Drama On 3 [Drama On 3]

Drama ranging from the experimental to the Classics.

Episodes

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20040418Embers

By Sandor Marai

What is the true nature of the bonds of friendship? How deep are those bonds when challenged by betrayal, passion, and a thirst for revenge? Patrick Stewart stars in this drama, adapted by Lou Stein from Sandor Marai's recent best-selling novel.

Set in a vast, perfectly preserved aristocratic Hungarian castle in 1940, a 75-year old career military man, Henrik (known simply as the General by his servants) patiently waits for a guest whom he has not seen for 41 years. When his great childhood friend, Konrad, does appear, the General invites his guest to dine with him at the table which was last used 41 years ago, the day he discovered Konrad's passionate relationship with his young wife, Krisztina and his best friend's plan to kill him. The moment has come for the General to take revenge on Konrad's betrayal of their friendship.

The General....Patrick Stewart

Nini....Sara Kestelman

Konrad....David Horovitch

Young General....Jamie Glover

Young Konrad/Gamekeeper/Servant....Laurence Kennedy

Krisztina....Jenny Agutter

Adapted by Lou Stein, from the book by Sandor Marai

Translation by Carol Brown Janeway

Original Music by Deirdre Gribbin

Directed by Lou Stein

The General - Patrick Stewart

Nini - Sara Kestelman

Konrad - David Horovitch

Young General - Jamie Glover

Young Konrad/Gamekeeper/Servant - Laurence Kennedy

Krisztina - Jenny Agutter

20040509Heart of Darkness

by Joseph Conrad

Adapted for radio by Jeremy Howe

With David Calder as Marlow

Marlow, a sea captain, is ordered to sail up the Congo River to find out what has happened to Mr Kurtz, an ivory trader. The journey takes him into the heart of an unknowable darkness. A new version for radio of one of the 20th Century's greatest novels.

Try to listen closely and undisturbed' Gillian Reynolds

Marlow....David Calder

Mr Kurtz....Bill Wallis

The Disciple....Kris Marshall

The Company Doctor....John Webb

The Manager....John MacKay

The Uncle....Jon Morrison

Man with a Moustache....Jeremy Swift

The Helmsman....Yemi Goodman Ajibade

The Stoker....Willie Jonah

Steamboat Captain....John Telfer

The Accountant....Mark Buffery

The Intended....Kate Byers

The Solicitor....Stephen Perring

Music composed by David Lord

Produced in Bristol by Jeremy Howe and Iain Hunter.

Marlow - David Calder

Mr Kurtz - Bill Wallis

The Disciple - Kris Marshall

The Company Doctor - John Webb

The Manager - John MacKay

The Uncle - Jon Morrison

Man with a Moustache - Jeremy Swift

The Helmsman - Yemi Goodman Ajibade

The Stoker - Willie Jonah

Steamboat Captain - John Telfer

The Accountant - Mark Buffery

The Intended - Kate Byers

The Solicitor - Stephen Perring

20040516The Loneliest Road

By Gregory Whitehead

A pirate radio broadcast from the occluded heartland of the American Dream, haunted by dead poets, Marilyn Monroe, and an angel's solemn whisper.

Candy Mintz....Karen Lee

Terry Trenton....Thom Whaley

Post-Mortem Narrator....Jeff Kent

Una....Cynthia Atwood

Ted Stebbins....Jon Swan

Stu Berkowitz....Daniel Klein

Oswald Norris....Gregory Whitehead

Ava Ravenella....Anne Undeland

Original Music composed and performed by Paul de Jong and Nick Zammuto.

Directed by Gregory Whitehead.

Candy Mintz - Karen Lee

Terry Trenton - Thom Whaley

Post-Mortem Narrator - Jeff Kent

Una - Cynthia Atwood

Ted Stebbins - Jon Swan

Stu Berkowitz - Daniel Klein

Oswald Norris - Gregory Whitehead

Ava Ravenella - Anne Undeland

20040613'Through a Glass Darkly: By Shelagh Stephenson. Martha Jardine obsesses over the diaries of renaissance man John Collingwood, but in the 18th century, Collingwood's family are discovering his secret.'
20040627Uncle Varick

By John Byrne.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Anton Chekhov, Radio 3 presents a new version of Uncle Vanya by acclaimed Scottish playwright John Byrne.

The action takes place on an estate in the remote North East of Scotland in the mid-sixties. Uncle Varick and his niece Shona have been running the estate, farm and the brewery for the benefit of Varick's brother-in-law, the literary critic and TV pundit Sandy Sheridan. When Sandy decides to retire to the estate with his young wife Elaine, their presence throws the lives of the inhabitants into disarray. Uncle Varick is desperate having, he believes, surrendered his chance at life and love for the benefit of a man he now knows to be a charlatan. Deeply in love with Elaine, Varick's crisis drives the action to a darkly comic, tragic finale.

Uncle Varick....Paul Young

Sandy....Sandy Neilson

Doctor....Richard Greenwood

Estate Worker....Robert Jack

Shona....Vicki Masson

Elaine....Selina Boyack

Mother....Sheila Donald

Willie John Telfer....John Shedden

Kirsty Morag....Anne Lacey

Guitar arranged and performed by Kevin MacKenzie

The production was first staged by the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

Directed by Lu Kemp

Uncle Varick .......... Paul Young

Sandy .......... Sandy Neilson

Doctor ......... Richard Greenwood

Estate Worker ......... Robert Jack

Shona ........... Vicki Masson

Elaine ......... Selina Boyack

Mother ......... Sheila Donald

Willie John Telfer ......... John Shedden

Kirsty Morag .......... Anne Lacey

20040822'The Mrichhakatikaa: A 5th-century Sanskrit play recorded on location in India, the story of a romance between an impoverished nobleman and a beautiful courtesan.'
20040905The Don

By Jeff Young.

Inspired by Cervantes' Don Quixote, The Don is a gentle dreamer, disheveled and battered by too many years spent in life's shadows. Through the function suites, pubs and wedding dos of northern England, The Don, played by the incomparable Bill Nighy, staggers forever in pursuit of his imaginary lover Dulcie - his muse, his ideal 'lady', with his neighbour Sancho in tow.

The Don....Bill Nighy

Sancho....Danny Webb

Priest....Sam Kelly

Receptionist....Rosie Cavaliero

Barber....Deka Walmsley

Steve....Declan Wilson

Landlady....Elizabeth Bell

Lad....Oliver Jackson

Dulcie....Clara Sanabras

Music composed and performed by Harvey Brough

Lyrics by Jeff Young

Mike Outram (guitar)

The Don - Bill Nighy

Sancho - Danny Webb

Priest - Sam Kelly

Receptionist - Rosie Cavaliero

Barber - Deka Walmsley

Steve - Declan Wilson

Landlady - Elizabeth Bell

Lad - Oliver Jackson

Dulcie - Clara Sanabras

20040919Something Dark

By Lemn Sissay.

Fostered as a baby and brought up in care, Sissay spent most of his adult life searching for his family. This is a poetic retelling of his journey.

20041010'Mr Puntila and His Man Matti, by Bertolt Brecht. A drunken chaotic landowner leans heavily on his stoic chauffeur in a series of ever more outrageous escapades.'
20041017The Moving and the Still

By Howard Barker

A monastery in 1450. A young scribe, the finest calligrapher of his generation, greater even than John of Damascus or Ionides of the Feathered Style, is passionately committed to his art. Then a printing press arrives in his scriptorium from Germany.

Hoik....Chris Moran

Slee....Neil Dudgeon

Mother....Lesley Manville

Tram....John Wood

November....Anton Lesser

Hergood/ Clerk....Damian Lynch

Light....Declan Wilson

Toonelhuis....John Rowe

Signor/Confessor....Vincenzo Nicoli

Directed by Peter Kavanagh.

Hoik - Chris Moran

Slee - Neil Dudgeon

Mother - Lesley Manville

Tram - John Wood

November - Anton Lesser

Hergood/ Clerk - Damian Lynch

Light - Declan Wilson

Toonelhuis - John Rowe

Signor/Confessor - Vincenzo Nicoli

20041031The Lovers of Viorne

By Marguerite Duras

Translated from the French by Barbara Bray.

Adapted for radio by Bryony Lavery.

A dismembered corpse scattered over a railway network and an unemotional confession leads a police interrogator to try and understand a woman's life and marriage in a provincial French town.

The Interrogator....Roger Allam

Pierre....Peter Bowles

Other Voices....Andrew Hawkins

Claire....Juliet Stevenson

Director....Annie Castledine

The Interrogator - Roger Allam

Pierre - Peter Bowles

Other Voices - Andrew Hawkins

Claire ....... Juliet Stevenson

Director - Annie Castledine

20041107A Taste Of Honey

By Shelagh Delaney

Adapted and directed for radio by Polly Thomas.

A new radio production of one of the great stage plays of the 20th century. The powerful story of a pregnant teenage girl and her feckless mother trading insults and repartee in 1950s Salford.

Helen....Siobhan Finneran

Jo....Beth Squires

Peter....Charles Lawson

Boy....Richard Mylan

Geof....Andrew Sheridan

Helen - Siobhan Finneran

Jo - Beth Squires

Peter - Charles Lawson

Boy - Richard Mylan

Geof - Andrew Sheridan

20041114In Parenthesis

By David Jones

Private John Ball and his fellow Royal Welch Fusiliers embark for France in December 1915. Six months later, the majority

of this band of comrades are killed or wounded at the Battle of the Somme. A new production of this unique prose-poem marks Remembrance Sunday and the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One.

Adapted by Douglas Cleverdon.

Action....Sian Phillips

Thought....Sara McGaughey

Memory....Manon Edwards

Prologue....Dorien Thomas

John Ball....Steven Meo

Dai Evans....Oliver Ryan

Crower....Thomas Arnold

Jenkins....Rhodri Hugh

Lewis....Iestyn Jones

Snell....Simon Ludders

Quilter....David Middleton

Wastebottom....Matthew Morgan

Clark....Carl Prekopp

Watcyn....Aled Pugh

Wyatt....Keiron Self

Saunders....Nathan Sussex

Original Music by John Hardy

Directed by Alison Hindell

Action - Sian Phillips

Thought - Sara McGaughey

Memory - Manon Edwards

Prologue - Dorien Thomas

John Ball - Steven Meo

Dai Evans - Oliver Ryan

Crower - Thomas Arnold

Jenkins - Rhodri Hugh

Lewis - Iestyn Jones

Snell - Simon Ludders

Quilter - David Middleton

Wastebottom - Matthew Morgan

Clark - Carl Prekopp

Watcyn - Aled Pugh

Wyatt - Keiron Self

Saunders - Nathan Sussex

20041121'Daughter of the Air, by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, in a new version for radio by Sarah Woods produced in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company.'
20041128Pale Fire

A dramatisation of Vladimir Nabokov's great novel by the Sony Award-winning playwright Robert Forrest.

Published in 1962, Pale Fire ranks alongside James Joyce's Ulysses and Marcel Proust's À La Recherche du Temps Perdu as one of the masterpieces of twentieth century fiction. Comic, tragic, heartbreaking, Shakespearean in its almost infinite depth and beauty, it moves between leafy Appalachia and the mysterious far northern kingdom of Zembla, telling the story of a homely American poet and his regally demented neighbour.

Charles Kinbote....Finlay Welsh

John Shade....Angus MacInnes

Sybil Shade....Joanna Tope

Professor Hurley....Crawford Logan

Odon....Richard Greenwood

Disa....Gayanne Potter

Directed by Patrick Rayner

Charles Kinbote - Finlay Welsh

John Shade - Angus MacInnes

Sybil Shade - Joanna Tope

Professor Hurley - Crawford Logan

Odon - Richard Greenwood

Disa - Gayanne Potter

20041205Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

By Edward Albee

A new production, recorded on location, of this classic American play where two married couples tear each other's lives apart in a drunken brawl after a university party. For the older couple, George and Martha, it is part of the ritual of their marriage but on this particular night things go too far...

Martha....Juliet Stephenson

George....Alex Jennings

Honey....Anastasia Hille

Nick....William Hope

Directed by Cherry Cookson

Martha - Juliet Stephenson

George - Alex Jennings

Honey - Anastasia Hille

Nick - William Hope

20050102Thinking Earth: Earth Mapping

A nightmare journey from Kabul, a migration of birds in Greenland and a man lying on his back in a car park looking at the sky, while in Ireland Kevin tries to get lost in a wood in order to remember a day in his childhood when he first learned about mapping and why sometimes it is important to lose your way.

A meditation on mapping with contributions from international artists, writers, environmentalists, composers and members of the public including:

Lin Coghlan, Lyn Gardner, John Hull, Paul Heritage, Kazuko Hohki, Vivienne Jake, Silke Mansholt, Graeme Miller, David Qujaukitsoq, Shirazuddin Siddiqi, Karen Wimhurst and Paddy Woodworth.

Thinking Earth is one of a trilogy of complementary programmes broadcast on Radio 4 (8.00pm January 1st) , BBC World Service (11.00pm January 1st) and Radio 3.

Cleary....Jim Norton

Kevin....Lloyd Hutchinson

Younger Kevin....Daniel Price

Music by Billy Cowie

Produced by Pam Marshall

Cleary - Jim Norton

Kevin - Lloyd Hutchinson

Younger Kevin - Daniel Price

20050109A new play written especially for Radio 3, from one of Britain's greatest living dramatists Ted Whitehead, about a man returning to his home town and re-examining his relationship with his father.

Tony....Jonathan Pryce

Bridget....Sue Johnston

Dominic....Tom Bell

Written by Ted Whitehead

Directed by Bruce Hyman

Tony ......... Jonathan Pryce

Bridget ........... Sue Johnston

Dominic ............ Tom Bell

20050116The Fire Raisers

By Max Frisch.

Translated by Michael Bullock.

Adapted by Charles Wood.

An intriguing, entertaining and provocative comedy, which has rightly become known as a classic of the European stage.

The Biedermanns are a bourgeois family, paranoid about protecting their home. Yet when the homeless, sinister Schmitz seeks shelter, he manages to hoodwink his way into the house.

Herr Biedermann....Jim Broadbent

The Author....Simon McBurney

Mrs Biedermann....Harriet Walter

Eisenring....Phil Daniels

Schmitz....Ralph Ineson

Anna....Tamzin Griffin

Herr Biedermann - Jim Broadbent

The Author - Simon McBurney

Mrs Biedermann - Harriet Walter

Eisenring - Phil Daniels

Schmitz - Ralph Ineson

Anna - Tamzin Griffin

20050123Embers

By Sandor Marai.

Adapted by Lou Stein.

What is the true nature of the bonds of friendship? How deep are those bonds when challenged by betrayal, passion, and a thirst for revenge? Patrick Stewart stars in this drama, adapted by Lou Stein from Sandor Marai's recent best-selling novel. In a gripping battle of wills, two men meet after a gap of forty-one years to unlock the truth behind an act of betrayal which shattered both their lives.

Set in a vast, perfectly preserved aristocratic Hungarian castle in 1940, a 75-year old career military man, Henrik (known simply as the General by his servants) patiently waits for a guest whom he has not seen for 41 years. When his great childhood friend, Konrad, does appear, the General invites his guest to dine with him at the table which was last used 41 years ago, the day he discovered Konrad's passionate relationship with his young wife, Krisztina and his best friend's plan to kill him. The moment has come for the General to take revenge on Konrad's betrayal of their friendship.

The General....Patrick Stewart

Nini....Sara Kestelman

Konrad....David Horovitch

Young General....Jamie Glover

Young Konrad/Gamekeeper/Servant....Laurence Kennedy

Krisztina....Jenny Agutter

Translation by Carol Brown Janeway

Original Music by Deirdre Gribbin

Produced and directed by Lou Stein

The General - Patrick Stewart

Nini - Sara Kestelman

Konrad - David Horovitch

Young General - Jamie Glover

Young Konrad/Gamekeeper/Servant - Laurence Kennedy

Krisztina - Jenny Agutter

20050130Something Dark

Written and Performed by Lemn Sissay.

Fostered as a baby and brought up in care from the age of 11, Lemn Sissay spent most of his adult life searching for his family. Something Dark is a poetic retelling of this dramatic journey. With music by Jim Parris.

Produced by Shabina Aslam.

20050206Red Razzmatazz

By David Zane Mairowitz and Dominic Muldowney.

A new radio opera set in Moscow, in 1949. With jazz more or less forbidden, a young and crazy unemployed musician - reputed to be the best saxophonist in Russia - imports an illegal saxophone into the Soviet Union.

Crooked Jimmy....Nick Holder

Rivka....Natalie Turner Jones

Vinogradeff/ Chorus....Richard Morris

Commissar/ Radio Voice....Stephen Boxer

Chorus of comissars....Gordon Adams, Mary Carewe, Jonathan Williams

Dominic Muldowney (composer)

Written and directed by David Zane Mairowitz

Crooked Jimmy ......... Nick Holder

Rivka .......... Natalie Turner Jones

Vinogradeff/ Chorus ......... Richard Morris

Commissar/ Radio Voice .......... Stephen Boxer

Chorus of comissars ........... Gordon Adams, Mary Carewe, Jonathan Williams

20050213The Beaux' Stratagem

George Farquhar's Restoration comedy in which two penniless beaux flee London society for the countryside and evolve a stratagem for each to ensnare a wife of fortune and beauty.

Archer, a beau....Jasper Britton

Aimwell, another beau....Alex Jennings

Count Bellair....Anthony Jackson

Boniface, a Landlord....Anthony Jackson

Cherry, his daughter....Teresa Gallagher

A countrywoman....Teresa Gallagher

Squire Sullen....Mark Straker

Scrub, his servant....Giles Fagan

Mrs Sullen, his wife....Zoë Waites

Gypsy, her servant....Frances Jeater

Lady Bountiful....Frances Jeater

Dorinda, her daughter....Sophie Thompson

Foigard, a priest....Nigel Anthony

Gibbet, a highwayman....Timothy Bentinck

Sir Charles Freeman....Timothy Bentinck

Adapted and directed by John Tydeman.

Produced by Nicolas Soames.

Archer, a beau - Jasper Britton

Aimwell, another beau - Alex Jennings

Count Bellair - Anthony Jackson

Boniface, a Landlord - Anthony Jackson

Cherry, his daughter - Teresa Gallagher

A countrywoman - Teresa Gallagher

Squire Sullen - Mark Straker

Scrub, his servant - Giles Fagan

Mrs Sullen, his wife - Zoë Waites

Gypsy, her servant - Frances Jeater

Lady Bountiful - Frances Jeater

Dorinda, her daughter - Sophie Thompson

Foigard, a priest - Nigel Anthony

Gibbet, a highwayman - Timothy Bentinck

Sir Charles Freeman - Timothy Bentinck

20050220Losses at Sea

Graham Reid's moving dramatisation of the sinking of The Princess Victoria.

On the 31st of January, 1953 during the great storm that devasted coastal areas around the UK, the ferry between Stranraer and Larne sank off the County Down Coast. Up to 130 souls were lost, and a few remain unaccounted for. Losses at Sea is an imagined journey of two of these people told in tandem with the real stories of those who lost their lives that day.

Dennis Walker....Richard Dormer

Christine Bell....Valerie Lilley

Sir Walter Smiles....Walter McMonagle

Maynard Sinclair....Ian McIlhinney

Sarah Cunningham....Julia Dearden

Ronald McNeill....Stuart Graham

Agnes McNeill....Nuala O'Neill

Violet Dingle....Cathy Sara

Eileen Prentice....Tara Lynne O'Neill

Captain James Ferguson....David Bannerman

Robert Burns....Mark Claney

Roseann Baxter....Carol Moore

Donnelly....Mark O'Shea

Pat....Dan Gordon

Brian....Miche Doherty

James Carlin....John Hewitt

Andrew....James Doran

Directed by Stephen Wright.

Dennis Walker - Richard Dormer

Christine Bell - Valerie Lilley

Sir Walter Smiles - Walter McMonagle

Maynard Sinclair - Ian McIlhinney

Sarah Cunningham - Julia Dearden

Ronald McNeill - Stuart Graham

Agnes McNeill - Nuala O'Neill

Violet Dingle - Cathy Sara

Eileen Prentice - Tara Lynne O'Neill

Captain James Ferguson - David Bannerman

Robert Burns - Mark Claney

Roseann Baxter - Carol Moore

Donnelly - Mark O'Shea

Pat - Dan Gordon

Brian - Miche Doherty

James Carlin - John Hewitt

Andrew - James Doran

20050227The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene

By Tom Kelly.

Two stories of devotion, love and death set in Palestine 2000 years ago and Britain today.

Based on the documentary evidence of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, published in 1955, this historic and domestic drama offers an alternative to the current pop mysticism.

Mary Magdalene....Jane Lapotaire

Ruth....Claire Skinner

Matthew Levi....Peter Egan

Simon Peter....David Schofield

Mother....Polly James

Thompson....Danny Webb

Ruthie....Samantha Spiro

Directed by Marina Caldarone

Mary Magdalene - Jane Lapotaire

Ruth - Claire Skinner

Matthew Levi - Peter Egan

Simon Peter - David Schofield

Mother - Polly James

Thompson - Danny Webb

Ruthie - Samantha Spiro

20050306A double bill of plays by August Strindberg:

Playing With Fire

An artist visits the home of a wealthy family and renews his romantic pursuit of his host's wife. Starring Fiona Shaw and Jonathan Coy.

Directed by Peter Kavanagh

The Pelican

After the death of their father, two children discover disturbing truths about their mother. Starring Janet McTeer and Susan Jameson.

Directed by Steven Canny.

20050313Hotel Cristobel. By Caryl Phillips. A Caribbean island provides the setting for an intense and personal three-way struggle for control of a fading hotel.
20050320Glengarry Glen Ross

David Mamet?s radio adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama in which Chicago real-estate salesmen grind out a living in a never-ending scramble for their share of the American dream.

Richard Roma....Alfred Molina

George Aaronow....Stacy Keach

Shelly Levene....Hector Elizondo

James Lingk....Bruce Davison

John Williamson....Richard Cox

Dave Moss....Kristoffer Tabori

Officer Baylen....Chris Hatfield

Directed by Rosalind Ayres.

Richard Roma ........ Alfred Molina

George Aaronow ........ Stacy Keach

Shelly Levene ....... Hector Elizondo

James Lingk ......... Bruce Davison

John Williamson ........... Richard Cox

Dave Moss ......... Kristoffer Tabori

Officer Baylen ......... Chris Hatfield

20050327Faustus

British Premiere of David Mamet?s new play Faustus. In a timeless setting Mamet directs his own working of the Faustian legend.

Neglectful of his son on his birthday, Faustus is drawn into a deadly wager with the party 'entertainer' in which logic and reason are shown to be feeble weapons against the power of chance, mystery and magic. Will intellectual pride precede the ultimate fall of man?

Faustus....Ed O?Neill

The Friend....Ed Begley Jr

The Magus....Ricky Jay

Faustus? Wife....Rebecca Pidgeon

The Child....C Mamet

Faustus - Ed O?Neill

The Friend - Ed Begley Jr

The Magus - Ricky Jay

Faustus? Wife - Rebecca Pidgeon

The Child - C Mamet

20050403The Don

By Jeff Young.

Inspired by Cervantes? Don Quixote, The Don is a gentle dreamer, dishevelled and battered by too many years spent in life?s shadows. Through the clubs and pubs of Northern England, The Don, played by Bill Nighy, staggers forever in pursuit of his imaginary lover Dulcie ? his muse, his ideal 'lady', with his neighbour Sancho in tow.

The Don....Bill Nighy

Sancho....Danny Webb

Priest....Sam Kelly

Receptionist....Rosie Cavaliero

Barber....Deka Walmsley

Steve....Declan Wilson

Landlady....Elizabeth Bell

Man....Oliver Jackson

Music composed and performed by Harvey Brough, with lyrics by Jeff Young

Dulcie voiced by Clara Sanabras

Mike Outram (guitar)

Directed by Kate Rowland.

Snow

By Orhan Pamuk.

Ka, a poet and political exile, returns to Turkey to write an investigative piece about troubling events in the mysterious, snow shrouded city of Kars; a place haunted by the silences of its own history. Snow is a spectacular tour de force, evoking the spiritual fragility of the non -western world, its ambivalence about the godless West, and its fury.

Orhan....Robert Glenister

Ka....William Houston

Ipek....Lia Wiliams

Kadife....Jasmine Hyde

Necip/Fazil....Philip Arditti

Turgut Bey....Philip Jackson

Sunay Zaim....Jak Klaff

Funda Esser....Nina Wadia

Director....Nadim Sawalha

Blue....Michael Maloney

Cavit/ Agent....Ben Crowe

Z Demirkol....Stephen Critchlow

Dramatised by James Friel

Translated by Maureen Freely

Additional music composed and performed by Melanie Pappenheim

Directed by Marilyn Imrie

Orhan ......... Robert Glenister

Ka ............ William Houston

Ipek ......... Lia Wiliams

Kadife ..............Jasmine Hyde

Necip/Fazil ......... Philip Arditti

Turgut Bey ............ Philip Jackson

Sunay Zaim ............. Jak Klaff

Funda Esser ........... Nina Wadia

Director ......... Nadim Sawalha

Blue ........... Michael Maloney

Cavit/ Agent ......... Ben Crowe

Z Demirkol ............. Stephen Critchlow

The Don ........... Bill Nighy

Sancho ............. Danny Webb

Priest ............ Sam Kelly

Receptionist ............ Rosie Cavaliero

Barber ........... Deka Walmsley

Steve ............. Declan Wilson

Landlady ............ Elizabeth Bell

Man .............. Oliver Jackson

20050417Volpone

By Ben Jonson:

In this classic satirical comedy of the English Renaissance, the wealthy Volpone pretends to be old and infirm, attracting greedy Venetians to his bedside.

Volpone....Ian McDiarmid

Mosca....Tom Hollander

Celia....Olivia Williams

Corvino....Malcolm Sinclair

Voltore....Patrick Barlow

Corbaccio....John Rowe

Bonario....Chris Moran

Androgyno....Declan Wilson

Nano....David Thorpe

Castrone....aimi Barbakoff

Avoc 1....Ioan Meredith

Avoc 2....Philip Fox

Avoc 3....John Paul Ryan

Music performed by Mia Soteriou and Steve Bentley-Klein

Music by Mia Soteriou

Directed by Peter Kavanagh

Volpone ......... Ian McDiarmid

Mosca .......... Tom Hollander

Celia .......... Olivia Williams

Corvino ........... Malcolm Sinclair

Voltore .......... Patrick Barlow

Corbaccio .......... John Rowe

Bonario .......... Chris Moran

Androgyno ........... Declan Wilson

Nano ........... David Thorpe

Castrone .......... aimi Barbakoff

Avoc 1 .......... Ioan Meredith

Avoc 2 ........... Philip Fox

Avoc 3 ............ John Paul Ryan

20050424Festen

Director Rufus Norris introduces David Eldridge's multi-award winning adaptation of Festen - an uncompromising story of denial set over one weekend in a remote Danish mansion. The original West End cast have recreated their performances for Drama on 3. Actors include Jane Asher, Stephen Moore, Claire Rushbrook, Luke Mably and Patrick Robinson. This landmark production contains strong language and descriptions of sexual violence.

Festen was originally a Dogme film and play by Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov and Bo hr. Hansen

Christian....Luke Mably

Michael....Rory Kinnear

Helene....Claire Rushbrook

Mette....Lisa Palfrey

Helge....Stephen Moore

Else....Jane Asher

Helmut....Michael Thomas

Poul....Sam Cox

Grandfather....Sam Beazley

Pia....Ruth Millar

Kim....Andrew Frame

Lars....Andrew Maude.

Gbatokai....Patrick Robinson

Music by Orlando Gough

Directed by Rufus Norris.

Christian ........ Luke Mably

Michael ......... Rory Kinnear

Helene .......... Claire Rushbrook

Mette .......... Lisa Palfrey

Helge .......... Stephen Moore

Else ........ Jane Asher

Helmut .......... Michael Thomas

Poul .......... Sam Cox

Grandfather ............ Sam Beazley

Pia ............ Ruth Millar

Kim ........... Andrew Frame

Lars ........... Andrew Maude.

Gbatokai ............ Patrick Robinson

20050501Don Carlos

By Friedrich Schiller.

Derek Jacobi stars in the acclaimed Sheffield Theatre production of the play by Friedrich Schiller in a new translation by Mike Poulton.

King Philip II of Spain holds on to power through the terror of the Inquisition and his spies at Court. His son Don Carlos seeks his father's trust yet hides his feelings for his father's wife, Elizabeth of France, to whom he was betrothed before Philip married her. The Court watches and listens.

King Philip II....Derek Jacobi

Don Carlos....Richard Coyle

Queen Elizabeth....Claire Price

Rodrigo Marquis of Posa....Elliot Cowan

Duke of Alba....Ian Hogg

Domingo....Michael Hadley

Princess Eboli....Charlotte Randle

Count Lerma....Roger Swaine

Duchess of Olivarez....Una Stubbs

The Grand Inquisitor....Peter Eyre

Page to the Queen....Stuart Burt

Duke of Medina Sidonia....Brian Poyser

Count Cordua....Andrew McDonald

Prince of Parma....Paul Keating

Translation/Adaptation by Mike Poulton

Original music by Adam Cork

Directed by Michael Grandage and Andy Jordan.

King Philip II - Derek Jacobi

Don Carlos - Richard Coyle

Queen Elizabeth - Claire Price

Rodrigo Marquis of Posa - Elliot Cowan

Duke of Alba - Ian Hogg

Domingo - Michael Hadley

Princess Eboli - Charlotte Randle

Count Lerma - Roger Swaine

Duchess of Olivarez - Una Stubbs

The Grand Inquisitor - Peter Eyre

Page to the Queen - Stuart Burt

Duke of Medina Sidonia - Brian Poyser

Count Cordua - Andrew McDonald

Prince of Parma - Paul Keating

20050508If Not Now, When?

By Primo Levi.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, a radio version of this extraordinary play about a group of Jewish partisans making their way across war torn Europe, fighting their way west from Russia.

Narrator....Corin Redgrave

Mendel....Mark Meadows

Gedaleh....Jonathan Tafler

Dov/Captain Smirnov....Kenneth Collard

Ulybin/Edek....Carl Prekopp

Pavel....Chris MacDonnell

Jozek/Chaim....Chris Donnelly

Piotr....Nitzan Sharron

Leonid....Jonathan Gunning

Mottel....Chris Garner

Line....Hayley Doherty

Rokhele....Amy Clifton

Original music composed by Gary Yershon and played by Graeme Taylor, Giles Broadbent and Gary Yershon.

Adapted for radio by Jeremy Howe and produced by Iain Hunter and Jeremy Howe.

Narrator - Corin Redgrave

Mendel - Mark Meadows

Gedaleh - Jonathan Tafler

Dov/Captain Smirnov - Kenneth Collard

Ulybin/Edek - Carl Prekopp

Pavel - Chris MacDonnell

Jozek/Chaim - Chris Donnelly

Piotr - Nitzan Sharron

Leonid - Jonathan Gunning

Mottel - Chris Garner

Line - Hayley Doherty

Rokhele - Amy Clifton

20050515Portugal

By Zoltan Egressy, translated and adapted by Ryan Craig from a literal translation by Katalin Trencsenyi.

In a pub in a rural village in Hungary, the regulars are looking forward to the annual funfair and the prospect of a visit by a famous football team - real diversions from the only constant one of alcohol. Instead Nick, a stranger from Budapest on his way to Portugal, appears and triggers mayhem, capturing the heart of the landlord's daughter and provoking intense jealousy in Turnip, her 'fianc?'. The little world of Ergacs is turned upside-down.

Landlord....Alun Armstrong

Ribbon....Sheridan Smith

Turnip....Darryl Clark

Peg....Pearce Quigley

Woman/Wife....Sally Rogers

Priest....Philip Fox

Nick....Bertie Carvel

Satan....Jon Glover

Director....Anastasia Tolstoy

In a pub in a rural village in Hungary, the regulars are looking forward to the annual funfair and the prospect of a visit by a famous football team - real diversions from the only constant one of alcohol. Instead Nick, a stranger from Budapest on his way to Portugal, appears and triggers mayhem, capturing the heart of the landlord's daughter and provoking intense jealousy in Turnip, her 'fiancé'. The little world of Ergacs is turned upside-down.

Landlord - Alun Armstrong

Ribbon - Sheridan Smith

Turnip - Darryl Clark

Peg - Pearce Quigley

Woman/Wife - Sally Rogers

Priest - Philip Fox

Nick - Bertie Carvel

Satan - Jon Glover

Director - Anastasia Tolstoy

20050529King Baabu

By Wole Soyinka

A comic and outlandish look at dictatorship. Nigerian Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka's play dramatises life under the brutal regime of General Sani Abacha, and is adapted for radio by the playwright for its British premiere.

Maku Makubeti....Paterson Joseph

Ma Makube....Susan Aderin

Tikim....Wale Ojo

Chaplain/Shoki....Patrice Naiambana

Marabout/Kpoki....Marcia Hewitt

Fatasimu/officers....Anthony Ofoegbu

Drumming and Musical Director....Tunji Oyelana

Trumpet/bugle....Tobias Sturmer

Directed by Pauline Harris.

