Prime Minister. Next is his masterpiece Saint Joan, dramatising the trials of Joan of Arc, for which he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. Heartbreak House lampoons England's ruling elite before World War I, as they sail heedlessly towards catastrophe; Pygmalion explores feminism and the class system through Cockney flowergirl Eliza Doolittle and irascible phonetics professor Henry Higgins; and in Androcles and the Lion, Shaw transforms Aesop's fable to impart his thoughts on human frailty, religion and martyrdom. 
 
The Dark Lady of the Sonnets imagines a meeting between William Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I, while alternate history Press Cuttings sets the suffragettes against crotchety war veteran General Mitchener. Here, too, are the controversial The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet, banned in England for contravening blasphemy laws; the classic comedy Major Barbara, a tale of romance, rich privilege and a battle of wills; and the humorous philosophical drama based on the Don Juan theme, Man and Superman, directed for Radio 3 by theatrical icon Sir Peter Hall. 
 
Also featured are early works Caesar and Cleopatra, a dramatised account of the relationship between the Roman dictator and the Egyptian queen; The Devil's Disciple, set against the backdrop of the American War of Independence; The Man of Destiny, in which Napoleon enters into a battle of wits with a beautiful stranger; and Candida, about a vicar's wife whose life is turned upside down by a young poet. Finally, Shaw's acclaimed 'problem play', Mrs Warren's Profession, probes issues of Victorian prostitution and double standards. And in a bonus documentary, devotees of the great author discuss his life, work and legacy. 
 
Among the array of stars in these coruscating dramas are Ralph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Prunella Scales, Anton Lesser, Juliet Stevenson, Paul Merton, Ron Cook, Victoria Hamilton, Nicholas Le Prevost, David Suchet, Eleanor Bron, David Troughton, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Alistair McGowan, Al Murray, Morgana Robinson, Robert Bathurst, Leslie French, Marius Goring, Arthur Lowe, Denys Hawthorne, Rebecca Front, Alan Badel, Gregory Peck, Paul Ritter, Hannah Gordon, Edward Petherbridge and Maggie Steed. 
 
NB: This collection contains language that reflects the attitudes of the era in which the plays were written. 
 
Production credits 
Written by George Bernard Shaw 
First published 1893 (Mrs Warren's Profession), 1894 (Candida), 1895 (The Man of Destiny), 1896 (The Devil's Disciple), 1898 (Caesar and Cleopatra), 1902 (Man and Superman), 1905 (Major Barbara), 1909 (The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet, Press Cuttings), 1910 (The Dark Lady of the Sonnets), 1912 (Androcles and the Lion, Pygmalion), 1919 (Heartbreak House), 1923 (Saint Joan), 1928 (The Apple Cart), 2007 (Great Lives) 
 
Contents 
 
 
The Apple Cart 
 
Saint Joan 
 
Heartbreak House 
 
Pygmalion 
 
Androcles and the Lion 
 
The Dark Lady of the Sonnets 
 
Press Cuttings 
 
The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet 
 
Major Barbara 
 
Man and Superman 
 
Caesar and Cleopatra 
 
The Devil's Disciple 
 
The Man of Destiny 
 
Candida 
 
Mrs Warren's Profession 
 
Great Lives: George Bernard Shaw 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller's unproduced screenplay about a 1950s Brooklyn dock worker who takes a stand against corruption, directed by Adrian Noble 
 
The annals of movie history are full of lost treasures - spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten gems have been brought to life, fully realised as vivid, cinematic radio productions. Scripted by major 20th Century writers, including Harold Pinter, Arthur Miller, Alfred Hitchcock and Dennis Potter, they star a host of A-list actors and feature richly evocative, atmospheric soundtracks. 
 
The Hook, one of seven 'unmade movies' available on audio, is set in New York's docks in 1951, where hundreds of longshoremen queue up at dawn hoping to be given a counter and a place in the day's gang. It's hard, dangerous work, but in a world ruled by corrupt union bosses on the take, they have no choice but to accept it. Then a tragedy occurs, and one man, Marty Ferrara, decides to fight back... 
 
Arthur Miller was America's leading post-war playwright, but his credits also include several successful movie scripts, among them the 1961 classic The Misfits. Developed with Elia Kazan, The Hook was shelved when Miller refused to comply with Columbia Pictures' demands that he make the corrupt union bosses Communists. However, it went on to inspire both Kazan's On the Waterfront and Miller's A View from the Bridge. This dazzling production marks director Adrian Noble's radio debut, and stars Elliot Cowan (Lost in Austen) as Marty, with Tim Pigott-Smith (The Jewel in the Crown) as Farragut. It is narrated by David Suchet, who flawlessly reads Miller's directions, describing the action we can't see. Gritty, powerful and resonant, this rediscovered masterpiece will have you hooked from beginning to end. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Arthur Miller 
Adapted for radio by Laurence Bowen 
Directed by Adrian Noble 
Produced by Laurence Bowen 
Sound Design: Wilfredo Acosta 
A Feelgood Fiction production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
Narrator - David Suchet 
Marty - Elliot Cowan 
Louis - Nigel Lindsay 
Rocky - Michael Feast 
Farragut - Tim Pigott-Smith 
Piggy - Nathan Wiley 
Enzo - Jonathan Guy Lewis 
Sleeper - Kerry Shale 
Therese - Joanne Pearce 
Old Dominic - Vincent Riotta 
Mama - Lorelei King 
Irene - Hollie Burgess 
Pete - Leo Heller 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17 October 2015 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unmade Movies: Arthur Miller's The Hook

A BBC Radio 4 adaptation of the unproduced screenplay

Harold Pinter

Karen Blixen

Harold Pinter's unproduced screenplay of Karen Blixen's intriguing short story of love and loss 
 
'An important addition to the Pinter canon' The Stage 
 
The annals of movie history are full of lost treasures - spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten gems have been brought to life, fully realised as vivid, cinematic radio productions. Scripted by major 20th Century writers, including Harold Pinter, Arthur Miller, Alfred Hitchcock and Dennis Potter, they star a host of A-list actors and feature richly evocative, atmospheric soundtracks. 
 
The Dreaming Child, one of seven 'unmade movies' available on audio, is an eerie, enigmatic drama set in Bristol in 1868. Emily Carter, married to a wealthy man, is haunted by her first love, who died at sea. Unable to have children, she and her husband Tom adopt a young slum child - but Jack is no ordinary boy, and seems to have an uncanny knowledge of his new home and family... 
 
Renowned for his critically-acclaimed plays, Harold Pinter also wrote many outstanding film scripts, including Accident, Betrayal and The Pumpkin Eater. The Dreaming Child was commissioned in 1997 by actress Julia Ormond, who wanted to produce and direct, but the project never got the green light - until now. Lydia Leonard (Last Christmas) stars as Emily, with Bertie Carvel (The Sister) as Tom, Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones) as Peggy and Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax) as the narrator, who provides the 'establishing shots' - the stage directions and descriptions from the screenplay. Moving, mesmerising and mysterious, this remarkable production is a triumphant fulfilment of Pinter's great artistic vision. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Harold Pinter 
Based on 'The Dreaming Child' by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) 
Adapted by Joanna Hogg and Laurence Bowen 
Directed by Joanna Hogg 
Produced by Laurence Bowen 
Sound design: Wilfredo Acosta 
A Feelgood Fiction production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
Narrator - Anne Reid 
Emily - Lydia Leonard 
Tom - Bertie Carvel 
Charlie - Joshua Silver 
Mrs Jones - Joanna Scanlan 
Miss Scott - Susan Woolridge 
Jack - Jack Hollington 
Peggy - Rose Leslie 
Bess - Bryony Hannah 
Mr Rudd - Karl Johnson 
Mr Carter - Malcolm Sinclair 
Children - Flynn Allen, Esme Allen-Quarmby, Isabella Blake-Thomas &amp; Joey Price 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 7 March 2015 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unmade Movies: Harold Pinter's The Dreaming Child

Joseph Conrad

Harold Pinter's unproduced screenplay of Joseph Conrad's last great novel, specially adapted for radio by Sir Richard Eyre 
 
'All radio drama should be at this level' Spectator 
 
The annals of movie history are full of lost treasures - spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten gems have been brought to life, fully realised as vivid, cinematic radio productions. Scripted by major 20th Century writers, including Harold Pinter, Arthur Miller, Alfred Hitchcock and Dennis Potter, they star a host of A-list actors and feature richly evocative, atmospheric soundtracks. 
 
One of seven of these 'unmade movies' available on audio, Victory is a dark, morally complex drama set in the Dutch East Indies in 1900. It tells the story of Baron Heyst, a mysterious Swedish recluse living alone on a deserted island whose life is changed forever when he visits a neighbouring island, and falls in love with young English violinist Lena. Pursued by predatory older men, Lena is drawn to Heyst, and escapes with him to his island retreat... 
 
