Abilio Estévez

Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling author of the award-winning Wyndham &amp; Banerjee series of crime novels set in 1920s India and the British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year 2025 Hunted. His books have been translated into sixteen languages and won various awards including the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen, and the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing. 
 
 
He also co-hosts the popular Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast which takes a wry look at the world of books, writing, and the creative arts, tackling everything from bestsellers to pop culture. Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in Surrey with his wife and two sons. 
 
 
Website: abirmukherjee.com Twitter, Threads &amp; Instagram: @radiomukhers Facebook: AuthorAbir

Abir Mukherjee

Abolqasem Ferdowsi

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham L. Newman is a professor at the School of Foreign Service and Government Department at Georgetown University. He is a 2022-2023 Berlin Prize winner and his work has been published in leading outlets like The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Washington Post, Nature, Science, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Harvard Business Review, and Politico.

Abraham Newman

Abraham Verghese

Absolut Vodka

Ad Putter

Ada Moncrieff is the author of Murder Most Festive, Murder at the Theatre Royale and Murder at Maybridge Castle. She lives and works in London.

Ada Moncrieff

Adam Aleksic is a linguist and content creator posting educational videos as the “Etymology Nerd” to an audience of over two million. As a linguistics student at Harvard College, he founded and served as president of the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society. He’s discussed online language on NPR, repeatedly contributed to The Washington Post, and his work has been mentioned in The New York Times, The Economist, and The Guardian. He’s lectured on language and social media at Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, and other top universities, including a TEDx talk at the University of Pennsylvania. Adam is based in New York City, where he spends a lot of time scrolling TikTok for “research.”

Adam Aleksic

Adam Alter is an Associate Professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, and holds an affiliated appointment within the Psychology Department. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel and Behave and has written for The New York Times, New Yorker, Atlantic, Wired, Popular Science and numerous other publications.

Adam Alter

Professor Adam Balen is lead clinician at one of the UK's largest and most successful IVF units at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. In recognition of his research on fertility and related conditions, he holds a DSc (the highest academic degree in medicine) from the University of Leeds. Adam is internationally renowned, holding roles with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Federation of Gyneacology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gyneacologists (RCOG). He runs both NHS and private fertility clinics so he understands the issues that arise from both sides and he works closely with fertility patient support organisations across the UK. Adam regularly features in the media on all aspects of reproductive health and lectures widely throughout the world.

Adam Balen

Adam Baron

Adam Bornstein

Adam Brookes grew up in the UK and was a journalist with BBC News for many years. As a foreign correspondent he was based in Indonesia, China and the United States. Along the way he reported from many other countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea. He lives in Washington DC.

Adam Brookes

Adam Buxton

Adam Christopher is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith and Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town. He has also written official tie-in novels for the hit CBS television show Elementary and the award-winning Dishonored video game franchise. Co-creator of the twenty-first-century incarnation of Archie Comics superhero The Shield, Adam has also written for the universes of Doctor Who and World of Warcraft, and is a contributor to the internationally bestselling Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View anniversary anthology series and the all-ages Star Wars Adventures comic. Adam’s original novels include Made to Kill and The Burning Dark, among many others, and his debut novel Empire State was both a SciFi Now and Financial Times book of the year.

Adam Christopher

Adam Foulds's most recent books are In the Wolf’s Mouth, The Quickening Maze, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Encore Award and the European Union Prize for Literature, and The Broken Word, which won the Costa Poetry Award and the Somerset Maugham Award. He has recently been awarded the E.M. Forster Award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters and named as one of Granta’s ‘Best of Young British Novelists’.

Adam Foulds

Dr Adam Fox is a highly qualified and respected allergy specialist and consultant paediatric allergist and clinical lead for Allergy at Guy's &amp; St Thomas' Hospitals. The Times recently named him as one of Britain's top 100 children’s doctors. 
 
www.allergyfreebabyandtoddler.com

Adam Fox

Adam Frost

Adam Galinsky is currently the Morris and Alice Kaplan Professor of Ethics and Decision in Management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He received his PhD from Princeton University in Social Psychology and his B.A. from Harvard University.

Adam Galinsky

Adam Glasser

Adam Goodfellow

Adam Goodwin

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. His books have sold millions of copies, his TED talks have been viewed more than 30 million times, and he hosts the hit podcast Re:Thinking. His pioneering research on motivation and meaning has enabled people to reach their aspirations and exceed others' expectations. His viral piece on languishing was the most-read New York Times article of 2021 and the most-saved article across platforms. He has been recognized as one of the world's ten most influential management thinkers and Fortune's 40 Under 40, and has received distinguished scientific achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Science Foundation. Grant received his B.A. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and he is a former Junior Olympic springboard diver. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and their three children.