Maku Makubeti - Paterson Joseph

Ma Makube - Susan Aderin

Tikim - Wale Ojo

Chaplain/Shoki - Patrice Naiambana

Marabout/Kpoki - Marcia Hewitt

Fatasimu/officers - Anthony Ofoegbu

Drumming and Musical Director - Tunji Oyelana

Trumpet/bugle - Tobias Sturmer

20050612The Maids

By Jean Genet

In a new translation for radio by Neil Bartlett, Genet's darkly disturbing play about suppressed hatred and oppression. Set in 1940s Paris, two sisters indulge in erotic and secret rituals of revenge against their wealthy employers - with fatal consequences.

Claire....Victoria Hamilton

Solange....Janet McTeer

Madame....Rebecca Johnson

Music composed by David Pickvance

Directed by Gemma Jenkins

Claire - Victoria Hamilton

Solange - Janet McTeer

Madame - Rebecca Johnson

20050626The Lion Of Chechnya

By Leila Aboulela.

In the 19th century, the warrior Imam Shamyl united the tribes of the Caucasus to fight Russian colonial expansion. Shamyl became a legendary figure and attracted the support of Queen Victoria who feared Russia's increasing power would threaten Britain's interests in India. After an early military defeat, Shamyl was forced to hand over his eight-year-old son Jamal to the Russians. Jamal grew up devoted to Russia and the Tsar. Years later, in an attempt to win the release of his son, Shamyl kidnapped a Georgian princess.

Shamyl....Raad Rawi

Princess Anna....Katherine Igoe

Prince David....Matthew Pidgeon

Tsar....Michael Cochrane

Madame Drancy....Caroline Loncq

Alexander....Jordan Waller

Jamal....Shiv Grewal

Khazi....Ben Onwukwe

Chouanette....Abigail Thaw

Ameena....Sarah Ozeke

Zaidette....Nina Wadia

Jamaluddin....Renu Setna

Lezgin....Harry Myers

Cousin/Sergeant/Russian General....Richard Katz

Producer/Director Bruce Young.

Shamyl - Raad Rawi

Princess Anna - Katherine Igoe

Prince David - Matthew Pidgeon

Tsar - Michael Cochrane

Madame Drancy - Caroline Loncq

Alexander - Jordan Waller

Jamal - Shiv Grewal

Khazi - Ben Onwukwe

Chouanette - Abigail Thaw

Ameena - Sarah Ozeke

Zaidette - Nina Wadia

Jamaluddin - Renu Setna

Lezgin - Harry Myers

Cousin/Sergeant/Russian General - Richard Katz

20050703A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

This 1967 play by Peter Nicholls is a groundbreaking work that retains an undiminished capacity to disconcert - a brilliant, heartbreaking and comic drama about a couple's relationship as parents of a profoundly mentally disabled child.

Brian....Christopher Eccleston

Sheila....Kaye Wragg

Joe....Chloe Pabst-Bohan

Pam....Julia Rounthwaite

Freddie....Michael Maloney

Grace....Lynda Baron

Produced, adapted and directed by Pauline Harris

Brian - Christopher Eccleston

Sheila - Kaye Wragg

Joe - Chloe Pabst-Bohan

Pam - Julia Rounthwaite

Freddie - Michael Maloney

Grace - Lynda Baron

20050710Bloodlines

A dynamic gathering of Black British spoken word artists exploring blood, lineage and Africa. It was recorded live at the Albany Theatre, Deptford as part of the Africa Lives on the BBC season and was developed in association with Apples and Snakes.

Cast includes:

Zena Edwards

Malika Booker

Charlie Dark

Jan Blake

Tuup

Ebele

Jason Grant

Janine La Rosa

Jay Bernard

Marque Gilmore (composer)

Shabina Aslam (producer)

20050731Venus and Adonis

By William Shakespeare.

The Bard's exquisite retelling of a classical myth concerning desire and loss.

Narrator....Nicholas Boulton

Venus....Claire Skinner

Adonis....Chris Moran

Directed by Sara Benaim.

Narrator - Nicholas Boulton

Venus - Claire Skinner

Adonis - Chris Moran

20050814Arden of Faversham

The first English murder thriller written by an unknown contemporary of Shakespeare (though he himself may have provided an authorial hand). It was based on true events of the period and mixes high drama with low comedy as class-envy, greed and passion drive the story to its tragic conclusion, despite many humorous pitfalls on the way.

Alice, the young wife of well-to-do Arden, has fallen in love with Mosby, a one-time butcher with social aspirations. The solution is to murder Arden.

Arden, a merchant....Michael Pennington

Franklin, his friend....David Burke

Alice, his wife....Emily Hamilton

Michael, their servant....Giles Fagan

Mosby, a steward....Michael Maloney

Susan, his sister....Victoria Woodward

Black Will, a rogue....Anthony Jackson

Adapted and directed by John Tydeman.

20050821Arden of Faversham

The first English murder thriller written by an unknown contemporary of Shakespeare (though he himself may have provided an authorial hand). It was based on true events of the period and mixes high drama with low comedy as class-envy, greed and passion drive the story to its tragic conclusion, despite many humorous pitfalls on the way.

Alice, the young wife of well-to-do Arden, has fallen in love with Mosby, a one-time butcher with social aspirations. The solution is to murder Arden.

Arden, a merchant - Michael Pennington

Franklin, his friend - David Burke

Alice, his wife - Emily Hamilton

Michael, their servant - Giles Fagan

Mosby, a steward - Michael Maloney

Susan, his sister - Victoria Woodward

Black Will, a rogue - Anthony Jackson

Adapted and directed by John Tydeman.

20050828Women Beware Women

Thomas Middleton's Jacobean classic in which the women are the worst betrayers. When Leantio's beautiful wife Bianca catches the eye of the Duke, the worldly Livia arranges an assignation, plunging Bianca into the vice and corruption of the court.

Livia....Penny Downie

Bianca....Beth Chalmers

Leantio....John McAndrew

Mother....Manon Edwards

Guardiano....Bill Wallis

Isabella....Sara McGaughey

Hippolito....Andrew Wincott

Fabritio....James Greene

Duke....Nigel Terry

Cardinal....Dorien Thomas

Ward....Robert Harper

Sordido....Simon Ludders

Directed by Alison Hindell.

Livia - Penny Downie

Bianca - Beth Chalmers

Leantio - John McAndrew

Mother - Manon Edwards

Guardiano - Bill Wallis

Isabella - Sara McGaughey

Hippolito - Andrew Wincott

Fabritio - James Greene

Duke - Nigel Terry

Cardinal - Dorien Thomas

Ward - Robert Harper

Sordido - Simon Ludders

20050911The Orchid Grower

In 1964, KGB officer Yuri Nosenko defected to the USA in what should have been a major coup for the CIA. Sebastian Baczkiewicz tells the incredible story of Nosenko's four years of torture and imprisonment without trial as civil war raged within the CIA over his bona fides. A co-production with CBC, Canada, and based on an idea by journalist and Cold War expert Tom Mangold.

Phil Kovacs (old)....Kenneth Welsh

Phil Kovacs (young)....John Cleland

James Angleton....Michael Murphy

Yuri Nosenko....Leo Vernik

Fran Kovacs....Emma Campbell

Andy Dawson....Greg Ellwand

Stan Forbes....Rod Wilson

Frank Holmes....John Robinson

Stacey....Tara Samuels

Richard Helms....Chuck Shamata

Dr Delamore....Michael Caruana

Cal....Patrick McManus

Bruce Solie....Barry Flatman

Durand....Jonathan Higgins

CIA Doctor....Gerry Mendicino

Directed by Toby Swift

Phil Kovacs (old) - Kenneth Welsh

Phil Kovacs (young) - John Cleland

James Angleton - Michael Murphy

Yuri Nosenko - Leo Vernik

Fran Kovacs - Emma Campbell

Andy Dawson - Greg Ellwand

Stan Forbes - Rod Wilson

Frank Holmes - John Robinson

Stacey - Tara Samuels

Richard Helms - Chuck Shamata

Dr Delamore - Michael Caruana

Cal - Patrick McManus

Bruce Solie - Barry Flatman

Durand - Jonathan Higgins

CIA Doctor - Gerry Mendicino

20050918War with the Newts

By Karel Capek. Dramatised by George Poles.

When humanity encounters another race of intelligent bipeds sharing the Earth, what choice is there but to exploit it? When the existence of a group of speaking newts comes to the attention of ruthless GH Bondy and his Salamander Syndicate the newts find themselves turned into a commodity, and fought over by nations. At its heart, this joyously funny satire is a plea for decency and tolerance towards others, as relevant now as when it was first written in the 1930s.

Capek....Dermot Crowley

Olga....Sally Hawkins

Van Toch....Henry Goodman

Povondra....Geoffrey Beevers

Mrs Povondra....Tina Gray

GH Bondy....Adrian Scarborough

Ensemble....Ben Crowe, Martin Hyder and Geoff McGivern

Capek - Dermot Crowley

Olga - Sally Hawkins

Van Toch - Henry Goodman

Povondra - Geoffrey Beevers

Mrs Povondra - Tina Gray

GH Bondy - Adrian Scarborough

Ensemble - Ben Crowe, Martin Hyder and Geoff McGivern

20050925The Rivals

By Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

1775: The fashionable world descends on Bath, to take the waters and embroil themselves in a little romantic intrigue. Miss Lydia Languish, with a face and a fortune, is being wooed by no less than three rivals for her hand.

Mrs Malaprop....Patricia Routledge

Sir Anthony Absolute....Geoffrey Palmer

Jack Absolute....Michael Maloney

Lydia Languish....Sarah Crowe

Faulkland....David Bamber

Bob Acres....Peter Gunn

Julia....Lucy Whybrow

Sir Lucius O'Trigger....Sean Barrett

Lucy....Clare Corbett

Fag....Nick Fletcher

David....Stephen Critchlow

Thomas, the coachman....Barrie Jaimeson

David Timson (adaptor/director)

Mrs Malaprop - Patricia Routledge

Sir Anthony Absolute - Geoffrey Palmer

Jack Absolute - Michael Maloney

Lydia Languish - Sarah Crowe

Faulkland - David Bamber

Bob Acres - Peter Gunn

Julia - Lucy Whybrow

Sir Lucius O'Trigger - Sean Barrett

Lucy - Clare Corbett

Fag - Nick Fletcher

David - Stephen Critchlow

Thomas, the coachman - Barrie Jaimeson

20051002Days and Nights in Bedlam

By Fred D'Aguiar.

Set in a London mental hospital in the early 1980s.

When Otis is taken to the closed ward, he is desperate to return to his Queen Penelope, and his Kingdom. While the staff diagnose him as delusional, fellow patients Larry and Harry plot to reach this Kingdom first - and take Otis' Queen as their own.

Otis....Mo Sesay

Gary....Don Gilet

Deirdre....Daniela Nardini

April....Alex Tregear

Harry....Stephen Critchlow

Larry....Carl Prekopp

Penelope....Janice Acquah

Carol Bayne (director/producer)

Otis - Mo Sesay

Gary - Don Gilet

Deirdre - Daniela Nardini

April - Alex Tregear

Harry - Stephen Critchlow

Larry - Carl Prekopp

Penelope - Janice Acquah

20051005Betrayal

By Harold Pinter. Pinter himself plays Robert, Patricia Hodge is Emma, and Michael Gambon is Jerry in the 1990 production of the celebrated study of infidelity and friendship.

With Christopher Good and Elizabeth Mansfield.

Directed by Ned Chaillet.

20051009The Radetzky March

By Joseph Roth.

Adapted by Mike Walker, from the English translation of the novel by Michael Hofmann.

The story of the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, told through three generations of loyal servants to the Emperor - the men of the Trotta family. From the second half of the 19th Century when a Trotta saves the life of Franz Joseph on the battlefield, to the beginning of the 20th Century when world war and old age wipe the Trottas and their Empire from the map of Europe.

Joseph Roth....Bill Wallis

Emperor Franz Joseph....John Woodvine

Joseph Trotta/Chojnicki/postman....Brian Pettifer

Franz Trotta....Richard Bremmer

Carl Joseph Trotta....Elliot Levey

Moser/Wagner....Nicky Henson

Jacques/Dr Skvoronnek....Clive Swift

Frau Slama/Valli von Taussig....Eleanor Tremain

With Paul Nicolson, Paul Dodgson, David Collins and Chris Garner.

Music arranged and performed by Alexander Balanescu.

Directed by Tim Dee.

Joseph Roth - Bill Wallis

Emperor Franz Joseph - John Woodvine

Joseph Trotta/Chojnicki/postman - Brian Pettifer

Franz Trotta - Richard Bremmer

Carl Joseph Trotta - Elliot Levey

Moser/Wagner - Nicky Henson

Jacques/Dr Skvoronnek - Clive Swift

Frau Slama/Valli von Taussig - Eleanor Tremain

20051023Talking to Terrorists

By Robin Soans.

A play based on interviews with people involved in terrorism around the globe, and those seeking to counter it. The writer, director and actors involved carried out the interviews to try to discover what makes ordinary people do extreme things. Plus contributions from peacemakers, politicians, warriors, journalists, hostages and psychologists. The stories take us from Uganda, Israel, Turkey, Iraq and Ireland to the heart of the British establishment.

An ex-member of the National Resistance Army, Uganda....Chip Chung

An ex-member of the UVF....Jonathan Cullen

Edward, a psychologist....Christopher Ettridge

An ex-member of the Kurdish Workers' Party....Alexander Hanson

An ex-member of the IRA....Lloyd Hutchinson

Rima, a journalist....Catherine Russell

The ex-head of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Bethlehem....Chris Ryman

An ex-Secretary of State....June Watson

Directed by Max Stafford-Clark.

An ex-member of the National Resistance Army, Uganda - Chip Chung

An ex-member of the UVF - Jonathan Cullen

Edward, a psychologist - Christopher Ettridge

An ex-member of the Kurdish Workers' Party - Alexander Hanson

An ex-member of the IRA - Lloyd Hutchinson

Rima, a journalist - Catherine Russell

The ex-head of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Bethlehem - Chris Ryman

An ex-Secretary of State - June Watson

20051030Troilus and Cressida

By William Shakespeare.

Set during the Trojan War, Shakespeare's hugely powerful drama is both the story of doomed love and a representation of the futility of war. It is also an extraordinarily topical enquiry into ethics, value and the slippery nature of truth. This production is the first on radio for more than 20 years.

Troilus....Paterson Joseph

Pandarus....Derek Griffiths

Aeneas....Jimmy Akingbola

Cressida....Nikki Amuka-Bird

Agamemnon....Gerard McDermott

Menelaus....John Cummins

Nestor....John Rowe

Ajax....Harry Myers

Thersites....Toby Jones

Achilles....Neil Dudgeon

Patroclus....Jim Sturgess

Ulysses....Paul Rhys

Diomedes....Jonathan Keeble

Helen....Colleen Prendergast

Hector....Ray Fearon

Paris....Chu Omambala

Cassandra....Gbemisola Ikumelo

Priam....Burt Caesar

Andromache....Ndidi Ama

Directed by Marc Beeby.

Troilus - Paterson Joseph

Pandarus - Derek Griffiths

Aeneas - Jimmy Akingbola

Cressida - Nikki Amuka-Bird

Agamemnon - Gerard McDermott

Menelaus - John Cummins

Nestor - John Rowe

Ajax - Harry Myers

Thersites - Toby Jones

Achilles - Neil Dudgeon

Patroclus - Jim Sturgess

Ulysses - Paul Rhys

Diomedes - Jonathan Keeble

Helen - Colleen Prendergast

Hector - Ray Fearon

Paris - Chu Omambala

Cassandra - Gbemisola Ikumelo

Priam - Burt Caesar

Andromache - Ndidi Ama

20051106Radio 3 marks the 400th anniversary of the plot to blow up King James I and his Parliament with a play that looks at how the Establishment deals with a terrorist threat.

The Gunpowder Plot

By Jonathan Davidson.

Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, ruthlessly and efficiently conducts the hunt for the plotters - but his real target is Father Henry Garnet, leader of the Jesuits.

Lord Salisbury....David Calder

Lord Popham....Sean Arnold

King James....Cal Macaninch

Father Garnet....John Henshaw

Father Oldcorn....Hugh Dickson

Anne Vaux....Helen Longworth

Nicholas Owen....Ben Crowe

Thomas Bromley....Trevor Cuthbertson

Carey....Gary McFarlane

Adviser....Chris Moran

Servant 1....Anthony Glennon

Directed by David Hunter.

Lord Salisbury - David Calder

Lord Popham - Sean Arnold

King James - Cal Macaninch

Father Garnet - John Henshaw

Father Oldcorn - Hugh Dickson

Anne Vaux - Helen Longworth

Nicholas Owen - Ben Crowe

Thomas Bromley - Trevor Cuthbertson

Carey - Gary McFarlane

Adviser - Chris Moran

Servant 1 - Anthony Glennon

20051113Much 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, with an introduction by Sir Richard Eyre.

Leonato....David Swift

Beatrice....Samantha Spiro

Hero....Emilia Fox

Antonio/Sexton....Sean Baker

Don Pedro....David Westhead

Claudio....Chiwetel Ejiofor

Benedick....David Tennant

Don John....Julian Rhind-Tutt

Borachio....Stephen Critchlow

Conrade....Jonathan Keeble

Dogberry....David Haig

Verges....Peter Gunn

Margaret....Maxine Peake

Ursula....Helen Ayres

Friar Francis....Dermot Crowley

Original music written and performed Simon Oakes and Adam Wolters.

Directed by Sally Avens.

Leonato - David Swift

Beatrice - Samantha Spiro

Hero - Emilia Fox

Antonio/Sexton - Sean Baker

Don Pedro - David Westhead

Claudio - Chiwetel Ejiofor

Benedick - David Tennant

Don John - Julian Rhind-Tutt

Borachio ......Stephen Critchlow

Conrade - Jonathan Keeble

Dogberry - David Haig

Verges - Peter Gunn

Margaret - Maxine Peake

Ursula - Helen Ayres

Friar Francis - Dermot Crowley

20051120Macbeth

By William Shakespeare.

Sir Richard Eyre made his radio directorial debut for this version of The Bard's tale of power and jealousy.

Macbeth....Ken Stott

Lady Macbeth/Third Witch....Phyllis Logan

Macduff....Tom Mannion

Banquo....Liam Brennan

Duncan....Hugh Ross

Malcolm....Alan Cox

Lennox....Paul Higgins

Ross....Alastair Galbraith

Porter....Kenny Ireland

Old Man....Graham Crowden

Doctor....Ken Drury

Seyton....Iain Stuart Robertson

First Witch/Lady Macduff....Tracy Wiles

Second Witch/Gentlewoman....Kathleen McGoldrick

Macbeth - Ken Stott

Lady Macbeth/Third Witch - Phyllis Logan

Macduff - Tom Mannion

Banquo - Liam Brennan

Duncan - Hugh Ross

Malcolm - Alan Cox

Lennox - Paul Higgins

Ross - Alastair Galbraith

Porter - Kenny Ireland

Old Man - Graham Crowden

Doctor - Ken Drury

Seyton - Iain Stuart Robertson

First Witch/Lady Macduff - Tracy Wiles

Second Witch/Gentlewoman - Kathleen McGoldrick

20051204The Sicilian Expedition

By John Fletcher.

Almost 2500 years ago, a confident young general persuaded Athens to launch an attack on Sicily. Alcibiades was a member of the Athenian baby boomer generation, whose elders had fought to give their children a society of justice, wealth and education. The baby boomers explored every sexual avenue, took drugs to excess, and became the greatest consumers of the most exotic products in human history. Then it all went wrong.

Within two years of the defeat in Sicily, imperial, democratic Athens, the pinnacle of human civilisation, lay in ruins. Yet, as the city endured its death agonies, something new and wonderful was born: the Socratic idea of universal love.

Socrates....James Laurenson

Alcibiades....Julian Rhind-Tutt

Callias....Richard Nichols

Theodote....Mia Soteriou

Nicias....Jonathan Nibbs

Taureas....Matthew Morgan

Agathon....Richard Mitchley

Spartan Soldier....Nathan Sussex

Bagoas....Brendan Charleson

Mantitheus....Jonathan Floyd

Mother....Christine Pritchard

Original Music by John Hardy.

Directed by Kate McAll.

Socrates - James Laurenson

Alcibiades - Julian Rhind-Tutt

Callias - Richard Nichols

Theodote - Mia Soteriou

Nicias - Jonathan Nibbs

Taureas - Matthew Morgan

Agathon - Richard Mitchley

Spartan Soldier - Nathan Sussex

Bagoas - Brendan Charleson

Mantitheus - Jonathan Floyd

Mother - Christine Pritchard

20051211Andalus

By Jason Webster, dramatised by Tina Pepler.

A young English writer sets out to discover Spain's hidden Moorish past. He visits an enormous, plastic-sheeted farm and witnesses farmers terrorising the largely North African workforce. His life is threatened as he covertly tours this agricultural gulag, but is saved by an illegal immigrant. The unlikely pair of writer and desperado take off on a rollercoaster ride through Andalucía.

Jason....Joe McFadden

Zine....Omar Berdouni

Lucia....Azucena Duran

Salud, Carmen....Nuria Benet

Mother, doctor....Montserrat Gili

Amadeo, priest....Javier Marzan

Pedro, Sergio....Luis Soto

Old man....Nayef Rashed

Produced by Steven Canny.

Jason - Joe McFadden

Zine - Omar Berdouni

Lucia - Azucena Duran

Salud, Carmen - Nuria Benet

Mother, doctor - Montserrat Gili

Amadeo, priest - Javier Marzan

Pedro, Sergio - Luis Soto

Old man - Nayef Rashed

20051225Mr Fielding's Scandal Shop

By Liz Kuti.

In 1737, Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones and scourge of Walpole's corrupt parliament, astonished the world by rejoining the Establishment. London's most infamous libertine became a magistrate - outlawing plays and players. But at what cost, to himself and to those who had loved and admired him?

Henry Fielding....Richard McCabe

Charlotte Charke....Lizzie McInnerny

Robert Walpole....Ron Cook

Richard Yates....Nickolas Grace

Eliza Hayward....Frances Tomelty

Mary Fielding....Alison Pettitt

The Ale House maid....Amy Marston

Mr Ravenhill....Christopher Adlington

Colley Cibber....Robert Price

Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.

Henry Fielding - Richard McCabe

Charlotte Charke - Lizzie McInnerny

Robert Walpole - Ron Cook

Richard Yates - Nickolas Grace

Eliza Hayward - Frances Tomelty

Mary Fielding - Alison Pettitt

The Ale House maid - Amy Marston

Mr Ravenhill - Christopher Adlington

Colley Cibber - Robert Price

20060101The Club

By Gregory Whitehead.

At the height of the American 'Gilded Age', members of an elegant New England social and croquet club performed an elaborate if somewhat distasteful ritual.

In 1915, sculptress Frieda Hopkins created Seven Feet With Four Toes in solid alabaster. Almost a century later the sculptures now act as iconic magnets for post-feminists and foot fetishists from around the globe.

Queen of Clubs....Elizabeth Aspenlieder

Genealogist....George Bergen

The Curator....Hillary Deeley

Mushroom Mike....Mike Dowling

Marilyn Mathiessen....Marilyn Hunter

Jacqui Rivers....Karen Lee

Sarah Fitzgibbons....Sara Paul

Mira....Anne Undeland

Charles Dove....Jon Swan

Brace Winter....Gregory Whitehead

Songs composed and performed by Richard Busch.

Queen of Clubs - Elizabeth Aspenlieder

Genealogist - George Bergen

The Curator - Hillary Deeley

Mushroom Mike - Mike Dowling

Marilyn Mathiessen - Marilyn Hunter

Jacqui Rivers - Karen Lee

Sarah Fitzgibbons - Sara Paul

Mira - Anne Undeland

Charles Dove - Jon Swan

Brace Winter - Gregory Whitehead

20060108Black Dirt

By Nell Leyshon.

Frank Lovell lies ill in bed, surrounded by his son who has learning difficulties, his daughter and son- in law. As the morphine enters his bloodstream, suppressed memories of a past tragedy resurface. Entwined with the story of the young Frank and his sister Iris are fables - Bible stories and the legends of Kings Arthur and Alfred.

Amongst the portrait of a family and the secrets and lies that bind them together, is an examination of Englishness and a rural landscape which is fast disappearing.

Father....Peter Hamilton Dyer

Mother....Rosalind March

Young Frank Lovell....Jack Thompson Rylance

Iris....Carly Bawden

Frank Lovell....Ewan Hopper

Margaret Lovell....Helen Slesinger

George Lovell....Alan Williams

Brian....Robert Pickavance

Directed in Manchester by Susan Roberts

Father - Peter Hamilton Dyer

Mother - Rosalind March

Young Frank Lovell - Jack Thompson Rylance

Iris - Carly Bawden

Frank Lovell - Ewan Hopper

Margaret Lovell - Helen Slesinger

George Lovell - Alan Williams

Brian - Robert Pickavance

20060115'Writing the City: New plays celebrating Leeds by Tajinder Hayer, Jodie Marshall, Alan Plater, Jane Rogers and Eamon Rooney; with Simon Armitage and Michelle Scally-Clarke performing new poems.'
20060122Hold My Breath

By Ryan Craig.

The life of a young Black school teacher with a profound love of life, her students and Plato, is turned upside down by an unexpected and appalling accusation. This and the lack of support from her boyfriend is enough to set her off on an odyssey from her East London flat to a bizarre encounter in Oxford Circus with a man she meets over the internet.

Tessa....Ayesha Antoine

Russ....Nick Sayce

Tony....Delroy Brown

Sparks....John Cummins

Sadie....Ella Smith

Fran....Sophie Roberts

Luke....Carl Prekopp

Linda....Claire Louise Cordwell

Norris....Philip Fox

David Pickvance (original music)

Produced by Steven Canny.

Tessa - Ayesha Antoine

Russ - Nick Sayce

Tony - Delroy Brown

Sparks - John Cummins

Sadie - Ella Smith

Fran - Sophie Roberts

Luke - Carl Prekopp

Linda - Claire Louise Cordwell

Norris - Philip Fox

20060129Pale Fire

A dramatisation of Vladimir Nabokov's great novel by the Sony Award-winning playwright Robert Forrest. Published in 1962, Pale Fire ranks alongside James Joyce's Ulysses and Marcel Proust's À La Recherche du Temps Perdu as one of the masterpieces of 20th century fiction.

Comic, tragic, heartbreaking, Shakespearean in its almost infinite depth and beauty, it moves between leafy Appalachia and the mysterious far northern kingdom of Zembla, telling the story of a homely American poet and his regally demented neighbour.

Charles Kinbote....Finlay Welsh

John Shade....Angus MacInnes

Sybil Shade....Joanna Tope

Professor Hurley....Crawford Logan

Odon....Richard Greenwood

Disa....Gayanne Potter

Director Patrick Rayner.

Charles Kinbote - Finlay Welsh

John Shade - Angus MacInnes

Sybil Shade - Joanna Tope

Professor Hurley - Crawford Logan

Odon - Richard Greenwood

Disa - Gayanne Potter

20060205Snow

By Orhan Pamuk, dramatised by James Friel and translated by Maureen Freely.

Ka, a poet and political exile, returns to Turkey to write an investigative piece about troubling events in the mysterious, snow-shrouded city of Kars - a place haunted by the silences of its own history.

Orhan....Robert Glenister

Ka....William Houston

Ipek....Lia Williams

Kadife....Jasmine Hyde

Necip/Fazil....Philip Arditti

Turgut Bey....Philip Jackson

Sunay Zaim....Jack Klaff

Funda Esser....Nina Wadia

Director....Nadim Sawalha

Blue....Michael Maloney

Cavit/Agent....Ben Crowe

Z Demirkol....Stephen Critchlow

Director Marilyn Imrie.

Orhan - Robert Glenister

Ka - William Houston

Ipek - Lia Williams

Kadife - Jasmine Hyde

Necip/Fazil - Philip Arditti

Turgut Bey - Philip Jackson

Sunay Zaim - Jack Klaff

Funda Esser - Nina Wadia

Director - Nadim Sawalha

Blue - Michael Maloney

Cavit/Agent - Ben Crowe

Z Demirkol - Stephen Critchlow

20060212I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Shout

By Laurence Allan.

Summertime Jones, an old time jazz enthusiast, sets off on a quest from Tiger Bay in Cardiff to the US. As Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, Summertime tries to reach his city of dreams.

Buddy Bolden is one of the original greats of the American jazz scene and this musical road movie captures the spirit of Bolden.

Summertime....Lennie James

Buzz....Joanna Griffiths

Cordelli....Kerry Shale

Brady....Colin Stinton

Lips....Ram John Holder

Freddie....Jim Findley

Elaine/Susan....Carolyn Pickles

Dermot/Willy....Patrick Brennan

Kid....Benjamin Mackenzie

Original jazz music composed by Rob Smith.

Claude Deppa (cornet/trumpet/flugel horn)

Gareth Roberts (trombone)

Rob Smith (saxophone, clarinet)

Director Kate Rowland.

Summertime - Lennie James

Buzz - Joanna Griffiths

Cordelli - Kerry Shale

Brady - Colin Stinton

Lips - Ram John Holder

Freddie - Jim Findley

Elaine/Susan - Carolyn Pickles

Dermot/Willy - Patrick Brennan

Kid - Benjamin Mackenzie

20060219Revenge

A production for radio of Michael Duke's acclaimed play for Tinderbox Theatre Company about lives shattered by tragic, violent loss during the conflict in Northern Ireland.

Finding themselves left behind by the peace process, one family is suddenly faced with an agonising moral choice. It's Samhain, the Celtic festival of New Year, when during the hours of darkness the veil between the living and the dead is lifted. On this night, they can bring back to life those they lost and long for, but there will be a high price to pay.

Old Woman....Barbara Adair

Boy....Daniel McGrady

Father....Lalor Roddy

Mother....Marcella Riordan

Grandfather....Al Logan

Bride....Abigail McGibbon

Woman 1....Libby Smyth

Woman 2....Brigid Erin Bates

Son/David....Michael Condron

Peter....Packy Lee

Mae....Gemma Burns

Angela....Carol Moore

Bomber....Richard Dormer

Music composed by Neil Martin, and performed by Neil Martin, Colin Stark and Mary Dillon.

Directed by Anna Newell.

Old Woman - Barbara Adair

Boy - Daniel McGrady

Father - Lalor Roddy

Mother - Marcella Riordan

Grandfather - Al Logan

Bride - Abigail McGibbon

Woman 1 - Libby Smyth

Woman 2 - Brigid Erin Bates

Son/David - Michael Condron

Peter - Packy Lee

Mae - Gemma Burns

Angela - Carol Moore

Bomber - Richard Dormer

20060226Lost in Liverpool

Storylined by Val McDermid, written by Martin O'Brien, Christine Marshall, Barbara Phillips, Jonathan Larkin, Charlotte Allan and Paul Butler.

A tense thriller recorded on location in the famous Williamson tunnels under Liverpool. Morgan McCarthy is missing; so is a priceless map of the Williamson tunnels. Why has she taken it? Who is after her? Why do they want the map so badly?

Williamson....Stuart Richman

Jerry/Anthony....Samuel James Hudson

Morgan....Katy Cavanagh

Radio reporter/Passenger 1/Slave....Danielle Henry

Dermot....John McArdle

Michael....Matthew Lewney

Tommy....Paul Regan

Mary/Jo....Ann Rye

Producers Gary Brown and Polly Thomas.

Williamson - Stuart Richman

Jerry/Anthony - Samuel James Hudson

Morgan - Katy Cavanagh

Radio reporter/Passenger 1/Slave - Danielle Henry

Dermot - John McArdle

Michael - Matthew Lewney

Tommy - Paul Regan

Mary/Jo - Ann Rye

20060305Shylock

By Arnold Wesker. One of the foremost playwrights of his generation creates a startling new perspective on an age-old story.

Shylock's close friend Antonio needs a loan, but 16th-century Venetian law discriminates against Jews. For Shylock's own protection, Antonio persuades him to agree a bond. They laugh as Shylock invents the absurd forfeit of a pound of flesh - but their mockery of the law may easily turn to tragedy.

Shylock Kolner....Henry Goodman

Antonio....Ronald Pickup

Portia Contarini....Juliet Stevenson

Nerissa....Noma Dumezweni

Bassanio....Toby Stephens

Rivka....Sheila Steafel

Jessica....Lydia Leonard

Tubal di Ponti....Jonathan Tafler

Lorenzo....Geoffrey Streatfeild

Graziano....Nicholas Boulton

Rebecca da Mendes....Jennie Stoller

The Doge/Solomon Usque....Geoffrey Beevers

Roderigues da Cunha....Anthony Glennon

Singer....Annette Ross

Producer/Director David Hitchinson.

Shylock Kolner - Henry Goodman

Antonio - Ronald Pickup

Portia Contarini - Juliet Stevenson

Nerissa - Noma Dumezweni

Bassanio - Toby Stephens

Rivka - Sheila Steafel

Jessica - Lydia Leonard

Tubal di Ponti - Jonathan Tafler

Lorenzo - Geoffrey Streatfeild

Graziano - Nicholas Boulton

Rebecca da Mendes - Jennie Stoller

The Doge/Solomon Usque - Geoffrey Beevers

Roderigues da Cunha - Anthony Glennon

Singer - Annette Ross

20060312The History Boys

By Alan Bennett, adapted for radio by Richard Wortley from Nicholas Hytner's National Theatre production.