The foremost playwright of his generation, Harold Pinter was also a celebrated screenwriter, who wrote the scripts for hit movies including The Servant, The Go-Between and The French Lieutenant's Woman. Victory, however, was judged too expensive for Hollywood - but, courtesy of this special adaptation by award-winning director Sir Richard Eyre, it has finally seen the light of day. Bjarne Henriksen (The Killing) stars as Heyst, with Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) as Lena and Mark Strong (Cruella) as Ricardo, while narrator Simon Russell Beale sets the scene with directions and descriptions from Pinter's screenplay, some taken directly from Conrad's original novel. So sit back, grab some popcorn and let this epic production play out on the biggest screen of all - that of your imagination. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Harold Pinter 
Based on Victory: An Island Tale by Joseph Conrad 
Directed by Richard Eyre 
Produced by Laurence Bowen 
Sound Design: John Leonard and Wilfredo Acosta 
A Feelgood Fiction production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
Narrator - Simon Russell Beale 
Heyst - Bjarne Henriksen 
Lena - Vanessa Kirby 
Davidson - Matthew Marsh 
Ricardo - Mark Strong 
Jones - Robert Portal 
Schomberg - Patrick O'Kane 
Mrs Schomberg - Helen Schlesinger 
Pedro - Martin Marquez 
Chang - Paul Chan 
Mrs Zangiacomo - Flaminia Cinque 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 February 2015 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unmade Movies: Harold Pinter's Victory

Alfred Hitchcock

Ernest Lehman

Mark Gatiss

Alfred Hitchcock and Ernest Lehman's unfinished screenplay, completed by Mark Gatiss 
 
'Achingly tense scenes... and a masterpiece of a climax' Radio Times 
 
The annals of movie history are full of lost treasures - spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten gems have been brought to life, fully realised as vivid, cinematic radio productions. Scripted by major 20th Century writers, including Harold Pinter, Arthur Miller, Alfred Hitchcock and Dennis Potter, they star a host of A-list actors and feature richly evocative, atmospheric soundtracks. 
 
One of seven 'unmade movies' available on audio, The Blind Man is set in 1961, and features a famous blind jazz pianist, Larry Keating, who agrees to a pioneering surgical procedure: an eye transplant. The operation is a success, but his new eyes are those of a murdered man - and burned onto their retina is the image of his killer. Can Larry track him down before he strikes again? 
 
The proposed follow-up to North by Northwest, The Blind Man was to be set in Disneyland and star Jimmy Stewart - but Walt Disney refused permission, Stewart pulled out and Lehman dropped the project, leading to a 16-year rift with Hitchcock. Decades later, the unfinished script was rediscovered by producer Laurence Bowen in a research institute in Texas - along with extensive notes and letters between Hitchcock and Lehman. Completed and directed by Mark Gatiss, it stars Hugh Laurie (House) as Larry and Rebecca Front (The Thick of It) as Sylvia, with Peter Serafinowicz (Shaun of the Dead) giving a masterly impression of Hitchcock as the narrator. Prepare to be blown away by this explosive new psychological thriller from the Master of Suspense... 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Alfred Hitchcock and Ernest Lehman 
Completed and directed by Mark Gatiss 
Adapted for radio by Laurence Bowen 
Produced by Laurence Bowen and Peter Ettedgui 
Co-Producer: Laurent Bouzereau 
Original music by Blair Mowat 
Sound Design: Wilfredo Acosta 
A Feelgood Fiction production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
Larry Keating - Hugh Laurie 
Sylvia Whitehead - Rebecca Front 
Victor Farmer - Nicholas Woodeson 
Jenny Stiles - Kelly Burke 
Mortie Levitt/Captain Barzoni - Andy Nyman 
Linda Whitehead - Hilary Connell 
Herman Graubner - John Guerrasio 
Dr McGraw - John Light 
Autograph Girl - Hollie Burgess 
Narrator, Alfred Hitchcock - Peter Serafinowicz 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31 October 2015 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unmade Movies: Hitchcock's The Blind Man

Federico Garcia Lorca

Three of Federico García Lorca's best-known plays, as heard on BBC Radio 3 
 
Poet and playwright Federico García Lorca is one of the most famous figures in 20th-century Spanish literature. A member of the 'Generation of '27' avant-garde movement that included Dalí and Buñuel, he became well known for his lyrical, symbolic works mixing modernism and the folkloric traditions of his native Andalusia. He was executed by Nationalist forces at the start of the Spanish Civil War, aged only 38. Over 80 years later, his poetry is revered worldwide, and the plays in his 'Rural Trilogy' are widely regarded as masterpieces. 
 
Blood Wedding - Based on the true story of a tragic feud between two families in rural Almeria, Lorca's atmospheric meditation on fate, war, tradition, passion and repression is adapted for radio by former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. The winner of the 2008 Sony Award for Best Drama, it stars Barbara Flynn, Carl Prekopp, Sarah Smart and Andrea Riseborough. 
 
Yerma - Infused with poetic imagery and song, this evocative drama tells the tragic tale of a woman's desperate desire for a child. Her maternal yearnings escalate to the point of obsession, ultimately driving her to commit a terrible crime... Emma Cuniffe stars as Yerma, with a full cast including Conrad Nelson, Declan Wilson, Rebecca Callard and Annette Badland. 
 
The House of Bernarda Alba - Written in 1936 and completed just a few months before his assassination, Lorca's final play explores the familial passions and tensions that arise following the death of Bernarda Alba's second husband. After the funeral, the tyrannical matriarch imposes an eight-year period of mourning on her daughters - but the ensuing power struggle will have tragic consequences. Starring Siân Thomas, Brigit Forsyth and Elaine Cassidy. 
 
 
First published 1932 (Blood Wedding), 1934 (Yerma), 1936 (The House of Bernarda Alba) 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Federico Garcia Lorca 
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris 
 
Blood Wedding 
Mother of Bridegroom - Barbara Flynn 
Bridegroom/Woodcutter - Carl Prekopp 
Bride - Sarah Smart 
Leonardo - William Ash 
Leonardo's Wife/Girl - Andrea Riseborough 
Father of Bride - David Fleeshman 
Beggar Woman/Neighbour - Mary Cunningham 
Servant/Mother-in-Law - Ellie Haddington 
Moon - Claire Benedict 
Girl - Liz Carter 
Woodcutters - Sam Curtis &amp; Chris Hannon 
Little Girl - Daisy Jones 
Adapted by Ted Hughes 
Music composed by Matthew Wood 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 25 November 2007 
 
Yerma 
Yerma - Emma Cunniffe 
Juan - Conrad Nelson 
Victor - Declan Wilson 
Maria - Rebecca Callard 
Pagan Old Woman - Annette Badland 
Dolores - Claire Benedict 
Dolores' Neighbour - Kate Layden 
Washerwomen - Deborah McAndrew &amp; Fionnuala Dorrity 
Washerwoman/Girl 1 - Liz Carter 
Washerwoman/Female at the Pilgrimage - Helen Longworth 
Male at the Pilgrimage - Kevin Harvey 
Spanish Voice - Anna Castineiras 
Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata 
Music composed by Tayo Akinbode 
Musicians: Tayo Akinbode, Richard Arthurs and Chris Cruiks 
Singers: Members of the cast and Leslie Pratt 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 26 Sep 2010 
 
The House of Bernarda Alba 
Bernarda Alba - Sian Thomas 
La Poncia - Brigit Forsyth 
Maria Josefa - Pauline Jefferson 
Angustias - Kate Coogan 
Magdalena - Victoria Brazier 
Martirio - Christine Bottomley 
Adela - Elaine Cassidy 
Prudencia - Christine Cox 
Girl - Daisy Jones 
Adapted by Pauline Harris 
Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata 
Musical direction and original music composition by Conrad Nelson 
Male chorus singers: Les Pratt, Martin Medina, Nathan Jenkins, Andrew Johnston, David Cane, Peter Edge and George Leeming 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 2 March 2014 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Lorca’s Rural Trilogy

Blood Wedding, Yerma & The House of Bernarda Alba

Tim Firth

Noel Coward

William Chaucer

E F Benson

M.R.James

W.W.Jacobs

Classic plays and ghost stories, as performed by the residents of Ambridge and friends - plus bonus drama Dead Girls Tell No Tales 
 
Borsetshire's queen of amateur theatricals, Lynda Snell, never misses the chance to put on a Christmas show. Her productions are always a big hit with Ambridge audiences - and now, Archers fans can enjoy these top-notch performances alongside them (as well as eavesdropping on the shenanigans backstage). 
 
In Blithe Spirit, the Ambridge Am-Dram Society and guest star Julian Rhind-Tutt recreate Noël Coward's ghostly masterpiece, and Lynda finds herself in sympathy with eccentric medium Madame Arcati as she attempts to conjure some festive high spirits. Calendar Girls sees the group taking on Tim Firth's comedy of jam and Jerusalem, along with honorary resident Siân Phillips (who starred in the original West End show). Will the intrepid cast really bare all? And in the 2-parter The Canterbury Tales, the company present barnstorming adaptations of Chaucer's classic stories of courtly love, deadly rivalry and boisterous sex - with a little bit of magic thrown in. 
 
In Ambridge Ghost Stories, it's a cold December night, in the darkened attic of Lower Loxley. Then Jim Llloyd (John Rowe) takes to the stage to recount three spine-chilling supernatural tales from the turn of the last century - 'The Room in the Tower' by E. F. Benson, 'Lost Hearts' by M. R. James and 'The Monkey's Paw' by W. W. Jacobs. Prepare to be enthralled - and terrified... 
 