Adam Grant

Adam and Charlotte met in Zanzibar while working with Voluntary Services Overseas. Upon their return to the UK, Charlotte completed an MA at Oxford Brookes and started her career in publishing. Adam in the meantime became writer-in-residence at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre before co-founding Storytelling Schools, an international organisation dedicated to training teachers in oracy, literacy and creativity. Adam and Charlotte's first book together was the best-selling and award-winning Spaghetti with the Yeti. Since then, Adam and Charlotte have continued to follow their passion for creating engaging books that inspire interaction and creativity in young readers.

Adam Guillain

ADAM HAMDY is a bestselling author and screenwriter. His most recent novel, The Other Side of Night, was an NPR best book of 2022 and a New York Times best thriller of the year, and has been described as ingenious and deeply moving. He is the author of the Scott Pearce series of modern spy thrillers, Black 13, Red Wolves and White Fire, and the Pendulum trilogy. Keep up to date with his latest books and news at www.adamhamdy.com.

Adam Hamdy

Adam Hart-Davis

Adam Haslett is the author of the story collection You Are Not a Stranger Here and the novels Imagine Me Gone and Union Atlantic. He has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and his books have been translated into over thirty languages. His journalism on culture and politics has appeared in The Financial Times, Esquire, The New Yorker, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, The Nation, and The Atlantic, among others. He lives in New York City.

Adam Haslett

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William Shakespeare

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

Christopher Douglas

Andrew Nickolds

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

Ed Reardon's Week: Series 13

The BBC Radio sitcom

Michael Hastings

Benedict Cumberbatch stars in the heart-breaking story of TS Eliot's marriage to Viv Haigh-Wood. 
 
Michael Hastings' best known play charts the turbulent, doomed marriage of the young TS Eliot and the charismatic Vivienne Haigh-Wood. This moving, highly-charged study has been described as 'one of the most important plays of the 20th century'. 
 
Stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Tom, Lia Williams as Viv, David Haig as Maurice and Judy Parfitt as Rose. 
 
Adapted and directed by Peter Kavanagh.

Tom and Viv

The heart-breaking story of TS Eliot's marriage to Vivienne Haigh-Wood

Oscar Wilde

The collected BBC radio productions of the major works of Oscar Wilde, plus bonus play by Neil Bartlett 
 
Loved for his flamboyant personality, sparkling wit and brilliant epigrams, Oscar Wilde was a comic genius and a literary icon. 
 
This collection reflects the many facets of his dazzling talent. Here are dramatisations of his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, a Gothic tale of a gilded aristocrat who makes a dangerous pact, as well as four scintillating social comedies – Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband. Among the distinguished casts are Ian MacDiarmid, Joely Richardson, Edward Fox, Diana Rigg, Martin Clunes, Michael Hordern and Judi Dench. 
 
Moving examples of his correspondence are revealed in The Letters of Oscar Wilde and De Profundis, read by Simon Callow and Simon Russell Beale respectively, and his most famous poem, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, is performed live by stars including Ian McKellen, Neil Tennant and Stephen Fry. 
 
In addition, a bonus drama, In Extremis by Neil Bartlett, starring Corin Redgrave and Sheila Hancock, reimagines Oscar Wilde's hastily arranged sitting with a society palm reader, a week before the trial that would cost him so dearly.

The Oscar Wilde BBC Radio Drama Collection

Five full-cast productions

Chris Emmett

Five delightful pantomimes featuring musical numbers, silly jokes and fun for all the family! 
 
In Puss In Boots, young Tom dreams of winning the heart of Princess Rose Petal. Can Puss in Boots help Tom defeat Baron Skinflint and his greedy ogre, and win the princess’ heart? 
 
Aladdin is a happy peasant boy. But the wicked Abanazar needs his help, as only Aladdin can enter the secret cave to find a very special lamp… 
 
In Mother Goose, Jack and Jill are in love and want to get married. Will their wish come true, thanks to a magical goose which lays golden eggs? 
 
Dick Whittington has come to London to seek his fortune. It seems his luck is changing – until the evil King Rat threatens everything… 
 
In Sleeping Beauty, the christening of Princess Rosebud is interrupted by the Wicked Fairy Carabosse, who gives the baby a terrible gift. If Rosebud pricks her finger and spills a drop of blood she will fall into a deep sleep… 
 
With stellar casts including Terry Wogan, Maureen Lipman, Anita Harris, June Whitfield, Kenneth Connor and Frank Thornton. 
 