More than three decades on from Forty Years On, Bennett turns his attention once more to education - encompassing both the tussles of staffroom rivalry and the anarchy of adolescence.

Hector....Richard Griffiths

Irwin....Geoffrey Streatfeild

Mrs Lintott....Frances de la Tour

The Headmaster....Clive Merrison

Crowther....Samuel Anderson

Posner....Samuel Barnett

Dakin....Dominic Cooper

Timms....James Corden

Akthar....Sacha Dhawan

Lockwood....Andrew Knott

Scripps....Jamie Parker

Rudge....Russell Tovey

Samuel Barnett (singer)

Jamie Parker, Tom Attwood (piano)

Producer David Hunter.

Swan Song

By Anton Chekhov, translated by Michael Frayn.

Following his final performance in a run-down provincial theatre, an elderly Russian actor confronts his ghosts. Did he ever really have talent?

The actor....Paul Scofield

The prompter....Alec McCowen

Director Martin Jenkins.

The actor - Paul Scofield

The prompter - Alec McCowen

Hector - Richard Griffiths

Irwin - Geoffrey Streatfeild

Mrs Lintott - Frances de la Tour

The Headmaster - Clive Merrison

Crowther - Samuel Anderson

Posner - Samuel Barnett

Dakin - Dominic Cooper

Timms - James Corden

Akthar - Sacha Dhawan

Lockwood - Andrew Knott

Scripps - Jamie Parker

Rudge - Russell Tovey

20060319When You Cure Me

By Jack Thorne.

Rachel and Peter are 17 and in love. It's love's young dream, but then Rachel gets ill - seriously ill. She doesn't want her mum to fuss. She doesn't want Alice to pretend she's her best friend, and she certainly doesn't want Alice's boyfriend telling bad jokes at her bedside. The only person she wants is Peter, but Peter doesn't know what he wants.

Produced in association with The Bush Theatre, London.

Rachel....Morven Christie

Peter....Samuel Barnett

James....Daniel Bayle

Alice....Lisa McDonald

Angela....Gwyneth Strong

Producer Steven Canny.

Rachel - Morven Christie

Peter - Samuel Barnett

James - Daniel Bayle

Alice - Lisa McDonald

Angela - Gwyneth Strong

20060326Handprint

By Debbie Tucker Green.

Every tiny nuance is captured in an intense encounter between a man and a woman in a bar. Over the course of one evening, we discover what led them both here and what compels them to keep talking to each other.

Woman....Nadine Marshall

Man....Paterson Joseph

Wife....Angela Wynter

Narrator....Noma Dumezweni

Sister....Jo Martin

Dad....Ram John Holder

Vocalist....Sharon D Clarke

Director Mary Peate.

Woman - Nadine Marshall

Man - Paterson Joseph

Wife - Angela Wynter

Narrator - Noma Dumezweni

Sister - Jo Martin

Dad - Ram John Holder

Vocalist - Sharon D Clarke

20060416As part of Radio 3's Samuel Beckett season, a performance of his classic, Waiting for Godot.

Two tramps wait on a lonely road for the elusive Godot. They pass the time with storytelling, and their everyday conversation takes on a universal significance.

Vladimir....Sean Barrett

Estragon....David Burke

Lucky/narrator....Nigel Anthony

Pozzo....Terence Rigby

Boy....Zachary Fox

Director John Tydeman.

Vladimir - Sean Barrett

Estragon - David Burke

Lucky/narrator - Nigel Anthony

Pozzo - Terence Rigby

Boy - Zachary Fox

20060430Billiards at Half Past Nine

By Heinrich Böll. Dramatised by Claire Luckham.

The action takes place in Germany in the summer of 1958 when the Faehmel family meet to celebrate Heinrich Faehmel's eightieth birthday. In the course of one day Böll reveals the crucial incidents in the past of a family of architects, from the Wilhelminian empire through Weimar and Hitler to the prosperous West Germany of the 1950s.

Based on Böll's novel of the same name, it is a searing examination of the moral crises of post war Germany. Billiards at Half Past Nine is considered to be the novel which won Böll the Nobel Prize.

Robert....Michael Maloney

Jochen....Sam Beazley

Schrella....Kenneth Cranham

Nettlinger....Henry Goodman

Ruth....Jasmine Hyde

Joanna....Dilys Laye

Heinrich....Geoffrey Palmer

Hugo....Paul Ready

Joseph....Daniel Weyman

Young Heinrich....Oscar Fletcher

Composer/Music Arranger....Orlando Gough

Solo Songs....Melanie Pappenheim

Choir....Christ Church, Knightsbridge

German Speaking Church Choir

Director....Roxana Silbert

Robert - Michael Maloney

Jochen - Sam Beazley

Schrella - Kenneth Cranham

Nettlinger - Henry Goodman

Ruth - Jasmine Hyde

Joanna - Dilys Laye

Heinrich - Geoffrey Palmer

Hugo - Paul Ready

Joseph - Daniel Weyman

Young Heinrich - Oscar Fletcher

Composer/Music Arranger - Orlando Gough

Solo Songs - Melanie Pappenheim

Choir - Christ Church, Knightsbridge

Director - Roxana Silbert

20060507The Possessed

By Lou Stein, from the book by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

A group of dissidents and self-proclaimed revolutionaries are intent on causing chaos in a small town in 1870s Russia - spurred on by a demonic and manipulative ringleader.

Govorov....John Sessions

Varvara Petrovna....Susannah York

Peter Verhovensky....Paul McGann

Nikolai Stavrogin....Benedict Cumberbatch

Liza/Marya....Anne-Marie Duff

Virginsky/Kirillov....Dexter Fletcher

Liputin/Stepan....Roger Lloyd Pack

Shatov....Brian Bovell

English translation by Tatiana Bazhenova.

Original music by Deirdre Gribbin and produced by Lou Stein.

Govorov - John Sessions

Varvara Petrovna - Susannah York

Peter Verhovensky...... Paul McGann

Nikolai Stavrogin - Benedict Cumberbatch

Liza/Marya - Anne-Marie Duff

Virginsky/Kirillov - Dexter Fletcher

Liputin/Stepan - Roger Lloyd Pack

Shatov - Brian Bovell

20060514The Maids

By Jean Genet.

In 1940s Paris, two sisters indulge in erotic and secret rituals of revenge against their wealthy employers - with fatal consequences.

A new translation for radio by Neil Bartlett of Genet's darkly disturbing play about suppressed hatred and oppression.

Claire....Victoria Hamilton

Solange....Janet McTeer

Madame....Rebecca Johnson

Music composed by David Pickvance.

Directed by Gemma Jenkins.

Claire - Victoria Hamilton

Solange - Janet McTeer

Madame - Rebecca Johnson

20060521The Pretenders

By Henrik Ibsen, translated by Michael Meyer.

In a bitter struggle for absolute power, three single minded and self-centred men drag their country into bloody civil war.

Haakon....Michael Sheen

Nicholas....Paul Scofield

Skule....Gerard Murphy

Ragnhild, his wife....Sarah Badel

Margaret, his daughter....Jasmine Hyde

Sigrid, his sister....Maureen O'Brien

Dagfinn....David Bannerman

Gregorious....John Evitts

Paul Flida....Carl Prekopp

Ivar Bodde....Ian Masters

Peter....James D'Arcy

Jatgheir....Ben Crowe

Baard Bratte....David Collings

Sigard....Sam Crane

Director Martin Jenkins.

Haakon - Michael Sheen

Nicholas - Paul Scofield

Skule - Gerard Murphy

Ragnhild, his wife - Sarah Badel

Margaret, his daughter - Jasmine Hyde

Sigrid, his sister - Maureen O'Brien

Dagfinn - David Bannerman

Gregorious - John Evitts

Paul Flida - Carl Prekopp

Ivar Bodde - Ian Masters

Peter - James D'Arcy

Jatgheir - Ben Crowe

Baard Bratte - David Collings

Sigard - Sam Crane

20060528The Lysistrata Project

By Ryan Craig.

A contemporary re-working of Aristophanes' classic play, developed with the help of young people living and studying in London.

Lacy....Ayesha Antoine

Lucas....Javone Prince

Mike....Mohammed George

Kelly....Gbemisola Ikumelo

Colin....Carl Prekopp

Maria/Tanya....Claire Louise Cordwell

Jake/Dave....Mark Monero

Director Marc Beeby.

Lacy - Ayesha Antoine

Lucas - Javone Prince

Mike - Mohammed George

Kelly - Gbemisola Ikumelo

Colin - Carl Prekopp

Maria/Tanya - Claire Louise Cordwell

Jake/Dave - Mark Monero

20060604Breakfast With Mugabe

By Fraser Grace.

The year is 2001. President Mugabe and his wife are holed up in the State House in Harare, in paranoid terror. He is being stalked by an ngozi or bitter spirit - the murderous ghost of a long-dead comrade. Fearing for his sanity, Mugabe turns to a white psychiatrist for help.

Witty and provocative, Fraser Grace's new play imagines the combative relationship between the black president and his white psychiatrist. In a series of bruising encounters, Breakfast with Mugabe explores the conflict between despotism and liberalism in modern Zimbabwe.

Grace Mugabe....Noma Dumezweni

Robert Mugabe....Joseph Mydell

Gabriel Marunda....Christopher Obi

Andrew Peric....David Rintoul

Director Antony Sher.

Grace Mugabe - Noma Dumezweni

Robert Mugabe - Joseph Mydell

Gabriel Marunda - Christopher Obi

Andrew Peric - David Rintoul

20060611Gilgamesh

A radio drama version of Gilgamesh, adapted by Jeremy Howe, from the English version by Stephen Mitchell. Music by Paul Dodgson.

The epic of Gilgamesh was written in ancient Mesopotamia over 4000 years ago. Many people think it was the first story to be written down. It tells of the prowess of King Gilgamesh and his acquisition of a friend, Enkidu, and their adventures in the wilderness, battling monsters, in search of immortality.

Gilgamesh....Joe Dixon

Enkidu....Adam Levy

Narrator....Kenneth Cranham

Shamhat, Ishtar....Kananu Kirimi

Lady Ninsun, Scorpion woman....Eve Matheson

Prologue, Anu....Robert Gwilym

Soldier, Utnapishtim....Bill Wallis

Humbaba, Ninurta....David Collins

Scorpion man; Ea....Chris Donnelly

Urshanabi; Enlil....Paul Nicholson

Producer Tim Dee.

Gilgamesh - Joe Dixon

Enkidu - Adam Levy

Narrator - Kenneth Cranham

Shamhat, Ishtar - Kananu Kirimi

Lady Ninsun, Scorpion woman - Eve Matheson

Prologue, Anu - Robert Gwilym

Soldier, Utnapishtim - Bill Wallis

Humbaba, Ninurta - David Collins

Scorpion man; Ea - Chris Donnelly

Urshanabi; Enlil - Paul Nicholson

20060612Features Like Mine

By Ted Whitehead.

A man returns to his home town and re-examines his relationship with his father.

Tony....Jonathan Pryce

Bridget....Sue Johnston

Dominic....Tom Bell

Director Bruce Hyman.

Producer Helen Chattwell.

Tony - Jonathan Pryce

Bridget - Sue Johnston

Dominic - Tom Bell

20060618Features Like Mine

By Ted Whitehead.

A man returns to his home town and re-examines his relationship with his father.

Tony - Jonathan Pryce

Bridget - Sue Johnston

Dominic - Tom Bell

Director Bruce Hyman.

Producer Helen Chattwell.

20060702The Lion of Chechnya

In the middle of the 19th Century, Chechen leader Shamyl united the Muslim tribes of the Caucasus against the Russian empire. But, after an early military defeat, Shamyl was forced to hand over one of his sons to the Russian army. The boy grew up devoted to Russia and the tsar.

Leila Aboulela's play focuses on Shamyl's fateful decision to kidnap a Georgian princess in retaliation for the loss of his son.

Shamyl....Raad Rawi

Princess Anna....Katherine Igoe

Prince David....Matthew Pidgeon

Tsar....Michael Cochrane

Madame Drancy....Caroline Loncq

Alexander....Jordan Waller

Jamal....Shiv Grewal

Khazi....Ben Onwukwe

Chouanette....Abigail Thaw

Ameena....Sarah Ozeke

Zaidette....Nina Wadia

Jamaluddin....Renu Setna

Lezgin....Harry Myers

Cousin/sergeant/Russian general....Richard Katz

Producer/director Bruce Young.

Shamyl - Raad Rawi

Princess Anna - Katherine Igoe

Prince David - Matthew Pidgeon

Tsar - Michael Cochrane

Madame Drancy - Caroline Loncq

Alexander - Jordan Waller

Jamal - Shiv Grewal

Khazi - Ben Onwukwe

Chouanette - Abigail Thaw

Ameena - Sarah Ozeke

Zaidette - Nina Wadia

Jamaluddin - Renu Setna

Lezgin - Harry Myers

Cousin/sergeant/Russian general - Richard Katz

20060709Hotel Cristobel

By Caryl Phillips.

Caribbean independence is re-imagined in a struggle for control of a fading hotel on a small and beautiful island. The English woman who has always managed and owned Hotel Cristobel cannot accept that her era is over and that her servant John and the mysterious visitor Mr Schultz from New York might take her hotel away. The play, recorded in New York, is a gripping drama of power, and perhaps love.

Kathleen....Rosemary Harris

John.... Michael Potts

Schultz....Stephen Spinella

Director Ned Chaillet.

Kathleen - Rosemary Harris

John - Michael Potts

Schultz - Stephen Spinella

20060723Doggies Nirvana

By Jin Yun

Original translation by Ying Ruocheng

In a new version for radio by Kevin Wong

Jin Yun's 1986 play for the Beijing People's Arts Theatre has become a modern classic of Chinese theatre: a broad, bitter comedy which takes a sideways look at Chinese history through the tortured relationship of one man and a patch of land. This new production for BBC Radio 3 marks the play's first ever performance in the UK.

Doggie's a nobody. A peasant farmer, his simple desire for a harvest of his own condemns him to 40 years of chaos, as history takes him on a wild switchback of fortunes.

Doggie....Duncan Preston

Qi....Tony Haygarth

Wang....Benedict Wong

Shu....Paul Courtney-Hyu

Jinhua....Su-Lin Looi

Dahu....Daniel York

Meng....Liz Sutherland

Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Doggie - Duncan Preston

Qi - Tony Haygarth

Wang - Benedict Wong

Shu - Paul Courtney-Hyu

Jinhua - Su-Lin Looi

Dahu - Daniel York

Meng - Liz Sutherland

20060730Salome

A new version by Lizzie Hopley.

The myth of Salome and the dance of the seven veils began as a brief reference in the bible. It was later popularised in Wilde's highly sexual rendering of the tale. This new version focuses on the tense family drama at the centre of the myth.

Set on the brink of a new era - while a young carpenter is travelling across Israel propagating his new religion - this story revolves around a girl on the threshold of womanhood, who has been torn from her father and the world she knows, when her mother falls in love with Salome's Uncle, Herod Antipas.

Pharisee....Ian Brooker

Herod....Kenneth Cranham

John The Baptist....Tony Curran

Mannai/Saducee....Paul Dinnen

Salome....Florence Hoath

Joanna....Sally Hawkins

Chuza....Karl Johnson

Sejanus....Gerrard McArthur

Herodias....Fenella Woolgar

All other parts played by members of the cast.

Directed by Lu Kemp

Pharisee - Ian Brooker

Herod - Kenneth Cranham

John The Baptist - Tony Curran

Mannai/Saducee - Paul Dinnen

Salome - Florence Hoath

Joanna - Sally Hawkins

Chuza - Karl Johnson

Sejanus - Gerrard McArthur

Herodias - Fenella Woolgar

20060806Mrs Warren's Profession

By Bernard Shaw

The issue of Victorian prostitution and double standards are examined in dramatic form as Mrs Warren reveals to her daughter the source of her income and admits her daughter's own parentage.

Having completed her studies at Cambridge, Vivie Warren intends to become a lawyer. She has two suitors, Frank Gardiner, the son of the local rector and an older man-about-town, Sir George Croft. She is shocked when her mother reveals that the source of the family income is from European brothels, and that Croft is involved in the business. Vivie rejects Croft, who reveals that she cannot marry Frank Gardiner because he is her half-brother. Vivie rejects her mother and pursues an independent life.

This is an important play - effectively banned by the Royal Chamberlain for 30 years because of its subject matter. It still raises issues of morality and fair trade, as well as the role of women in the workplace.

Mrs Warren....Diana Quick

Vivie....Claire Skinner

Frank Gardner....Scott Handy

Sir George Croft....Geoffrey Whitehead

Praed....John Rowe

Rev Samuel Gardner....Roger Hammond

Adapted and directed by John Tydeman

Produced by Nicolas Soames

Mrs Warren - Diana Quick

Vivie - Claire Skinner

Frank Gardner - Scott Handy

Sir George Croft - Geoffrey Whitehead

Praed - John Rowe

Rev Samuel Gardner - Roger Hammond

20060813Mr Puntila and His Man Matti

By Bertolt Brecht

Adapted by Lee Hall

One of Brecht's best comedies, adapted and updated by award winning writer Lee Hall. A drunken chaotic landowner leans heavily on his stoic chauffeur in a series of ever more outrageous escapades. A witty modern musical version of a comedy classic.

Mr Puntila....Vincent Ebrahim

Matti....Derek Riddell

Judge....Robert Pickavance

Eva/Milkmaid....Emma Cunniffe

Attache....Mark Chatterton

Moonshine....Emma Julia Rounthwaite

Chemist's Assistant....Vashti Maclachlan

Telephonist....Paula Sims

Lawyer....Graeme Hawley

Parson....Declan Wilson

Mark Cresswell (ukelele)

Sian Hicks (double bass)

Chris Larner (composer/musical director)

Director Polly Thomas.

Mr Puntila - Vincent Ebrahim

Matti - Derek Riddell

Judge - Robert Pickavance

Eva/Milkmaid - Emma Cunniffe

Attache - Mark Chatterton

Moonshine - Emma Julia Rounthwaite

Chemist's Assistant - Vashti Maclachlan

Telephonist - Paula Sims

Lawyer - Graeme Hawley

Parson - Declan Wilson

20060910Hippomania

By Snoo Wilson.

With Laurence Olivier preparing to film the patriotic epic Henry V in neutral Ireland during the Second World War, and the poet John Betjeman attracting the suspicious attentions of the IRA, it is a heady time in Dublin.

Snoo Wilson's astonishing fantasia that springs from real events in Betjeman's life conjures up Nazis, assassins and fairies - as the poet wanders blithely through seats of power, pubs and a cemetery.

John Betjeman....Anthony Calf

Penelope....Anastasia Hille

Edna....Patricia Leventon

Sir Oswald Mosley....Andrew Woodall

Diana Mosley....Victoria Woodward

Betterton/Lord Powerscourt....Ian Masters

Officer, MI6/Sweeney....Owen Sharpe

Susan Hilton....Katherine Igoe

James Blair/Declan....Stephen Hogan

Dannan....Renee Weldon

Bridy....Aoife McMahon

Titannicus....Gerard Murphy

Eammon de Valera/MacNamara....John Rogan

Laurence Olivier....Nicholas Boulton

Olawalu....Jimmy Akingbola

Princess Sobietska....Ndidi del Fatti

Conor....Andrew Scott

Guy Burgess....Tam Williams

Evelyn Waugh....Snoo Wilson

Music direction by Jay Owen.

Director Ned Chaillet.

John Betjeman - Anthony Calf

Penelope - Anastasia Hille

Edna - Patricia Leventon

Sir Oswald Mosley - Andrew Woodall

Diana Mosley - Victoria Woodward

Betterton/Lord Powerscourt - Ian Masters

Officer, MI6/Sweeney - Owen Sharpe

Susan Hilton - Katherine Igoe

James Blair/Declan - Stephen Hogan

Dannan - Renee Weldon

Bridy - Aoife McMahon

Titannicus - Gerard Murphy

Eammon de Valera/MacNamara - John Rogan

Laurence Olivier - Nicholas Boulton

Olawalu - Jimmy Akingbola

Princess Sobietska - Ndidi del Fatti

Conor - Andrew Scott

Guy Burgess - Tam Williams

Evelyn Waugh - Snoo Wilson

20060917A Day in the Death of Joe Egg

By Peter Nichols, adapted by Pauline Harris.

Comic drama about a couple's relationship as parents of a profoundly mentally disabled child.

Written in 1967, Joe Egg is a groundbreaking work that retains an undiminished capacity to disconcert.

Brian....Christopher Eccleston

Sheila....Kaye Wragg

Joe....Chloe Pabst-Bohan

Pam....Julia Rounthwaite

Freddie....Michael Maloney

Grace....Lynda Baron

Brian - Christopher Eccleston

Sheila - Kaye Wragg

Joe - Chloe Pabst-Bohan

Pam - Julia Rounthwaite

Freddie - Michael Maloney

Grace - Lynda Baron

20061001Let Me

By Howard Barker.

At the height of the Barbarian invasions, a Roman land owner finds his home surrounded by the invaders. The elderly patrician was never a warrior, but can he bring himself to surrender and betray centuries of tradition and culture?

The drama - a new commission from Howard Barker (also born in 1946) - helps to mark the 60th anniversary of the launch of the Third Programme (the original name for Radio 3).

Copolla....Edward Petherbridge

Aphrodite....Barbara Jefford

Euclid....Andrew Woodall

Agricola....Sam Dale

Barbarian child....Emma Noakes

Producer/director Peter Kavanagh.

Copolla - Edward Petherbridge

Aphrodite...... Barbara Jefford

Euclid - Andrew Woodall

Agricola - Sam Dale

Barbarian child - Emma Noakes

20061008Hold My Breath

By Ryan Craig.

The life of an idealistic young black school teacher is turned upside down by an unexpected and appalling accusation. She sets off on a chaotic odyssey from her East London flat to a bizarre encounter in Oxford Circus with a man she meets in a chatroom.

Tessa....Ayesha Antoine

Russ....Nick Sayce

Sparks....John Cummins

Sadie....Ella Smith

Fran....Sophie Roberts

Tony....Delroy Brown

Luke....Carl Prekopp

Linda....Claire Louise Cordwell

Norris....Philip Fox

Original music by David Pickvance.

Producer Steven Canny.

Tessa - Ayesha Antoine

Russ - Nick Sayce

Sparks - John Cummins

Sadie - Ella Smith

Fran - Sophie Roberts

Tony - Delroy Brown

Luke - Carl Prekopp

Linda - Claire Louise Cordwell

Norris - Philip Fox

20061015An Enemy of the People: Martin Lynch's version of Ibsen's classic drama is set in contemporary Belfast.

The killing of a Catholic man leads to his own community struggling to come to terms with the truth. However, one woman is determined to get justice for her murdered brother-in-law. But at what cost?

Moya McGovern....Susan Lynch

Caroline McGovern....Seainin Brennan

Sean Gillen....Charles Lawson

Mr Gillen/Solicitor....Harry Towb

Dominic/Frankie....Patrick O?Kane

Manus....Lloyd Hutchinson

Mrs McGovern....Eileen Pollock

Director Roland Jaquarello

Moya McGovern - Susan Lynch

Caroline McGovern - Seainin Brennan

Sean Gillen - Charles Lawson

Mr Gillen/Solicitor - Harry Towb

Dominic/Frankie - Patrick O?Kane

Manus - Lloyd Hutchinson

Mrs McGovern - Eileen Pollock

20061022Days and Nights in Bedlam

By Fred D'Aguiar.

When Otis is taken to the closed ward of a London mental hospital, he is desperate to return to his Queen Penelope, and his Kingdom. Whilst the staff diagnose him as delusional, fellow patients Larry and Harry plot to reach this Kingdom first and take his queen for their own.

Otis....Mo Sesay

Gary....Don Gilet

Deirdre....Daniela Nardini

April....Alex Tregear

Harry....Stephen Critchlow

Larry....Carl Prekopp

Penelope....Janice Acquah

Music composed by David Pickvance.

Director Carol Bayne

Otis - Mo Sesay

Gary - Don Gilet

Deirdre - Daniela Nardini

April - Alex Tregear

Harry - Stephen Critchlow

Larry - Carl Prekopp

Penelope - Janice Acquah

20061029Death and the Penguin

By Andrei Kurkov

Andrei Kurkov's memorable satire about an obituarist and his relationship with a penguin, set in post-Soviet Ukraine. Matt Thompson's adaptation was largely recorded on location in Kiev.

Viktor....Paul Ewing

Igor....James Bryce

Sonya....Kate Bennett

Nina....Katrina Bryan

Sergey....Jimmy Harrison

Pidpaly....John McKie

Misha Non-Penguin....Stewart Potter

Lyosha....Andrei Kurkov

Music and effects by Joe Acheson.

Translated by George Bird.

Director Matt Thompson

Viktor - Paul Ewing

Igor - James Bryce

Sonya - Kate Bennett

Nina - Katrina Bryan

Sergey - Jimmy Harrison

Pidpaly - John McKie

Misha Non-Penguin - Stewart Potter

Lyosha - Andrei Kurkov

20061112In Parenthesis

By David Jones.

Private John Ball and his fellow Royal Welch Fusiliers embark for France in December 1915. Six months later, the majority of this band of comrades are killed or wounded at the Battle of the Somme. A dramatisation of this unique prose-poem to mark Remembrance Sunday.

Action....Sian Phillips

Thought....Sara McGaughey

Memory....Manon Edwards

Prologue....Dorien Thomas

John Ball....Steven Meo

Dai Evans....Oliver Ryan

Crower....Thomas Arnold

Jenkins....Rhodri Hugh

Lewis....Iestyn Jones

Snell....Simon Ludders

Quilter....David Middleton

Wastebottom....Matthew Morgan

Clark....Carl Prekopp

Watcyn....Aled Pugh

Wyatt....Keiron Self

Saunders....Nathan Sussex

Adapted by Douglas Cleverdon.

Music by John Hardy.

Director Alison Hindell

Action - Sian Phillips

Thought - Sara McGaughey

Memory - Manon Edwards

Prologue - Dorien Thomas

John Ball - Steven Meo

Dai Evans - Oliver Ryan

Crower - Thomas Arnold

Jenkins - Rhodri Hugh

Lewis - Iestyn Jones

Snell - Simon Ludders

Quilter - David Middleton

Wastebottom - Matthew Morgan

Clark - Carl Prekopp

Watcyn - Aled Pugh

Wyatt - Keiron Self

Saunders - Nathan Sussex

20061119True West

By Sam Shepard.

Screenwriter Austin's work on a film script is disrupted by the arrival of his elder brother Lee. The differences between successful, creative professional Austin and brutish, desert-living Lee could not be more marked. Or could they?

Lee....David Soul

Austin....Richard Laing

Saul....Kenneth Jay

Mom....Liza Ross

Director Peter Kavanagh.

Lee - David Soul

Austin - Richard Laing

Saul - Kenneth Jay

Mom - Liza Ross

20061126The Violence of Silence, by Marida Chheang and Sotheavy At.

A compelling, soul-searching drama documentary that explores the human cost of the genocide in Cambodia as the past and the present collide.

Featuring personal testimonies from Khmer Rouge survivors recorded on location in Phnom Penh.

Poetry by Simon Armitage, read by Mark Strong.

Sophal....Kulikar Sotho

Chhun....Sylyvann Borei

Yin....Saveth Dy

San....Sonak Kouv

Thida....Rebecca Phouek

Translated by Kunthy Sok.

Directed by Kate Rowland.

Sophal - Kulikar Sotho

Chhun - Sylyvann Borei

Yin - Saveth Dy

San - Sonak Kouv

Thida - Rebecca Phouek

20061203Fuente Ovejuna.

Lope de Vega's play is based on real events in 15th-century Spain, in which the people of a small village rose up against a tyrannical overlord and exacted a savage and brutal revenge for years of repression. When called to account by the reigning monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand, the village stood together.

Commander....Brian Cox

Laurencia....Maxine Peake

Esteban....Clive Swift

Captain Flores....Jonathan Keeble

Sergeant Ortuno....Martin George

Grand Master Rodrigo....Oliver Le Sueur

Pascuala....Alison Pettit

Frondoso....Carl Prekopp

Mengo....Stephen Critchlow

Adapted for radio and directed by David Timson

Commander - Brian Cox

Laurencia - Maxine Peake

Esteban - Clive Swift

Captain Flores - Jonathan Keeble

Sergeant Ortuno - Martin George

Grand Master Rodrigo - Oliver Le Sueur

Pascuala - Alison Pettit

Frondoso - Carl Prekopp

Mengo - Stephen Critchlow

20061210The Thebans: Oedipus Tyrannos; Oedipus at Kolonos; Antigone.

Timberlake Wertenbaker's translation of Sophocles's trilogy of three passionate and tragic tales of bloody deeds, family feuds, justice, power and fate.

Oedipus....John Lynch

Jocasta....Fiona Shaw

Kreon....Michael Feast

Teiresias....Kenneth Cranham

Antigone....Nadine Marshal

Ismene....Vinette Robinson

Theseus....Jude Akuwudike

Polyneikes....William Ash

Haimon....Adrian Bower

Messenger from Corinth ? Russell Dixon

Chorus....Brigit Forsyth, Deborah McAndrew, James Nickerson, Sarah Parks, Stuart Richman and Declan Wilson

Singer/oboist....Belinda Sykes

Percussionist....Martin Allen

Original music by Gary Yershon.

Director Nadia Molinari.

Oedipus - John Lynch

Jocasta - Fiona Shaw

Kreon - Michael Feast

Teiresias - Kenneth Cranham

Antigone - Nadine Marshal

Ismene - Vinette Robinson

Theseus - Jude Akuwudike

Polyneikes - William Ash

Haimon - Adrian Bower

Messenger from Corinth ?... Russell Dixon

Chorus - Brigit Forsyth, Deborah McAndrew, James Nickerson, Sarah Parks, Stuart Richman and Declan Wilson

Singer/oboist - Belinda Sykes

Percussionist - Martin Allen

20061224For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio.

WH Auden's postwar passion play is a modern mystery cycle which reinterprets faith for those exposed to the horrors of the Second World War.

Narrator....Rufus Sewell

Mary....Emma Noakes

Joseph....John Dougall

Gabriel....Saikat Ahamed

Herod....Joseph Kloska

Wise Man 1....John Rowe

Wise Man 2....Rudolph Walker

Wise Man 3....Peter Marinker

Shepherd 1....Gerard McDermott

Shepherd 2....Mark Straker

Shepherd 3....Paul Richard Biggin

Rachel....Bethan Walker

Fugal-Chorus....Tracy Wiles

Recitative....Damian Lynch

Child....Grainne Hails

Directed by Jessica Dromgoole, David Hunter and Conor Lennon.

Narrator - Rufus Sewell

Mary - Emma Noakes

Joseph - John Dougall

Gabriel - Saikat Ahamed

Herod - Joseph Kloska

Wise Man 1 - John Rowe

Wise Man 2 - Rudolph Walker

Wise Man 3 - Peter Marinker

Shepherd 1 - Gerard McDermott

Shepherd 2 - Mark Straker

Shepherd 3 - Paul Richard Biggin

Rachel - Bethan Walker

Fugal-Chorus - Tracy Wiles

Recitative - Damian Lynch

Child - Grainne Hails

20061231The History Boys

By Alan Bennett.

Adapted for radio by Richard Wortley from Nicholas Hytner's National Theatre production. More than three decades on from Forty Years On, Alan Bennett turns his attention once more to education, encompassing both the tussles of staffroom rivalry and the anarchy of adolescence.

Hector....Richard Griffiths

Irwin....Geoffrey Streatfeild

Mrs Lintott....Frances de la Tour

The Headmaster....Clive Merrison

Crowther....Samuel Anderson

Posner....Samuel Barnett

Dakin....Dominic Cooper

Timms....James Corden

Akthar....Sacha Dhawan

Lockwood....Andrew Knott

Scripps....Jamie Parker

Rudge....Russell Tovey

Solo singer....Samuel Barnett

Pianists....Jamie Parker and Tom Attwood

Produced by David Hunter.

Musical arrangement by Richard Sissons.

Director Richard Wortley.

Hector - Richard Griffiths

Irwin - Geoffrey Streatfeild

Mrs Lintott - Frances de la Tour

The Headmaster - Clive Merrison

Crowther - Samuel Anderson

Posner - Samuel Barnett

Dakin - Dominic Cooper

Timms - James Corden

Akthar - Sacha Dhawan

Lockwood - Andrew Knott

Scripps - Jamie Parker

Rudge - Russell Tovey

Solo singer - Samuel Barnett

Pianists - Jamie Parker and Tom Attwood

20070107King Lear

Shakespeare's classic tale of treachery and betrayal illustrates the consequences of evil triumphing over truth and the vanity of old age.