Also included are two special seasonal pageants, The Ambridge Mystery Plays- The Nativity and The Passion and a stunning original drama by Joanna Toye. Starring Eleanor Tomlinson and Ysette Churchman and Miles Jupp Dead Girls Tell No Tales explores the real story behind the death of Grace Archer: a watershed moment in the history of broadcasting and one of the defining cultural events of the 1950s. 
 
Production credits 
Blithe Spirit 
Written by Noël Coward 
Adapted and directed by Sean O'Connor 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 December 2014 
 
Calendar Girls 
The accompanying pianist was Simon Taranczuk 
Written by Tim Firth and based on the motion picture Calendar Girls written by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi. Adapted and directed by Sean O'Connor 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27 December 2015 
 
The Canterbury Tales, Parts 1 &amp; 2 
Tellers of the Tales 
The Knight's Tale 
The Miller's Tale 
The Wife of Bath's Tale 
The Sailor's Tale 
The Pardoner's Tale 
The Friar's Tale 
The Franklin's Tale 
The Bailiff's Tale 
Written by Geoffrey Chaucer 
Dramatised by Nick Warburton. Directed by Kim Greengrass. Produced by Alison Hindell 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 December 2018-5 January 2019 
 
The Ambridge Mystery Plays 
The Nativity 
The Passion 
First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26th December 2021 &amp; 2nd January 2022 
 
Ambridge Ghost Stories 
Abridged by Jeremy Osborne 
 
'The Room in the Tower' written by E F Benson 
Produced and directed by Charlotte Davey 
 
'Lost Hearts' written by M. R. James 
Produced and directed by Mel Ward 
 
'The Monkey's Paw' written by W. W. Jacobs 
Produced and directed by Charlotte Davey 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 December 2019-1 January 2020 
 
Dead Girls Tell No Tales 
Cast: Jon Culshaw, Pam Ferris, Lex Shrapnel, Eleanor Tomlinson, Georgie Fuller, Geoffrey Streatfeild, Sally Bretton, Simon Russell Beale, John Hopkins, Claudie Blakley, David Reed, Miles Jupp, Zeb Soanes, Paddy O'Connell, Ysanne Churchman, David Hounslow, Sam Dale, Chris Pavlo, Jessica Turner and Alex Tregear 
Written by Joanna Toye. Directed by Sean O'Connor 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 September 2015 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Archers: The Ambridge Players

Six BBC full-cast drama productions including Blithe Spirit, Calendar Girls & More

Dorothy L. Sayers

Dorothy L. Sayers' classic play cycle based on the life and times of Jesus 
 
 Dorothy L. Sayers was best known for her mystery novels featuring aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. But she was also a poet, playwright and committed Christian, and in The Man Born to Be King she combined art and evangelism to powerful effect, making the story of Christ accessible, relevant and every bit as thrilling as her detective fiction. 
 
 Written specially for the BBC Radio, the play cycle caused huge controversy for its depiction of Christ as a character, and its use of contemporary speech instead of Biblical language. However it proved extremely popular with listeners, who wrote in to thank Sayers for making Jesus real to them and reigniting their interest in his remarkable story. 
 
 Based on the four Gospels, it includes one story of the Nativity, six plays about Jesus' life and ministry, and five Passion Plays telling of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, Jesus' arrest and trial before Pontius Pilate, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Backed up with a sweeping musical score, these immersive dramas surprise and shock us anew and provide fresh, illuminating insight into 'the greatest story ever told'. 
 
 The plays included are Kings in Judea, The King's Herald, A Certain Nobleman, The Heirs to the Kingdom, The Bread of Heaven, The Feast of Tabernacles, The Light and The Life, Royal Progress, The King's Supper, The Princes of This World, King of Sorrows and The King Comes to His Own. 
 
 Cast and credits 
 Written by Dorothy L Sayers 
 Adapted by/Producer: Raymond Raikes 
 The Evangelist (John Bar-Zebedee): Gabriel Woolf 
Jesus: John Westbrook 
Joseph/ Jacob Ben-Issachar: Norman Shelley 
Simon Bar-Jonah (Simon Peter): Stephen Jack 
Judas Iscariot: Alan Wheatley 
Matthew: Nigel Stock 
Herod The Great: Robert Eddison 
Nicodemus: John Wyse 
Ephraim: Denys Blakelock 
Shadrach: Malcolm Hayes 
Rabbit Solomon: John Gabriel 
Phoebe: Caroline Monkhouse 
Flavius: Trader Faulkner 
Calpurnia: Penelope Lee 
Mary Virgin: June Tobin 
Mary Magdalen: Mary Wimbush 
Martha: Marjorie Westbury 
Lazarus: Richard Hurndall 
Benjamin Ben-Hadad: Ralph Truman 
Joseph, kinsman to Jesus: Haydn Jones 
Simeon, kinsman to Jesus: Wilfrid Carter 
Baruch the Zealot: Francis de Wolff 
Baruch's Wife: Vivienne Chatterton 
Gestas: John Laurie 
Dysmas: Russell Napier 
Simon of Cyrene: Rodney Dias 
Proclus, a Roman Centurion: Trevor Martin 
Roman soldier: Bruce Beeby 
Roman soldier: Harvey Hall 
Joseph of Arimathea: Howieson Culff 
Calaphas, High Priest of Israel: Heron Carvic 
Salome, mother to James and John: Henzie Raeburn 
Mary Cleophas: Molly Rankin 
Balthazar, King of Ethiopia: Paul Danqdah 
Melchior/ A Zealot: Michael Kilgarriff 
Casper: James Dale 
Claudia Procula, wife to Pilate: Mary Law 
Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judaea: Alec Clunes 
Philip: Rolf Lefebvre 
Thomas Didymus/ Father: Philip Leaver 
Mother: Wynne Clark 
Miriam, child: Elizabeth Proud 
Isaac, child/a slave boy: Daniel Rose 
Hannah: Hester Paton-Brown 
James Bar-Zebedee: John Glen 
Andrew Bar-Jonah: John Boxer 
Hezekiah, secretary/ Roman Soldier: John Baker 
Annas, father-in-law to Caiaphas: Edward Atienza 
Captain Elihu: Keith Alexander 
Eunice, a Syro-Phoenician: Elizabeth Morgan 
Cleophas: Harry Hutchinson 
Portress at the High Priest's House: Miriam Margolyes 
Zillah, her daughter: Jo Manning-Wilson 
Issacher, servant: Hugh Dickson 
Susannah, mother to the Bride groom: Betty Baskcomb 
Rebecca, friend to Susannah: Gladys Spencer/ Janet Burnell 
Other cast: Ian Frost, Janette Richer, Nan Marriott-Watson, Janette Richer, Peter Marinker, Raf de la Torre, James Thomason, John Forrest, Michael Goldie 
First broadcast BBC Home Service 19th, 26th Jan, 2nd, 9th , 16th, 23rd Feb, 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 28th, 30th March 1975 
 ©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Man Born To Be King

A BBC Radio 4 drama collection

David Hare

Eight incisive dramas by the internationally-renowned playwright - plus bonus interview 
 
Writer and director David Hare is one of England's leading political dramatists, celebrated for his many award-winning plays analysing the morality of contemporary Britain. This collection comprises some of his most acclaimed pieces, as well as a fascinating radio interview with Hare himself. 
 
It opens with his two acknowledged masterpieces: Plenty and Amy's View. These mesmerising dramas, both spanning several decades, present vivid portraits of strong women diminished by circumstance, metaphorically evoking the changing values and collapsing ideals of the postwar period. These are followed by Knuckle, a fast-paced parody of the American hardboiled thriller set in the Home Counties; and Pravda, co-written with Howard Brenton, a satirical comedy about a monstrous media tycoon. 
 
Also included are The Bay at Nice, set in 1950s Russia and exploring the nature of art and freedom; Skylight, about the reunion between a Thatcherite entrepreneur and his onetime mistress; Racing Demon, the first in a trilogy of plays about British institutions, focusing on the Church of England in crisis; and the play in which Hare made his acting debut: the powerful monologue Via Dolorosa, a meditation on his extraordinary 1997 trip to Israel and Palestine. 
 
Among the stellar cast: Jane Lapotalre, Zoë Wanamaker, Judi Dench, Samantha Bond, Anthony Hopkins, Bill Nighy, Robert Glenister, Stephen Tompkinson, Ronald Pickup, Geoffrey Palmer, Stella Gonet &amp; Paul McGann. 
 
In an interview for the World Service arts programme Meridian, David Hare talks about why he enjoys writing good parts for women, what he believes plays can achieve that other media cannot, and the capacity of art to change society. 
 
Production credits 
Written by David Hare. 
Pravda written by David Hare and Howard Brenton. 
Text copyright © David Hare 1974 (Knuckle), 1978 (Plenty), 1986 (The Bay at Nice), 1990 (Racing Demon), 1995 (Skylight), 1997 (Amy's View), 1998 (Via Dolorosa). Pravda text copyright © David Hare and Howard Brenton 1985. 
All rights reserved. 
Special thanks to The British Library and Keith Wickham for sourcing audio files. 
 