Everyone loves a traditional Christmas pantomime, and with this classic BBC Radio collection you can enjoy the festive fun whenever you wish. With rousing songs, corny jokes and the obligatory Widow Twankey, it’s perfect entertainment for all the family. Oh, yes it is!

The Classic BBC Panto Collection: Puss In Boots, Aladdin, Mother Goose, Dick Whittington & Sleeping Beauty

Five live full-cast panto productions

Bernard Shaw

Alistair McGowan

A star-studded BBC radio production of Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion – plus bonus drama The ‘B’ Word, telling the story of the play’s scandalous opening night. 
 
Irascible phonetics professor Henry Higgins makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can train Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle to talk ‘like a lady’ and pass as a duchess at the Ambassador’s Ball. As the day of reckoning approaches, can Eliza convince the assembled aristocrats that she’s one of them? And what will become of her afterwards? 
 
This effervescent radio version of Shaw’s classic comedy features a stellar cast, including award-winning comedians Alistair McGowan as Henry Higgins, Morgana Robinson as Eliza Doolittle and Al Murray as Alfred Doolittle. 
 
Also featured on this release is The ‘B’ Word, written by and starring Alistair McGowan as Bernard Shaw. Centring on the shocking opening night of Pygmalion – the first time that the word ‘bloody' was used on the British stage – it also explores the passionate love-hate relationship between Shaw; his leading man, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and his leading lady, Mrs Patrick Campbell, who played the 19-year-old Eliza Doolittle at the age of 49. 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Pygmalion 
Henry Higgins……………………Alistair McGowan 
Eliza Doolittle……………………Morgana Robinson 
Alfred Doolittle……………………Al Murray 
Colonel Pickering……………………Hugh Fraser 
Mrs Higgins……………………Siân Phillips 
Mrs Pearce/Maid……………………Charlotte Page 
Mrs Eynsford-Hill……………………Georgie Glen 
Clara Eynsford-Hill……………………Maeve Bluebell Wells 
Freddy Eynsford-Hill.....……………………Tom Forrister 
Nepommuck……………………David Sturzaker 
Ambassador……………………John Dougall 
Ambassador's wife……………………Sarah Ridgeway 
Bystander……………………David Sterne 
Written by Bernard Shaw 
Produced and directed by Emma Harding 
 
 
The ‘B’ Word 
Bernard Shaw……………………Alistair McGowan 
George Alexander……………………David Sturzaker 
Mrs Patrick Campbell.....……………………Charlotte Page 
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree……………………Richard McCabe 
Charlotte Shaw……………………Georgie Glen 
Merivale……………………Philip Fox 
Gurney/Fishman……………………Simon Ludders 
Bell……………………Charlie Clements 
Maid……………………Sarah Ridgeway 
Written by Alistair McGowan 
Produced and directed by Emma Harding

Pygmalion

A brand new BBC Radio 4 drama plus the story of the play's scandalous opening night

Noel Coward

Seven BBC radio full-cast productions of Noël Coward’s classic plays – plus bonus material including a profile of Coward and extracts from his diaries 
 
Renowned for his wit, style and sophistication, Noël Coward was one of the greatest playwrights of the twentieth century. His plays, set in the glittering world of high society in which he lived, are much admired and have remained in the popular theatre repertoire to this day. 
 
This collection brings together the very best radio adaptations of Coward’s works, encompassing sparkling comedies of manners Private Lives and Hay Fever, farcical ghost story Blithe Spirit, and daring ménage à trois drama Design for Living. Here, too, is his controversial first hit The Vortex; the poignant Still Life (the inspiration for the film Brief Encounter); and the semi-autobiographical Present Laughter. 
 
Among the star-studded cast are Helena Bonham-Carter, Bill Nighy, Judi Dench, Celia Imrie, Roger Allam, Harriet Walter, Paul Rhys, Stephanie Cole and Paul Scofield. 
 
Also included is a BBC World Service profile of Noël Coward, comprising interviews, musical extracts and archive clips; and the BBC Radio 4 programme ‘From His Diaries’, featuring a selection of passages from Coward’s journal read by Simon Cadell.

The Noel Coward BBC Radio Drama Collection

Seven BBC Radio full-cast productions

R C Sherriff

Journey's End is an unflinching vision of life in the tranches towards the end of the First World War. 
 
The play opens in a dugout in the trenches in France. Raleigh, a new 18-year-old officer fresh out of school, joins the besieged company of his friend and hero Stanhope. But when he arrives in the trenches, he finds Stanhope dramatically changed. 
 