King Lear....Corin Redgrave

Duke of Kent....David Troughton

Duke of Gloucester....John Carlisle

Goneril....Geraldine James

Regan....Kika Markham

Cordelia....Justine Waddell

Edmund....William Houston

Edgar....Robert Glenister

Duke of Albany....John Rowe

Duke of Cornwall....Clive Francis

Fool....Paul Copley

Oswald....Struan Rodger

King of France....Sean Baker

Old Man/Gentleman....Gavin Muir

Music specially composed by Elizabeth Parker.

Directed by Cherry Cookson.

King Lear - Corin Redgrave

Duke of Kent - David Troughton

Duke of Gloucester - John Carlisle

Goneril - Geraldine James

Regan - Kika Markham

Cordelia - Justine Waddell

Edmund - William Houston

Edgar - Robert Glenister

Duke of Albany - John Rowe

Duke of Cornwall - Clive Francis

Fool - Paul Copley

Oswald - Struan Rodger

King of France - Sean Baker

Old Man/Gentleman - Gavin Muir

20070114Regime Change

Peter Straughan's wickedly dark comedy is inspired by Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and produced in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In a run-down apartment block in Istanbul, Lutz is in hiding. He is preparing to seize power in his former state, just as soon as he is allowed to.

Lutz....Henry Goodman

Coiler....Joseph Alessi

Dreyer....David Rubin

Jean....Golda Rosheuvel

Vlas....Julian Bleach

Ahmet....John Hopkins

Natascha....Mariah Gale

Umit....Ali Barisik

Music composed by Adrian Lee, performed by Adrian Lee and George Hadjineophytou.

Director Jonquil Panting.

Lutz - Henry Goodman

Coiler - Joseph Alessi

Dreyer - David Rubin

Jean - Golda Rosheuvel

Vlas - Julian Bleach

Ahmet - John Hopkins

Natascha - Mariah Gale

Umit - Ali Barisik

20070121Three Japanese Gothic Tales by Izumi Kyoka, dramatised by Georgia Pritchett.

1. The Holy Man of Mount Koya

Sakagami....Simon Russell Beale

Monk....Adrian Scarborough

Wanderer....Paul Rhys

Peddler....Iain Robertson

Farmer....Neil Dudgeon

Woman....Lia Williams

Old Man....Geoffrey Palmer

2. A Tale of Three who were Blind

Blind Man....Toby Jones

Older Blind Man....Geoffrey Palmer

Blind Woman....Lia Williams

3. One Day in Spring

Tamawaki Mio....Mairead McKinley

Priest....Neil Dudgeon

Man....Iain Robertson

Lion Boy....Oscar Fletcher

Director Roxana Silbert.

Composer Howard Davidson.

Sakagami - Simon Russell Beale

Monk - Adrian Scarborough

Wanderer - Paul Rhys

Peddler - Iain Robertson

Farmer - Neil Dudgeon

Woman - Lia Williams

Old Man - Geoffrey Palmer

Blind Man - Toby Jones

Older Blind Man - Geoffrey Palmer

Blind Woman - Lia Williams

Tamawaki Mio - Mairead McKinley

Priest - Neil Dudgeon

Man - Iain Robertson

Lion Boy - Oscar Fletcher

Director Roxana Silbert .

20070128Professor Bernhardi, by Arthur Schnitzler. In Vienna in 1900, a distinguished Jewish doctor prevents a Catholic priest from administering last rites to a dying patient. His actions provoke a political witch-hunt, leading to the professor's trial and imprisonment.

This new version of a play which had been unseen in London for over 70 years was produced for the stage by Dumbfounded Theatre Company in 2005 by National Theatre playwright Samuel Adamson.

20070204Two Men from Delft

By Stephen Wakelam.

In 1675, at the time of the death of his close friend Johannes Vermeer, Antony Van Leeuwenhoek made an astonishing discovery. He was the first person to identity bacteria.

Antony Van Leeuwenhooek....Stephen Tompkinson

Christiaan Huygens....Alex Jennings

Maria Van Leeuwenhoek....Emma Noakes

Elisabeth Vermeer....Alex Tregear

Music by Sylvia Hallett.

Viol played by Vanessa Coode.

Directed and produced by Jeremy Mortimer.

Antony Van Leeuwenhooek - Stephen Tompkinson

Christiaan Huygens - Alex Jennings

Maria Van Leeuwenhoek - Emma Noakes

Elisabeth Vermeer - Alex Tregear

20070218Hooligan Nights

The brutal world of London gangland in the 1890s is brought vividly to life in an innovative new musical created by writer Mike Walker and composer Mike Woolmans. Loosely based on the book by Clarence Rook, it recounts the criminal career of Alf, a self-styled Lambeth hooligan.

Alf....James Daley

Ally....Pamela Banks

P.C. 91....Stephen Greif

Harry....Carl Prekopp

Billy the Snide/Patrick Hooligan....Gerard Horan

Frenchy....Freddy White

Shop Assistant/Izzy/Judge....Gerard McDermott

Young Alf....Jamie Borthwick

The Great Reboundo....David O'Dell

Referee/Barman....Sam Dale

Alf's Ma....Bethan Walker

Other parts played by Paul Richard Biggin, Joseph Kloska, Emma Noakes and Saikat Ahamed.

Director Toby Swift.

Alf - James Daley

Ally - Pamela Banks

P.C. 91...... Stephen Greif

Harry - Carl Prekopp

Billy the Snide/Patrick Hooligan - Gerard Horan

Frenchy - Freddy White

Shop Assistant/Izzy/Judge - Gerard McDermott

Young Alf - Jamie Borthwick

The Great Reboundo - David O'Dell

Referee/Barman - Sam Dale

Alf's Ma - Bethan Walker

20070225Love and Money

By Dennis Kelly.

A radio adaptation of the Young Vic/Royal Exchange co-production of Kelly's funny and heart-wrenching exploration of the devastating impact of debt and desire in the modern world.

Jess, who is in love with David, believes that happiness can be bought - but in a world of easy credit, it doesn't come cheap.

Jess....Kellie Bright

David....John Kirk

Mother....Joanna Bacon

Father/Duncan....Paul Moriarty

Val/Debbie....Claudie Blakley

Paul/Doctor....Graeme Hawley

Original Music by Olly Fox.

Sound Design by Ian Dickinson.

Directed by Matthew Dunster and produced by Nadia Molinari.

Jess - Kellie Bright

David - John Kirk

Mother - Joanna Bacon

Father/Duncan - Paul Moriarty

Val/Debbie - Claudie Blakley

Paul/Doctor - Graeme Hawley

20070304The Fiery World

In this Radio 3 special commission, Peter Ackroyd dramatises the life of William Blake.

In 1805, with England at war and in constant fear of invasion, radicalism was the equivalent of treason. Blake was never afraid of speaking his mind, but as a poet and visionary he was at odds with the spirit of his age - so much so that his life was in danger.

William Blake....Robert Glenister

James Deville....David Warner

Catherine Blake....Miriam Margolyes

Kedges....David Timson

Mrs Deville....Alison Pettitt

Samuel Rose....Sean Barrett

Billy Cosway....Hugh Ross

Scofield....Mark Gillis

Armitage....Brian Croucher

Boy....Deo Simcox

Directed by Roy McMillan.

William Blake - Robert Glenister

James Deville - David Warner

Catherine Blake - Miriam Margolyes

Kedges - David Timson

Mrs Deville - Alison Pettitt

Samuel Rose - Sean Barrett

Billy Cosway - Hugh Ross

Scofield - Mark Gillis

Armitage - Brian Croucher

Boy - Deo Simcox

20070311Crossing the Bar

A headlong plunge into the sea-narratives of Alfred Lord Tennyson, with sea-songs from the acclaimed acappella trio Coope, Boyes and Simpson, centred around his most popular work Enoch Arden, written in the space of two weeks in 1864.

The Kraken, read by John Dougall.

The Sea Fairies, read by Rachel Bavidge and Jasmine Callan.

Enoch Arden, read by Sam Dale, Jasmine Callan, Stuart McLoughlin and Joseph Kloska.

The Voyage of Maeldune, read by John Dougall.

Crossing the Bar, read by Sam Dale.

With original music by Nicolai Abrahamsen.

20070318The Homecoming

By Harold Pinter.

A new production for BBC Radio 3 of Pinter's play that sees the playwright himself heading up a star cast in the role of Max, the head of the Hackney family to which a professor and his wife return one night from America.

Max, a man of 70....Harold Pinter

Lenny, a man in his early 30s....Samuel West

Sam, a man of 63....Michael Gambon

Joey, a man in his middle 20s....James Alexandrou

Teddy, a man in his middle 30s....Rupert Graves

Ruth, a woman in her early 30s....Gina McKee

Director Thea Sharrock.

Max, a man of 70 - Harold Pinter

Lenny, a man in his early 30s - Samuel West

Sam, a man of 63 - Michael Gambon

Joey, a man in his middle 20s - James Alexandrou

Teddy, a man in his middle 30s - Rupert Graves

Ruth, a woman in her early 30s - Gina McKee

20070325'The Lamplighters, by Jackie Kay: The lyrical drama explores the heart of enslavement through the experiences of four women, Constance, Mary, Black Harriot and The Lamplighter.'
20070401War with The Newts

By Karel Capek, dramatised by George Poles.

When humanity encounters another race of intelligent bipeds sharing the Earth, what choice is there but to exploit it? When the existence of a group of speaking newts comes to the attention of the ruthless GH Bondy and his Salamander Syndicate, they find themselves turned into a commodity as the nations fight over them. At its heart, this joyously funny satire is a plea for decency and tolerance towards others, as relevant now as when it was first written in the 1930s.

Capek....Dermot Crowley

Olga....Sally Hawkins

Van Toch....Henry Goodman

Povondra....Geoffrey Beevers

Mrs Povondra....Tina Gray

GH Bondy....Adrian Scarborough

Ensemble....Ben Crowe; Martin Hyder; Geoff McGivern

Howard Davidson (composer)

Elizabeth Freestone (director)

Capek - Dermot Crowley

Olga - Sally Hawkins

Van Toch - Henry Goodman

Povondra - Geoffrey Beevers

Mrs Povondra - Tina Gray

GH Bondy - Adrian Scarborough

Ensemble - Ben Crowe; Martin Hyder; Geoff McGivern

20070408Breakfast With Mugabe

By Fraser Grace.

The year is 2001. President Mugabe and his wife are holed up in the State House in Harare, with Mugabe in paranoid terror. He is being stalked by an ngozi or bitter spirit, the murderous ghost of a long-dead comrade. Fearing for his sanity, Mugabe turns to a white psychiatrist for help.

Witty and provocative, Fraser Grace's new play imagines the combative relationship between the black president and his white psychiatrist. In a series of bruising encounters, Breakfast with Mugabe explores the conflict between despotism and liberalism in modern Zimbabwe.

Grace Mugabe....Noma Dumezweni

Robert Mugabe....Joseph Mydell

Gabriel Marunda....Christopher Obi

Andrew Peric....David Rintoul

Music composed by Chartwell Dutiro and played by Chartwell Dutiro and James Jones.

Directed by Antony Sher.

Grace Mugabe - Noma Dumezweni

Robert Mugabe - Joseph Mydell

Gabriel Marunda - Christopher Obi

Andrew Peric - David Rintoul

20070415Entertaining Mr Sloane

By Joe Orton.

The first radio production of this notoriously successful play, first staged in 1964. Sloane, an ambiguously sexually attractive young man, comes in search of lodgings and is seduced by the landlady and desired by her homosexual brother. Meanwhile, their father has justified suspicion that Sloane has committed a murder. The scene is set for an unexpected denouement.

Mr Sloane....Daniel Evans

Kath....Geraldine James

Ed....Clive Francis

Kemp....Dudley Sutton

Director John Tydeman.

Mr Sloane - Daniel Evans

Kath - Geraldine James

Ed - Clive Francis

Kemp - Dudley Sutton

20070422The Radetzky March

By Joseph Roth.

Adapted by Mike Walker from the English translation of the novel by Michael Hofmann. The story of the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is told through the men of the Trotta family, three generations of servants loyal to their emperor.

The story starts at the second half of the 19th century when a Trotta saves the life of Franz Joseph on the battlefield, to the beginning of the 20th when world war and old age wipes the Trottas and their Empire from the map, but not the memory, of Europe.

Joseph Roth....Bill Wallis

Emperor Franz Joseph....John Woodvine

Joseph Trotta/Chojnicki/Postman....Brian Pettifer

Franz Trotta....Richard Bremmer

Carl Joseph Trotta....Elliot Levey

Moser/Wagner....Nicky Henson

Jacques/Dr Skvoronnek....Clive Swift

Frau Slama/Valli von Taussig....Eleanor Tremain

With Paul Nicolson, Paul Dodgson, David Collins and Chris Garner.

Music arranged and performed by Alexander Balanescu.

Director Tim Dee.

Joseph Roth - Bill Wallis

Emperor Franz Joseph - John Woodvine

Joseph Trotta/Chojnicki/Postman - Brian Pettifer

Franz Trotta - Richard Bremmer

Carl Joseph Trotta - Elliot Levey

Moser/Wagner - Nicky Henson

Jacques/Dr Skvoronnek - Clive Swift

Frau Slama/Valli von Taussig - Eleanor Tremain

20070429The Overwhelming

By JT Rogers.

A gripping story of a country on the brink of genocide. Seizing the opportunity to research a book, Jack Exley uproots his family from Illinois to Rwanda in early 1994. Alarmingly out of his depth, Jack begins a fervent search for a dear and missing friend while his wife and teenage son find trouble of their own. As Jack involves himself in the local politics, he discovers a pattern of brutality and beliefs that jeopardizes the lives of everyone around him.

Jack Exley....Matthew Marsh

Geoffrey....Andrew Garfield

Linda....Tanya Moodie

Joseph Gasana....Jude Akuwudike

Woolsey/Zimbabwean Doctor....Miles Anderson

Jean-Claude/Verbeek....Nick Fletcher

Gerard....Babou Ceesay

Mizinga....Danny Sapani

Elise/Rwandan Doctor....Chipo Chung

Bangladeshi Major/Man in Embassy....Lucian Msamati

Woman in club/Market woman....Adura Onashile

Director Max Stafford-Clark.

Jack Exley - Matthew Marsh

Geoffrey - Andrew Garfield

Linda - Tanya Moodie

Joseph Gasana - Jude Akuwudike

Woolsey/Zimbabwean Doctor - Miles Anderson

Jean-Claude/Verbeek - Nick Fletcher

Gerard - Babou Ceesay

Mizinga - Danny Sapani

Elise/Rwandan Doctor - Chipo Chung

Bangladeshi Major/Man in Embassy - Lucian Msamati

Woman in club/Market woman - Adura Onashile

20070506Blindness

By Jose Saramago, translated by Giovanni Pontiero.

A driver waiting at the traffic lights goes blind: patient zero in a contagion of blindness that sweeps through a city. The authorities isolate the blind in a mental asylum. Blind thugs take over. When all are blind, all the rules change. What it is to be human must also change.

20070513The Sicilian Expedition

By John Fletcher.

Almost 2,500 years ago, a confident young general persuaded Athens to launch an attack on Sicily. Alcibiades was a member of the Athenian baby boomer generation, whose elders had fought to give their children a society of justice, wealth and education. The baby boomers explored every sexual avenue, took drugs to excess and became great consumers of highly exotic products. Then it all went wrong.

Within two years of the defeat in Sicily, democratic Athens, the pinnacle of human civilisation, lay in ruins. Yet, as the city endured its death agonies, something new and wonderful was born: the Socratic idea of universal love.

Socrates....James Laurenson

Alcibiades....Julian Rhind-Tutt

Callias....Richard Nichols

Theodote....Mia Soteriou

Nicias....Jonathan Nibbs

Taureas....Matthew Morgan

Agathon....Richard Mitchley

Spartan Soldier....Nathan Sussex

Bagoas....Brendan Charleson

Mantitheus....Jonathan Floyd

Mother....Christine Pritchard

Music by John Hardy

Director Kate McAll.

Socrates - James Laurenson

Alcibiades - Julian Rhind-Tutt

Callias - Richard Nichols

Theodote - Mia Soteriou

Nicias - Jonathan Nibbs

Taureas - Matthew Morgan

Agathon - Richard Mitchley

Spartan Soldier - Nathan Sussex

Bagoas - Brendan Charleson

Mantitheus - Jonathan Floyd

Mother - Christine Pritchard

20070520The Wild Duck

By Henrik Ibsen, translated by Inga-Stina Ewbank and Peter Hall.

One of Ibsen's most powerful dramas, which explores the tragic impact on the lives of a young girl and her family when an old friend insists on family secrets being told. Featuring Paterson Joseph and Michael Maloney.

20070603Elgar's Rondo

By David Pownall.

The reaction to his Second Symphony, and the Rondo in particular, only heightened the doubts and fears which plagued Elgar for much of his creative life. Later, while struggling to express in music the horror of the First World War, his family and admirers endeavour to help him re-ignite his creative spark.

Elgar....David Horovitch

Alice....Sarah Badel

Jaegar/George V....Robert Glenister

Windflower....Emma Fielding

Schuster....Ian Masters

Carice/Mother/Cellist....Clare Corbett

Bernard Shaw....Gerard Murphy

Mark/Father....Harry Myers

Father John....Carl Prekopp

Bandmaster....John Evitts

Paul Hooker....Robert Lister

Directed by Martin Jenkins.

Elgar - David Horovitch

Alice - Sarah Badel

Jaegar/George V - Robert Glenister

Windflower - Emma Fielding

Schuster - Ian Masters

Carice/Mother/Cellist - Clare Corbett

Bernard Shaw - Gerard Murphy

Mark/Father - Harry Myers

Father John - Carl Prekopp

Bandmaster - John Evitts

Paul Hooker - Robert Lister

20070610Black Watch

By Gregory Burke.

A radio version of the National Theatre of Scotland's award-winning theatre production, Black Watch is based on interviews conducted by Gregory Burke with former soldiers who served in Iraq.

Hurtling from a pool room in Fife, to an armoured wagon in Iraq, the action is viewed through the eyes of those on the ground, and reveals what it means to be part of this legendary Scottish regiment, and the war on terror.

This play contains very strong language.

Stewarty....Ali Craig

Fraz....Emun Elliott

Granty....Paul Rattray

Cammy....Brian Ferguson

Kenzie....Ryan Fletcher

Officer....Peter Forbes

Sergeant/Writer....Paul Higgins

Rossco....Jordan Young

Original music composed by Davey Anderson

Directed by John Tiffany

Stewarty - Ali Craig

Fraz - Emun Elliott

Granty - Paul Rattray

Cammy - Brian Ferguson

Kenzie - Ryan Fletcher

Officer - Peter Forbes

Sergeant/Writer - Paul Higgins

Rossco - Jordan Young

20070617An Ideal Husband

By Oscar Wilde.

The unprincipled Mrs Cheveley threatens to reveal Sir Robert Chiltern's secret past unless he agrees to give his support in Parliament to a questionable Argentinian venture. Faced with ruin in the eyes of the country and his wife, he seems to have no alternative. Wildean wit and the elegance of English society is woven into this classic drama.

The Earl of Caversham....Geoffrey Palmer

Viscount Goring....Jasper Britton

Sir Robert Chiltern....Alex Jennings

Lady Chiltern....Emma Fielding

Lady Markby....Sara Kestelman

Miss Mabel Chiltern....Joanna Page

Mrs Cheveley....Janet McTeer

Vicomte De Nanjac....Oliver de Sueur

Mrs Marchmont....Patience Tomlinson

Countess of Basildon....Lucy Whybrow

Mr Montford/James....John Cummins

Phipps....Hugh Dickson

Mason....Derek Beard

Directed by David Timson.

The Earl of Caversham - Geoffrey Palmer

Viscount Goring - Jasper Britton

Sir Robert Chiltern - Alex Jennings

Lady Chiltern - Emma Fielding

Lady Markby - Sara Kestelman

Miss Mabel Chiltern - Joanna Page

Mrs Cheveley - Janet McTeer

Vicomte De Nanjac - Oliver de Sueur

Mrs Marchmont - Patience Tomlinson

Countess of Basildon - Lucy Whybrow

Mr Montford/James - John Cummins

Phipps - Hugh Dickson

Mason - Derek Beard

20070624Splendour

By Abi Morgan.

On the eve of revolution, four women wait in the Presidential palace. They talk, eat, admire each other's shoes, and carve out their place in the history of the country.

Micheleine....Sian Phillips

Genevieve....Anna Massey

Gilma....Sophie Stanton

Kathryn....Kate Isitt

Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.

Micheleine - Sian Phillips

Genevieve - Anna Massey

Gilma - Sophie Stanton

Kathryn - Kate Isitt

20070701Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in ancient Mesopotamia over 4,000 years ago and is believed by many to be the first story to be written down. It tells of the disheartened King Gilgamesh and his friend, Enkidu, and their quests together into the wilderness, battling monsters and searching for the secret of immortality.

This version was adapted by Jeremy Howe from the English version by Stephen Mitchell. With music by Paul Dodgson.

Gilgamesh....Joe Dixon

Enkidu....Adam Levy

Narrator....Kenneth Cranham

Shamhat, Ishtar....Kananu Kirimi

Lady Ninsun, Scorpion woman....Eve Matheson

Prologue, Anu....Robert Gwilym

Soldier, Utnapishtim....Bill Wallis

Humbaba, Ninurta....David Collins

Scorpion man, Ea....Chris Donnelly

Urshanabi, Enlil....Paul Nicholson

Gilgamesh - Joe Dixon

Enkidu - Adam Levy

Narrator - Kenneth Cranham

Shamhat, Ishtar - Kananu Kirimi

Lady Ninsun, Scorpion woman - Eve Matheson

Prologue, Anu - Robert Gwilym

Soldier, Utnapishtim - Bill Wallis

Humbaba, Ninurta - David Collins

Scorpion man, Ea - Chris Donnelly

Urshanabi, Enlil - Paul Nicholson

20070708Rock 'n' Roll

By Tom Stoppard

Stoppard's new play about loyalty, compromise, love and music is given its first radio production as part of BBC Radio's celebration of his work.

In 1968, Czech student Jan returns home 'to protect rock 'n' roll' from the Soviet tanks crushing the Prague Spring. Max, a Communist don in Cambridge, watches his ideology collapse until the Velvet revolution of 1990 allows student and master to meet again. The politics and music have changed, but have the people?

Max....Bill Paterson

Jan....Daniel Evans

Eleanor....Penny Downie

Esme....Amanda Root

Ferdinand....Bertie Carvel

Young Esme....Jaimi Barbakoff

Alice....Jasmine Hyde

Nigel....Ron Cook

Lenka....Britta Gartner

Stephen....Joseph Kloska

Milan....John Dougall

Candida....Liza Sadovy

Gillian....Jasmine Callan

Directed by Alison Hindell.

Max - Bill Paterson

Jan - Daniel Evans

Eleanor - Penny Downie

Esme - Amanda Root

Ferdinand - Bertie Carvel

Young Esme - Jaimi Barbakoff

Alice - Jasmine Hyde

Nigel - Ron Cook

Lenka - Britta Gartner

Stephen - Joseph Kloska

Milan - John Dougall

Candida - Liza Sadovy

Gillian - Jasmine Callan

20070715Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

By Tom Stoppard.

As part of BBC Radio's celebration of the playwright's 70th birthday, Andrew Lincoln and Danny Webb star in Stoppard's adaptation of his celebrated play.

Two minor characters from Hamlet are suddenly thrown centre stage amid the plottings and intrigue of Elsinore.

Rosencrantz....Danny Webb

Guildenstern....Andrew Lincoln

Player....Desmond Barrit

Polonius....John Rowe

Ophelia....Abigail Hollick

Gertrude....Liza Sadovy

Claudius....Simon Treves

Hamlet....John Dougall

Ambassador....Jot Davies

Horatio....Anthony Glennon

With original music composed and realised by Nicolai Abrahamsen.

Director Peter Kavanagh.

Rosencrantz - Danny Webb

Guildenstern - Andrew Lincoln

Player - Desmond Barrit

Polonius - John Rowe

Ophelia - Abigail Hollick

Gertrude - Liza Sadovy

Claudius - Simon Treves

Hamlet - John Dougall

Ambassador - Jot Davies

Horatio - Anthony Glennon

20070729The Two Gentlemen of Valasna

By William Shakespeare.

Adapted for radio by Roger Elsgood and Willi Richards. Shakespeare's early romantic comedy is set in two Indian princely states in the weeks leading up to the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Recorded entirely on location in Maharashtra, India.

Vishvadev....Nadir Khan

Parminder....Arghya Lahiri

Syoni....Anu Menon

Jumaana....Avantika Akerkar

The Maharaja....Sohrab Ardishir

Thaqib....Zafar Karachiwala

Sparsh....Kunaal Roy Kapoor

Lehk....Joy Sengupta

Lavanya....Suchitra Pillai

Babu....Farid Currim

Arabinder....Jayant Kripalani

Pramathesh and Ekanjeet....Vikrant Chaturvedi

The Dacoits....Advait Zen Hazarat, Siddhant Pinto and Ali Fazal

Vishvadev......Nadir Khan

Parminder......Arghya Lahiri

Syoni......Anu Menon

Jumaana......Avantika Akerkar

The Maharaja......Sohrab Ardishir

Thaqib......Zafar Karachiwala

Sparsh......Kunaal Roy Kapoor

Lehk......Joy Sengupta

Lavanya......Suchitra Pillai

Babu......Farid Currim

Arabinder......Jayant Kripalani

Pramathesh and Ekanjeet......Vikrant Chaturvedi

The Dacoits......Advait Zen Hazarat, Siddhant Pinto and Ali Fazal

20070805Fuente Ovejuna

By Lope de Vega.

Adapted by Adrian Mitchell with Brian Cox, Maxine Peake and Clive Swift.

Based on real events in the 15th-century Spain of Ferdinand and Isabella, a village takes its destiny into its own hands against a tyrannical overlord, despite the consequences.

20070819Bora Bistrah

Five international writers penned stories about members of one family, descended from the same maternal grandmother, who crossed the border from India into Pakistan in 1947. They now live across the globe - the USA, Nairobi, Karachi, Shanghai and Bradford. The individual stories are linked by original music from Arun Ghosh and singer Ebere.

Firoze....Bhasker Patel

Bilal....Damian Asher

Aneeqa....Melanie Bond

Receptionist....Rachel Bavidge

Idris....Lucian Msamati

Kimani....Connie M'Gadzah

Urshad....Shiv Grewal

Nisha....Pooja Ghai

Safeih....Chetna Pandya

Danish....Amarjit Bassan

Ling....Liz Sutherland

Ling's Mother....Pik-Sen Lim

Bony....Nitin Ganatra

Arif....Shane Zaza

Mother....Indira Joshi

Police....Anthony Glennon

Directed by Shabina Aslam.

Part of the India and Pakistan '07 season.

Firoze - Bhasker Patel

Bilal - Damian Asher

Aneeqa - Melanie Bond

Receptionist - Rachel Bavidge

Idris - Lucian Msamati

Kimani - Connie M'Gadzah

Urshad - Shiv Grewal

Nisha - Pooja Ghai

Safeih - Chetna Pandya

Danish - Amarjit Bassan

Ling - Liz Sutherland

Ling's Mother - Pik-Sen Lim

Bony - Nitin Ganatra

Arif - Shane Zaza

Mother - Indira Joshi

Police - Anthony Glennon

20070902Don Carlos

By Friedrich Schiller.

The acclaimed Sheffield Theatre's production of Schiller's play, starring Derek Jacobi in a new translation by Mike Poulton.

King Philip II of Spain holds on to power through the terror of the Inquisition and his spies at Court. His son Don Carlos seeks his father's trust, yet hides his feelings for his father's wife, Elizabeth of France, to whom he was betrothed before Philip married her. The Court watches and listens.

King Philip II....Derek Jacobi

Don Carlos....Richard Coyle

Queen Elizabeth....Claire Price

Rodrigo Marquis of Posa....Elliot Cowan

Duke of Alba....Ian Hogg

Domingo....Michael Hadley

Princess Eboli....Charlotte Randle

Count Lerma....Roger Swaine

Duchess of Olivarez....Una Stubbs

The Grand Inquisitor....Peter Eyre

Page to the Queen....Stuart Burt

Duke of Medina Sidonia....Brian Poyser

Count Cordua....Andrew McDonald

Prince of Parma....Paul Keating

Original music by Adam Cork.

Directed by Michael Grandage and Andy Jordan.

King Philip II - Derek Jacobi

Don Carlos - Richard Coyle

Queen Elizabeth - Claire Price

Rodrigo Marquis of Posa - Elliot Cowan

Duke of Alba - Ian Hogg

Domingo - Michael Hadley

Princess Eboli - Charlotte Randle

Count Lerma - Roger Swaine

Duchess of Olivarez - Una Stubbs

The Grand Inquisitor - Peter Eyre

Page to the Queen - Stuart Burt

Duke of Medina Sidonia - Brian Poyser

Count Cordua - Andrew McDonald

Prince of Parma - Paul Keating

20070909Seven Wonders of the Divided World

By Sultan Raev, DJ Britton, Rory Kilalea, Thomas Crowe, Natalia Power, Anson Jae and Peter G Morgan.

As Europe's borders become ever more porous, elsewhere the contractors are busy. Seven writers living near artifical political barriers around the world create an anthology of division.

20070916After the Quake

By Haruki Murakami.

Translated by Jay Rubin and adapted for radio by Simon McBurney.

These elegant, touching stories take a surprising look at the lives of people affected by the Kobe earthquake of 1995.

Komura and Super Frog....Benedict Wong

Sasaki....Sadao Ueda

Keiko....Cheryl Ko

Shimao....Haruka Kuroda

Junpei....Tom Wu

Sala....Asuka McRobbie

Sayoko....Nina Fog

Takatsuki....Jonathan Chan-Pensley

Katagiri....Eiji Kusuhara

Satsuki....Liz Sutherland

Nimit....Suthas Bhoopongsa

Thai Woman....Su Bhoopongsa

David Rappaport....Simon Treves

Komura and Super Frog - Benedict Wong

Sasaki - Sadao Ueda

Keiko - Cheryl Ko

Shimao - Haruka Kuroda

Junpei - Tom Wu

Sala - Asuka McRobbie

Sayoko - Nina Fog

Takatsuki - Jonathan Chan-Pensley

Katagiri - Eiji Kusuhara

Satsuki - Liz Sutherland

Nimit - Suthas Bhoopongsa

Thai Woman - Su Bhoopongsa

David Rappaport - Simon Treves

20070923Doctor Faustus

By Christopher Marlowe.

The classic play written in 1604 about a man who defies the authority of God by selling his soul to the Devil in return for 24 years of knowledge and power on Earth.

Faustus....Paterson Joseph

Mephistopheles....Ray Fearon

Wagner....Toby Jones

Evil Angel....Janet McTeer

Good Angel/Duchess....Tanya Moodie

Lucifer....Julian Bleach

Old Man....David Bradley

Robin....Nicholas Burns

Rafe....Iain Robertson

Valdes/Pope....David Bamber

Cornelius....Paul Bazely

Emperor....Anton Lesser

Scholar/Horse-Courser....John Lloyd Fillingham

Scholar/Knight....Don Gilet

Scholar/Duke....Derek Riddell

Original music composed by Olly Fox.

Faustus - Paterson Joseph

Mephistopheles - Ray Fearon

Wagner - Toby Jones

Evil Angel - Janet McTeer

Good Angel/Duchess - Tanya Moodie

Lucifer - Julian Bleach

Old Man - David Bradley

Robin - Nicholas Burns

Rafe - Iain Robertson

Valdes/Pope - David Bamber

Cornelius - Paul Bazely

Emperor - Anton Lesser

Scholar/Horse-Courser - John Lloyd Fillingham

Scholar/Knight - Don Gilet

Scholar/Duke - Derek Riddell

20070930Babel's Tower

By Mike Walker

Walker's play imagines the Jewish-Russian writer Isaac Babel being interrogated after his arrest by the Soviet secret police in 1939. As Stalin's henchmen beat and bully Babel, scenes from his two great collections of stories come to him: the Jewish gangsters fighting over Odessa, Babel's hometown, and the Red Cavalry, with which he had ridden as a war correspondent, slaughtering Poles at the edge of the new Soviet Union.

Babel....Antony Sher

Rudin/Trunov....Robert Glenister

Sverdlov/Benya....Stephen Noonan

Also with Christopher Staines, Karl Theobald, Roland Oliver, Lucy Black, Rachel Atkins and Sandra Voe.

Music by Jon Nicholls.

Babel - Antony Sher

Rudin/Trunov - Robert Glenister

Sverdlov/Benya - Stephen Noonan

20071007The Lamplighters

By Jackie Kay.

A lyrical drama that explores the heart of enslavement through the experiences of four women, Constance, Mary, Black Harriot and The Lamplighter.

The Lamplighter....Clare Perkins

Mary....Mona Hammond

Constance....Martina Laird

Black Harriot....Aicha Kossoko

MacBean....John Dougall

Anniwaa....Jordan Loughran

Singer....Gweneth-Ann Jeffers

Music composed by Dominique Le Gendre.

Director: Pam Fraser-Solomon.

The Lamplighter - Clare Perkins

Mary - Mona Hammond

Constance - Martina Laird

Black Harriot - Aicha Kossoko

MacBean - John Dougall

Anniwaa - Jordan Loughran

Singer - Gweneth-Ann Jeffers

20071014Salome

In a new version by Lizzie Hopley.