Content list 
 
 
1. Plenty 
2. Amy's View 
3. Knuckle 
4. Pravda 
5. The Bay at Nice 
6. Skylight 
7. Racing Demon 
8. Via Dolorosa 
 
Bonus interview 
Meridian: David Hare 
First broadcast BBC World Service, 21 October 1991 
 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

David Hare: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

8 full-cast productions including Plenty, Skylight, Amy’s View & others

Bob Monkhouse

Denis Goodwin

A bumper collection of classic selected episodes and extracts from vintage variety show Calling All Forces 
 
Broadcasting on the BBC Light Programme from December 1950 until July 1952, 'Calling All Forces' was the biggest show of its day, attracting the biggest names of the time. Written by a young Bob Monkhouse and Denis Goodwin, it became a showcase for aspiring young comedians including Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Jimmy Edwards, Cyril Fletcher, Benny Hill, Kenneth Horne, Bill Kerr and Bob Monkhouse himself. 
 
Brilliantly hosted by comedian Ted Ray, the show features a mix of stand up comedy, music and sketches guest-starring well-known TV and film actors of the day. Peter Sellers tries out some early Goons characters, Tony Hancock steps in to co-host with Charlie Chester in the days before Hancock's Half Hour, and Bob Monkhouse steps on stage to perform some of his own material at the age of just 23. Sit back and enjoy musical hits from The Stargazers, songs performed by the 'Forces Sweetheart' Carole Carr, and amazing feats of recollection from 'The Memory Man' Leslie Welch as he answers sports questions sent in by British Forces stationed overseas. This rare collection offers a slice of post-war history, a window into pop culture in the British military forces of the time, and a fascinating look back at the early careers of our comedy greats. 
 
This uproarious compilation also includes two bonus episodes of Fletcher's Fare, plus two episodes of The Forces Show - the successor to Calling All Forces, also written by Bob Monkhouse and Denis Goodwin. 
 
Written by Bob Monkhouse and Denis Goodwin 
Linking material written by Martin Gibbons and read by Roy McMillan 
With thanks to the Estate of Bob Monkhouse, to the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society, and to Kaleidoscope for providing these audio recordings. 
 
Please note: due to the age of these recordings, the sound quality may vary. 
The humour in this programme reflects the era in which it was broadcast and may not reflect current attitudes. 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Calling All Forces

The vintage BBC variety show

Henrik Ibsen

The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen, in a new version by David Hare 
 
Master builder Halvard Solness is a self-made man. With no professional qualifications, he has built himself up through ruthless ambition, and achieved a position of power and domination in his home town. But his success has come at a cost. His marriage is empty, destroyed by a personal tragedy that has left him wracked with guilt and pain, and he is increasingly frightened of failure and being displaced by the next generation. 
 
Then a mysterious young woman, Hilde Wangel, appears from the mountains, claiming to have met Solness ten years earlier, when she was only 13. She asserts that he kissed her and promised her a kingdom: and now she has returned to claim it. Halvard becomes besotted with Hilde, seeing her as a breath of fresh air, revitalising his life with her youthful energy. And Hilde flatters and praises him, rebuilding his ego. But has she come to seduce him - or to destroy him? 
 
With mystical undertones and resonances for the #MeToo movement, this searing tragedy of middle-aged male hubris explores the troubled psyche of a successful, abusive man who has risen to the greatest heights, only to be toppled from his peak. David Schofield stars as Solness, with Siobhan Redmond as his wife Aline and Laura Aikman as Hilde. 
 
Also included is a bonus programme, In Our Time: Henrik Ibsen, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the great Norwegian playwright and poet. 
 
Cast and credits 
Solness - David Schofield 
Aline - Siobhan Redmond 
Hilde - Laura Aikman 
Brovik - Paul Bradley 
Dr Herdal - Jonathan Tafler 
Kaja - Shannon Hayes 
Ragnar - Joseph Ayre 
 
The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen 
In a new version by David Hare 
Based on a literal translation by Torkil Heggstad 
Directed and produced by Gary Brown 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15-22 August 2021 
 
In Our Time: Henrik Ibsen 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
With Tore Rem, Kirsten Shepherd-Barr and Dinah Birch 
Produced by Simon Tillotson 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31 May 2018 
 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Master Builder

A BBC Radio 4 full cast dramatisation

Various

10 dramas focusing on women's untold stories from history. 
 
This diverse, eclectic collection of plays explores an array of social, political and historical events from a female point of view. In these captivating dramas, we see the world through their eyes, giving us a fresh perspective on a female history that is too often unrecorded, misrepresented or misunderstood. 
 
Featuring a multiplicity of styles and genres, and written by a wide variety of authors, they range from comedy dramas themed around the Bayeux Tapestry and the 1962 Cheltenham Literary Festival, to award-winning, thought-provoking tales of Nigerian teenagers kidnapped by Boko Haram. A contemporary version of the heroines from Greek mythology, Persephone and Demeter; Profumo affair from a female perspective, Britain's last witch (Helen Duncan); a legendary ballerina (Margot Fonteyn); a little sister (Dious, sibling of St Anthony) and a youngest daughter (Judith Shakespeare). 
 
Embroidering the Truth 
Queen Edith - Katy Brand 
Bishop Odo - Charlie Anson 
Other cast, Katy Sobey, Lisa Zahra, Jonny Holden, Rosie Cavaliero, Tracy Wiles. Written by Abigail Youngman. Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17 October 2019 
 
Girls 
Tisana - Amaka Okafor 
Ruhab - Faith Alabi 
Haleema - Joan Iyiola 
Written by Theresa Ikoko. Directed by Abigail Gonda. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 July 2017 
 
The Bulbul Was Singing 
Laura - Rebecca Humphries 
Ariman - Shaniaz Hama Ali 
Other Cast: Paul Hickey, Jonny Holden, Saya Zahawi, Catherine Cusack, Shaun Mason, Debbie Korley, Chris Pavlo 
Written by Judy Upton. Directed by Emma Harding. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 August 2019 
 
Seven Pomegranate Seeds 
Performed by Niamh Cusack, Ruth Bradley and Leah McNamara 
Written by Colin Teevan. Produced and directed by Allegra McIlroy. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 7 January 2020 
 
Festival 
Elizabeth Jane Howard - Melody Grove 
John Moore - Tony Gardner 
Kingsley Amis - Jonathan Forbes 
Other cast: Will Howard, Emma Handy, John Lightbody. Written by Sarah Wooley. Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31 July 2018 
 
Well, He Would, Wouldn't He? 
Mandy (younger) - Aimee-Ffion Edwards 
Christine Keeler - Lyndsey Marshal 
'Pops' Murray - Stephen Marzella 
Stephen Ward/Peter Rachman - Ewan Bailey 
Other cast: Adrian Schiller, Alex Dower, Anthony Courier. Written by Charlotte Williams. Directed by Kate McAll. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 February 2013 
 
Tony's Little Sister and the Paradox of Monasticism 
Anthony - Duncan Preston 
Dious - Samantha Spiro 
Satan - Tim McMullan 
Other cast Ben Crowe, Rachel Bavidge. Written by David and Caroline Stafford. Produced by Marc Beeby. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 August 2007 
 
Judith Shakespeare 
Judith Shakespeare - Amanda Root 
William Shakespeare - Michael Pennington 
Henry, Earl of Southampton - Anton Lesser 
Other Cast, Andrew Wincott, Melinda Walker, Thomas Connor, Stephen Critchlow, Ann Beach, Colleen Prendergast, Jillie Meers 
Written by Nan Woodhouse. Directed byTracey Neale. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 April 1996 
 
An Unchoreographed World 
Margot Fonteyn - Sophie Jerrold 
Constant Lambert - Richard McCabe 
Other cast Oliver Millingham, Kate Littlewood 
Chorus - Anne-Marie Piazza, Maria Askew, Ffion Jolly, Ben Ashton &amp; Coen de Groot 
Written by Frances Byrne. Produced and directed by Mark Smalley. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 May 2008 
 
The Last Witch Trial 
Lucy - Indira Varma 
Margo - Lyndsey Marshal 
Other Cast: Joanna Monro, Vineeta Rishi Sam Dale, Michael Shelford, Keely Beresford 
Written by Melissa Murray. Directed by Marc Beeby. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 June 2010 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

HER Story: Women’s Untold Histories

10 BBC Radio full-cast dramas

Christopher Douglas

Andrew Nickolds

The complete Series 14 of the popular BBC Radio 4 comedy - plus Christmas special 
 
'Magnificent' Gillian Reynolds, The Telegraph 
 
Author, curmudgeon and master of the complaining letter and the abusive email, Ed Reardon is back for a fourteenth fantastic series. 
 
In these globally unprecedented times, Ed is also experiencing new and unusual circumstances. For the first time in 20 years, he's financially independent thanks to the timely arrival of his state pension, and living in a stylish, newly affordable 'capsule urban living unit' (a former office space converted into a flat). He has the luxury of three (organic) meals a day, all the premier catfood Edgar can eat, and even a new car - as well as free time to devote himself to his own long-cherished projects. 
 
But old habits die hard, and Ed's soon distracted by an unexpected meeting with his ex, Maggie; a fight to save an ancient oak tree; a request to write Ping's granny's memoirs and an eye-wateringly expensive trip to the vet. On his uppers once more, Ed is unexpectedly offered two potentially lucrative projects: scripting a movie for Jaz Milvain and writing a series of biographies for Maggie. But he can only choose one job - which is it to be? 
 