This vintage BBC radio production from 1970 stars Martin Jarvis as Captain Stanhope. 
 
Bonus content: This BBC radio release includes The Man From Esher and his Theatre of War, a 30-minute documentary about R C Sherriff and the story behind Journey’s End. 
 
Journey's End was an instant stage success in 1928 (starring Laurence Olivier) and remains a remarkable anti-war classic, regularly revived in theatres. A film was released in February 2018, starring Sam Claflin (Hunger Games, Me Before You) as Stanhope and Asa Butterfield (Hugo) as Raleigh, along with Paul Bettany, Toby Jones and Tom Sturridge. 
 
Cast: 
Captain Stanhope...Martin Jarvis 
Osborne...Garard Green 
Raleigh...Derek Seaton 
Trotter...Kevin Brennan 
Hibbert/Private...Michael Harbour 
Colonel...Richard Hurndall 
Sergeant Major...John Bentley 
Mason...Malcolm Hayes 
Hardy...John Graham 
German soldier...Patrick Tull 
 
Adapted by Peter Watts. 
Produced by Christopher Venning.

Journey's End

A BBC Radio 4 drama

Alan Bennett

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast production of one of the earliest plays by Alan Bennett 
 
The 1970s are a time of change, but Labour MP George Oliver feels stuck in one place: distrusting the ‘mawkish mentality’ of the young and fearing the encroaching life of the middle-aged, with little to look forward to but the imminent end of a not-very-interesting road. 
 
Ten years into his second marriage, he is world-weary and dissatisfied with his social position and the public he deals with on a regular basis (‘He’s a socialist, but he doesn’t like people’ observes his wife Polly). In his self-absorption, he cannot see that his wife is having an affair, his mother-in-law is dying and his friends and neighbours regard him as a joke. With his trademark wry observational humour, Alan Bennett renders his plight at once poignant and comic. 
 
This bittersweet drama won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of 1971, and was described by the Sunday Times as ‘a small jewel of bewilderment and regret’. Keith Barron stars as George in this radio adaptation, with a supporting cast including David Rintoul, Emily Richard and Margaret Courtenay.

Getting On

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama

Moira Buffini

A deliciously black satirical comedy about the dinner party from hell. 
 
The fastidious host, Paige, decides to throw a dinner party in honour of her husband Lars, who is celebrating the success of his pop psychology book, Beyond Belief. She carefully plans a surprise menu that will mark the occasion, and anxiously checks with the waiter she has employed to make sure that everything is perfectly prepared. Her lucky guests include a post-feminist vegetarian artist, a distinguished microbiologist, a TV journalist and an uninvited guest who ends up staying for dinner. But it soon becomes apparent that the meal may contain some rather nasty surprises… 
 
Moira Buffini's outrageous comedy Dinner started life in the National Theatre's Loft in 2002, and became her first West End smash. In this production, adapted by the writer for BBC Drama on 3, Harriet Walter returns to the role she created: Paige, the hostess and architect of an evening which her guests will never forget. Two other original leads, Nicholas Farrell and Penny Downie, and four new cast members join her in this viciously black chamber piece about appetite, which will make you think twice about ever accepting another invitation to dinner. 
 
Moira Buffini was nominated for an Olivier Award for Dinner in 2003, and won the Olivier in 2014 for her play Handbagged. 
 
Cast 
Paige……………………Harriet Walter 
Lars……………………Nicholas Farrell 
Wynne……………………Penny Downie 
Hal……………………Paul Bazely 
Sian……………………Pippa Bennett-Warner 
Mike……………………Peter McDonald 
Waiter……………………David Hounslow 
 
Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting

Dinner

A full-cast production of the acclaimed black comedy

Tennessee Williams

Anne-Marie Duff stars as Blanche DuBois in BBC Radio 3’s landmark production of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece 
 
Tennessee Williams's iconic play tells the story of a catastrophic confrontation between fantasy and reality, embodied in the characters of Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski. 
 
Blanche DuBois arrives unexpectedly on the doorstep of her sister Stella and her explosive brother-in-law Stanley. Over the course of one hot and steamy New Orleans summer, Blanche's fragile façade slowly crumbles, wreaking havoc on Stella and Stanley's already turbulent relationship… 
 
Embodying the turmoil and drama of a changing nation, A Streetcar Named Desire strips Williams's tortured characters of their illusions, leaving a wake of destruction in their path. 
 