The myth of Salome and the dance of the seven veils began as a brief reference in the Bible and was later popularised in Wilde's highly sexual rendering of the tale. Hopley's new version focuses on the tense family drama at the centre of the myth.

Set on the brink of a new era - while a young carpenter is travelling across Israel propagating his new religion - the story revolves around a young girl on the threshold of womanhood, who has been torn apart from her father and the world she knows when her mother falls in love with Salome's uncle Herod Antipas.

Pharisee....Ian Brooker

Herod....Kenneth Cranham

John the Baptist....Tony Curran

Mannai/Saducee....Paul Dinnen

Salome....Florence Hoath

Joanna....Sally Hawkins

Chuza....Karl Johnson

Sejanus....Gerrard Mcarthur

Herodias....Fenella Woolgar

All other parts played by members of the cast.

Director Lu Kemp.

Pharisee - Ian Brooker

Herod - Kenneth Cranham

John the Baptist - Tony Curran

Mannai/Saducee - Paul Dinnen

Salome - Florence Hoath

Joanna - Sally Hawkins

Chuza - Karl Johnson

Sejanus - Gerrard Mcarthur

Herodias - Fenella Woolgar

20071028Glengarry Glen Ross

By David Mamet.

Another chance to hear the broadcast premiere of David Mamet's adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, in which Chicago real estate salesmen grind out a living in a never-ending scramble for their share of the American dream. This specially recorded production features an all-star cast.

Richard Roma....Alfred Molina

George Aaronow....Stacy Keach

Shelly Levene....Hector Elizondo

James Lingk....Bruce Davison

John Williamson....Richard Cox

Dave Moss....Kristoffer Tabori

Officer Baylen....Chris Hatfield

Directed by Rosalind Ayres.

Richard Roma - Alfred Molina

George Aaronow - Stacy Keach

Shelly Levene - Hector Elizondo

James Lingk - Bruce Davison

John Williamson - Richard Cox

Dave Moss - Kristoffer Tabori

Officer Baylen - Chris Hatfield

20071104Seeing It Through

By Neil Brand.

Imagine if Alastair Campbell had recruited Tom Stoppard, JK Rowling, Ian McEwan and Jeanette Winterson to write patriotic literature supporting the war in Iraq. In 1914 Charles Masterman used the literary and artistic elite to unite the nation.

Masterman....Michael Maloney

Jean....Clare Corbett

Lloyd George....Robert Pugh

H G WELLS....Sam Dale

Frances Stevenson....Honeysuckle Weeks

Frank....Sam Pamphilon

Dwyer....Ben Crowe

Robert Donald....John Dougall

Arnold Bennett....Simon Treves

Thomas Hardy....Peter Marinker

Directed by David Hunter.

Masterman - Michael Maloney

Jean - Clare Corbett

Lloyd George - Robert Pugh

H G WELLS - Sam Dale

Frances Stevenson - Honeysuckle Weeks

Frank - Sam Pamphilon

Dwyer - Ben Crowe

Robert Donald - John Dougall

Arnold Bennett - Simon Treves

Thomas Hardy - Peter Marinker

20071118Mrs Warren's Profession

By George Bernard Shaw.

The issue of Victorian prostitution and double standards are examined in dramatic form as Mrs Warren reveals to her daughter the source of her income and admits her daughter's own parentage.

Mrs Warren....Diana Quick

Vivie....Claire Skinner

Frank Gardner....Scott Handy

Sir George Crofts....Geoffrey Whitehead

Praed....John Rowe

Rvd Samuel Gardner....Roger Hammond

Adapted and directed by John Tydeman.

Mrs Warren - Diana Quick

Vivie - Claire Skinner

Frank Gardner - Scott Handy

Sir George Crofts - Geoffrey Whitehead

Praed - John Rowe

Rvd Samuel Gardner - Roger Hammond

20071125Blood Wedding

By Federico Garcia Lorca.

An evocative meditation on fate, war, tradition, passion and repression, inspired by the true story of a fatal feud between two families in the Almeria province, high in the mountains of rural Spain. A version by Ted Hughes.

20071202Soldiers in the Sun

By Michael Symmons Roberts.

A drama documentary looking at the psychological consequences of war.

Captain Rob Shepperton, serving in Afghanistan in the medical corps, is out on a routine patrol when he comes across a sight that will change his life.

Captain Rob Shepperton....Adrian Bower

Doctor....Deborah McAndrew

Matt....Thomas Morrison

Sol....Tom Attwood

Samsour....Nikhil Parmar

Girl....Emily Armitage

With music played and composed by John Harle.

Captain Rob Shepperton - Adrian Bower

Doctor - Deborah McAndrew

Matt - Thomas Morrison

Sol - Tom Attwood

Samsour - Nikhil Parmar

Girl - Emily Armitage

20071209The Homecoming

By Harold Pinter.

Electrifying audiences when it was first performed in 1965, The Homecoming has quickly established itself as a modern classic.

In this production for BBC Radio, Pinter himself takes on the role of Max, the head of the Hackney family to which a professor and his wife return one night from America. There, amongst the shadows of the past and the realities of the present, a compelling drama unfolds.

Max, a man of seventy....Harold Pinter

Lenny, a man in his early thirties....Samuel West

Sam, a man of sixty-three....Michael Gambon

Joey, a man in his middle twenties....James Alexandrou

Teddy, a man in his middle thirties....Rupert Graves

Ruth, a woman in her early thirties....Gina McKee

Max, a man of seventy - Harold Pinter

Lenny, a man in his early thirties - Samuel West

Sam, a man of sixty-three - Michael Gambon

Joey, a man in his middle twenties - James Alexandrou

Teddy, a man in his middle thirties - Rupert Graves

Ruth, a woman in her early thirties - Gina McKee

20071216The Rivals

By Richard Brinsley Sheridan

It's 1775 and the fashionable world descends on Bath, to take the waters and embroil themselves in a little romantic intrigue as three suitors fight for the hand of Miss Lydia Languish.

Mrs Malaprop....Patricia Routledge

Sir Anthony Absolute....Geoffrey Palmer

Jack Absolute....Michael Maloney

Lydia Languish....Sarah Crowe

Faulkland....David Bamber

Bob Acres....Peter Gunn

Julia....Lucy Whybrow

Sir Lucius O'Trigger....Sean Barrett

Lucy....Clare Corbett

Fag....Nick Fletcher

David....Stephen Critchlow

Thomas, the Coachman....Barrie Jaimeson

Adapted and directed by David Timson.

Music by Malcolm McKee.

Mrs Malaprop - Patricia Routledge

Sir Anthony Absolute - Geoffrey Palmer

Jack Absolute - Michael Maloney

Lydia Languish - Sarah Crowe

Faulkland - David Bamber

Bob Acres - Peter Gunn

Julia - Lucy Whybrow

Sir Lucius O'Trigger - Sean Barrett

Lucy - Clare Corbett

Fag - Nick Fletcher

David - Stephen Critchlow

Thomas, the Coachman - Barrie Jaimeson

20071223The Pitmen Painters

By Lee Hall.

Inspired by the book by William Feaver, Billy Elliott writer Lee Hall questions why the arts seem to belong to the privileged few.

Seventy years ago, in an old army hut in Ashington, Northumberland, a group of miners met to talk about art. They wanted their visiting lecturer to explain the secret of a remote world, but he did better than that, he got them painting and put that world in their hands.

George Brown....Deka Walmsley

Oliver Kilbourn....Christopher Connel

Jimmy Floyd....David Whitaker

Young lad, Ben Nicholson....Brian Lonsdale

Harry Wilson....Michael Hodgson

Robert Lyon....Ian Kelly

Susan Parks....Lisa McGrillis

Helen Sutherland, Vera Brown....Phillippa Wilson

Directed for radio by Kate Rowland.

George Brown - Deka Walmsley

Oliver Kilbourn - Christopher Connel

Jimmy Floyd - David Whitaker

Young lad, Ben Nicholson - Brian Lonsdale

Harry Wilson - Michael Hodgson

Robert Lyon - Ian Kelly

Susan Parks - Lisa McGrillis

Helen Sutherland, Vera Brown - Phillippa Wilson

20071230All's Well That Ends Well

By William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare's play, which opens in France at the estate of the Countess of Rousillon, tells of the extraordinary lengths a young woman will go to to win the hand of the young man she loves. Helena, a waiting woman and ward of the Countess, has set her sights on Bertram, the Countess's son.

Helena....Emma Fielding

Countess....Sian Phillips

Widow....Miriam Margolyes

King....Richard Griffiths

Lafew....George Baker

Parolles....Simon Russell Beale

Duke....David Timson

Bertram....Carl Prekopp

Steward/2nd soldier....Ian Masters

Clown/Second Lord....Ewan Bailey

Diana....Helen Longworth

Mariana....Emma Field-Rayner

First Lord....Iwan Thomas

Gent....Gerard McDermott

1st Soldier/1st Gent....Ben Onwukwe

2nd Gent/4th Lord....Peter Darney

Music written and performed by Neil Brand.

Directed by Peter Kavanagh.

Helena - Emma Fielding

Countess - Sian Phillips

Widow - Miriam Margolyes

King - Richard Griffiths

Lafew - George Baker

Parolles - Simon Russell Beale

Duke - David Timson

Bertram - Carl Prekopp

Steward/2nd soldier - Ian Masters

Clown/Second Lord - Ewan Bailey

Diana - Helen Longworth

Mariana - Emma Field-Rayner

First Lord - Iwan Thomas

Gent - Gerard McDermott

1st Soldier/1st Gent - Ben Onwukwe

2nd Gent/4th Lord - Peter Darney

20080106The Picture Man

By David Eldridge

Neil decides he has been pushed too far by the uncaring and often callous behaviour he sees around him. But when he begins to intervene in incidents by taking pictures on his mobile phone, it has disastrous consequences.

Introduced by the writer, David Eldridge.

Neil....Martin Freeman

Janine....Heather Craney

Hussein....Emil Marwa

George....Peter Marinker

Man on Tube....Jake Harders

Polish Prostitute....Ania Sowinkski

Freddie....Bailey Pepper

Teenage Boy....Joseph Tremain

With Anna Bengo, Laura Molyneux, Alex Lanipekun and Ben Crowe.

Directed by Sally Avens.

20080113Donation

By Sean Buckley

An innovative production from the Radio Drama department, devised through a series of workshops and recorded on location across London. Donation is a play about our bodies, the medical and spiritual implications of organ donation, what we wish for and what survives of us.

Lisa....Laura Molyneux

Rachel....Joannah Tincey

Stella....Anna Bengo

Jacob....Alex Lanipekun

Paul....Sam Pamphilon

Natha....Lloyd Thomas

Jim....Peter Harding

Janitor....Leon Lissek

Lisa - Laura Molyneux

Rachel - Joannah Tincey

Stella - Anna Bengo

Jacob - Alex Lanipekun

Paul - Sam Pamphilon

Natha - Lloyd Thomas

Jim - Peter Harding

Janitor - Leon Lissek

20080127All the Colours of Love

By Pat McCabe.

When Redmond is left by his wife and child, he resolves to get them back - whatever the cost. A dark tale of isolation and violence by the author of The Butcher Boy.

Redmond....Dermot Crowley

Ned Strange....TP McKenna

Catherine....Karen Ardiff

Imogen....Sarah Dillon

Announcer....Mark Lambert

Piper Alpha....Kieran Lagan

Shop Assistant....Stella McCusker

Neighbour....Aine McCartney

Michael....Johnny Brennan

Fiddle music arranged and performed by Cathal Hayden.

Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.

Redmond - Dermot Crowley

Ned Strange - TP McKenna

Catherine - Karen Ardiff

Imogen - Sarah Dillon

Announcer - Mark Lambert

Piper Alpha - Kieran Lagan

Shop Assistant - Stella McCusker

Neighbour - Aine McCartney

Michael - Johnny Brennan

20080203The Devil Was Here Yesterday

By Colin Teevan.

Will civil servant Simon deliver the report the evidence appears to support or the report the minister seems to want the evidence to support? Inspired by a visit to South America last year, Colin Teevan's new play explores the political landscape of a country undergoing an oil-fuelled revolution.

Simon....Owen Teale

Elisabet....Haydn Gwynne

The Minister....Greg Hicks

Hector/Profesor....Stephen Greif

Victoria/Firmina....Clare Higgins

La Guacha....Rufus Wright

Angel....Alex Lanipekun

Gregoria....Nadine Marshall

Willoughby/Woker....Martin Hyder

Linda/Gloria....Nancy Crane

Waitress....Laura Molyneux

Original music by Nikola Kodjabashia.

Directed by Toby Swift.

Simon - Owen Teale

Elisabet - Haydn Gwynne

The Minister - Greg Hicks

Hector/Profesor - Stephen Greif

Victoria/Firmina - Clare Higgins

La Guacha - Rufus Wright

Angel - Alex Lanipekun

Gregoria - Nadine Marshall

Willoughby/Woker - Martin Hyder

Linda/Gloria - Nancy Crane

Waitress - Laura Molyneux

20080210The Trial and Death of Socrates

By Sebastian Baczkiewicz.

A play focusing on the mystery surrounding Socrates's trial and subsequent execution, the reasons for which have long puzzled historians.

Socrates has been found guilty of blasphemy and corrupting the youth of the city. On the eve of his execution his chief accuser Meletus is murdered. Josias, newly returned to Athens, is given the task of investigating the murder.

Socrates....Joss Ackland

Thrasybulis....Michael Feast

Josias....Greg Hicks

Crito....David Calder

Anytus....Tim McInnerny

Meletus....Joseph Kloska

Xanthippe....Cait Davis

Almathea....Liza Sadovy

Euthyphro....Peter Marinker

Kastor....Trevor Allan Davies

Announcer....Ben Onwukwe

Lysander....Ben Crowe

Guard/Official....Chris Pavlo

Woman....Liz Sutherland

Directed by Jeremy Mortimer

Socrates - Joss Ackland

Thrasybulis - Michael Feast

Josias - Greg Hicks

Crito - David Calder

Anytus - Tim McInnerny

Meletus - Joseph Kloska

Xanthippe - Cait Davis

Almathea - Liza Sadovy

Euthyphro - Peter Marinker

Kastor - Trevor Allan Davies

Announcer - Ben Onwukwe

Lysander - Ben Crowe

Guard/Official - Chris Pavlo

Woman - Liz Sutherland

20080217The Cool Bag Baby

By Katie Hims.

A coolbag containing a baby is left outside a cafe in the hope that owner will provide it with a loving home. But unexpectedly the cafe stays closed, with the result that the baby is undiscovered and lives across London begin to fall apart.

Katie Hims' new drama is an investigation, a love story as well as a cry for help.

Carol....Sophie Stanton

Joan....Rachel Davies

Stuart....David Schofield

Phil....Nicholas Gleaves

Jana....Larissa Kouznetsova

DI....Andrew Tiernan

Ted/PC....Mark Monero

Mehmet....Hemi Yeroham

Jack....Jamie F Glover

Carol - Sophie Stanton

Joan - Rachel Davies

Stuart - David Schofield

Phil - Nicholas Gleaves

Jana - Larissa Kouznetsova

DI - Andrew Tiernan

Ted/PC - Mark Monero

Mehmet - Hemi Yeroham

Jack - Jamie F Glover

20080224Girlfriend in a Coma, by Douglas Coupland

The first radio adaptation of a book by Douglas Coupland, author of Generation X and Microserfs, dramatised by Sony award-nominated Dan Rebellato.

The date is 15 December 1979. Karen Ann McNeill goes into a deep coma after a teen party and remains in it until 1997. When she wakes up, the voices in her head keep telling her the world is about to end, but Karen doesn't believe them.

Jared....Florian Hutter

Karen....Rayisa Kondracki

Wendy....Maggie Blake

Richard....Jason Durran

Hamilton....Simon Lee Phillips

Pamela....Heather Dann

Doctor....Peter Marinker

Megan....Julia Summer

Gloria....Buffy Davis

Music composed by Alice Trueman

Jared - Florian Hutter

Karen - Rayisa Kondracki

Wendy - Maggie Blake

Richard - Jason Durran

Hamilton - Simon Lee Phillips

Pamela - Heather Dann

Doctor - Peter Marinker

Megan - Julia Summer

Gloria - Buffy Davis

20080302The Adding Machine, by Elmer Rice

A work from 1923 by Pullitzer Prize-winning playwright Elmer Rice and considered to be an Expressionist classic.

Mr Zero has spent the last 25 years adding up columns of figures and dreaming of advancement. But when the boss finally calls him into his office, Zero doesn't get the promotion he was expecting.

Mr Zero....Nathan Osgood

Mrs Zero....Rebecca Front

Daisy....Gina Bellman

Shrdlu....John Rogan

Charles/The Head....Danny Sapani

One/Boss....Peter Marinker

Mrs One....Liza Sadovy

Two/Joe....Chris Pavlo

Mrs Two/Judy....Liz Sutherland

Young Man/Policeman....Ben Crowe

Mr Zero - Nathan Osgood

Mrs Zero - Rebecca Front

Daisy - Gina Bellman

Shrdlu - John Rogan

Charles/The Head - Danny Sapani

One/Boss - Peter Marinker

Mrs One - Liza Sadovy

Two/Joe - Chris Pavlo

Mrs Two/Judy - Liz Sutherland

Young Man/Policeman - Ben Crowe

20080309An Enemy Of The People

By Martin Lynch and based on the play by Henrik Ibsen.

A drama is set in contemporary Belfast, where the killing of a Catholic man leads to his own community struggling to come to terms with the truth. But one woman, Moya McGovern, is determined to get justice for her murdered brother-in-law - though at what cost?

Moya McGovern....Susan Lynch

Caroline McGovern....Seainin Brennan

Sean Gillen....Charles Lawson

Mr Gillen/Solicitor....Harry Towb

Dominic/Frankie....Patrick O'Kane

Manus....Lloyd Hutchinson

Mrs McGovern....Eileen Pollock

Director: Roland Jaquarello.

Moya McGovern ....... Susan Lynch

Caroline McGovern - Seainin Brennan

Sean Gillen - Charles Lawson

Mr Gillen/Solicitor - Harry Towb

Dominic/Frankie - Patrick O'Kane

Manus - Lloyd Hutchinson

Mrs McGovern - Eileen Pollock

20080316Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

By Tennessee Williams.

An adaptation of Tennessee Williams's classic 1950s drama set in the plantations of the American Deep South.

Hypocrisy, greed and secret passions threaten to tear apart a dysfunctional family as they fight over a dying patriarch's millions.

Big Daddy....Joss Ackland

Big Mama....Gemma Jones

Margaret....Elizabeth McGovern

Brick....Marcus D'Amico

Mae....Alison Steadman

Gooper....Clive Carter

Rev Tooker....Roy Dotrice

Dr Baugh....Kenneth Jay

Lacey....Ben Onwukwe

With Polly Dartford, Christopher Earley, Zara Mandel, Tristan Pegg as the children.

Director: Andy Jordan.

Big Daddy - Joss Ackland

Big Mama - Gemma Jones

Margaret - Elizabeth McGovern

Brick - Marcus D'Amico

Mae - Alison Steadman

Gooper - Clive Carter

Rev Tooker - Roy Dotrice

Dr Baugh - Kenneth Jay

Lacey - Ben Onwukwe

20080323Cyrano de Bergerac

By Edmond Rostand and translated from the French by Anthony Burgess.

Set in 17th century France, Rostand's play features the eponymous poet-swordsman with a misshapen nose who falls in love with the beautiful Roxane. She loves the dashing Gascon soldier Christian de Neuvillette and Cyrano finds himself writing love poems on his behalf.

Cyrano....Kenneth Branagh

Roxane....Jodhi May

De Guiche....John Shrapnel

Christian....Tom Hiddleston

Rageuneau....Jimmy Yuill

Montfleury....Stephen Critchlow

Bellerose/Capuc....Hugh Dickson

Le Bret....Gerard Horan

Carbon/Cuigy....John McAndrew

Ligniere....Steve Hodson

Duenna/Marthe....Frances Jeater

Mother Superior....Susan Jamieson

Sister Claire....Joannah Tincey

Valvert....Oliver le Sueur

Director: David Timson.

Cyrano - Kenneth Branagh

Roxane - Jodhi May

De Guiche - John Shrapnel

Christian - Tom Hiddleston

Rageuneau - Jimmy Yuill

Montfleury - Stephen Critchlow

Bellerose/Capuc - Hugh Dickson

Le Bret - Gerard Horan

Carbon/Cuigy - John McAndrew

Ligniere - Steve Hodson

Duenna/Marthe - Frances Jeater

Mother Superior - Susan Jamieson

Sister Claire - Joannah Tincey

Valvert - Oliver le Sueur

20080330A Long Way from Home, by Caryl Phillips

Caryl Phillips' original drama imagines the conflicting forces in the iconic singer Marvin Gaye's life, including family, stardom, love, sex and drugs. The story focuses on his final years, when he was offered a lifeline in the unlikely setting of Ostend in Belgium, where he composed the song Sexual Healing before he returned America and was murdered by his own father.

Marvin Gaye....O-T Fagbenle

Freddy Cousaert/Marvin Gaye Senior....Kerry Shale

Alberta Gay/Kimona....Alibe Parson

Beatrice/Karen....Rhea Bailey

Liliane....Rachel Atkins

Mitchell/Jimmy....Damian Lynch

Sam/Stu....Ben Onwukwe

P K....Major Wiley

Directed by Ned Chaillet.

Marvin Gaye - O-T Fagbenle

Freddy Cousaert/Marvin Gaye Senior - Kerry Shale

Alberta Gay/Kimona - Alibe Parson

Beatrice/Karen - Rhea Bailey

Liliane - Rachel Atkins

Mitchell/Jimmy - Damian Lynch

Sam/Stu - Ben Onwukwe

P K - Major Wiley

20080406Swan Song

By Anton Chekhov and translated by Michael Frayn.

As a tribute to the late Paul Scofield, another opportunity to hear his noted performance in this 2006 production.

Following his final performance in a dingy provincial theatre, an elderly Russian actor confronts his ghosts. Did he ever really have 'talent'?

The actor....Paul Scofield

The prompter....Alec McCowen

Directed by Martin Jenkins.

Rudolpho's Zest

By Tanika Gupta.

Rudolpho has a remarkable secret: although born in 1815, his body never ages beyond mid-life and at times has regenerated to youth. But when Rudolpho tells Mel about his immortality, he suddenly finds, at the age of 192, that his body begins to age rapidly and his zest for life is disappearing. Mel is desperate to find an answer to this conundrum before it's too late.

Rudolpho....Ray Panthaki

Mel....Lyndsey Marshal

Susan....Adjoa Andoh

Sita....Manjinder Virk

Firoz....Paul Bhattacharjee

Mahesh....Paul Bazely

Charles Darwin....Geoffrey Whitehead

Alice....Clare Corbett

Ghandi....Sam Dastor

Nasreen....Sakuntala Ramanee

Lord Williams....Robert Maskell

Colonel Fitzherbert....Peter Marinker

Charles....Ben Onwukwe

Maid....Liz Sutherland

Babulal....Gagan Sharma

Young Rudolpho....Alex Miller

Rudolpho - Ray Panthaki

Mel - Lyndsey Marshal

Susan - Adjoa Andoh

Sita - Manjinder Virk

Firoz - Paul Bhattacharjee

Mahesh - Paul Bazely

Charles Darwin - Geoffrey Whitehead

Alice - Clare Corbett

Ghandi - Sam Dastor

Nasreen - Sakuntala Ramanee

Lord Williams - Robert Maskell

Colonel Fitzherbert - Peter Marinker

Charles - Ben Onwukwe

Maid - Liz Sutherland

Babulal - Gagan Sharma

Young Rudolpho - Alex Miller

The actor - Paul Scofield

The prompter - Alec McCowen

20080413The Country Wife

By William Wycherley.

Considered too obscene to be staged in its original form for nearly 200 years, William Wycherley's raunchy Restoration comedy tells the tale of Mr Horner - a notorious rake who spreads the false rumour that he is impotent in order to gain free access to other men's wives.

Horner....Ben Miller

Pinchwife....Geoffrey Whitehead

Mrs Margery Pinchwife....Clare Corbett

Sir Jasper Fidget....Nigel Anthony

Lady Fidget....Celia Imrie

Harcourt....Jonathan Keeble

Alithea....Rachel Atkins

Sparkish....Mark Williams

Dorilant....Dale Rapley

Mrs Dainty Fidget....Sara Markland

Mrs Squeamish....Joan Walker

Old Lady Squeamish....Elizabeth Morgan

Lucy....Emma Kilbey

Quack....John Evitts

Boy....James Joyce

Adapted and directed by David Blount.

Horner - Ben Miller

Pinchwife - Geoffrey Whitehead

Mrs Margery Pinchwife - Clare Corbett

Sir Jasper Fidget - Nigel Anthony

Lady Fidget - Celia Imrie

Harcourt - Jonathan Keeble

Alithea - Rachel Atkins

Sparkish - Mark Williams

Dorilant - Dale Rapley

Mrs Dainty Fidget - Sara Markland

Mrs Squeamish - Joan Walker

Old Lady Squeamish - Elizabeth Morgan

Lucy - Emma Kilbey

Quack - John Evitts

Boy - James Joyce

20080420Yesterday an Incident Occurred

By Mark Ravenhill.

Originally performed as part of the Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat cycle of plays at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2007 and then re-imagined for a special commission for BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival 2007.

After an unprovoked attack takes place in a shopping centre, no one comes forward as a witness. How can justice be done?

Performed and recorded with an audience at the Victorian Civil Court of St George's Hall, Liverpool.

One....Ian Puleston-Davies

A....Kathryn Hunt

B....Sam Kelly

C....Gerard Kearns

Marion....Carla Henry

Directed by Kate Rowland.

One - Ian Puleston-Davies

A - Kathryn Hunt

B - Sam Kelly

C - Gerard Kearns

Marion - Carla Henry

20080427Professor Bernhardi

By Arthur Schnitzler.

In Vienna in 1900, a distinguished Jewish doctor prevents a Catholic priest from administering last rites to a dying patient. His actions provoke a political witch-hunt, leading to the professor's trial and imprisonment.

Adapted by National Theatre playwright Samuel Adamson, this new version of Schnitzler's play about prejudice in sophisticated society had been unseen in London for over 70 years and was produced for the stage by Dumbfounded Theatre Company in 2005.

Prof Bernhardi....Christopher Godwin

Prof Ebenwald....Dale Rapley

Prof Pflugfelder....John Stahl

Minister Flint/Defence....Andrew Woodall

Prof Tugendvetter/Dr Lowenstein/Prosecution/Waiter - ball....John Dougall

Mr Hochroitzpointer/Kulka (journalist)/Questioner....Justin Salinger

Father Reder/Dr Schreimann....Andrew Havill

Dr Adler/Privy Councillor Winkler/Speaker....Mark Lockyer

Dr Oskar Bernhardi/Dr Feuermann/Waiter - restaurant/Foreman....Tom Godwin

Prof Cyprian/Bermann....David Horovitch

Prof Filitz/Judge....Geoffrey Beevers

Philomena/Housekeeper/Secretary (Ministry of Education)....Sophie Roberts

Frau Filitz/Nurse/Secretary (Elisabeth Institute)....Rachel Atkins

Crowd/Members of Parliament....Cast

Prof Bernhardi - Christopher Godwin

Prof Ebenwald - Dale Rapley

Prof Pflugfelder - John Stahl

Minister Flint/Defence - Andrew Woodall

Prof Tugendvetter/Dr Lowenstein/Prosecution/Waiter - ball - John Dougall

Mr Hochroitzpointer/Kulka (journalist)/Questioner - Justin Salinger

Father Reder/Dr Schreimann - Andrew Havill

Dr Adler/Privy Councillor Winkler/Speaker - Mark Lockyer

Dr Oskar Bernhardi/Dr Feuermann/Waiter - restaurant/Foreman - Tom Godwin

Prof Cyprian/Bermann - David Horovitch

Prof Filitz/Judge - Geoffrey Beevers

Philomena/Housekeeper/Secretary (Ministry of Education) - Sophie Roberts

Frau Filitz/Nurse/Secretary (Elisabeth Institute) - Rachel Atkins

Crowd/Members of Parliament - Cast

20080504Othello

By William Shakespeare.

A production from London's Donmar Warehouse, featuring an award-winning performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor in the title role as the jealous Moor Othello, alongside Ewan McGregor as the scheming Iago.

When the esteemed general Othello promotes Cassio to be his personal lieutenant, Iago, Cassio's bitter rival and friend of Othello, is envious and plots revenge. Iago manipulates and enrages Othello, making him suspicious of his wife Desdemona, ultimately bringing events to a tragic conclusion.

Roderigo....Edward Bennett

Iago....Ewan McGregor

Brabantio/Gratiano....James Laurenson

Othello....Chiwetel Ejiofor

Cassio....Tom Hiddleston

First Officer/Messenger/First Cyprus Gentlemen....Alastair Sims

First Senator/Second Cyprus Gentleman....David Mara

Duke of Venice/Lodovico....Michael Hadley

Desdemona....Kelly Reilly

Montano....Michael Jenn

Emilia....Michelle Fairley

Bianca....Martina Laird

Music: Adam Cork

Director: Michael Grandage

Roderigo - Edward Bennett

Iago - Ewan McGregor

Brabantio/Gratiano - James Laurenson

Othello - Chiwetel Ejiofor

Cassio - Tom Hiddleston

First Officer/Messenger/First Cyprus Gentlemen - Alastair Sims

First Senator/Second Cyprus Gentleman - David Mara

Duke of Venice/Lodovico - Michael Hadley

Desdemona - Kelly Reilly

Montano - Michael Jenn

Emilia - Michelle Fairley

Bianca - Martina Laird

20080511The Leopard

By Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, and adapted for radio by Michael Hastings.

Don Fabrizio, a member of the old Italian aristocracy, contemplates his obsolescence amidst the great social changes during the Risorgimento of the 19th century. The head of an opulent household in Sicily, he reflects nostalgically on the past as his family grows to maturity and Garibaldi's republican movement puts an end to the feudal system and the traditions of the old bourgeoisie.

Don Fabrizio....Stanley Townsend

Princess Stella/Concetta at 70....Julie Legrand

Concetta....Claire Price

Angelica....Hayley Atwell

Ciccio/Pallavicino/Priest....Joseph Alessi

Father Pirrone....James Hayes

Francesco/Carlo....Tom Vaughan-Lawlor

Tancredi....Tom Hiddleston

Calogero/Chevalley....Anthony O'Donnell

Giovanni....Harry McEntire

Angelica at 70....Claire Nielson

Director: Lucy Bailey.

Don Fabrizio - Stanley Townsend

Princess Stella/Concetta at 70 - Julie Legrand

Concetta - Claire Price

Angelica - Hayley Atwell

Ciccio/Pallavicino/Priest - Joseph Alessi

Father Pirrone - James Hayes

Francesco/Carlo - Tom Vaughan-Lawlor

Tancredi - Tom Hiddleston

Calogero/Chevalley - Anthony O'Donnell

Giovanni - Harry McEntire

Angelica at 70 - Claire Nielson

20080525The Vertical Hour

By David Hare.

Nadia, an American war reporter-turned-academic, lives a settled life with her English boyfriend, but when she visits his home and meets his womanising father for the first time, her political opinions and her relationship come under great strain.

Dennis Dutton....Joseph Kloska

Oliver Lucas....Anton Lesser

Terri Scholes....Wunmi Mosaku

Philip Lucas....Tom Riley

Nadia Blye....Indira Varma

Original music composed by Nick Powell

Director: Jeremy Herrin

Dennis Dutton - Joseph Kloska

Oliver Lucas - Anton Lesser

Terri Scholes - Wunmi Mosaku

Philip Lucas - Tom Riley

Nadia Blye - Indira Varma

20080601Shylock

By Arnold Wesker.

A new perspective on an age-old story by one of the foremost playwrights of his generation. Shylock's close friend Antonio needs a loan, but 16th century Venetian law discriminates against Jews. For Shylock's own protection, Antonio persuades him to agree a bond. They laugh as Shylock invents the absurd forfeit of a pound of flesh - but their mockery of the law may easily turn to tragedy.

Shylock Kolner....Henry Goodman

Antonio....Ronald Pickup

Portia Contarini....Juliet Stevenson

Nerissa....Noma Dumezweni

Bassanio....Toby Stephens

Rivka....Sheila Steafel

Jessica....Lydia Leonard

Tubal di Ponti....Jonathan Tafler

Lorenzo....Geoffrey Streatfeild

Graziano....Nicholas Boulton

Rebecca da Mendes....Jennie Stoller

The Doge/Solomon Usque....Geoffrey Beevers

Roderigues da Cunha....Anthony Glennon

Singer....Annette Ross

Producer/Director: David Hitchinson.

Shylock Kolner - Henry Goodman

Antonio - Ronald Pickup

Portia Contarini - Juliet Stevenson

Nerissa - Noma Dumezweni

Bassanio - Toby Stephens

Rivka - Sheila Steafel

Jessica - Lydia Leonard

Tubal di Ponti - Jonathan Tafler

Lorenzo - Geoffrey Streatfeild

Graziano - Nicholas Boulton

Rebecca da Mendes - Jennie Stoller

The Doge/Solomon Usque - Geoffrey Beevers

Roderigues da Cunha - Anthony Glennon

Singer - Annette Ross

20080608True West

By Sam Shepard.