And in the festive special episode 'Ed Reardon's Christmas Week', Ed needs a room at the inn - the Lock Keeper's Arms, that is. But first he's got to square up to Scrooge... 
 
Written by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds, this superlative sitcom stars Christopher Douglas as Ed, with Barunka O'Shaughnessy as Ping, Philip Jackson as Jaz and Pippa Hayward as Maggie. Geoffrey Whitehead is Stan, Brigit Forsyth, Pearl and Stephanie Cole plays Olive. 
 
Credits 
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas 
Produced by Victoria Lloyd and Dawn Ellis 
Production co-ordinator: Cherlynn Andrew-Wilfred 
A BBC Studios production 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 December 2020 ('Ed Reardon's Christmas Week'), 8 June-13 July 2021 (Series 14) 
 
Cast 
Ed Reardon - Christopher Douglas 
Ping - Barunka O'Shaughnessy 
Jaz Milvain - Philip Jackson 
Jake - Sam Pamphilon 
Eli - Lisa Coleman 
Audiobook/Instructor/Bernice/Newsreader/TV host/Vet - Nicola Sanderson 
Landlord - Colin MacFarlane 
Stan - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Pearl - Brigit Forsyth 
Olive - Stephanie Cole 
Jenna - Mina Anwar 
Assistant - Tom Price 
Maggie - Pippa Hayward 
Bus driver/Frank/Piers - Simon Greenall 
Spike - Kathryn Drysdale 
Geoff/Cliff - Dan Tetsell 
Granny - Maggie Steed 
Salesman - Phaldut Sharma 
With Petroc Trelawny as himself 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ed Reardon’s Week: Series 14

The BBC Radio 4 sitcom

Basil Boothroyd

The convoluted chronicle of an optimistic crime writer 
 
'Basil Boothroyd's quietly comic classic' Gillian Reynolds, The Telegraph 
 
Gerald C Potter is the proud author of Death in the Arboretum, described by the Bournemouth Echo as 'well-written'. He works hard on his books, and worries about every comma, adjective and unfortunate typo: but somehow, he never seems to get very much done. However, his wife and fellow novelist, Diana (aka Magnolia Badminton) is positively prolific - much to his chagrin. 
 
These four series recount his daily activities and struggles for inspiration, as he tries to solve the mystery of his missing briefcase; goes up against his wife as they compete to publicise their new books; takes a holiday abroad that's far from relaxing; and receives a double-edged surprise on United Potter Day. And in special festive episode 'The Cousin', an unexpected message in a Christmas card leaves Gerald and Diana scrambling to prepare for a last-minute visitor... 
 
Written by celebrated humorist Basil Boothroyd, this witty, quick, clever sitcom ran for five years on Radio 4 between 1976 and 1981. It stars Ian Carmichael (The World of Wooster, Lord Peter Wimsey) as Gerald C Potter, with Charlotte Mitchell (Waggoners' Walk, The Adventures of Black Beauty) as Diana. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Basil Boothroyd 
Produced by Bobby Jaye 
 
Cast 
Gerald C Potter - Ian Carmichael 
Diana, his wife - Charlotte Mitchell 
With Michael McClain, James Thomason, Trader Faulkner, Robin Browne, Michael Deacon, Jo Manning Wilson, Margaret Robertson, Peter Craze, Anthony Smee, Michael Goldie, Penelope Reynolds, Geoffrey Matthews, Edward Kelsey, Betty Huntley-Wright, Fiona Mathieson, Garard Green, Brian Carroll, Danny Schiller, Douglas Blackwell, Patricia Hughes, Margot Boyd, Pauline Letts, Brian Haines, Lolly Cockerell, Jane Knowles, Michael Spice, Preston Lockwood, Charles Colville, Paddy O'Byrne, John Church, Judy Franklin and John McAndrew 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 22 March-26 April 1976 (Series 1), 9 November-14 December 1977 (Series 2), 26 December 1977 (Christmas Special, 'The Cousin'), 24 September-29 October 1979 (Series 3), 27 April-1 June 1981 (Series 4) 
 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Small Intricate Life of Gerald C. Potter

A BBC Radio 4 comedy drama

Mary Cooper

Jonathan Tafler

Anna Linstrum

Alistair McGowan

Elizabeth Lewis

Robin Brooks

Lucy Caldwell

Sarah Wooley

Stephen Wakelam

Frances Bingham

David Pownall

Katie Hims

Ian Billings

Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre

Judith Adam

18 biographical dramas based on the lives and loves of celebrated writers 
 
These surprising, revealing dramas take a behind-the-scenes look at some of our best-loved authors, mingling fact and fantasy to explore their extraordinary hidden lives. From love affairs, friendships and family relationships to traumas, tragedies and journeys of self-discovery, we glimpse the unwritten worlds that shaped their unforgettable fiction. Among the star casts are Andrew Scott, Toby Jones, Richard Dormer, Glenda Jackson, Bella Ramsey, Julia Davis, Ian McDiarmid, Haydn Gwynne, David Threlfall, Alistair McGowan, Tom Goodman-Hill, Hattie Morahan, Rosie Cavaliero, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Paul Ritter and Lia Williams 
 
Jane and Tom - Writing to her sister, Jane Austen describes her love for Tom Lefroy - a love that would lead to Pride and Prejudice. 
 
When Fanny Met Germaine - A delightful romp through the passionate, scandalous friendship between two 18th Century writers: Fanny Burney and Mme de Stael. 
 
Comrade Ackland - Dorset, 1936. Newly returned from an illicit trip to Civil War Spain, Sylvia Townsend Warner and her lover Valentine Ackland have an unexpected visitor.... 
 
Tongues of Fire - 1913. When a Nobel laureate visits Dublin's Abbey Theatre, fireworks erupt between WB Yeats and Sean O'Casey. 
 
A Year at the Races - Approaching the end of his career, Groucho Marx meets a wisecracking fan determined to teach him new comedy tricks. 
 
Spike and the Elfin Oak- A comic fantasy inspired by Spike Milligan's madcap attempts in the mid-1960s to preserve a curious sculpture in Kensington Gardens. 
 
Everybody's Got Conditions - Casting Bette Davis in his play The Night of the Iguana proves the biggest mistake in Tennessee Williams' career... 
 
I Believe I Have Genius- Humble and obscure, young Charlotte Brontë travels to Brussels to study at a girls' school. 
 
Marian and George - Marian Evans (aka George Eliot) must choose between her adored brother and the love of her life... 
 
Lying Low - An intriguing drama imagining what happened to Samuel Beckett during his mysterious three weeks in Folkestone in 1961. 
 
A Terrible Beauty - WB Yeats travels to France to propose to beautiful Maud Gonne, soon after her husband's execution in the 1916 Easter Rising. 
 
The Watcher on the Wall - Dramatised from his letters, this is the story of Louis MacNeice's transatlantic love affair and the poetry it inspired. 
 
Edith Sitwell in Scarborough - Returning to her birthplace, Edith Sitwell sets out to wreak revenge. 
 
Mrs Tolstoy - A five-part drama charting the tempestuous marriage between Leo and Sofya Tolstoy. 
 
The 'B' Word - The opening night of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion causes a scandal and sparks a passionate love/hate triangle... 
 
The Rules of Palship - The young Noël Coward demanded fierce loyalty from his friends - but did he live up to his own high standards? 
 
The Lost Road - A playful tribute to the long friendship between CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien and how it influenced their respective masterpieces. 
 
Luxembourg Gardens - Re-imagined from Katherine Mansfield's stories, letters and journals, this Mansfieldesque play explores her last day in Paris, where she is dying of consumption aged 34. 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Behind the Author's Desk: Dramas of Famous Writers' Real Lives

Stephen Wyatt

William Schwenck Gilbert

Ten comic dramatisations based on the stories and plays of WS Gilbert 
 
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert is best known for his operatic collaborations with Sir Arthur Sullivan, which captivated 19th-century audiences and continue to delight today. But he also created numerous solo works, among them these ten pieces, dramatised for radio by Stephen Wyatt and featuring Jonathan Coy as WS Gilbert. 
 