Tennessee Williams's 1947 drama is one of the most loved and well-known stage plays of the 20th century. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1948, and the 1951 film adaptation picked up four Oscars. In this compelling radio dramatisation, Blanche is played by Olivier Award-winning actress Anne-Marie Duff, with a stellar cast including Matthew Needham as Stanley and Pippa Bennett-Warner as Stella. 
 
Cast: 
Blanche: Anne-Marie Duff 
Stella: Pippa Bennett-Warner 
Stanley: Matthew Needham 
Mitch: John Heffernan 
Steve: David Sturzaker 
Eunice: Sarah Ridgeway 
Pablo: John Dougal 
Mexican Woman: Leila Arias 
Collector: Tom Forrister 
Nurse: Georgie Glen 
 
Dramatised by Sarah Churchwell 
Produced and directed by Sasha Yevtushenko

A Streetcar Named Desire

A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation

William Makepeace Thackeray

Stephen Fry narrates this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of the famous Victorian comic novel. 
 
Orphan Becky Sharp and wealthy Amelia Sedley are best friends at Miss Pinkerton's Academy for Young Ladies. On leaving school, ambitious, social-climbing Becky looks for a rich man to support her, while the sweet-natured Amelia meets her old friend Dobbin, who is instantly captivated. 
 
Becky takes a job in the service of Sir Pitt Crawley, and uses her charm to hook his dashing son. However, marriage to Captain Rawdon of the Guards does not provide the fortune she seeks. Meanwhile, Amelia rejects the faithful Dobbin and becomes engaged to the handsome George Osborne - but destiny has some shocks in store for her, too. 
 
As time goes by, the girls' fortunes rise and fall. War, financial disaster and the ruin of her reputation leave the resourceful Beckyundaunted, but Amelia finds it harder to bear fate's blows. It will be many years before their story is played out, and their futures finally decided... 
 
William Makepeace Thackeray's classic satire of passion and ambition, first published in 1847 and 1848, is a deliciously ironic portrait of English society and its mores. This engaging 2004 radio production, published for the first time on audio, features a distinguished cast including Emma Fielding as Becky Sharp, Katy Cavanagh as Amelia and Toby Jones as Jos Sedley.

Vanity Fair

BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Three classic radio productions from the BBC archives starring Hannah Gordon, Tim Pigott-Smith, Paul Scofield and a host of celebrated acting talent. 
 
These three legendary plays, performed by some of the best-known theatrical actors of the 20th Century, are the perfect way to commemorate England's greatest dramatist. 
 
The Winter's Tale 
One man's consuming jealousy threatens to destroy both himself and those around him, but his actions arouse a passionate sense of honour, love, justice and self-sacrifice in members of his Court and family. First broadcast in 1982, starring Ronald Pickup as Leontes, with Hannah Gordon as Hermione and John Gielgud as Time. 
 
Pericles 
Pericles is haunted by Fate, buffeted by storms, driven from country to country and cruelly separated from his wife and daughter. Having endured the waywardness of Fortune, will he be reunited with his family? First broadcast in 1981, starring Tim Pigott-Smith as Pericles and Angharad Rees as Marina. 
 
The Tempest 
Set on an enchanted island ruled by the sorcerer Prospero, this spellbinding tale of magic, illusion, forgiveness and repentance is one of Shakespeare's greatest plays. First broadcast in 1974, starring Paul Scofield as Prospero and Patrick Stewart as Caliban. 
 
Recorded at BBC Broadcasting House and featuring the BBC Drama Repertory company, with specially composed music, this is classic radio drama at its finest. Duration: 7 hours 35 mins approx.

Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare: Romances

The Winter's Tale; Pericles; The Tempest

Three classic radio productions from the BBC archives starring Nigel Hawthorne, Miriam Margolyes, Geraldine McEwan and a host of celebrated acting talent. 
 
These three legendary plays, performed by some of the best-known theatrical actors of the 20th Century, are the perfect way to commemorate England's greatestdramatist. 
 
The Taming of the Shrew: The controversial comedy about the battle of the sexes and a very unconventional marriage, starring Fenella Fielding as Katherine, with Miriam Margolyes as Bianca and Paul Daneman as Petruchio. 
 
A Midsummer Night's Dream: One of Shakespeare'sbest-loved plays, this tale of warring fairies, eloping lovers and the magic and madness of love has bewitched audiences since its very first performance. Starring Nigel Hawthorne as Oberon with Maureen O'Brien as Titania. 
 
Twelfth Night: Mistaken identity and a tangled love triangle lead to confusion and, ultimately, happiness in this comic masterpiece. Starring Dorothy Tutin as Viola, with Geraldine McEwan as Olivia and Stephen Murray as Malvolio. 
 