Screenwriter Austin's work on a film script is disrupted by the arrival of his elder brother Lee. The differences between successful, creative professional Austin and brutish, desert-living Lee could not be more marked. Or could they?

Lee - David Soul

Austin - Richard Laing

Saul - Kenneth Jay

Mom - Liza Ross

Director Peter Kavanagh.

20080615Doctor Faustus

By Christopher Marlowe.

The classic play written in 1604 about a man who defies the authority of God by selling his soul to the Devil in return for 24 years of knowledge and power on Earth.

Faustus - Paterson Joseph

Mephistopheles - Ray Fearon

Wagner - Toby Jones

Evil Angel - Janet McTeer

Good Angel/Duchess - Tanya Moodie

Lucifer - Julian Bleach

Old Man - David Bradley

Robin - Nicholas Burns

Rafe - Iain Robertson

Valdes/Pope - David Bamber

Cornelius - Paul Bazely

Emperor - Anton Lesser

Scholar/Horse-Courser - John Lloyd Fillingham

Scholar/Knight - Don Gilet

Scholar/Duke - Derek Riddell

Original music composed by Olly Fox.

20080622Bazajet

By Jean Racine.

In far-off Byzantium, in a harem deep within the Sultan's palace, Bazajet is told by the Emperor's wife that he must marry her or die. However, matters are complicated by the fact that he is already engaged to Atalide.

Acomat....Michael Pennington

Osmin....Jonathan Christie

Roxane....Victoria Hamilton

Atalide....Claire Price

Zaire....Sophie Scott

Bajazet....Bertie Carvel

Zatime....Valerie Sarruf

Translated by Alan Hollinghurst.

Directed by Jane Morgan.

Acomat - Michael Pennington

Osmin - Jonathan Christie

Roxane - Victoria Hamilton

Atalide - Claire Price

Zaire - Sophie Scott

Bajazet - Bertie Carvel

Zatime - Valerie Sarruf

20080629The Wild Duck

By Henrik Ibsen, translated by Inga-Stina Ewbank and Peter Hall.

One of Ibsen's most powerful dramas, the play explores the tragic impact on the lives of a young girl and her family when an old friend insists on family secrets being told.

Hialmar....Paterson Joseph

Gregers....Michael Maloney

Hedvig....Katie Griffiths

Mrs Sorby....Alexandra Mathie

Mr Werle....Russell Dixon

Old Ekdal....Gordon Langford-Rowe

Gina....Siobhan Finneran

Relling....Glenn Cunningham

Jenson....Malcolm Raeburn

Hialmar - Paterson Joseph

Gregers - Michael Maloney

Hedvig - Katie Griffiths

Mrs Sorby - Alexandra Mathie

Mr Werle - Russell Dixon

Old Ekdal - Gordon Langford-Rowe

Gina - Siobhan Finneran

Relling - Glenn Cunningham

Jenson - Malcolm Raeburn

20080706Piper Alpha

By Stephen Phelps.

On 6 July 1988, a North Sea oil rig was destroyed by a series of explosions and a massive fire, resulting in the death of 167 men. Based on Lord Cullen's Public Inquiry, the play chronicles the disaster minute-by-minute as it happened exactly 20 years ago.

Performed by Ewan Bailey, Nigel Betts, Kenny Blyth, Mark Bonnar, Liam Brennan, Stephen Critchlow, Ben Crowe, Nyasha Hatendi, Chris Pavlo, Roshan R Rohatgi, John Rowe, Dan Starkey, John Kay Steel and Joan Walker.

Produced and directed by Toby Swift.

20080713Blood Wedding

By Federico Garcia Lorca.

An evocative meditation on fate, war, tradition, passion and repression, inspired by the true story of a fatal feud between two families in the Almeria province, high in the mountains of rural Spain. A version by Ted Hughes.

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

Girls....Liz Carter

Woodcutter....Sam Curtis

Woodcutter....Chris Hannon

Littler Girl....Daisy Jones

Directed by Pauline Harris.

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

Girls - Liz Carter

Woodcutter - Sam Curtis

Woodcutter - Chris Hannon

Littler Girl - Daisy Jones

20080727Two Men from Delft

By Stephen Wakelam.

In 1675, at the time of the death of his close friend Johannes Vermeer, Antony Van Leeuwenhoek made an astonishing discovery. He was the first person to identity bacteria.

Antony Van Leeuwenhooek - Stephen Tompkinson

Christiaan Huygens - Alex Jennings

Maria Van Leeuwenhoek - Emma Noakes

Elisabeth Vermeer - Alex Tregear

Music by Sylvia Hallett.

Viol played by Vanessa Coode.

Directed and produced by Jeremy Mortimer.

20080831Your Only Man

By Annie Caulfield.

Brian O'Nolan was an Irish writer, columnist and civil servant who wrote novels such as The Third Policeman under the pen name of Flann O'Brien and popular satirical newspaper columns as Myles na gCopaleen, while at the same time working as a civil servant in Dublin under his real name. This play imagines what might have happened had the three of them got together on the day when O'Nolan was asked to leave his civil service post.

Brian O'Nolan....Ardal O'Hanlon

Flann O'Brien....Dermot Crowley

Myles na gCopaleen....Dara O'Briain

Evelyn O'Nolan/Miss Fahy....Pauline McLynn

Eddie Fahy, the policeman and everyone else....Lloyd Hutchinson

Directed by Marilyn Imrie.

Brian O'Nolan - Ardal O'Hanlon

Flann O'Brien - Dermot Crowley

Myles na gCopaleen - Dara O'Briain

Evelyn O'Nolan/Miss Fahy - Pauline McLynn

Eddie Fahy, the policeman and everyone else - Lloyd Hutchinson

20080921A Disappearing Number

Adapted for radio by Simon McBurney and Ben Power. Based on the stage play by the theatre company Complicite.

An award-winning production exploring our relentless compulsion to understand, and which is a provocative meditation on the beauty of mathematics and the nature of creativity. It was inspired by the story of the collaboration between two of the 20th century's most notable pure mathematicians, Srinivasa Ramanujan, a poor Brahmin from South India, and Cambridge professor GH Hardy.

Performed by David Annen, Firdous Bamji, Paul Bhattacharjee, Divya Kasturi, Chetna Pandya, Saskia Reeves and Shane Shambhu. With Mick Barnfather, Tamzin Griffin, Tim McMullan and Clive Mendus.

20081005Tulips in Winter

An exploration of the life of the enigmatic 17th century philosopher Baruch Spinoza, whose ideas still influence present day thinkers. Michelene Wandor's play, inspired by various paintings and etchings, imagines a world in which Spinoza appears in Rembrandt's Night Watch and is courted by one of Cromwell's spies.

Angel....Angela Pleasence

Baruch Spinoza....Ben Meyjes

Miguel Spinoza....Gabriel Woolf

Rebecca....Jasmine Hyde

Cromwell....Struan Rodger

Downing....John McAndrew

Rembrandt....Timothy Spall

Menasseh....Philip Voss

De Witt....Grant Gillespie

Morteira....David Horovitch

Da Costa....Nicholas Boulton

Joseph Prado....Thomas Howes

Directed by Jane Morgan.

Angel - Angela Pleasence

Baruch Spinoza - Ben Meyjes

Miguel Spinoza - Gabriel Woolf

Rebecca - Jasmine Hyde

Cromwell - Struan Rodger

Downing - John McAndrew

Rembrandt - Timothy Spall

Menasseh - Philip Voss

De Witt - Grant Gillespie

Morteira - David Horovitch

Da Costa - Nicholas Boulton

Joseph Prado - Thomas Howes

20081012The Duchess of Malfi

By John Webster.

The Duchess of Malfi is one of the great Jacobean plays, and this new production focuses on the personal tragedies of a powerful family rent by lust and betrayal. When the widowed Duchess marries her steward Antonio, the choice challenges the accepted social order and established lines of power. It also brings her into direct conflict with her powerful brothers, the Duke Ferdinand and the scheming Cardinal, and tragedy ensues. The dark tale is enhanced by dark music written especially for the play.

Duchess....Sophie Okonedo

Antonio....Rory Kinnear

Ferdinand....Jonathan Slinger

Bosola....Bertie Carvel

Cardinal....Oliver Senton

Delio....Oliver Le Sueur

Cariola....Becky Hindley

Julia....Rachel Davidge

Doctor....Michael Griffiths

Pescara....Paul Panting

Roderigo/Executioner....Nicholas Gadd

Grisolan/Servant....Francis Middleditch

Music by Arthur Ka Wai Jenkins.

Adapted for radio and directed by Roy McMillan.

Duchess - Sophie Okonedo

Antonio - Rory Kinnear

Ferdinand - Jonathan Slinger

Bosola - Bertie Carvel

Cardinal - Oliver Senton

Delio - Oliver Le Sueur

Cariola - Becky Hindley

Julia - Rachel Davidge

Doctor - Michael Griffiths

Pescara - Paul Panting

Roderigo/Executioner - Nicholas Gadd

Grisolan/Servant - Francis Middleditch

20081019Black Watch

By Gregory Burke.

A radio version of the National Theatre of Scotland's award-winning theatre production, Black Watch is based on interviews conducted by Gregory Burke with former soldiers who served in the second war in Iraq.

Hurtling from a pool room in Fife to an armoured wagon in Iraq, the action is viewed through the eyes of those on the ground and reveals what it means to be part of this venerable Scottish regiment and the war on terror.

The play contains very strong language.

Stewarty....Ali Craig

Fraz....Emun Elliott

Granty....Paul Rattray

Cammy....Brian Ferguson

Kenzie....Ryan Fletcher

Officer....Peter Forbes

Sergeant/Writer....Paul Higgins

Rossco....Jordan Young

Original music composed by Davey Anderson.

Directed by John Tiffany

Stewarty - Ali Craig

Fraz - Emun Elliott

Granty - Paul Rattray

Cammy - Brian Ferguson

Kenzie - Ryan Fletcher

Officer - Peter Forbes

Sergeant/Writer - Paul Higgins

Rossco - Jordan Young

20081026Caligari

By Amanda Dalton.

Adapted from the 1919 film Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari, written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer, and directed by Robert Wiene. Amanda Dalton's adaptation builds on the film's themes: the madness of society, the inner workings of the human mind and the paranoia of a country in the aftermath of a war.

The story centres on Francis, who recounts the story of mesmerist Dr Caligari and his somnambulist slave Cesare, who appear to be responsible for a series of murders in Holstenwall.

Franzis....Tom Ferguson

Allan....Luke Treadaway

Frau Beckmann....Eileen O'Brien

Jacob Straat....Peter Hamilton Dyer

Jane....Sarah McDonald Hughes

Dr Olfens....Malcolm Raeburn

The Police Inspector....James Quinn

Town clerk....Terence Mann

Cesare....Robin Blaze (countertenor)

Music composed by Olly Fox and performed by Kate St John, Genevieve Wilkins, Sarah Homer and David Coulter.

Directed by Susan Roberts.

Franzis - Tom Ferguson

Allan - Luke Treadaway

Frau Beckmann - Eileen O'Brien

Jacob Straat - Peter Hamilton Dyer

Jane - Sarah McDonald Hughes

Dr Olfens - Malcolm Raeburn

The Police Inspector - James Quinn

Town clerk - Terence Mann

Cesare - Robin Blaze (countertenor)

20081109All Quiet on the Western Front

Written by Erich Maria Remarque and dramatised by Dave Sheasby.

Considered one of the greatest war novels of all time, it is the haunting, comic, lyrical and desperate story of a group of young German soldiers enduring and coming to terms with the realities of the First World War.

Paul Baumer....Robert Lonsdale

Kropp....Simon Trinder

Muller....Gunnar Cauthary

Leer....Llyod Thomas

Tjaden....Joseph Arkley

Katczinsky....Stephen Critchlow

Cook....Malcolm Tierney

Westhaus....Stuart McLoughlin

Captain Bertinck....Dan Starkey

Kemmerich....Luke Walker

Himmelstoss....Tim Treloar

Detering....Nick Sayce

Mother....Janice Acquah

French girl....Donnla Hughes

Erna....Jill Cardo

Mrs Kemmerich....Carolyn Pickles

Orderly....Inam Mirza

Mittlestaedt....Paul Rider

Major....Chris Pavlo

Nurse....Manjeet Mann

Directed by David Hunter.

Paul Baumer - Robert Lonsdale

Kropp - Simon Trinder

Muller - Gunnar Cauthary

Leer - Llyod Thomas

Tjaden - Joseph Arkley

Katczinsky - Stephen Critchlow

Cook - Malcolm Tierney

Westhaus - Stuart McLoughlin

Captain Bertinck - Dan Starkey

Kemmerich - Luke Walker

Himmelstoss - Tim Treloar

Detering - Nick Sayce

Mother - Janice Acquah

French girl - Donnla Hughes

Erna - Jill Cardo

Mrs Kemmerich - Carolyn Pickles

Orderly - Inam Mirza

Mittlestaedt - Paul Rider

Major - Chris Pavlo

Nurse - Manjeet Mann

20081116Tamburlaine: Shadow of God

By John Fletcher.

As war swirls around them, three of the most important figures in the history of the Middle and Near East are brought together in fierce debate: how can a successful society be built, and what does it need to do to endure?

Ibn Khaldun....John Rowe

Tamburlaine....Jeffery Kissoon

Hafez....Conleth Hill

Mulk....Jonathan Taffler

Jahongir....Inam Mirza

Hosni....Stephen Critchlow

Vizier....Dan Starkey

Wife....Donnla Hughes

Other parts played by Chris Pavlo, Gunnar Cauthery and Robert Lonsdale.

Directed by Marc Beeby

Ibn Khaldun - John Rowe

Tamburlaine - Jeffery Kissoon

Hafez - Conleth Hill

Mulk - Jonathan Taffler

Jahongir - Inam Mirza

Hosni - Stephen Critchlow

Vizier - Dan Starkey

Wife - Donnla Hughes

20100117
20170924Kenneth Cranham's portrayal of a man suffering from dementia in this darkly funny drama.

Kenneth Cranham's moving portrayal of a man suffering from dementia in Florian Zeller's award-winning stage play, translated by Christopher Hampton.

This darkly funny drama tells the story of 80-year-old Andr退's declining mental powers and the efforts of his daughter Anne (Claire Skinner) to balance caring for him with the demands of her own life.

A Theatre Royal Bath/Ustinov Studio/Tricyle Theatre production directed by James Macdonald.

Winner of the 2014 Moli耀re award for France's best play, The Father by Florian Zeller received five star reviews across the board in the UK.

Andr退....Kenneth Cranham

Anne....CLAIRE SKINNER

Pierre....Nicholas Gleaves

Laura....Kirsty Oswald

Man....Jim Sturgeon

Woman....Rebecca Charles

Sound Design, Christopher Shutt

Director, James Macdonald

Producer, Mary Peate

Andr退 - Kenneth Cranham

Anne - Claire Skinner

Pierre - Nicholas Gleaves

Laura - Kirsty Oswald

Man - Jim Sturgeon

Woman - Rebecca Charles

20171022Drama. Three wars. Three causes. Three teenagers with nothing to lose but their lives.

Jonathan Holloway's new play for radio focuses on the child soldiers used as cannon fodder in ideological wars over the centuries. Three teenagers fall into the clutches of the mysterious and chameleon-like Teacher as the story cuts between the People's Crusade of 1096, the days of the Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany and the streets of south-west London in 2007.

Hilda/Ilda/Hibat Allah....Ayesha Antoine

Mikkel/Michel/Mykal....Jerome Holder

Andreas/Andre/Amir....Daniel Ezra

The Teacher....Nicholas Woodeson

The Proselyte....Charlie Clements

Sound design by Caleb Knightley

Directed by Toby Swift.

Jonathan Holloway's challenging new play for radio focuses on the child soldiers used as cannon fodder in ideological wars over the centuries. Three teenagers fall into the clutches of the mysterious and chameleon-like Teacher as the story cuts between the People's Crusade of 1096, the days of the Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany and the streets of south-west London in 2007.

Hilda/Ilda/Hibat Allah - Ayesha Antoine

Mikkel/Michel/Mykal - Jerome Holder

Andreas/Andre/Amir - Daniel Ezra

The Teacher - Nicholas Woodeson

The Proselyte - Charlie Clements

A Clockwork Orange20171001New version of dystopian classic with music recorded live in Hull.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.

Alex and his vicious gang of 'droogs' revel in horrific violence. They run riot and communicate in 'Nadsat' their own hybridisation of Russian and English slang. When a drug fuelled night of fun ends in murder Alex is arrested. He is given a choice, be brainwashed into a good citizen, or face a lifetime in prison.

A dramatisation of the controversial dystopian classic about crime and punishment using an original score composed by author Anthony Burgess with new orchestration by Iain Farrington.

Performed live with the BBC Philharmonic as part of 'Contains Strong Language'. A season of poetry and performance from Hull.

Musical Arranger/Musical Director Iain Farrington.

ALEX....Samuel Edward-Cook

DIM / WARDER / COMEDIAN....Edward Leigh

ALEXANDER / GOVERNOR....Ian Bartholomew

DELTOID / MINISTER....S退van Stephan

WIFE /BRANOM....Sue Jenkins

CHAPLAIN / JOE....Jonathan Keeble

BRODSKY / BILLYBOY....Paul Barnhill

PETE / RICK....Wesley Charles

GEORGIE / JOJOHN....Robbie Fallon

MARTY /NURSE....Ibinabo Jack

Orchestra Conductor Gergely Madaras

Director/Producer Gary Brown

Executive Producer Susan Roberts.

ALEX...................................................Samuel Edward-Cook

DIM / WARDER / COMEDIAN..............Edward Leigh

ALEXANDER / GOVERNOR ...............Ian Bartholomew

DELTOID / MINISTER ........................S退van Stephan

WIFE /BRANOM .................................Sue Jenkins

CHAPLAIN / JOE .................................Jonathan Keeble

BRODSKY / BILLYBOY .........................Paul Barnhill

PETE / RICK...................................Wesley Charles

GEORGIE / JOJOHN............................Robbie Fallon

MARTY /NURSE ..............................Ibinabo Jack

A Man's World20120212is a compelling new drama following the lives of four violent male offenders thrown together on a six-month rehabilitation course. If they pass, they get a community service order. If they fail, they have to serve their jail sentence. Written by Waking The Dead writer, Adrian Mead.

Attendance is compulsory at The Men's Group as all the participants have recently been convicted of a serious violent crime. This pioneering course works to challenge and radically alter the participants' behaviour by forcing them to confront and recognise why aggression and violence shapes their lives. At stake is their freedom. Upon completion of the twenty-five-week course the courts ask the tutor, the central character Angela (played by Siobhan Redmond), to recommend either a community sentence or a jail term. In the group there is nowhere to hide. Many participants in the real life course have stated that if they had known what they were expected to face, they would have opted for a jail sentence instead - 'In your head you're sayin', what are they going to think of me if I really tell them everything? But the other guys see it, and they push you further, to the really dark stuff you never tell no one.' The drama captures the terror of facing up to your past and finding new ways to behave, or going to jail. Getting in touch with your feelings doesn't come easily to guys like this, but it is their only way out of jail, and is a hugely important issue for Britain today.

Directed by Turan Ali

A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 3.v.

Drama following four violent male offenders on a six-month rehabilitation course.

A Man's World is a compelling new drama following the lives of four violent male offenders thrown together on a six-month rehabilitation course. If they pass, they get a community service order. If they fail, they have to serve their jail sentence. Written by Waking The Dead writer, Adrian Mead.

A Midsummer Night's Dream20110911The play revolves around the adventures of four young lovers, a group of amateur actors and their interactions with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest. The story takes place in Midsummer and is a complex farce featuring Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius. Their romantic intrigues are confused and complicated still further by entering the forest where Oberon King of the fairies and his queen Titania, preside. Puck (or Robin Goodfellow) is a major character who is full of mischief and tricks. Other visitors to the enchanted forest include Bottom, the Weaver and his friends Snug, Snout, Quince and Flute, the amateur dramatists who want to rehearse their terrible but hilarious version of the play Pyramus and Thisbe.

Recorded this summer on location in 22 acres of Sussex woodland, this production has an all star cast.

Director: Celia de Wolff

Music by Stephanie Nunn

Titania....Lesley Sharp

Oberon....Toby Stephens

Peter Quince....Robert Pugh

Nick Bottom....Roger Allam

Puck....Freddie Fox

Theseus....Nicholas Farrell

Hippolyta....Emma Fielding

Lysander....Joseph Timms

Demetrius....Ferdinand Kingsley

Hermia....Emerald O'Hanrahan

Helena....Anna Madeley

Egeus / Starveling....David Collings

Philostrate / Snug....Nicholas Boulton

Fairy....Sara Markland

Francis Flute....Sam Alexander

Tom Snout....Sam Dale

Peaseblossom....Jessica Sian

Cobweb....Jay Carter

Moth....Tressa Brooks

Mustardseed....Stuart Walker.

Adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy centring on the adventures of four young lovers.

Titania - Lesley Sharp

Oberon - Toby Stephens

Peter Quince - Robert Pugh

Nick Bottom - Roger Allam

Puck - Freddie Fox

Theseus - Nicholas Farrell

Hippolyta - Emma Fielding

Lysander - Joseph Timms

Demetrius - Ferdinand Kingsley

Hermia - Emerald O'Hanrahan

Helena - Anna Madeley

Egeus / Starveling - David Collings

Philostrate / Snug - Nicholas Boulton

Fairy - Sara Markland

Francis Flute - Sam Alexander

Tom Snout - Sam Dale

Peaseblossom - Jessica Sian

Cobweb - Jay Carter

Moth - Tressa Brooks

Mustardseed - Stuart Walker.

A Midsummer Night's Dream20180617Adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy centring on the adventures of four young lovers.

In midsummer week, Radio 3 enters one of the most potent sources of the human imagination. 'Into the Forest' explores the enchantment, escape and magical danger of the forest in summer, with slow radio moments featuring the sounds of the forest, allowing time out from today's often frenetic world. and another chance to hear this summer production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The play revolves around the adventures of four young lovers, a group of amateur actors and their interactions with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest. The story takes place in Midsummer and is a complex farce featuring Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius. Their romantic intrigues are confused and complicated still further by entering the forest where Oberon King of the fairies and his queen Titania, preside. Puck (or Robin Goodfellow) is a major character who is full of mischief and tricks. Other visitors to the enchanted forest include Bottom, the Weaver and his friends Snug, Snout, Quince and Flute, the amateur dramatists who want to rehearse their terrible but hilarious version of the play Pyramus and Thisbe.

Recorded on location in 22 acres of Sussex woodland, this production has an all-star cast.

Director: Celia de Wolff

Music by Stephanie Nunn

Titania....Lesley Sharp

Oberon....Toby Stephens

Peter Quince....Robert Pugh

Nick Bottom....Roger Allam

Puck....Freddie Fox

Theseus....Nicholas Farrell

Hippolyta....Emma Fielding

Lysander....Joseph Timms

Demetrius....Ferdinand Kingsley

Hermia....Emerald O'Hanrahan

Helena....Anna Madeley

Egeus / Starveling....David Collings

Philostrate / Snug....Nicholas Boulton

Fairy....Sara Markland

Francis Flute....Sam Alexander

Tom Snout....Sam Dale

Peaseblossom....Jessica Sian

Cobweb....Jay Carter

Moth....Tressa Brooks

Mustardseed....Stuart Walker.

A Play For The Heart: The Death Of Shakespeare20180225'

Playwright Nick Warburton imaginatively recreates what might have happened on Shakespeare's last day, with a series of encounters filtered through his fevered imagination. What do his many visitors want? Who is the pale boy? And the man with bloody hands?

Recorded entirely on location in Mary Arden's farm and touching on all aspects of his life, it's a play about memory and regret, life and art, fidelity and legacy and it gives new insights into the inner life of the greatest writer of all time.

William Shakespeare....Robert Lindsay

John Fletcher....Oliver Chris

William Harvey....Gwilym Lee

Unnamed gentleman....James Lailey

Ann....Susan Jameson

Susanna Hall....Nicola Ferguson

John Hall....Nick Underwood

Hamnet....Sam Bough

Voice....Brian Protheroe

Produced and directed by Marion Nancarrow.

Robert Lindsay and Oliver Chris star in a dramatic re-imagining of Shakespeare's last day.

A Raisin In The Sun20170611Drama about dreams and conflicts within three generations of an African American family.

by Lorraine Hansberry

This ground-breaking play, set on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s, revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of an Afro-American working-class family. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway. In this production for radio, rarely produced scenes from the original play, which were cut from the original film and stage and subsequent contemporary stage productions, have been reinstated.

A Raisin In the Sun has been hailed as a 'pivotal play in the history of the American Black theatre'. The Broadway production opened in 1959 and starred Sidney Poitier and was winner of the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award as Best Play of the Year. Hansberry was the first black playwright and the youngest ever American to win the award. The film version of A Raisin In the Sun was released in 1961, and honoured with a special award at the Cannes Film Festival.

All experiences in this play echo a lawsuit to which the playwright Lorraine Hansberry's family was party when they fought to have their day in court because a previous class action about racially motivated restrictive covenants was similar to the case at hand.

By portraying a black family with a greater realism and complexity than ever before, the 28-year-old Hansberry forced both blacks and whites to re-examine the deferred dreams of black America and changed the American theatre for ever.

Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (19 May 1930 - 12 January 1965) inspired Nina Simone's song 'To Be Young, Gifted and Black'.

A Small Family Business20090412
A Thousand Kisses20110410Frederic Raphael's new play A Thousand Kisses is based on the life and work of the Roman poet Gaius Catullus.

Catullus was one of the the greatest Roman lyric poets - who lived fast and died young. Prized by some for his sincerity and chastised by others for crudeness he has influenced generations of writes and thinkers from Ovid, Horace and Virgil to Thornton Wilder and Louis MacNiece.

In this new play, Catullus's mysterious world is brought to life, drawing on a series of love poems at the centre of his oeuvre - based on evidence that the woman in the poems ('Lesbia') was Claudia Metelli, the sister of the notorious senator Publius Clodius Pulcher, and one of the most notorious and attractive women in Rome.

A Thousand Kisses features Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) as the spirited young poet who moves to Rome in search of the high life and falls for the beautiful and sophisticated Clodia (Raquel Cassidy), the wife of a powerful Roman aristocrat.

Narrated by Geoffrey Palmer and weaving Raphael's own translations of Catullus's poetry into the drama, A Thousand Kisses imagines the complex love affair and Catullus's life as a rebellious young poet in the late Roman Republic of Cicero, Pompey and Caesar (Malcolm Sinclair).

CAST

Dan Stevens - Gaius Catullus

Raqual Cassidy - Clodia Metelli

Geoffrey Palmer - Narrator

Ian Kelly - Caelius

Malcolm Sinclair - Caesar

Tom Goodman-Hill - Clodius

Stephen Critchlow - Valerius

Rupert Degas - Lucius/Calvus

Frederic Raphael - Cicero

Chloe Lewis - Melissa

Noah St Bean - Young Gaius

Music by Clive Bell

Producer, Jo Wheeler

Director, Pete Atkin

Freewheel Productions.

Frederic Raphael's new play exploring the life and work of Roman poet Catullus.

Dan Stevens....Gaius Catullus

Raqual Cassidy....Clodia Metelli

Geoffrey Palmer....Narrator

Ian Kelly....Caelius

Malcolm Sinclair....Caesar

Tom Goodman-Hill....Clodius

Stephen Critchlow....Valerius

Rupert Degas....Lucius/Calvus

Frederic Raphael....Cicero

Chloe Lewis....Melissa

Noah St Bean....Young Gaius

A View From The Bridge20170514Martin Jarvis directs Miller's 1955 drama. An all-star cast is led by Alfred Molina.

Martin Jarvis directs Arthur Miller's 1955 award-winning masterpiece. Recorded in the US for Drama On 3. Alfred Molina won the BBC Drama Awards Best Actor accolade as Eddie Carbone. He leads an all-star American cast. Universal themes: family, guilt, loyalty, sexual attraction, jealousy - and love. A timeless reminder as immigrants from Syria, Eritrea, Libya currently seek new lives, new dreams. Here, it's the American one.

Setting. An Italian-American neighbourhood near the Brooklyn Bridge, New York. 1950s.

Lawyer Alfieri (our narrator) confides to listeners there are cases where he can only watch as they run their bloody course.

Longshoreman Eddie Carbone lives with his wife Beatrice and her orphaned niece, Catherine, in a Brooklyn tenement. He has a love of, almost an obsession with, 17 year-old Catherine. Beatrice's Italian cousins are being smuggled into the country. The family hide the illegal immigrants, Marco and Rodolpho, while they work on the docks. Eddie's increasing suspicion and jealousy of Rodolpho's developing relationship with Catherine eventually leads to betrayal and a tragic confrontation.

Sound design: Wesley Dewberry and Mark Holden

A Jarvis and Ayres Production.

A Whistle In The Dark20091220
Alone Together20090322by Neil McKay.

Poet, priest, birdwatcher, scourge of the English, the ogre of Wales ... Who was R.S. Thomas, and why did his artist wife Elsi settle for a life of obscurity in increasingly remote Welsh parishes? A portrait of a curious marriage which captures that essence of all marriages - a sense of shared space but separate lives.

Thomas was an unpublished poet when he met Elsi Eldridge, but she already had the makings of a successful artist. After winning the Royal College of Art's Prix de Rome scholarship and selling several paintings at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, she abandoned this to retreat with him to a small cottage in a remote part of North Wales.

RS Thomas - Jonathan Pryce

Elsi Eldridge - Kate Fahy

Gwydion - Ian Puleston-Davies

Mrs Hackett - Kathryn Hunt

Colonel Pugh, Dilwyn - Dick Bradnum

Music by Peter Gregson.

Directed and Produced by Melanie Harris.

A portrait of the lives of poet RS Thomas and his wife artist Elsi Eldridge.

Poet, priest, birdwatcher, scourge of the English, the ogre of Wales... Who was R.S. Thomas, and why did his artist wife Elsi settle for a life of obscurity in increasingly remote Welsh parishes? A portrait of a curious marriage which captures that essence of all marriages - a sense of shared space but separate lives.

RS Thomas....Jonathan Pryce

Elsi Eldridge....Kate Fahy

Gwydion....Ian Puleston-Davies

Mrs Hackett....Kathryn Hunt

Colonel Pugh, Dilwyn....Dick Bradnum

AmadeusPeter Shaffer's award-winning play combines fiction and history to detail the final years of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Antonio Salieri, an older composer, propelled by jealousy, plots the tragic downfall of his brilliant rival.

Sir Peter Hall's production, first broadcast in 1983 and recorded with the original National Theatre cast, is being repeated as part of Radio 3's 'Genius of Mozart' season.

Antonio Salieri - Paul Scofield

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Simon Callow

Constanze Mozart - Felicity Kendall

Joseph II - John Normington

Gottfried Baron Van Sweiten - Nicholas Selby

Count Franz Orsini Rosenberg - Willoughby Goddard

Johann Killian Von Strack - Basil Henson

Venticelli - Donald Gee, Dermot Crawley

Citizens of Vienna - Nigel Bellairs, Susan Gilmore, Peggy Marshall, Robin Meredith, Anne Sedgwick, William Sleigh, Glenn Williams

Directed by Peter Hall

Producer David Spenser.

Peter Hall's 1983 version of Peter Shaffer's award-winning play Amadeus.

Antonio Salieri....Paul Scofield

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart....Simon Callow

Constanze Mozart....Felicity Kendall

Joseph II....John Normington

Gottfried Baron Van Sweiten....Nicholas Selby

Count Franz Orsini Rosenberg....Willoughby Goddard

Johann Killian Von Strack....Basil Henson

Venticelli....Donald Gee, Dermot Crawley

Citizens of Vienna....Nigel Bellairs, Susan Gilmore, Peggy Marshall, Robin Meredith, Anne Sedgwick, William Sleigh, Glenn Williams

Amazonia20100207by Garry Lyons.

Years before he found fame with Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome was swept up in the dramatic events of the Russian Revolution, living a dangerous double life as a journalist and agent for both the Bolsheviks and the Foreign Office. War, revolution, espionage and romance feature in this biographical portrait of one of our best-loved children's authors.

Arthur Ransome - Rory Kinnear

Evgenia Shelepina - Michelle Dockery

Ivy - Katie Collier

Foreign Office Minister, Lenin - Gordon Mounsey

Lockhart, Trotsky - Mark Chatterton

Russian Officer, Soldier - Joe Hughes

Tabitha - Emily Herbert

Young Arthur - George Herbert

Soldier - Christopher Anderton

Soldier - Christopher Arley

Directed and produced by Melanie Harris.

A portrait of Arthur Ransome before he found fame, when he lived a dangerous double life.

Arthur Ransome....Rory Kinnear

Evgenia Shelepina....Michelle Dockery

Ivy....Katie Collier

Foreign Office Minister, Lenin....Gordon Mounsey

Lockhart, Trotsky....Mark Chatterton

Russian Officer, Soldier....Joe Hughes

Tabitha....Emily Herbert

Young Arthur....George Herbert

Soldier....Christopher Anderton

Soldier....Christopher Arley

An Evening With Angela Carter20180923New productions of two of Angela Carter's iconic radio plays from the 1970s.