The Finger of Fate - Confirmed bachelor Foggerty yearns for peace - but Fate has other plans, in the form of large, lively Dolly Fortescue. 
Starring Stephen Moore, Alison Steadman, Martin Hyder, Ian Masters. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 December 2002 
 
An Elixir of Love - The inspiration for the Gilbert &amp; Sullivan opera The Sorcerer, this humorous tale finds the Rev Stanley Gay secretly administering a love potion to his parishioners - with unexpected results. 
Starring Paul Downing, Cathy Sara, Gillian Goodman, Christopher Scott, John Fleming. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 May 2003 
 
The Burglar's Story- Housebreaker's son Theodore Belvawney learns the hard way that there is no honour amongst thieves. 
Starring Michael Onslow, John Webb, Anny Tobin, Stephen Boswell, Kim Durham, Alexandra Lilley 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 21 May 2003 
 
Wide Awake - Rich, unworldly Harold Symperson learns that he must stay alert when looking for his soulmate. 
Starring Richard Derrington, Chris Emmett, Julia Hills, Joanna Wake, Jamie Chapman, Tom George. 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 28 May 2003 
 
Mr Foster's Good Fairy - Confectioner Cyril Foster fears his chequered past will be exposed, until he's offered an unlikely escape. 
Starring Ian Brooker, Sara Coward, Lennox Greaves and David Bannerman 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 4 June 2003 
 
The Wedding March - Woodpecker Tapping's wedding day goes from bad to worse in this farcical drama. 
Starring Jason Chan, Paul Clarkson, Amy Shindler, John Rowe, Alex Tregear, Sion Probert, Charlotte West-Oram 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 December 2004 
 
A Sensation Novel - Author Ebenezer Fudge is most perturbed when his characters come to life and criticise his melodramatic plots. 
Starring John Rowe, Nicholas Boulton, Hugh Dickson, Julia Hills, Jason Chan and Wendy Baxter 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 December 2004 
 
A Colossal Idea - Holidaying with his wife in Margate, grocer Mr Yellowboy claims to be writing an encyclopaedia - but his real activities are less innocent. 
Starring Tim Hudson, Sarah Hadland, Tina Gray, Bella Merlin, James Howard. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 December 2004 
 
Tom Cobb or Fortune's Toy - In need of money to marry his fiancee, Matilda O'Fipp, Tom Cobb decides to 'die'. 
Starring Bertie Carvel, Sarah Corbet, Stephen Hogan, James Howard, Bella Merlin, Jason Chan. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 5 January 2005 
 
The Realm of Joy - A West End play proves so scandalous that Victorian society can't stay away. Starring Alexander Delamere, Jeffrey Harmer, Tim Hudson, Jilly Bond, Stephen Hogan, Bella Merlin, Charlotte West-Oram. 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12 January 2005 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by WS Gilbert 
Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt 
Directed by Sally Avens, Sue Wilson and Jenny Stephen 
 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. ? 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Gilbert without Sullivan

Martyn Wade

The complete Series 1 and 2 of the historical comic sitcom about an embattled Victorian publishing company 
 
London, 1853, and the sedate religious publishing house of Spavin and Spavin is about to experience a radical shake-up. Vivacious actress Cordelia is on the hunt for a husband and has her eye on Gerald, one of the firm's partners, while her son Primus has ambitions to take over the firm. And when he does, it'll be out with the Bibles and in with the bestsellers - starting with Charlotte Brontë's latest blockbuster... 
 
Full of grand plans, he sets about wooing a wealth of other writers, including explorer Richard Burton, Charlotte Bronte and struggling novelist Wilkie Collins (who takes quite a shine to Cordelia). He even hires an assistant, Simeon, to manage publicity, and attempts to win a literary award by fair means or foul. But Primus's enthusiasm doesn't go down too well with Gerald's mother Edith (the firm's other partner), who is strongly opposed to the company publishing fiction. Worse, his willingness to spend the company's money has pushed Spavin and Spavin to the edge of bankruptcy... 
 
Hoping for salvation from financial ruin, Primus turns to luminaries such as Prince Albert and Charles Dickens - but could the crock of gold he's searching for be right under his nose? 
 
Written by Martyn Wade (The Little Ottleys), this delightful, tongue-in-cheek comedy stars Michael Cochrane as Primus and Maggie Steed as Cordelia, with a cast including Elizabeth Spriggs, Charles Simpson, David Horovitch, Joan Sims and Ioan Meredith. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Martyn Wade 
Directed by Cherry Cookson 
Music composed by Paul Mottram 
Violinist: Paul Mottram 
 
Cast 
Primus - Michael Cochrane 
Cordelia - Maggie Steed 
Gerald - David Horovitch 
Edith - Elizabeth Spriggs 
Reverend Brontë/Prosser - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Charlotte Brontë - Sarah Jane Holm 
Mrs Gaskell/Emily Brontë/Katie Joiner/Mrs Prosser - Frances Jeater 
Equity/Waiter/George Eliot/Thackeray - David Antrobus 
Richard Burton - Norman Rodway 
Wilkie Collins - David Timson 
Simeon - Charles Simpson 
Prince Albert/Smiles/Trollope - Ioan Meredith 
John/Rossetti/Cab driver - Stephen Critchlow 
Mrs Quirk - Joan Sims 
Lizzie Siddal - Becky Hindley 
Mrs Beeton - Rachel Atkins 
Beeton - Gerard McDermott 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 20 August-10 September 1998 (Series 1), 7-28 January 2000 (Series 2) 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Bookcases

Danny Robins

Dan Tetsall

All three series of the literary spoof series 
 
Paperback Hell takes a wry look at well-known genres riding high in the publishing charts, and mercilessly lampoons them to hilarious effect. Featuring choice chapters culled from titles that bear a striking resemblance to something you've read before, it's the book show that seems determined to destroy the good name of literature. 
 
These 16 episodes showcase a selection of inexplicably popular bestsellers by imaginary authors, including Romany Cleff's debut chick-lit novel Shopping for Mr Wrong; Edith Plunger's medieval monastic murder mystery A Posset Full of Death; radical filmaker Chuck Morris's account of his trip to the Hay and Wye literary festival, You Suck Bush; and Jack "Sunglasses" Ramsey's not-entirely-true memoir of life in the 1960s criminal underworld, Stop the Dodgems, I Want to Throw Up. 
 
Plus, the Napoleonic Wars invade the airwaves as suspiciously fictional author Alexander Cromwell narrates his military adventure, Thrust's Eagle; celebrity lifestyle gurus Gilly Haberdasher and Dr Graham Golden share excerpts from their tie-in book to the hit TV programme, How Not To Live; and there's a chance to experience a young woman's erotic awakening as 'Anonymous' reads from a specially adapted version of Forbidden Fire (which contains sex scenes that some listeners may find strangely disappointing). 
 
Written by Danny Robins and Dan Tetsell (The Museum of Everything, Young Dracula), this witty, entertaining send-up stars Michael Fenton Stevens, Rebecca Front, Mel Hudson, Alex Lowe and Dan Tetsell. 
 
Production credits 
 
 
Ghostwritten by Danny Robins and Dan Tetsell 
Produced by Lucy Armitage 
Original music by Ben Walker 
 
Starring Michael Fenton Stevens, Rebecca Front, Mel Hudson, Alex Lowe and Dan Tetsell 
With Michael Brandon (Series 3, Episodes 1 and 2) 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 16 January-6 February 2003 (Series 1), 7 July-11 August 2004 (Series 2), 5 October-9 November 2005 (Series 3) 
 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Paperback Hell: Series 1-3

A BBC Radio Spoof comedy

Scott Cherry

The complete Series 1 &amp; 2 of the historical sitcom about well-meaning but gullible 18th Century squire Fenton Babblewick and his clever manservant Augustus 
 
When idealistic Fenton Babblewick inherits his uncle's Yorkshire estate, it's the perfect opportunity to realise his Utopian dreams. But for his valet, Augustus Snipe, moving to Babblewick Hall is a nightmare. The servants are surly, the house is freezing cold and full of farm animals, and worst of all, it's in the North - a world away from the cosy coffeehouses and gentlemen's clubs of London. 
 
In these ten episodes, Fenton tries his hand as an agricultural reformer and radical grower of beetroots, falls in love with the charming Miss Lucinda Bluntstone, and embarks on a glamorous political career. An escape to London beckons - but Augustus' hopes are dashed when his master chooses to stay in the village, where he tries to convert a workhouse into a school and investigates a case of witchcraft... 
 
Fans of Blackadder will love this light-hearted comedy drama, full of japes, jokes and amusing sound effects and soundtracked with brilliant Baroque-style music. Olivier Award-winning actor Nicholas Le Prevost stars as Fenton Babblewick, with Forbes Masson as Augustus Snipe and Sam Kelly and Dave Hill as Jack. Among the stellar guest cast are Sophie Thompson, Maurice Denham, Tracie Bennett and John Moffatt. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Scott Cherry 
Produced by Paul Schlesinger (Series 1) and Jon Rolph (Series 2) 
Music composed by Paul Mottram 
Violin: Paul Mottram 
 
 
Cast 
Fenton Babblewick - Nicholas Le Prevost 
Augustus Snipe - Forbes Masson 
Barney - David Antrobus 
Jack - Sam Kelly/Dave Hill 
Molly - Gillian Bevan 
Bob Scotcher - Philip Jackson 
Peck - Alex Lowe 
Pickett - Christian Rodska 
Grunter - Geoffrey McGivern 
Flinch - Maurice Denham 
Mrs Bluntstone - Elizabeth Spriggs 
Lucinda - Tracie Bennett 
Smellie - David Timson 
Hartson - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Berridge - Jeremy Clyde 
Dribb/Maddison - John Baddeley 
Mrs Maddison - Sara Coward 
Highwayman - Stephen Critchlow 
William Babblewick - Benjamin Whitrow 
Elizabeth Babblewick - Pauline Yates 
Harriet - Courtney King 
Septimus Hickey - John Moffatt 
With Maggie McCarthy, Benedict Sandiford, Michael Troughton, Pat Coombs, Kim Wall, Lynda Barron, Phil Nice, Peter Gunn, Sophie Thompson, Rosemary Leach 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 27 December 1995-31 January 1996 (Series 1), 4-25 September 1998 (Series 2)

Babblewick Hall

A BBC Radio 4 Comedy drama

Sebastian Baczkiewicz

Hamlet. Claudius. The Beginning. The Truth. 
 