Recorded at BBC Broadcasting House and featuring the BBC Drama Repertory company, with specially composed music including a score from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, this is classic radio drama at its finest.Duration: 7 hours approx.

Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare: Comedies

The Taming of the Shrew; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Twelfth Night

Three powerful radio productions from the BBC archives starring Ian McKellen, Ronald Pickup and Paul Scofield and a host of celebrated acting talent . These three legendary plays, performed by some of the best-known theatrical actors of the 20th Century, are the perfect way to commemorate England's greatest dramatist. 
 
Romeo and Juliet: The Montagues and the Capulets are sworn enemies, so when Romeo Montague falls in love with Juliet Capulet, tragedy ensues. This fateful tale of two young star-crossed lovers isone of Shakespeare's most popular dramas. First broadcast in 1970, starring Ian McKellen as Romeo. 
 
Hamlet: One of the most powerful, influential and thrilling tragedies in the English language, and the story of Prince Hamlet and his quest for vengeance never fails to enthral. First broadcast in 1971, starring Ronald Pickup as the Prince of Denmark. 
 
Macbeth: The notorious 'Scottish Play' is a gripping tale of vaulting ambition, witchcraft, madness and murder that has kept generations of audiences spellbound. First broadcast in 1966,starring Paul Scofield as Macbeth and Peggy Ashcroft as Lady Macbeth. 
 
Recorded at BBC Broadcasting House and featuring the BBC Drama Repertory company, with specially composed music including a score from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, this is classic radio drama at its finest. Duration: 7 hours 30 mins approx.

Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare: Tragedies

Hamlet; Macbeth; Romeo and Juliet

David Tennant stars as Malvolio in Shakespeare's comedy of disguise, madness and love. 
 
One of Shakespeare's happiest plays, Twelfth Night is both a comedy of misrule and a trenchant attack on puritanism. Disguise and deceit leads to misadventure, madness and mistaken love. Orsino loves Olivia, but she loves Cesario, who really does love Orsino (for Cesario is actually Viola). But Malvolio believes his mistress, Olivia, loves him, as he is a victim of a trick played on him by those who would make him mad. Naomi Frederick and Paul Ready are Viola and Orsino in his sparkling BBC Radio 3 production.

Twelfth Night

A BBC Radio 3 full-cast drama

A full-cast BBC Radio 3 production of Shakespeare’s quick-witted summer tragedy. 
 
In a town full of hatred, where the streets ring with the Capulet/Montague feud, and swords are too easily drawn, Romeo and Juliet find each other - and love - and never let go. 
 
In Shakespeare’s famous play, first performed in 1595, the warring Capulets and Montagues have been sworn to keep the peace on pain of death. When Capulet’s daughter Juliet meets Montague’s son Romeo at a masked ball, they immediately fall in love. 
 
With the help of Friar Lawrence and Juliet’s Nurse, the pair decide to marry in secret. Disaster strikes when Romeo is banished for murder, and flees after just one night with his new wife. Juliet, meanwhile, is betrothed against her wishes to Count Paris. Friar Lawrence intervenes to help, but tragedy is at hand… 
 
Rising young stars Trystan Gravelle and Vanessa Kirby play the star-crossed lovers, with David Tennant as Prince Escalus, Rosie Cavaliero as the Nurse and Ron Cook as Friar Lawrence.

Romeo and Juliet

A BBC Radio 3 full-cast dramatisation

Jamie Parker stars as the Prince of Denmark in this brand new BBC Radio 4 full-cast production. 
 
At the Castle of Elsinore in Denmark, the court is uneasy. The king of Denmark has recently died and the throne has been claimed by the king's brother, Claudius. 
 
Prince Hamlet, still in mourning for his father, distrusts Claudius and believes that what has happened at the court 'cannot come to good’. The ghost of his father has told him he was murdered by Claudius. Can it be true? He arranges for a troupe of players to emulate such a murder before the court, in the hope that the truth will out. 
 
As circumstances play out, and Hamlet is variously counselled and challenged by the King and Queen, Laertes, Polonius, Ophelia, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the fabric of the court starts to unravel. Soon Hamlet’s indecision leads to a series of tragic events - and to what end?

Hamlet

Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston star in Shakespeare's tragedy of love and power. 
 
As part of BBC Radio 3's celebration of the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston star in this brand new production. 
 