Two iconic radio plays, first produced in the 1970s, now given brand new productions.

Introduced by Fiona Shaw as Angela Carter.

VAMPIRELLA

A young Englishman, travelling by bicycle through Transylvania, finds himself at the mercy of a 'lovely lady vampire' and her governess.

THE COUNTESS... Jessica Raine

THE COUNT... Anton Lesser

HERO... Oliver Chris

MRS BEANE... Doon Mackichan

SAWNEY/GATEKEEPER/PRIEST... Kevin McMonagle

BOY... William Gidney

YOUNG COUNTESS... Tilly Meeson

VILLAGERS/PEASANTS... Pip Williams, Rose Reade, Lucy Mangan, Tr退 Gordon

Director/Producer - Fiona McAlpine

Sound Design - Wilfredo Acosta

COME UNTO THESE YELLOW SANDS

Carter's hallucinatory documentary drama about the murderous Victorian painter, Richard Dadd.

CARTER... Fiona Shaw

RICHARD DADD... James Anthony Rose

SIR THOMAS PHILLIPS... Pip Torrens

FRITH... Keith Hill

OBERON... Robert Pugh

TITANIA... Monica Dolan

PUCK/ROBERT DADD... Tom Forrister

SHOPKEEPER/FAIRY FELLER... Noof McEwan

CRAZY JANE... Jasmine Jones

LANDLADY... Tilly Vosburgh

DOCTOR/HOWARD... Nicholas Murchie

Violinist - Madeleine Brooks

Director - Robin Brooks

Radio 3 presents new interpretations of two radio scripts by Angela Carter, originally written and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in the 1970s. Both these scripts embody the combination of stylistic daring, playful wit, dazzling language, and high intellectual seriousness which is a hallmark of Carter's best work. These productions will be introduced by Fiona Shaw, playing Carter, so that she may explain in her own words how she came to write them, and why she felt so strongly attracted to Radio drama as a medium.

VAMPIRELLA, Angela Carter's first radio play was produced by Glyn Dearman, and broadcast in July 1976. As Carter describes it: the 'lovely lady vampire' skulks in her Transylvanian castle, 'bored with the endless deaths and resurrections', and caged by 'hereditary appetites that she found both compulsive and loathsome'. A young British officer arrives, who kills her with the innocence of his kiss, and then goes off to die in a war 'far more hideous than any of our fearful superstitious imaginings'.

COME UNTO THESE YELLOW SANDS tells the story of the painter Richard Dadd, who murdered his father and was confined to Broadmoor, where he created the Fairy paintings for which he is now famous. Carter uses the story, and animates the fairy figures themselves, in order to explore how 'the distorted style of the paintings of Dadd's madness, together with his archetypical crime of parricide, seems to be expressions of the dislocation of the real relations of humankind to itself, during Britain's great period of high capitalism and imperialist triumph.

An Ideal Husband
And So Say All Of Us...20100502
Arden Of Faversham20190120In 1551 in Tudor England, Alice and her lover Mosby conspire with hired killers to murder Alice's husband Arden. This anonymous play is the first example of a brutal true crime story on the English stage and resonates with our contemporary fascination with all things 'noir'. Based closely on Holinshed's detailed account of the murder, it was first published in 1592.

Arden....Ewan Bailey

Alice....Amaka Okafor

Mosby....Samuel James

Michael....Tom Forrister

Greene....Simon Ludders

Franklin....Philip Fox

Black Will....Ben Crowe

Shakebag....Sion Pritchard

Clarke....Ryan Whittle

Lord Cheiny....John Telfer

Bradshaw....John Norton

Susan....Olivia Marcus

Original music composed by Lucy Rivers

Musicians: James Ifan, Hannah McPake, Dan Messore, Mark O'Connor, Elin Phillips, Lucy Rivers & Aidan Thorne

Adapted and directed by Alison Hindell

BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 3

True crime in Tudor England as Alice and her lover Mosby plot to murder her husband Arden

Arms And The Man20100321
Artist Descending A Staircase20171008Tom Stoppard's comic tragedy about the meaning and purpose of life and art.

Tom Stoppard's Artist Descending a Staircase is both very much written for, and a tribute to, the medium of radio - the medium for which Tom Stoppard first started writing drama. Originally written for radio in 1972, this will be the first new production to be heard on the airwaves for 43 years.

Taking its title from Duchamp's painting Nude Descending a Staircase No 2, Tom Stoppard's 1972 radio play is both a funny and moving exploration of the meaning and purpose of art and the constantly shifting uncertainties of so-called 'reality'. It is also a tragic love story.

It begins in classic murder-mystery mode. Donner, an elderly artist, lies dead at the bottom of the staircase. His last moments of life - ambiguous fragments of sounds and words - have been captured by the tape recorder, which his housemate Beauchamp uses to make 'tonal art'. But the meaning of these aural clues (which are replayed and re-examined nearly as assiduously as the tape in Coppola's film The Conversation), depends entirely on the radio listener's interpretation of them. Beauchamp and the third artist, Martello, assume - quite understandably - that the recorded clues can only mean that one or other of them is a murderer. But Stoppard aficionados will know that reality is never quite what it seems, and that there is a characteristic coup de th退 tre (or coup de radio) awaiting them in the last scene of this beguiling drama.

Martello (older)....Geoffrey Whitehead

Beauchamp (older)....Derek Jacobi

Donner (older)....Ian McDiarmid

Sophie....Pippa Nixon

Martello....Joshua McGuire

Beauchamp....Blake Ritson

Donner....Hugh Skinner

Sound Design and Original Music: David Chilton

Writer: Tom Stoppard

Director: Gordon House

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 3

First broadcast January 2016.

Martello (older) - Geoffrey Whitehead

Beauchamp (older) - Derek Jacobi

Donner (older) - Ian McDiarmid

Sophie - Pippa Nixon

Martello - Joshua McGuire

Beauchamp - Blake Ritson

Donner - Hugh Skinner

Autumn Journal2016120420181202 (R3)Colin Morgan reads Louis MacNeice's poetic testament of life in 1938, written against the turbulent backdrop of the Munich Agreement, the fall of Barcelona and Britain's preparations for an inevitable war. Introduced by poet Colette Bryce and interwoven with archive news reports from the era.

Part of Radio 3's 70th season, marking the anniversary of the creation of the Third Programme, Radio 3's predecessor in 1946, where MacNeice worked as a producer and writer.

Produced by EMMA HARDING

Colin Morgan reads Louis MacNeice's poetic testament of living through the late 1930s.

Babel's Tower, By Mike Walker
Becket Or The Honour Of God20091004
Beware The Kids20091025
Beyond Words20081228'Three short symbolist plays by Maurice Maeterlinck, adapted by Katie Hims.'
Brand20111016As part of Radio 3's Conviction series, Henrik Ibsen's study of a religious zealot who refuses to compromise, leading him to risk catastrophe for himself and his family. Faced with possible tragedy for his loved ones, will he persist with his absolutism?

Brand....Gerard Murphy

Agnes....Morven Christie

Mayor....Jeremy Swift

Mother/Voice....Ann Mitchell

Ejnar....Carl Prekopp

Gerd, Son, Woman....Alex Tregear

Doctor....Alan Cox

Provost....Mark Tandy

Guide, Man....James Lailey

Crazed Woman....Susie Riddell

Gipsy, Woman....Elaine Claxton

Sexton, Man....Reg Stewart

Schoolmaster, Man....Gerard McDermott

Man....Simon Bubb

Music composed and performed by Nicolai Abrahamsen.

Directed by Peter Kavanagh.

Henrik Ibsen's play about a religious zealot who refuses all compromise.

Brand - Gerard Murphy

Agnes - Morven Christie

Mayor - Jeremy Swift

Mother/Voice - Ann Mitchell

Ejnar - Carl Prekopp

Gerd, Son, Woman - Alex Tregear

Doctor - Alan Cox

Provost - Mark Tandy

Guide, Man - James Lailey

Crazed Woman - Susie Riddell

Gipsy, Woman - Elaine Claxton

Sexton, Man - Reg Stewart

Schoolmaster, Man - Gerard McDermott

Man - Simon Bubb

Bring Me The Head Of Philip K Dick20090308
Byzantium20180304By Robin Brooks

Poison, intrigue, rebellion, torture, eunuch armies, black magic, political and sexual intrigue: this fast-moving historical epic tells the story of the Empress Zoe. Soft-hearted and politically naive, she nevertheless has the strongest claim to the throne of Constantinople, and lives for several eventful decades at the centre of vicious power struggles for control of the Byzantine Empire. It is a true story, based on contemporary histories of the 11th Century.

Empress Zoe....Catherine Shepherd

Psellus....Adrian Scarborough

Constans/Nicholas....Julian Wadham

Romanus....Raad Rawi

John, the Orphan Master....Jasper Britton

Michael....Alex Waldmann

Justin....Noof McEwan

Abbess/Witch....Gilian Cally

Alexios, the Patriarch....Sagar Arya

Theodora/Wife....Rose Reade

Other parts played by members of the company.

Producer/Director, Fiona McAlpine

Sound Design, Lucinda Mason Brown

An Allegra Production for BBC Radio 3.

by Robin Brooks. Poison, rebellion, torture, eunuch armies, and black magic.

Chowringhee20120311Mani Shankar Mukerji's 'Chowringhee' is a gentle comedy of life in a grand Calcutta hotel in the late 1950s adapted for radio by Roger James Elsgood from a translation from the Bengali by Arunava Sinha.

The story tells of the events that befall a bright but naive young Bengali when he is unexpectedly given a job behind the reception counter in 'The Shahjahan', Calcutta's finest hotel. He becomes entangled in the rocky romantic life of the manager, Marco Polo, he is caught in the crossfire of a diva of the silver screen and her possessive husband and witnesses the tragedy that befalls the beautiful but vulnerable resident hostess.

These stories are played out against the backdrop of a newly independent India in a time of austerity and social unrest.

The role of Sankar is played by Bollywood actor Joy Sengupta. The production was recorded entirely on location in Calcutta with a cast of Bengali actors.

The sound recordist was Ross Adams. Chowringhee was directed by Willi Richards. The Producer is Roger James Elsgood.

Mani Shankar Mukerji's gentle comedy set in a grand Calcutta hotel in the late 1950s.

Cock20111120The Royal Court Theatre production of Mike Bartlett's acclaimed and uncompromising play. On a break from his boyfriend, John accidentally falls for a woman, causing pain all round and exploding John's conceptions of his relationship, his sexuality and his identity.

Cock was first presented by the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre in 2009, directed by James Macdonald.

Cast:

John....Ben Whishaw

M....Andrew Scott

W....Katherine Parkinson

F....Paul Jesson

Produced by Mary Peate.

A Royal Court Theatre production of Mike Bartlett's play about sexual identity.

John - Ben Whishaw

M - Andrew Scott

W - Katherine Parkinson

F - Paul Jesson

Crossing The Bar
Cyrano De Bergerac
Danton's Death20110213Launching Radio 3's week-long focus on Buchner, Georg Buchner's radical retelling of the fallout of the French Revolution adapted by Simon Scardifield.

It's 1794, and a new France is being born from the reign of terror that characterised the worst of the Revolution. Charismatic hedonist Danton, still tormented by his role in the killing of 1400 aristocrats in a single night, is losing his grip on power, and he is so tired. His political rival, the sober and focused Robespierre, is in the ascendant, and - with his efficient sidekick St Just - has power now over Danton's fate. But can Danton care enough to fight the terror that he himself set in motion?

Cast

Georges DANTON - Joseph Millson

Maximilien ROBESPIERRE - Khalid Abdalla

CAMILLE Desmoulins - Patrick Kennedy

MARION - Claire Harry

HERAULT-SECHELLES - Laurence Mitchell

HERRMAN - Adeel Akhtar

Thomas PAYNE - Sean Baker

LACROIX - David Seddon

LEGENDRE - Lloyd Thomas

JULIE - Leah Brotherhead

ST JUST - Iain Batchelor

Directed by Jessica Dromgoole

NOTES

Georg Buchner died in 1837 at the age of 23, by which time he had had only one play published, and none produced. His small legacy of work, remaining unproduced for nearly sixty years after his death, has come to represent some of the most exciting and radical theatre writing in the European Theatre canon. This production is partnered with a special 'Sunday Feature' and a new Woyzeck for Drama on 3 on 20 February.

Georg Buchner's radical retelling of the fall-out from the French Revolution.

Georges DANTON....Joseph Millson

Maximilien ROBESPIERRE....Khalid Abdalla

CAMILLE Desmoulins....Patrick Kennedy

MARION....Claire Harry

HERAULT-SECHELLES....Laurence Mitchell

HERRMAN....Adeel Akhtar

Thomas PAYNE....Sean Baker

LACROIX....David Seddon

LEGENDRE....Lloyd Thomas

JULIE....Leah Brotherhead

ST JUST....Iain Batchelor

Darger And The Detective20090621
Death Of A Salesman, By Arthur Miller20171126David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker star in Arthur Miller's 1949 play about the American dream.

David Suchet, Zo뀀 Wanamaker and director Howard Davies, who all won awards for the sell-out production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons in the West End in 2010, reunite to create a new production for Radio 3 of Miller's 1949 classic about the American dream and his second big Broadway success. The original won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award and Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. This new radio production is part of the celebrations across BBC Radio 3, 4 and 4 Extra to mark the centenary of the birth of one of the most important American playwrights of the twentieth century.

Willy Loman is a 63-year-old travelling salesman worn out by a life on the road. His wife Linda has supported him throughout and borne him two sons, Biff and Happy. Biff is working away and has returned home for the first time in years, so the whole family are reunited. But there is a secret between Willy and Biff, which has destroyed what was a mutual hero-worshipping relationship when Biff was a star athlete in High School, and still haunts them both.

Penny whistle, Wilf Dalton

Technical presentation, Eloise Whitmore

A Watershed production for BBC Radio 3.

Don Quixote, By Thomas D'urfey
Dreams And CensorshipIt is 1610, and the translation of James I's new bible is at last complete. However, assured by Shakespeare, that to allow the inclusion of The Dream of St John will lead to bloody revolution, James travels to Oxford, determined to excise it from the sacred text. Originally broadcast in 1993.

Written by David Pownall and starring Robert Stephens.

Cast list:

Shakespeare - Edward Petherbridge

Prince Charlie - Gary King

Stage Manager - David Learner

Saville - Eric Allan

St John The Divine - Robert Stephens

Montague - John Church

James I - Hugh Ross

Robin - Melanie Hudson

Marbellus - Robert Mcintosh

Thompson - Michael Tudor Barnes

Stanley - Peter Penry-Jones

Abbot - Hugh Dickson

Hutten - Garard Green

Ravis - John Webb

Queen Anne - Siriol Jenkins

Produced by Eoin O'Callaghan.

David Pownall's play about Shakespeare's reaction to the King James Bible.

Shakespeare....Edward Petherbridge

Prince Charlie....Gary King

Stage Manager....David Learner

Saville....Eric Allan

St John The Divine....Robert Stephens

Montague....John Church

James I....Hugh Ross

Robin....Melanie Hudson

Marbellus....Robert Mcintosh

Thompson....Michael Tudor Barnes

Stanley....Peter Penry-Jones

Abbot....Hugh Dickson

Hutten....Garard Green

Ravis....John Webb

Queen Anne....Siriol Jenkins

Edward The Second20090913
El Cid20170521Version of Moliere's Le Cid, seeing the 11th-century Spanish hero before his rise to fame.

Pierre Corneille was one of France's three outstanding Classical dramatists, alongside Racine and Moliere. The Cid is his most famous - but in Britain too little-performed - play. The distinguished translator Ranjit Bolt's refashioning tells the story of the younger Cid, a self-indulgent, love-smitten courtier in 11th-century Spain who when duty calls rises to the occasion to become Spain's greatest hero.

The star-studded cast includes James Purefoy as the Cid, with Indira Varma as Ximena, Gina McKee as the Princess, and features Eleanor Bron and David Calder.

Rodrigo is a charming young courtier who plans to marry Ximena. But when her father, the chief general in the King's army, insults Rodrigo's father, he finds himself challenged by Rodrigo to a duel. The young, un-warlike suitor knows that if he loses he dies, but also that if he wins he loses Ximena. Pierre Corneille's landmark play examines the ethical and emotional dilemmas faced by the legendary champion-to-be, and his intended. It is a tale of love, honour and might, but in the great tradition of Racine and their other contemporary writers of tragedy, Corneille focuses on romantic dilemma, to show how lovers act under intense duress, and what choices - and perhaps compromises - they then make.

Bolt's translation is at once daring and faithful. He has observed the conventions of 17th century French Drama (rules imposed on his select group of writers by the infamous Cardinal Richelieu, intent on restoring classical virtues). But Bolt in customary fashion has dynamised the language and style.

Embers
Fall20090628
Fathers And Sons, By Brian Friel20171105Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres direct a dynamic dramatisation of Turgenev's novel.

Fathers and Sons' by Brian Friel, after the novel by Ivan Turgenev. Fathers: Charles Dance, James Fleet. Sons: Edward Bennett, George Blagden.

In Turgenev's prescient 1859 story of generational collision, both young heroes seem, at first, passionate revolutionaries, believing the old Russia should be swept away. But they're unsure what they'd replace it with. This clash of values is dramatic, funny and recognisably up-to-date, with Julia McKenzie as a batty princess, Lisa Dillon a self-searching widow, Gabrielle Lloyd a loving mother and Martin Jarvis as odd-ball Uncle Pavel.

Turgenev's darkly observant human comedy examines a particular period in Russian history which, in this epic production, foregrounds the eventual political struggle. And Friel, with benefit of hindsight, allows a glimpse of the future. Movingly, the play reminds us that it's the eternal values of love, friendship, loyalty and devotion that will, ultimately - hopefully - survive.

Nikolai Kirsanov James Fleet

Arkady George Blagden

Vassily Bazarov Charles Dance

Yevgeny Edward Bennett

Princess Olga Julia McKenzie

Anna Sergeevna Lisa Dillon

Pavel Martin Jarvis

Arina Gabrielle Lloyd

Fenichka Lucy Phelps

Dunyasha Joanna Cassidy

Katya Matilda Wickham

Piotr Kieran Hodgeson

Fedka Darren Richardson

Prokofyich and Timofeich Nigel Anthony

Musicians: Michael Lan, Stavros Dritsas, Louis Baily,

Djordje Gajic, Richard Sisson

Music advisers: Lucy Parham, Richard Sisson

Sound design: Mark Holden

Produced and directed by Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres

A Jarvis and Ayres Production for BBC Radio 3.

Faust20100919By Johann Wolfgang Goethe, translated by John R. Williams, with Samuel West as Faust, Toby Jones as Mephistopheles, Anna Maxwell Martin as Gretchen and Derek Jacobi as The Lord. Adapted and directed by David Timson, with music composed by Roger Marsh.

Goethe's Faust, one of the pillars of Western literature, is presented in a dramatisation by David Timson. In Part 1, following an agreement between Mephistopheles and The Lord, the scholar Faust is tempted into a contract with the Devil. His life is changed and he plunges into the enjoyment of sensuality until his emotions are stirred by a meeting with Gretchen, leading to a tragic outcome. Part 2, written much later in Goethe's life, presents a series of episodic scenes in which the poet places his eponymous hero in a variety of surprising circumstances reflecting the predicament of humanity. Funny, reflective and moving, this dramatisation shows why Goethe's Faust had such a massive influence on Western culture.

Faust - Samuel West

Mephistopheles - Toby Jones

Gretchen - Anna Maxwell Martin

The Lord - Derek Jacobi

Wagner (Faust's assistant) - Stephen Critchlow

Martha - Joannah Tincey

Valentin (Gretchen's brother) - Peter Kenny

Helen - Emily Raymond

The Emperor - Gunnar Cauthery

The Earth Spirit and Thales - Sean Barrett

Lord Chancellor and Anaxagoras - Hugh Dickson

Homunculus - Anne-Marie Piazza

Nereus - Gerard Horan

Chiron and Proteus - Gunnar Cauthery

Manto and Panthalis - Auriol Smith

Lynceus - Peter Kenny

Care - Emily Raymond

Euphorion - Daniel Mair

Music by Roger Marsh

Musicians: The 24, directed by the composer with Peyee Chen (soprano) Georgina Wells (harp) and Mark Hutchinson (oboe)

Sound Design and Additional Music by Norman Goodman.

Adapted and Directed by David Timson.

Producer: Nicolas Soames.

An Ukemi Production for Radio 3.

With Samuel West and Toby Jones. Goethe's epic reflection on the predicament of humanity.

Chiron and Proteus....Gunnar Cauthery

Lynceus....Peter Kenny

Care....Emily Raymond

Fences20100110
Finlandia20170528The psyche of Jean Sibelius, his music and a Finnish epic, starring Tim Pigott-Smith.

Tim Pigott-Smith who died earlier this year stars as Jean Sibelius in Stephen Wyatt's psychological drama, woven around a Finnish epic and the composer's music.

It is 1945. Sibelius, national hero, then aged eighty, is about to burn his Eighth Symphony despite the protests of his wife, Aino. He had had nothing new completed or performed for over twenty years, so why would he do this now?

Finland had come to regret its devil's bargain with Nazi Germany: it had warded off Russia, but at what cost? And for how long? In 1899 Sibelius had written Finlandia, expressing defiance of Russian hegemony and a belief in an independent future. Finland is once again struggling for its identity. Could Sibelius do it again with his Eighth Symphony? Closely bound with the Finnish identity he had helped to create, he now finds himself in a moment of creative and national despair. The fate of his long anticipated Eighth Symphony is in the balance.

Finlandia interweaves an intense conflict between husband and wife about burning the manuscripts, with scenes from The Kalevala, the national epic of Finland. The Kalevala morphs in Sibelius's agitated mind until it embodies his internal conflicts and the historical forces at work on Finland. The excerpts from The Kalevala weave in and out of the drama to imaginatively shine a light into the composer's mind and they are underscored with the music The Kalevala inspired Sibelius to write.

The argument between Aino and Sibelius illuminates parts of Sibelius's past and his attitude towards his work and his country, but at its heart the play is an examination of the psyche of Sibelius - artist, national symbol, husband and father - at a crucial juncture in his life and that of his country.

Flare Path20110605is a play by Terence Rattigan, written in 1941 and first staged in 1942. Set in a hotel near an RAF Bomber Command airbase during the Second World War, the story involves a love triangle between a pilot, his actress wife and a famous film star.

The title of the play refers to the flares that were used to light runways to allow planes to take off and land but the flare paths were also used by the Germans to target the RAF planes.

In writing the play, Terence Rattigan drew on his experiences as a tail gunner in the RAF Coastal Command.

Cast

Peter Kyle....Rupert Penry Jones

Patricia Graham....Ruth Wilson

Teddy Graham....Rory Kinnear

Doris Skriczevinsky....Monica Dolan

Mrs Oakes....Una Stubbs

Count Skriczevinsky....Tom Goodman-Hill

Dusty Miller....Justin Salinger

Swanson....Julian Wadham

Percy....David Hartley

Maudie Miller....Kelly Shirley.

Exec Producer: Catherine Bailey

Directed by Jeremy Herrin (Deputy Artistic Director of the Royal Court) For Catherine Bailey Ltd.

Terence Rattigan's 1941 love-triangle drama between a pilot, his wife and a film star.

Flare Path is a play by Terence Rattigan, written in 1941 and first staged in 1942. Set in a hotel near an RAF Bomber Command airbase during the Second World War, the story involves a love triangle between a pilot, his actress wife and a famous film star.

Peter Kyle - Rupert Penry Jones

Patricia Graham - Ruth Wilson

Teddy Graham - Rory Kinnear

Doris Skriczevinsky - Monica Dolan

Mrs Oakes - Una Stubbs

Count Skriczevinsky - Tom Goodman-Hill

Dusty Miller - Justin Salinger

Swanson - Julian Wadham

Percy - David Hartley

Maudie Miller - Kelly Shirley.

Free Thinking 2010, Vultures20101107Sean wants to prove that he is more than' just one of the Bishop's', that his anger has a point. That he does matter and that just this once he can make everyone, particularly Yvette, listen to him.

Sean Bishop has something to say.

BAFTA Award-winning Roy Williams is one of Britain's finest contemporary playwrights, often putting on stage in gritty and eloquent dialogue stories set on the fringes and amongst the underclass of our society. Vultures is a new work specially written for Free Thinking.

Yvette - Nadine Marshall

Sean - Sean Gallagher

Brian... Bill Fellows

Helen... Victoria Elliot

Directed by Kate Rowland

Recorded in front of an audience at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.

Play about an angry white working-class man with a grievance against society.

Yvette....Nadine Marshall

Sean....Sean Gallagher

Free Thinking Festival: Suffrage Dramas20180311From a factory worker who mistakenly goes to an anti-suffrage meeting and can't stop herself speaking out, to a titled lady seeking her friend's help in writing an anti-suffrage speech, only to be constantly interrupted by a stream of highly qualified and articulate women, this specially recorded programme presents a selection of Suffrage dramas hosted by Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough and performed by actors local to the area in front of an audience at the Free Thinking Festival in St Mary's Church, Gateshead.

There were over 400 women playwrights in Britain from 1900- 1920 and, in 1908, the Actresses' Franchise League and Women Writers' Suffrage League were both formed specifically to help the campaign for votes for women. The background to the plays will be discussed by Naomi Paxton, a researcher for 'What Difference Did the War Make? World War One and Votes for Women', which is part of Parliament's Vote 100 project. She's also a New Generation Thinker who has edited the Methuen Drama book of Suffrage Plays. They are joined by Diane Atkinson, historian, biographer and author of 'Rise up, Women!: The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes'.

The plays are:

A Pageant of Great Women by Cecily Hamilton

Lady Geraldine's Speech by Beatrice Harradan

Tradition by George Middleton

The Mother's Meeting by Mrs Harlow Philbbs

10 Clowning Street by Joan Dugdale

Which by Evelyn Glover

The cast is

Phillippa Wilson

Christopher Connel

Karen Traynor

Rosie Stancliffe

Sarah Lewis Obuba

Producers: Marion Nancarrow and Fiona McLean.

The little-known plays written by activists to help in the campaign for votes for women.

Gilead20101212by Marilynne Robinson adapted for radio by Mike Kenny

Reverend John Ames (Roger Allam) is nearing the end of a long life. His son is still a young boy, the product of a late flowering love. Ames knows he will never see his son grow to be a man and, given that he owns nothing and lives in a tied church house, all he can pass on is what he knows and the life he has lived. So, the letter he writes to his son is both a memoir of a life lived, and the journal of the present in which it is being written.

The tale is set in the 1950s, but takes us back through generations of preachers as far as the American Civil war, and projects into a future in which we now live.

Into Ames's life comes Jack Boughton, (Elliot Cowan) the wayward son of his best friend (Colin Stinton). Jack was baptised by Ames, and named after him. He feels a particular responsibility for this prodigal, but has never been able to like him. A charmer, Jack appears to woo both Ames wife, Lila (Elizabeth McGovern) and son John, and the old man struggles with the feelings stirred by the younger man. His very presence makes him feel his age.

We witness a good man wrestle with bad thoughts. It makes for an experience that is both surprising and deeply satisfying without leaving the few streets of a sleepy Midwest town.

Ames - Roger Allam

Lila - Elizabeth McGovern

Boy - Taran Stanzler

Glory - Nancy Crane

Boughton - Colin Stinton

Jack - Elliot Cowan

Directed by Annie Castledine

A CATHERINE BAILEY PRODUCTION.

Adaptation of Marilynne Robinson's novel about a minister facing death.

Ames....Roger Allam

Lila....Elizabeth McGovern

Boy....Taran Stanzler

Glory....Nancy Crane

Boughton....Colin Stinton

Jack....Elliot Cowan

Giovanni's Room20100905James Baldwin's classic novel in its world premiere radio production, set in Paris, 1954. When handsome blond American David meets the stunning Giovanni in a 'bohemian' Parisian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But David's fiancé, Hella, returns to Paris and, unable to admit the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened, with calamitous results for all three, especially for Giovanni, whose life descends into murderous tragedy.

Dramatised for radio and directed by leading theatre director Neil Bartlett.

CAST

David - Damian Lewis

Father - John Lithgow

Hella - Greta Scacchi

Guillaume - Derek Jacobi

Jacques - Michael Feast

Giovanni - Antonio Magro

Directed by Neil Bartlett

A Bona Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 3.

James Baldwin's classic novel set in Paris in 1954 in its world premiere radio production.

James Baldwin's classic novel in its world premiere radio production, set in Paris, 1954. When handsome blond American David meets the stunning Giovanni in a 'bohemian' Parisian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But David's fianc?, Hella, returns to Paris and, unable to admit the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened, with calamitous results for all three, especially for Giovanni, whose life descends into murderous tragedy.

David....Damian Lewis

Father....John Lithgow

Hella....Greta Scacchi

Guillaume....Derek Jacobi

Jacques....Michael Feast

Giovanni....Antonio Magro

Girlfriend In A Coma
Glass Chair Chair Glass20110918Russ Abbott, Harriet Walter, Emily Bruni, Hugh Ross and Allan Corduner star in a play that imagines a day when Tommy Cooper met absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco. It could have happened.

It's a sunny morning in Paris, 1975, and in the throes of a paranoia laced drunken spree, Tommy Cooper may not be in the best place to enter Eugene Ionesco's world, where events have the logic of a dream, where people don't tell the truth or even know what it is and where mysterious and brutal threats are always close. Survivor of Nazis and Stalinists, in permanent exile from his native Romania, Ionesco was always drawn to anarchic comedy as the only way to express the world. His plays generate emotion rather than obvious meaning because he felt life was too unstable to mean very much. Ionesco and Tommy Cooper's world views collide with surprising results, concluding that laughter is often the only real revolution we have left.

A play that waltzes us through thoughts about the state of the world, how to make a salt pot disappear, and how to travel on imaginary motorbikes, as Cooper and Ionesco ask the question; Is comedy just business, escapism or is it for the soul?

Tommy Cooper....Russ Abbott

Gwen Cooper/Concierge....Harriet Walter

Eugene Ionesco.... Allan Corduner

The Actress....Emily Bruni

Miff Ferrie....Hugh Ross

Written by Annie Caulfield.

Directed by Marilyn Imrie

Produced by Gordon Kennedy for Absolutely Productions.

A comedy about what might have happened if Tommy Cooper had met Eugene Ionesco.

Tommy Cooper - Russ Abbott

Gwen Cooper/Concierge - Harriet Walter

Eugene Ionesco - Allan Corduner

The Actress - Emily Bruni

Miff Ferrie - Hugh Ross

Gone20100314
Goodnight To Flamboro'20110903/04DOUGLAS HODGE stars as composer William Baines, who died at 23, in his most prolific stage

DOUGLAS HODGE stars as composer William Baines, who died at 23.

The story traces the most prolific period of his short life.

Harold Pinter Double Bill20090215Another chance to hear two plays by HAROLD PINTER, in tribute to the playwright who died in 2008.

8.00pm

  • bel....sara kestelman
  • bridget....indira varma

    music by elizabeth parker

  • directed by - janet whitaker

    8.55pm

  • fred....harry burton
  • jake....douglas hodge
  • maria....jill johnson
  • moonlight

    first performed in 1993, this radio production of pinter's play was recorded to mark his 70th birthday.

    andy, a middle aged civil servant, lies in his bed, dying.

    his wife tries desperately to bring his estranged adult sons to his side.

    bridging these two worlds is the haunting presence of the daughter they have lost.

    andy....harold pinter

  • ralph....john shrapnel
  • voices

    one of pinter's last dramatic works, this was first broadcast in 2005.

    some of the tormentors and the tormented so potently etched in pinter's later plays are brought together with a musical setting by the composer james clarke.

    voices: harry burton, anastasia hille, andy de la tour, douglas hodge, gabrielle hamilton, roger lloyd-pack, gawn grainger, harold pinter and indira varma.

    music: apartment house; eileen aagaard; prometheus ensemble; rolande van der paal; etienne siebens; bbc symphony orchestra conducted by martyn brabbins and david porcelijn; fatma mehralieva.

    a tribute to harold pinter, with his 1993 play moonlight and his 2005 radio piece voices

  • Helen20110227Don Taylor's translation of the savage tragicomedy by Euripides about a war in the Middle East fought for the flimsiest of reasons.

    The Trojan War is over and the Greek forces are making their way home. Meanwhile, in Egypt, Helen of Troy is protesting to anyone who will listen that she is innocent, that she never went to Troy, and the whole war was fought under false pretences. When her husband Menelaus is shipwrecked on the shore where Helen has been taking sanctuary, she not only has a lot of explaining to do, but also an escape to plan.

    This story of a war in the Middle East fought over dubious claims now has contemporary resonance.

    Frances Barber stars as Helen, James Purefoy as her husband, and Paul Ritter as King Theoclymenus.