How did Claudius become the man he is in Shakespeare's Hamlet? What were the real reasons behind the murder of his brother? How does he really feel about his nephew? These questions will be answered in this drama spiced with ghosts, pirates, magic and political skulduggery. 
 
Set in an alternative Europe in the 1930-50s, Elsinore is a prequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet. This compelling drama imagines the turbulence of the Danish court in a world where Denmark is a powerful, militarised country with a small empire around the Baltic that it is fighting hard to maintain. There is more than a hint of totalitarianism in the air. 
 
In this uneasy setting, Elsinore delves into the troubled, not to say murderous relationship between King Hamlet and his brother, Claudius: one of the most interesting characters in the Shakespearean canon. Realism meets with moments of otherworldliness as the story unravels, taking in pirates and magic, rebellion and betrayal. 
 
A dark, exciting drama that touches on the events and people in Shakespeare's play and brings us to the moment where Hamlet begins. 
 
From the extraordinary imagination of Sebastian Baczkiewicz, writer of the successful Pilgrim series. 
Directed by Marc Beeby and Sasha Yevtushenko. 
 
 
Cast: 
Claudius - John Light 
 Hamlet - John Heffernan 
 Dauphin - Ed Gaughan 
 Captain True - Chetna Pandya 
 Polonius - Clive Hayward 
 Gertrude - Lyndsey Marshal 
 Anders/Dr Swiss/Schroeder - Neil McCaul 
 Olsson - Rupert Holliday-Evans 
 Yorick/Guard/Defence/Captain - Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong 
 Katya - Isabella Inchbald 
 Beatrix - Abbie Andrews 
 Archimedes/Prosecutor - David Reakes 
 Horatio/ Schroeder/Judge - Philip Bretherton 
 Laszlo/Voice/Ulrik Krabbe - Adam Fitzgerald 
 Uncle - Ben Crowe 
 Helena - Clare Corbett 
 Helgeland - Sudha Bhuchar 
Catalina - Laura Christy 
Kabanova - Jessica Turner 
Lindstrom - Pip Torrens 
Fortinbras/Marcellus - Will Kirk 
Martin - Ikky Elyas 
Lieutenant/Horatio - Greg Jones 
 
 
 
© 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Elsinore: The Complete Series 1 and 2

Hamlet. Claudius. The Beginning. The Truth.

Oscar Wilde

A BBC radio celebration of the works of Oscar Wilde, including energetic adaptations of his best-known plays, short stories, and original dramas about the man himself 
 
Long before he'd produced any of his great works, Oscar Wilde was already famous for being famous. Armed only with some witty epigrams, a carefully crafted persona and his genius for self-promotion, he had conquered America and transformed himself from nobody to star. 
 
This radio collection opens with four plays from Radio 4's Born to be Wilde season, offering a 21st Century perspective on the making of one of the first true celebrities. First up are two sparkling and surprising productions of his two most popular comedies, marking the peak of his theatrical career. The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband feature stellar casts including Mathew Baynton, Jeany Spark, John Heffernan and Miranda Raison, with the latter also featuring music by Steppenwolf, Taylor Swift and Amy Winehouse. 
 
Next, two plays by Marcy Kahan and Lavinia Murray explore aspects of Wilde's life. The Warhol Years charts his astonishing rise, as he embarks on his US tour determined to be famous for 15 minutes - and then some. Oscar and Constancy portrays a celebrity marriage in crisis, as Wilde's domestic and creative lives vie for supremacy. Both dramas star Max Bennett as the young Wilde, with Dervla Kirwan as his mother, Speranza. 
 
Also included in this collection are nine of Wilde's classic short stories. The deliciously satirical 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime' is dramatised with a full cast including Rupert Penry-Jones and Gillian Kearney. His humorous supernatural story 'The Canterville Ghost' is read by Alistair McGowan, and Joseph Ayre narrates two delightful stories with a twist: 'The Sphinx Without a Secret' and 'The Model Millionaire'. Wilde's dazzling fairytales - 'The Happy Prince', 'The Nightingale and the Rose', 'The Selfish Giant', 'The Remarkable Rocket' and 'The Birthday of the Infanta' - are read by Joseph Fiennes, Joseph Ayre, Sam Dale, John Moffatt and Paul McGann. 
 
 
Track listing: 
An Ideal Husband 
The Importance of Being Earnest 
The Warhol Years 
Oscar and Constancy 
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime 
'The Canterville Ghost' 
'The Sphinx Without a Secret' 
'The Model Millionaire' 
'The Happy Prince' 
'The Nightingale and the Rose' 
'The Selfish Giant' 
'The Remarkable Rocket' 
'The Birthday of the Infanta'

Born to be Wilde

Plays, stories and the making of a modern celebrity

John Ford

A visceral, revamped BBC radio production of John Ford's classic play about a doomed love between a brother and sister 
 
With its shocking portrayal of incest, intrigue and murder, this powerful Jacobean revenge drama scandalised audiences when it was first performed in the 1620s, and is still controversial today. 
 
When siblings Giovanni and Annabella embark on a passionate affair, Annabella falls pregnant with her brother's child. Knowing she must marry to protect her honour, she chooses one of the many suitors clamouring for her hand - but when her secret is revealed, the lovers are caught up in a bloody chain of events that culminate in a poisoning, a blinding, a stabbing and a brutal massacre... 
 
Reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, but darker and more twisted, John Ford's 17th-century tale of sex and death is restyled for radio in Pauline Harris's compassionate, disturbing adaptation. Intercut with the music of Jimi Hendrix and Nick Cave, it also features an original song, 'In Deep', composed by Jules Maxwell and sung by Jessie Buckley, Indira Varma, and Abby Andrews. The play is introduced by Professor Emma Smith from Hertford College, Oxford. 
 
 
 
Cast 
Annabella - Jessie Buckley 
Giovanni - Damien Molony 
Signor Florio - Niall Buggy 
Putana - Fenella Woolgar 
Friar Bonaventura - Oliver Cotton 
Lord Soranzo - Matthew Pidgeon 
Vasques - Enzo Cilenti 
Hippolita - Indira Varma 
Grimaldi - Gary Duncan 
Cardinal - Neil McCaul 
Officer - Adam Fitzgerald 
Dorando - Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong 
 
Adapted and directed by Pauline Harris 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 7 January 2018

'Tis Pity She's a Whore

A BBC Radio full-cast production

Often described as 'the father of realism', Henrik Ibsen was a pioneer of modernist drama. He influenced playwrights as diverse as George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, and is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare. 
 
 Included in this collection are adaptations of his tragicomic masterpiece The Wild Duck, his complex and compelling play Rosmersholm, the epic drama Brand and the tragedy John Gabriel Borkman. Ibsen's A Doll's House is relocated to 1879 India in Tanika Gupta's Audio Drama Award-winning dramatisation, while the provocative and scandalous Ghosts is adapted by Richard Eyre, with the cast of his Olivier Award-winning Almeida Theatre production. 
 
Also featured are vibrant dramatisations of Hedda Gabler, whose desperate heroine is trapped in a suffocating marriage; The Lady from the Sea, about a woman torn between security and passion; and An Enemy of the People, in which a whistleblower reveals an inconvenient truth and is vilified for it. 
 
The casts of these stunning dramas include David Threlfall, Nicholas Farrell, Helen Baxendale, Indira Varma, Lesley Manville and Harriet Walter. 
 
Track listing: 
The Wild Duck 
Rosmersholm 
Brand 
John Gabriel Borkman 
A Doll's House 
Ghosts 
Hedda Gabler 
The Lady from the Sea 
An Enemy of the People

Henrik Ibsen: Nine full-cast BBC radio dramatisations

William Shakespeare

Eight full-cast BBC Radio productions of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies 
 
Full of merriment, mayhem, mischief and mistaken identity, here are eight iconic radio productions of Shakespeare's most magical comedies, featuring star casts and introduced by Sir Richard Eyre. 
 
Much Ado About Nothing 
Shakespeare's delightful comedy sparkles with the verbal sparring of our two reluctant lovers in a world where nothing is quite what it seems. David Tennant and Samantha Spiro star as Benedick and Beatrice. 
 
As You Like It 
The Forest of Arden resonates with declarations of love in this joyous pastoral comedy, starring Helena Bonham Carter as Rosalind, David Morrissey as Orlando and Natasha Little as Celia. 
 
A Midsummer Night's Dream 
In this delightful comic fantasy, four young lovers and a troupe of actors have a bewitching encounter with Fairyland. Starring David Threlfall as Theseus/Oberon, Sylvestra Le Touzel as Titania/Hippolyta and Amanda Root as Hermia. 
 
The Merchant of Venice 
Shakespeare's thrilling courtroom drama explores the eternal themes of love and hate, mercy and justice. Starring Warren Mitchell as Shylock, with Martin Jarvis as Antonio, Juliet Aubrey as Portia and Samuel West as Bassanio. 
 