Lovers, politicians, superstars. Antony &amp; Cleopatra is Shakespeare’s late and epic tragedy of mature love, and the catastrophic fall from grace and power that it brings about. Irresistibly drawn together, the couple are surrounded by friends, enemies, admirers and critics, none of who remain unscathed by the folly and heartbreak of this magnificent pair. As empires clash around them, their destiny seems inevitable: to love each other ‘til death and even beyond. 
 
Produced by BBC Cymru Wales for BBC Radio 3, this radio production also features Geoffrey Streatfeild, Nigel Anthony, Don Gilet and Peter Polycarpou amongst its cast.

Antony and Cleopatra

Drama

Michael Frayn

Benedict Cumberbatch, Greta Scacchi and Simon Russell Beale star in Michael Frayn's award-winning play about the controversial 1941 meeting between physicists Bohr and Heisenberg. Copenhagen, Autumn 1941. The two presiding geniuses of quantum physics, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg meet for the first time since the breakout of war. Danish physicist Bohr and his wife, Margrethe, live in Nazi-occupied Denmark; their visitor, Heisenberg, is German, the two old friends, now on opposing sides have between them the ability to change the course of history. Frayn's Tony award-winning play imagines the three characters re-drafting the events of 1941 in an attempt to make sense of them. With Greta Scacchi as Margrethe Bohr, Simon Russell Beale as Niels Bohr and Benedict Cumberbatch as Werner Heisenberg. This new version of Copenhagen is adapted for radio and directed by Emma Harding.

Copenhagen

Nazrin Choudhury

Nazrin Choudhury's play, which won the Richard Imison Award for the best play by a writer new to radio, tells the story of a young British Asian woman whose life begins to unravel when she's faced with the possibility that her real father may actually be white. When Sharmila finds some letters in her late mother's belongings, she uncovers her mother's affair with a man called Peter while she was at university. More importantly, Sharmila discovers that  she may be the product of that affair. Outraged that her mother betrayed her and father for so long, Sharmila decides to track Peter down, and face the man who could be her father.

Mixed Blood

Neil MacGregor

What was life like for Shakespeare's first audiences? In a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, how did Elizabethan play-goers make sense of their changing world? What did the plays mean to the public when they were first performed?   In this fascinating series, Neil MacGregor attempts to answer these questions by examining twenty objects from that turbulent period. There are grand objects such as a communion chalice, a Venetian goblet, and Dr Dee's mirror, as well as everyday items such as a theatregoer's fork and an apprentice's cap.   From Drake's circumnavigation medal to an eye relic, he uses these objects to explore the issues that shaped Shakespeare's plays, and considers what they reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England. Speaking to scholars, historians and experts, he discusses the topics raised - everything from exploration and discovery to violence, entertainment, and the plague.

Shakespeare's Restless World

Peter Jukes

A series of four plays by about Jake Thorne, a Methodist minister and police chaplain who is battling with his own demons at the same time as trying to resolve the problems of his parishioners. 
 
In the first of the plays, 'Bad Faith', we are introduced to Jake Thorne, a police chaplain. His job is to offer counselling and comfort to officers in trouble, victims and young offenders. But Jake has lost his faith and has decided, as a test for God, to behave appallingly towards those he's supposed to help. 
 
In the second play, 'Vengeance is Mine', Jake gets involved in a restorative justice programme which tries to reconcile a bereaved mother and the woman responsible for killing her daughter. 
 
'The Fire This Time' sees Jake takes on his arch-rival and nemesis Bishop Elias Wright in a battle over the soul of a mentally unstable parishioner, fighting the good fight against homophobia and Islamophobia along the way. 
 
In the final play, 'Nothing Sacred', Jake counsels a policeman who has lost his memory of a fatal blaze. Meanwhile Jake's father, Isaac, is slipping into dementia and seems intent on wreaking revenge on the whole world, particularly his own son. 
 
Starring Lenny Henry, Danny Sapani and Jenny Jules. Written by Peter Jukes. Producers: Steven Canny and Mary Peate. Executive Producer: Simon Elmes.

Bad Faith: The Complete Series

A Series of Four Plays - Bad Faith, Vengeance Is Mine, The Fire this Time, Nothing Sacred

Rory Robinson

A BBC Radio 4 drama written by Rony Robinson and directed by Pauline Harris.   Julia and David work together in the family archives. One day a mysterious envelope arrives for David, with letters from 43 women, all answering a lonely hearts advert he didn't place!   Starring David Calder as David, Barbara Marten as Julia, Helen Flanagan as Miranda and Sacha Dhawan as Ruskin.   First broadcast on 4 January 2011.

43 Letters

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

John Mortimer

When Lewis Luby (Jeremy Irons) comes to, late at night in an Italian hospital, he finds himself lying under the monstrous big toe of God. Surely there has been some mistake: Luby, who has never for one moment believed in the immortality of the soul, cannot possibly be in heaven!  John Mortimer had the idea for 'Mr Luby's Fear of Heaven' when he first visited the Santa Maria della Scala hospital in Siena and saw patients lying in beds under ceilings decorated with 15th-Century frescoes depicting Heaven and Hell. The play was first produced for BBC Radio 3 in 1976, with John Gielgud in the title role. Later that year it was presented on stage as part of a double bill 'Heaven and Hell', with Denholm Elliot as Luby.  This BBC Radio 4 'Afternoon Play' production, starring Jeremy Irons as the protagonist, was first broadcast 31 December 2008 and repeated 15 February 2011. Stephen Critchlow, Marsha Fitzalan, Chris Pavlo, Donnla Hughes, Dan Starkey and Flaminia Cinque also feature amongst the cast.

Mr Luby's Fear Of Heaven

Trevor Preston

A BBC Radio 4 semi-autobiographical play by BAFTA award-winning writer Trevor Preston, telling the story of Charlie, who suddenly re-discovers the passion and energy of his youth. 'Small Acts of Kindness' was originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 15 March 2011.  In the late 1950s Charlie was a violent and uncontrollable entrant to art school. His teacher changed the course of his life. 'Small Acts of Kindness' catches up with Charlie as his mentor's death shifts everything once more. In his late sixties and with his writing career all but dried up, Charlie starts to paint again. Invigorated, he spends his free time supporting his contemporaries who have found themselves alienated and impoverished by modern life. Soon it is not just his desire to paint that is revived...  Starring Stephen Greif as Charlie, and also featuring Ann Beach, Susan Penhaligon, Joanna Monro, Sean Baker, Gethin Anthony, Sally Orrock and Christine Kavanagh amongst the cast.

Small Acts Of Kindness

Simon Passmore

A fast-paced psychological thriller from BBC Radio 4's 'Saturday Play' slot, originally broadcast 26 March 2011.  A city banker is found dead in an opulent apartment. At the funeral, his former girlfriend Helen is unexpectedly questioned about when she last saw him. Did he mention computer files, or give her anything as a keepsake? Helen's suspicions mount as she retraces his last movements. Her discoveries put her in the firing line...  A taut, character-driven conspiracy thriller, writhing with twists and heavy on menace, by one of radio's leading writers of thrillers, Simon Passmore. 'Leverage' stars Claire Foy, Blake Ritson, Charlie Cox, Sally Orrock, Joanna Monro, Nyasha Hatendi and Sean Baker.

Leverage (BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play)

Lou Ramsden

Hazel (Kathryn Hunt) spends her life describing plays for visually impaired people. But when she starts to describe the real world to her new friend Davy (Nicholas Boulton), is she giving an accurate picture of the world around her? She's looking for an escape from the pressures of looking after her disabled mother, but is she looking in the right place?   'Pouring Poison' was written by Lou Ramsden after spending time with audio describers in London theatres, and also stars Jonathan Keeble, Alison Pettitt, Marian Kemmer and Dan Hagley amongst the cast.

Pouring Poison

Noël Coward

Laura Jesson is a happily married woman until a chance encounter in a train station café draws her to Dr Alec Harvey. Literally bumping into each other brings temptation, danger and guilt into their lives, and a doomed love affair ensues...   A classic love story, 'Brief Encounter' was made into a much-loved and hugely successful film in 1945, starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard.   This 2009 adaptation is faithful to Coward's original screenplay and features a distinguished cast including Jenny Seagrove and Nigel Havers.

Brief Encounter

Atlantia

Avalon

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BBC Earth

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Bear Mountain Rescue Series

Beasts of Prey

The complete boxed collection of Beatrix Potter's beloved Peter Rabbit books

Beatrix Potter Originals

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Belle

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Bergman Brothers

Big Ideas for Little Philosophers

Bill Clinton & James Patterson stand-alone thrillers

Bill Smith / Lydia Chin

Bim Blake

Bindi Babes

Tim and Biscuit, two unlikely friends, always seem to get themselves into difficult situations. From their first meeting in Cliffhanger, where bookish Tim is forced to endure an activities camp, to Buried Alive, where a quiet camping holiday turns out to be full of surprises, there is never a dull moment with these two around.Jaqueline Wilson’s hilarious duo of books catalogues their escapades, triumphs and failures, with a good helping of snacks along the way!

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