Twelfth Night 
On the night when all the world is turned on its head, girls become boys and women lust after women, in this most optimistic of Shakespeare's comedies. Michael Maloney stars as Orsino and Anne-Marie Duff as Viola. 
 
The Tempest 
A ship at sea and an enchanted island are the settings for this allegorical tale of betrayal, sorcery, revenge and reconciliation. Starring Philip Madoc as Prospero and Nina Wadia as Ariel. 
 
The Taming of the Shrew 
Farce, disguise, elaborate role-playing and acerbic exchanges of wit combine to make up an extraordinary love story that still sparks controversy 400 years after it was written. Gerard McSorley stars as Petruchio and Ruth Mitchell as Katherina. 
 
All's Well That Ends Well 
This intriguing play tells of the questionable course of action a young woman takes to win the hand of the man she loves. Emma Fielding stars as Helena, with Siân Phillips, Miriam Margolyes, Richard Griffiths and Simon Russell Beale.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Eight Comedies

Four full-cast BBC Radio productions of Shakespeare's finest history plays 
 
Introduced by Sir Richard Eyre, these four iconic productions, featuring star casts, bring Shakespeare's gripping histories to life in all their rich complexity. 
 
Henry IV, Part One 
Young Prince Hal struggles with his responsibilities as heir to the throne, preferring the company of the dissolute Falstaff. But when England is threatened with rebellion, will he do his duty? Father and son Julian Glover and Jamie Glover star as King Henry and Prince Hal, with Timothy West as Falstaff. 
 
Henry IV, Part Two 
The realm is still in danger, and the King is dying. It is time for Prince Hal to fulfil his royal destiny - but what will become of his old friend, Falstaff? Starring Julian Glover, Jamie Glover and Timothy West. 
 
Richard II 
This lyrically tragic history encompasses themes of nobility and kingship, as King Richard is brought to his own destruction - but was he justly punished for his excesses, or a misunderstood victim? Samuel West stars as Richard II, with Joss Ackland as John of Gaunt and Damian Lewis as Bolingbroke. 
 
Pericles 
Featuring world music and a multicultural cast, this timeless tale with a contemporary twist features tyrants, incest, murder, young love, and a great hero cruelly separated from his wife and daughter. Will he ever see them again? Benjamin Zephaniah stars as the narrator, Gower.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Four History Plays

Six full-cast BBC Radio productions of Shakespeare's classic tragedies 
 
Treachery, betrayal and fatal power struggles are among the themes of these six iconic productions of Shakespeare's timeless tragedies. Featuring all-star casts, they are introduced by Sir Richard Eyre. 
 
Hamlet 
Shakespeare's powerfully poetic tragedy of murder, madness and revenge stars Michael Sheen as the Prince of Denmark, with Kenneth Cranham as Claudius and Juliet Stevenson as Gertrude. 
 
Macbeth 
In this notorious 'Scottish play', a lust for power and the prophecy of three witches transform a brave nobleman into a traitor and murderous tyrant. Ken Stott stars as Macbeth and Phyllis Logan as Lady Macbeth. 
 
King Lear 
The tragic consequences of evil triumphing over truth, and of the vanity of old age, are set in motion when Lear banishes his favourite daughter, Cordelia, from court. Starring Corin Redgrave as King Lear, with David Troughton, Geraldine James and Robert Glenister. 
 
Othello 
Evil cunning perverts a once noble mind, as heroic general Othello is destroyed by both his own jealousy and the machinations of the devious Iago. Ray Fearon stars as Othello, with James Frain as Iago. 
 
Romeo and Juliet 
An updated version of Shakespeare's tragedy of feuding families and doomed love, set in modern Verona and starring Douglas Henshall as Romeo and Sophie Dahl as Juliet. 
 
Cymbeline 
When Cymbeline discovers his daughter Imogen's secret marriage to Posthumus, he banishes her husband. But Posthumus's boasts of his wife's chastity provoke lachimo to attempt her seduction. Bill Wallis stars as Cymbeline.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Six Tragedies

Three full-cast BBC Radio productions of Shakespeare's most famous Roman plays 
 
Featuring all-star casts and introduced by Sir Richard Eyre, these three iconic productions of Shakespeare's dynamic Roman histories are full of political intrigue, passion and tragedy. 
 
Julius Caesar 
This updated version of Shakespeare's classic play is set in Italy in 1925. Julius Caesar, a new Roman dictator, has swept to power, and his way is clear to assume total control - unless a coup by Cassius and Brutus can alter the tide of history. Nicholas Farrell stars as Brutus and Gerard Murphy as Julius Caesar. 
 
Coriolanus 
When Rome's greatest hero, the warrior Coriolanus, divides the people and the patricians through his arrogance, he is driven into exile. Samuel West stars as Coriolanus, with Susannah York as Volumnia. 
 
Antony and Cleopatra 
Shakespeare's last great tragedy is an action epic set against the political backdrop of the Roman Empire and the centre of Egyptian culture, Alexandria. But at the heart of the play is the story of what happens when two people fall in love. Starring Frances Barber as Cleopatra and David Harewood as Mark Antony.

BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Three Roman Plays

Timberlake Wertenbaker

George Farquar

A BBC Radio double bill of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s award-winning drama about a group of 18th-century Australian convicts and their attempts to stage a play, plus the Restoration comedy that the prisoners put on 
 
Australia, 1789: A young lieutenant attempts to direct a cast of convicts in the first play ever to be staged in the country. 
 
But one of his actors is about to be hanged... 
 
Adapted from Thomas Keneally’s novel The Playmaker, Our Country’s Good tells the true story of the convicts and Marines sent to Australia as part of the first penal colony. An eloquent argument for the redemptive power of theatre, Wertenbaker’s classic drama celebrates the beauty of language – in the slang of the criminal classes and the poetry of the play – and at the same time examines how it is used as an instrument of power. 
 
In The Recruiting Officer, we hear the play that the prisoners staged. George Farquhar’s popular Restoration comedy is set in Shrewsbury during the War of the Spanish Succession, where wives are recruited while soldiers are wooed. During a lull in the fighting, the womanising Captain Plume comes to town to seduce soldiers into the army, and – if possible – recruit Silvia into marriage. 
 
These two captivating radio dramas star many of the same cast, including Paul Higgins, Ralph Ineson, Kate Fleetwood, Jonathan Forbes and Adjoa Andoh. 
 
Our Country’s Good 
Captain Arthur Philip – Nicholas Le Prevost 
Major Robbie Ross – Stuart McQuarrie 
Captain David Collins – Paul Moriarty 
Captain Watkin Tench – Adam Billington 
Captain Campbell – James Lailey 
2nd Lieutenant Ralph Clark – Paul Higgins 
Reverend Johnson – Simon Bubb 
Midshipman Harry Brewer – Rikki Lawton 
Mary Brenham – Francine Chamberlain 
Robert Sideway – Adam James 
John Wisehammer – Elliot Levey 
Liz Morden – Kate Fleetwood 
Dabby Bryant – Alex Tregear 
John Arscott – Ralph Ineson 
Ketch Freeman – Jonathan Forbes 
Duckling Smith – Adjoa Andoh 
 
Produced and directed by Sally Avens 
Our Country’s Good © Timberlake Wertenbaker, 1988, 1989, 1999, 2015 
Based on the novel The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally © 1978 The Serpentine Publishing Company Pty, published by Hodder &amp; Stoughton and Sceptre 
Timberlake Wertenbaker has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work 
All rights reserved 
 
The Recruiting Officer 
Captain Plume – Paul Higgins 
Silvia – Lisa Dillon 
Sergeant Kite – Ralph Ineson 
Mr Worthy – Adam James 
Melinda – Kate Fleetwood 
Captain Brazen – Elliot Levey 
Rose – Alex Tregear 
Bullock – Simon Bubb 
Justice Balance – Jonathan Forbes 
Lucy – Adjoa Andoh 
Appletree – James Lailey 
Pearman – Adam Billington 
Bridewell– Rikki Lawton 
Justice Scale – Paul Moriaty 
Justice Scruple – Gerard McDermott 
 
Produced and directed by Jessica Dromgoole 
The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar originally published in 1706

Our Country's Good and The Recruiting Officer

Two BBC Radio full-cast dramatisations

Curmudgeonly author Ed Reardon is back - author, pipe smoker, consummate fare-dodger and master of the abusive email, attempts to survive in a world where the media seems to be run by idiots and lying charlatans. 
 
'The funniest sitcom to ever grace Radio 4' - Radio Times 
 
In these six episodes, Ed and Elgar return to London (from their failed jaunt living in a shepherd's hut in the country) destitute and on the lookout for a new roof over their respective heads, where he bumps into Geoff Daytona - a rich successful entrepreneur and motivational speaker Ed was at school with. Surely big bucks are in Ed’s future when Geoff commissions Ed with writing his self-help book – The Geoff Daytona Method. Ed then collides with the worlds of reality television and, most surprisingly of all modern parenting. 
 
Written by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds, this sublimely funny sitcom stars Christopher Douglas as Ed Reardon, with Barunka O'Shaughnessy, Philip Jackson, Monica Dolan, Geoffrey Whitehead, Brigit Forsyth and Stephanie Cole with guest star Meera Syal. 
 
Credits 
Written by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds 
Produced by Simon Nicholls 
A BBC Studios Production

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