    Helen - Frances Barber

    Menelaus - James Purefoy

    Theoclymenus - Paul Ritter

    Theonoe/Chorus - Anna Francolini

    Concierge/Chorus - Catherine Russell

    Slave/Chorus - Laura Rees

    Teucer - Gus Brown

    Sailor/Messenger - Richard Galazka

    Heavenly Twins - Max Digby

    Music composed and performed by Derek Bourgeois

    Adapted and Directed by Ellen Dryden

    An independent production by First Writes Radio.

    Don Taylor's translation of Euripides's tragicomedy. With Frances Barber.

    Helen....Frances Barber

    Menelaus....James Purefoy

    Theoclymenus....Paul Ritter

    Theonoe/Chorus....Anna Francolini

    Concierge/Chorus....Catherine Russell

    Slave/Chorus....Laura Rees

    Teucer....Gus Brown

    Sailor/Messenger....Richard Galazka

    Heavenly Twins....Max Digby

    Henry Viii20090419
    Himmler's Boy|20041024A new play by Adam Thorpe, one of our leading contemporary writers.

    In 1931, in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum, art history student Klaus Bessel meets and falls in love with the clever and vivacious Anya Goldberger. But Anya is a Polish Jew, and in a few short years Klaus will be a member of

    a special SS unit, personally charged by Reichsführer Himmler to plunder occupied Poland of its priceless art.

    Klaus....Thomas Arnold

    Anya....Lesley Hart

    Liesl....Vicki Liddelle

    Himmler....Richard Greenwood

    Schaefer....Paul Young

    Muhlmann....Michael Perceval-Maxwell

    Aunt Maryla....Joanna Tope

    Directed by Patrick Rayner.

    Klaus - Thomas Arnold

    Anya - Lesley Hart

    Liesl - Vicki Liddelle

    Himmler - Richard Greenwood

    Schaefer - Paul Young

    Muhlmann - Michael Perceval-Maxwell

    Aunt Maryla - Joanna Tope

    Home, By David StoreyA poignant, often darkly funny play which looks at the lives of five people.

    'A poignant, often darkly funny play which looks at the lives of five people.'

    Hum20090517
    Hyde Park-on-hudson20090607
    In The Absence Of Geoff20090104Adam Godley stars in a wry contemporary comedy by the award-winning Charlotte Jones.
    Iphigenia In Crimea20170423For Tony Harrison's 80th birthday, the premiere of his new verse drama, after Euripides.

    To mark Tony Harrison's 80th birthday, a world premiere of his new verse drama, after Euripides.

    Sebastapol, 1854, the Crimean War. A Classics-loving Lieutenant persuades a company of British soldiers to stage an all-male production of Iphigenia in Tauris. Starring Blake Ritson as Iphigenia and Robert Emms as Orestes.

    Music performed by Peter Ringrose (trumpet), Detta Danford (flute), Howard McGill (clarinet), Jon Banks (accordion) and Matt Sharp (cello).

    Music composed and directed by Jon Nicholls.

    Is Your Love Better Than Life?2014021620180401 (R3)Could an Archbishop become an enemy of the state? An original drama by FRANCES BYRNES.

    Could an Archbishop become an enemy of the state? Inspired partially by Eliot's classic verse drama Murder in the Cathedral, Is Your Love Better than Life explores a futuristic scenario in which senior figures in the Church and Government discover they have irreconcilable differences, so that it becomes for them a matter of life and death. What beliefs will we die for? Or kill for? It's about telling the truth.

    O God, you are my God, for you I long;

    for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you

    like a dry, weary land without water.

    So I gaze on you in the sanctuary

    to see your strength and your glory.

    For your love is better than life.' (Psalm 63)

    The writer

    FRANCES BYRNES is a Sony award winning radio producer and dramatist. Her adaptation of L P Hartley's The Go-Between for BBC Radio 3 was shortlisted in the 2013 Writers Guild Awards.

    With thanks to Graham Hunter, St John's Church, Hoxton, Ed West and Canon Alan Billings

    Sound design, ELOISE WHITMORE.

    Joe Orton Double-bill20170702A double-bill of Joe Orton plays to mark the 50th anniversary of his death.

    A special Orton evening, comprising two new productions of Orton's plays The Erpingham Camp and The Ruffian on the Stair, plus an interview with Orton's friend, actor Kenneth Cranham, recorded live at the BBC's radio theatre to mark the 50th anniversary of Orton's untimely death at the hands of his lover, Kenneth Halliwell.

    The Erpingham Camp:

    Erpingham....Robert Daws

    Riley....Jonjo O'Neill

    Lou....Kerry Gooderson

    Ted....Samuel James

    Kenny....Charlie Clements

    Eileen....Sarah Ridgeway

    W.E. Harrison....Tom Forrister

    Jessie Mason....Sanchia McCormack

    Padre....Simon Ludders

    Accordion Player....Colin Guthrie

    The Ruffian On The Stair:

    Mike....Gerard Horan

    Joyce....Sophie Thompson

    Wilson....Jack Rowan

    Producer....Mary Peate

    Joe Orton shocked and entertained audiences with his scandalous black comedies which poked fun at the hypocrisy, double standards and corruption at the heart of British society, but his life was cut short when his lover Kenneth Halliwell beat him to death before himself taking a fatal overdose, 50 years ago this summer.

    Matthew Sweet interviews Kenneth Cranham.

    This production is part of the BBC's Gay Britannia season.

    Erpingham - Robert Daws

    Riley - Jonjo O'Neill

    Lou - Kerry Gooderson

    Ted - Samuel James

    Kenny - Charlie Clements

    Eileen - Sarah Ridgeway

    W.E. Harrison - Tom Forrister

    Jessie Mason - Sanchia McCormack

    Padre - Simon Ludders

    Accordion Player - Colin Guthrie

    Mike - Gerard Horan

    Joyce - Sophie Thompson

    Wilson - Jack Rowan

    Producer - Mary Peate

    Juno And The Paycock2014111620180527 (R3)Sean O'Casey's comedy masterpiece. An impoverished Dublin family comes into an inheritance

    Sean O'Casey's hilarious tragic-comedy, set in a working-class Dublin tenement during the Irish Civil War, is now considered one of the finest Irish plays of the last century. Will a surprise inheritance improve life for the Boyle family?

    Juno Boyle....Sorcha Cusack

    Captain Boyle....Stanley Townsend

    Joxer Daly....John Kavanagh

    Mary Boyle....Beth Cooke

    Johnny Boyle....Rory Fleck Byrne

    Charles Bentham....Ruari Conaghan

    Maisie Madigan....Michele Moran

    Mrs Tancred....Marcella Riordan

    Needle' Nugent....Stephen Hogan

    Furniture Man....David Cann

    Neighbour....Craig Els

    Neighbour....Scarlett Brookes

    Adapted and directed by Peter Kavanagh.

    Kafka The Musical20110424Another chance to hear the magnetic performance that won David Tennant 'Best Actor' at this year's inaugural BBC Audio Drama Awards for his part as Franz Kafka.

    Murray Gold's new play starts from the suitably Kafkaesque premise that Franz Kafka finds he has to play himself in a musical about his own life. The play - or is it the musical? - introduces Kafka and the audience to some of the key characters in his life, Milena Jesenska, Dora Diamant and Felice Bauer.

    Franz Kafka - David Tennant

    Father - David Fleeshman

    Mother - Joanna Monro

    Milena - Naomi Frederick

    Felice - Jessica Raine

    Dora - Emerald O'Hanrahan

    Barman / Singer / Doctor - Trevor Allan Davies

    Newspaper Seller / Man - Brian Bowles

    Music by Murray Gold

    Directed by Jeremy Mortimer

    Murray Gold's first radio play Electricity won the Richard Imison award for best new play after its broadcast on Radio 3 in 2001. It subsequently transferred to the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2004 and was performed with Christopher Eccleston in the lead role. Other plays include 50 Revolutions performed by the Oxford Stage Company at the Whitehall Theatre, London in 2000 and Resolution at Battersea Arts Centre in 1994, and Little Joe and His Struggle Against the World (Radio 3 2005). Murray Gold has been nominated for a BAFTA four times in the category Best Original Television Music, for Vanity Fair (1999), Queer as Folk (2000), Casanova (2006) and Doctor Who (2008). He wrote the theme tune for the Channel 4 series Shameless and scored the period drama The Devil's Whore. More recently Murray Gold scored another David Tennant series, BBC1's Single Father.

    By Murray Gold. David Tennant plays Kafka, trapped in a musical about his life.

    Franz Kafka....David Tennant

    Father....David Fleeshman

    Mother....Joanna Monro

    Milena....Naomi Frederick

    Felice....Jessica Raine

    Dora....Emerald O'Hanrahan

    Barman / Singer / Doctor....Trevor Allan Davies

    Newspaper Seller / Man....Brian Bowles

    Krapp's Last Tape
    Lady Windermere's Fan20180415MARTIN JARVIS directs Wilde's thrilling drama. Mira Sorvino leads an outstanding cast.

    A fresh look at Wilde's masterpiece of secrets, lies and betrayal. His subtitle: 'A play about a good woman'.

    Produced by award-winning Jarvis and Ayres Productions. MARTIN JARVIS directs a star cast: Mira Sorvino, Susannah Fielding, Jonathan Cake, JAMES CALLIS, Ian Ogilvy, ROSALIND AYRES, Peter Woodward. Social outsider Mrs Erlynne and respectable Lord Windermere share a secret. Are they having an affair? Confronted by young wife Margaret, her husband denies it. Unconvinced, she decides to leave him. A roller-coaster examination of 'good' and 'bad'. Deceit. Infidelity. Love. The tell-tale fan becomes a vital clue as the truth finally becomes clear. But who actually is the 'good' woman?

    Masterly thriller - its timelessness reflected in specially composed music. Drawing-room-comedy turned on its head in Wilde's amazingly up-to-date study of hypocrisy.

    Mrs Erlynne....Mira Sorvino

    Lady Windermere....Susannah Fielding

    Lord Windermere....JAMES CALLIS

    Lord Darlington....Jonathan Cake

    Duchess of Berwick....ROSALIND AYRES

    Lord Lorton....Ian Ogilvy

    Mr Dumby....Peter Woodward

    Cecil Graham....MATTHEW WOLF

    Mr Hopper....Darren Keefe

    Parker....Darren Richardson

    Agatha/Lady Stutfield....Elizabeth Knowelden

    Lady Plymdale/Rosalie....Edita Brychta

    Lady Jedburgh....Jean Gilpin

    Sound Design: Mark Holden

    Specially composed music: A-Mnemonic

    Director: MARTIN JARVIS

    A Jarvis and Ayres Production.

    Largo DesolatoTheatre critic Michael Billington introduces a classic play from the archives by Czech playwright and President, Vaclav Havel, to mark Havel's death in December last year.

    When the death of the former President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel was announced last year, Europe lost one of its great dissident voices. From the 1960s to the 1980s, BBC radio broadcast many new productions of Havel's plays - plays that were usually banned in his then-Communist homeland because of the way they mocked and interrogated the absurd nature of totalitarian rule.

    Michael Billington, theatre-critic for the Guardian for much of this period, introduces another chance to hear a 1987 Havel black comedy called Largo Desolato in an English version by Tom Stoppard, himself born in Czechoslovakia.

    Richard Briers stars as Leopold, a philosopher who has offended the authorities in an unnamed country. He has written a certain philosophical essay and anxiously each day awaits the knock on the door. His friends, of course, expect him to act like a hero....

    Professor Leopold Nettles.......................Richard Briers

    Edward.................................................Paul Gregory

    Suzanna............................................Jennifer Piercey

    First Sidney.........................................Philip Jackson

    Second Sidney........................................David Goodland

    Lucy...................................................Belinda Lang

    Bertram................................................John Moffatt

    First Chap..........................................Anthony Jackson

    Second Chap............................................Ian Thompson

    Marguerite..............................................Sue Broomfield

    Produced by Matthew Walters.

    Richard Briers stars in a black comedy by Czech playwright and President Vaclav Havel.

    Richard Briers stars as Leopold, a philosopher who has offended the authorities in an unnamed country. He has written a certain philosophical essay and anxiously each day awaits the knock on the door. His friends, of course, expect him to act like a hero - Professor Leopold Nettles....Richard Briers

    Edward....Paul Gregory

    Suzanna....Jennifer Piercey

    First Sidney....Philip Jackson

    Second Sidney....David Goodland

    Lucy....Belinda Lang

    Bertram....John Moffatt

    First Chap....Anthony Jackson

    Second Chap....Ian Thompson

    Marguerite....Sue Broomfield

    Laughter In The Dark20040815by Vladimir Nabokov

    Dramatised by Craig Higginson.

    Set in Berlin, in a period moving inexorably towards World War II, this is the story of the downfall of a middle-aged married man who becomes infatuated with a young woman he meets in the cinema. She uses him with startling callousness and ultimately destroys him. This darkly erotic dramatisation comes to vivid life as events unfold in the mind of a man who becomes blind and can only guess at the gross betrayals inflicted on him by a younger and more ruthless generation.

    Albert Albinus....Roger Allam

    Margot Peters....Claire Price

    Axel Rex....Alan Cox

    Elizabeth....Geraldine Alexander

    Irma....Lauren Bird

    Frieda....Sarah Badel

    Otto....Dale Rapley

    Karl Schwarz....Ewan Bailey

    Doctor....David Shaw-Parker

    Chambermaid....Tracy Wiles

    Composer: Howard Davidson

    Directed by Maria Aitken

    Albert Albinus - Roger Allam

    Margot Peters - Claire Price

    Axel Rex - Alan Cox

    Elizabeth - Geraldine Alexander

    Irma - Lauren Bird

    Frieda - Sarah Badel

    Otto - Dale Rapley

    Karl Schwarz - Ewan Bailey

    Doctor - David Shaw-Parker

    Chambermaid - Tracy Wiles

    Living With Princes20110123In 1588, the essayist and landowner Michel de Montaigne, set out on a journey round the troubled kingdom of France. He was on a mission - to reconcile the Valois King Henri the Third, a Catholic, with his likely successor, the Bourbon King of Navarre, a Protestant. It's high stakes: intensified Civil War the consequence of failure.

    Michel de Montaigne - Roger Allam

    Peslier - James Norton

    Catherine de Medici - Jane Lapotaire

    Henri Navarre - Elliot Levey

    Henri Valois - Sam Dale

    Francoise de Montaigne - Sally Orrock

    Marie de Gournay - Leah Brotherhead

    Sergeant Soumillon - Adeel Akhtar

    Captain Guyon - Lloyd Thomas

    Courtier - Henry Devas

    Directed by Jeremy Mortimer

    Stephen Wakelam is a playwright, working first mainly in TV and now in radio. His TV work includes over twenty original films and plays, drama documentaries and adaptations. Amongst his recent radio plays are: the biographical What I Think of My Husband about the second Mrs Thomas Hardy (BBC Radio 4); The Pattern of Painful Adventures about Shakespeare (Radio 3); and A Dose of Fame about E.M. Forster (Radio 4). Other radio plays include: Answered Prayers; Two Men from Delft; and The Adulteries of a Provincial Wife. Stephen is the author of three stage plays, two of which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs.

    Play in which essayist Michel de Montaigne is sent on a diplomatic mission around France.

    By Stephen Wakelam.

    Stephen Wakelam is a playwright, working first mainly in TV and now in radio. His TV work includes over twenty original films and plays, drama documentaries and adaptations. Amongst his recent radio plays are: the biographical What I Think of My Husband about the second Mrs Thomas Hardy (BBC Radio 4); The Pattern of Painful Adventures about Shakespeare (Radio 3); and A Dose of Fame about E.M. Forster (Radio 4). A further three radio plays can be heard via his website: Answered Prayers with Kenneth Cranham; Two Men from Delft with Alex Jennings and Stephen Tompkinson; and The Adulteries of a Provincial Wife with Robert Glenister, Daniel Evans and Anastasia Hille. Stephen is the author of three stage plays, two at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs.

    Michel de Montaigne....Roger Allam

    Peslier....James Norton

    Catherine de Medici....Jane Lapotaire

    Henri Navarre....Elliot Levey

    Henri Valois....Sam Dale

    Francoise de Montaigne....Sally Orrock

    Marie de Gournay....Leah Brotherhead

    Sergeant Soumillon....Adeel Akhtar

    Captain Guyon....Lloyd Thomas

    Courtier....Henry Devas

    Long Day's Journey Into Night, By Eugene O'neill20170625Eugene O'Neill's drama focusing one devastating day in the lives of a Connecticut family.

    Long Day's Journey Into Night is the story of one devastating day in the Tyrone family, the Great American Family at its worst. The play depicts the family members' downward spiral into addiction, disease, and their own haunted pasts. Awarded a Pulitzer Prize posthumously for this play, it is generally regarded as Eugene O'Neill's masterpiece. With a cast including Robert Glenister, Anastasia Hille and Rupert Evans.

    Set in August 1912 in the Summer House of The Tyrones by the sea in Connecticut, the four main characters are considered to be the semi-autobiographical representations of O'Neill himself, his older brother, and their parents.

    James Tyrone is a tight fisted ageing actor whose miserliness has been the ruin of his family. His wife, Mary, has been a morphine addict since the birth of their youngest son, Edmund. Their eldest son, Jamie, is an alcoholic, unable and unwilling to find work on his own, he has been 'forced' to take up his father's profession. Edmund, who has been away as a sailor has returned home sick and awaits the doctor's diagnosis of consumption. They are all so wrapped up in their own despair that they struggle to confront the truth.

    A Pier Production.

    Love Is Not New In This Country20180204Intrepid actors stage a production of Shakespeare's Love's Labours Lost in Kabul in 2005.

    By Samantha Ellis. Introduced by Qais Akbar Omar.

    In Kabul in 2005, after the defeat of the Taliban, German-Syrian actress and director Corinne Jaber worked hard to achieve what many thought was an impossible task: to bring together a company of Afghan actors to stage a Dari production of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost. Revolutionary things happen in rehearsal - male and female actors appear on the same stage, make eye contact, become friends, and even talk frankly about love, but are plagued by fears that Afghanistan hasn't really changed that much. The Taliban are making death threats against the actresses.

    Could this one production really, as one actor vowed, 'challenge the whole country'?

    Based on the book 'A Night in the Emperor's Garden' by Stephen Landrigan and Qais Akbar Omar.

    Corinne....Amita Dhiri

    Qais....Nima Taleghani

    Nabi....Philip Arditti

    Parwin....Nathalie Armin

    Breshna....G退hane Strehler

    Marina....Sarah Agha

    Kabir....Paul Chahidi

    Shahla....Jumaan Short

    Tawab....Mustafa Aryan

    Music by Milad Yousofi

    Sound design by Alisdair McGregor

    Directed by Jeremy Mortimer

    Executive Producer Joby Waldman

    A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3.

    Macbeth20170430A new production of Shakespeare's dark tragedy about ambition for power.
    Manfred2017010820181021 (R3)Manfred by Lord Byron

    This haunting, poetic drama stars Joseph Millson. Manfred, living isolated, high in the mountains, tortured and haunted by a dark crime, invokes spirits in search of solace but finds no peace.

    Singers: Rhiain Taylor, Caroline Lock, Michael Gibson, Fionnuala Dorrity, Conrad Nelson, Connor Baiano and Katharine Longworth.

    Original music composed and performed by Olly Fox.

    Introduction with Gregory Paul Tate, University of St. Andrews

    Research consultant, Professor Jane Stabler, University St. Andrews

    Manfred, haunted by a dark crime, invokes spirits in search of solace but finds no peace.

    Mary Rose2016102320180624 (R3)JM Barrie's haunting play about a sinister Scottish island and a girl who never grows up.

    JM Barrie's haunting play about a sinister Scottish island and a girl who never grows up. A soldier sits staring into the fire in an empty, dark house while an unsettling and tragic history unfolds before him. Written in the aftermath of the First World War, Barrie's play about loss and the mystery of life is by turns comic, eerie and heartbreaking.

    Original music is composed and performed by singer cellist Laura Moody.

    JM Barrie....Bill Paterson

    Mary Rose....Bryony Hannah

    Simon....Oliver Chris

    Mr. Morland....James Fleet

    Mrs. Morland....Pippa Haywood

    Harry....Finlay Robertson

    Mrs. Otery....Alison Belbin

    Cameron....Mark Prendergast

    Writer, JM Barrie

    Composer/performer, Laura Moody

    Adapter, Abigail le Fleming

    Director, Abigail le Fleming.

    Massistonia20110206Colin Teevan's play is loosely based on his own ill-fated trip to Macedonia to direct a major theatre production. Jason has high hopes for his international version of 'Alcmaeon in Corinth'. He embarks on the project with little idea of the forces about to be unleashed against him.

    Jason - Darren Boyd

    Aleksandar - Nikola Kodjabashia

    Castor/Mayor - Ewan Bailey

    Dragan/Aco - Sasha C. Damjanovski

    Kaliopi - Dolya Gavanski

    Todor/Consul - Ivan Marevich

    Dionysos - Iain Batchelor

    Afrodita - Leah Brotherhead

    Original music by Nikola Kodjabashia

    Director: Toby Swift

    *******************************

    Colin Teevan's new play is a timely tale of Western hubris and Eastern European manipulation of the system. Inspired by Colin's own ill-fated trip to work with the National Theatre of Macedonia in 2008, 'Massistonia' follows an English director and his creative team as they try to mount an international touring production of 'Alcmaeon in Corinth'.

    Colin Teevan is a prolific writer for theatre and radio. Former writer-in-residence at Queens University, Belfast, he has also been ScreenEast Writing Fellow at University of East Anglia and Literary Fellow to the Universities of Durham and Newcastle. His work is regularly performed all over the world, including in this country at the National Theatre, the Young Vic and West Yorkshire Playhouse. Colin has been a regular contributor to the Verb on BBC Radio 3. One of his plays for 'Drama on 3', the acclaimed 'How Many Miles to Basra', was subsequently re-worked for the stage, winning a Clarion Award in 2007.

    Colin Teevan's play based on his own trip to Macedonia to direct a theatre production.

    Jason....Darren Boyd

    Aleksandar....Nikola Kodjabashia

    Castor/Mayor....Ewan Bailey

    Dragan/Aco....Sasha C. Damjanovski

    Kaliopi....Dolya Gavanski

    Todor/Consul....Ivan Marevich

    Dionysos.... Iain Batchelor

    Afrodita.... Leah Brotherhead

    Measure For Measure20180429Paul Higgins and Nicola Ferguson star in Shakespeare's last and perhaps strangest comedy.

    by William Shakespeare

    Women? Help Heaven! men their creation mar

    In profiting by them.

    Shakespeare's last and perhaps strangest comedy - a play about religion, surveillance, coercion, sex and power.

    The Duke....Paul Higgins

    Isabella....Nicola Ferguson

    Angelo....Robert Jack

    Escalus....Maureen Beattie

    Lucio and Froth....Finn den Hertog

    The Provost....Michael Nardone

    Mariana....Maggie Serivce

    Claudio / Friar Peter....Owen Whitelaw

    Pompey....Sandy Grierson

    Mistress Overdone and Francisca....Georgie Glen

    Juliet....Olivia Morgan

    Elbow / Abhorson / Friar Thomas....Kevin Mains

    Introduced by Professor Julie Sanders

    Sound design and music by Gary C Newman

    Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane.

    Mendelssohn Weekend, A Midsummer Night's Dream20090510
    Migrant Mother20101128Migrant Mother by Michael Symmons Roberts

    A lyrical drama inspired by the events which led to Dorothea Lange's iconic photograph of Florence Owens Thompson.

    California 1936. Florence Owens Thompson and her family have joined the thousands of migrant workers flocking across America in search of work. Homeless, desperately hungry and faced with the threat of mob violence, her hopeful resolution is quickly fading.

    Photographer Dorothea is following the migrants to their make-shift refugee camps, desperate to find the image which will capture the extent of their hardship, to bring about a change in American policy and hearts. A chance meeting with Florence could bring about the image she is looking for.

    Although inspired by a true story, certain events and characters have been created or changed for dramatic effect.

    Dorothea .....Teresa Gallagher

    Paul - Ian Porter

    Florence - Anne Wittman

    Jim - Kerry Shale

    Henry - Allen Lidkey

    Troy - Oliver Lee

    Receptionist - Kathryn Hunt

    Music by Pat Mo Sheeran

    Written by Michael Symmons Roberts

    Directed by Susan Roberts

    Producer: Charlotte Riches.

    Drama inspired by Dorothea Lange's iconic photograph of Florence Owens Thompson.

    Dorothea....Teresa Gallagher

    Paul....Ian Porter

    Florence....Anne Wittman

    Jim....Kerry Shale

    Henry....Allen Lidkey

    Troy....Oliver Lee

    Receptionist....Kathryn Hunt

    Mincemeat20111113Adapted for radio by Adrian Jackson and Farhana Sheikh, from their hit play for Cardboard Citizens.

    Cardboard Citizens has worked with homeless people and the marginalised for 20 years, marrying personal stories and historical subjects into an epic theatre that challenges public perceptions of social exclusion. In this award-winning production, the company unravel a thrilling wartime tale of deception and hidden identity, in an entertaining, multi-layered, time-hopping journey which goes to heart of what it means to have no home, and no name.

    Mincemeat is based on the extraordinary true story of a second-world-war deception, through which the Allies made the Germans believe that they would open a second front in Europe in 1943 through Sardinia. The deception involved a corpse whose identity was a state secret, known only to the originator of the operation, who took the secret to his grave. It was only in 1997 that the true identity of the corpse came to light.

    Mincemeat reveals the story of the mission and its final revelation, through the eyes of that corpse, and discovers a secret war which never made the history books.

    The play contains some strong language.

    Major Martin/Glyndwr Michael....Ifan Meredith

    Charlie....Robert Gillespie

    Head Angel....Ester Escolano

    Pam....Jo Galbraith

    Lieutenant Commander Montagu....Nick Khan

    Squadron Leader Cholmondeley....Jake Goode

    Churchill....Neil Boorman

    Fred Shrieve....Patrick Onione

    The Body....Dave Rogers

    The Foreman....Ben Smithies

    Maureen....Sylvia Larry

    with the voice of Ivor Leverton.

    Original music by David Baird, sound design by Pete Ringrose.

    Produced by Jonquil Panting.

    Directed by Adrian Jackson.

    Cardboard Citizens would like to dedicate this production to the memory of Linda Dobell, who was a member of the original cast.

    Adrian Jackson and Farhana Sheikh's wartime tale of deception and hidden identity.

    Major Martin/Glyndwr Michael - Ifan Meredith

    Charlie - Robert Gillespie

    Head Angel - Ester Escolano

    Pam - Jo Galbraith

    Lieutenant Commander Montagu - Nick Khan

    Squadron Leader Cholmondeley - Jake Goode

    Churchill - Neil Boorman

    Fred Shrieve - Patrick Onione

    The Body - Dave Rogers

    The Foreman - Ben Smithies

    Maureen - Sylvia Larry

    Mogadishu20111023Vivienne Franzmann's cutting-edge play explores the consequences of an assault on a white female teacher by a troubled black student and her well-meaning but misguided attempt to protect him.

    Mogadishu was originally produced at the Manchester Royal Exchange in 2011 and won both the Bruntwood Award for Writing and The George Devine Prize for 'Most Promising Playwright'. The critics called it 'A startling debut', 'A tough, gripping spectacle', 'The play of the year? Quite possibly'.

    As the school investigates an allegation of physical and racial abuse, the teacher becomes entangled in a mesh of legal requirements and formal processes that threaten her family stability and her career.

    Franzmann - a former teacher herself - has adapted the play for radio and uses multiple perspectives on the incident to show how formal procedure and protocol can override common sense and professional judgement.

    Mogadishu unfolds in a series of actions, reversals and counter-reversals with sharp dialogue and fast-pacing. The language of contemporary teenagers is presented with considerable authenticity revealing them to be complex, dysfunctional, funny and vulnerable.

    Amanda....Candida Benson,

    Jason....Malachi Kirby,

    Chris....Jonathan Guy Lewis,

    Becky....Shannon Tarbett,

    Saif....Farshid Rokey,

    Chuggs....Tendayi Jambere,

    Dee....Chereen Buckley,

    Firat....Michael Karim,

    Peter....Ashley Campbell,

    Ben....Darren Saul.

    Sound by Ross Adams.

    Directed by Willi Richards.

    Produced by Roger James Elsgood.

    Mogadishu is an Art and Adventure production for the BBC.

    Vivienne Franzmann's play exploring race, abuse and power in a London secondary school.

    Amanda - Candida Benson,

    Jason - Malachi Kirby,

    Chris - Jonathan Guy Lewis,

    Becky - Shannon Tarbett,

    Saif - Farshid Rokey,

    Chuggs - Tendayi Jambere,

    Dee - Chereen Buckley,

    Firat - Michael Karim,

    Peter - Ashley Campbell,

    Ben - Darren Saul.

    Money20110619Samuel West makes his radio directorial debut with a new adaptation by Kate Clanchy of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's vibrant and good-hearted satirical comedy. Part of the BBC Radio 3 Money Talks season.

    The play was recorded on location at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, the stately home of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, which he inherited in 1843 shortly after writing 'Money'.

    Stars Roger Allam, Celia Imrie and Ian McDiarmid.

    The music, specially recorded for the play, is performed by the Endellion String Quartet.

    Kate Clanchy's adaptation re-fashions the action around one grand house, modernises the heroine, Clara, and sets the action just before the 1832 Reform Act to accentuate the political plot.

    Money' was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, in 1840. It was an instant success and the play's social commentary, genteel comedy and high romance still resonate and charm today.

    Alfred Evelyn....Blake Ritson

    Clara Douglas....Laura Rees

    Sir John Vesey....Ian McDiarmid

    Lady Franklin....Celia Imrie

    Henry Graves....Roger Allam

    Georgina Vesey....Phoebe Waller-Bridge

    Sir Frederick Blount....Bertie Carvel

    Benjamin Stout....Richard Cordery

    Captain Dudley Smooth....Tom Goodman-Hill

    Flash....Nicholas Boulton

    Music performed by the Endellion String Quartet

    Sound Design: David Chilton

    Director: Samuel West

    Producer: Amber Barnfather

    A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 3.

    Samuel West directs Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 19th century satirical comedy Money.

    Alfred Evelyn - Blake Ritson

    Clara Douglas - Laura Rees

    Sir John Vesey - Ian McDiarmid

    Lady Franklin - Celia Imrie

    Henry Graves - Roger Allam

    Georgina Vesey - Phoebe Waller-Bridge

    Sir Frederick Blount - Bertie Carvel

    Benjamin Stout - Richard Cordery

    Captain Dudley Smooth - Tom Goodman-Hill

    Flash - Nicholas Boulton

    My Brother God And The Ban Yan Tree20090503
    My Generation20120205is a family saga covering four decades. Set in the counter culture, it offers a window onto the drug- and pop-fuelled protest movement. A story of flawed attempts to make a better world.

    In a time of job cuts, rising unemployment and the re-structuring of the benefits system, this play examines the effectiveness of the protest movement to change lives through the stories of four characters from one family over four decades. Mum Cath - 1970's, 80's for Dad - Mick, 90's for son Ben, and 00's - daughter Emma.

    The play opens against the backdrop of the Ripper murders. This radicallised feminisim in Leeds at the time. Mick's involvement in the Miners' Strike holds the arc of the second part and in the third, son Ben turns his back on the politics of his parents, escaping into the rave scene. Daughter Emma's story brings us up to date with the current occupy movement.

    Alice Nutter's own direct experience of the protest movement over three decades gives My Generation an authenticity and strongly authored feel. As part of the band Chumbawamba, Alice lived in a squat in Leeds for many years. Chumbawamba were initially inspired musically by bands as diverse as The Fall, PiL, Wire, and Adam and the Ants and politically by the anarchist stance of Crass. By the end of 1982, the band had expanded to include Alice Nutter (of Ouch, My Hair's on Fire but no-one's bothered) and Dunstan Bruce (of Men in a Suitcase) and were living in a squat in Armley, Leeds, with Harry 'Daz' Hamer and Dave 'Mavis' Dillon.

    Harry Hamer has composed original music for My Generation which is used alongside contemporary recordings and pop cultural references, mixing personal and political history with the music that transformed Britain's youth. Full of pop and passion, this is not a bleak drama; it's the story of a family who are caught up in the times.

    CAST:

    Cath....Jo Hartley

    Mick....Jason Done

    Young Emma....Aimee Leigh Foster

    Susie/Older Emma....Emma Rydall

    Young Ben....Harvey Chaisty

    Freya/Carmel....Carla Henry

    Helen/Sky....Rachel Austin

    Valley....Alun Raglan

    Bug/Ty....William Ash

    Richie/Biker Bernard/Phil....Graeme Hawley

    Ben....John Catterall.

    Original Music by Harry Hamer.

    Directed in Salford by Susan Roberts.

    A family saga set in Leeds covering four decades of the protest movement.

    My Generation is a family saga covering four decades. Set in the counter culture, it offers a window onto the drug- and pop-fuelled protest movement. A story of flawed attempts to make a better world.

    Cath - Jo Hartley

    Mick - Jason Done

    Young Emma - Aimee Leigh Foster

    Susie/Older Emma - Emma Rydall

    Young Ben - Harvey Chaisty

    Freya/Carmel - Carla Henry

    Helen/Sky - Rachel Austin

    Valley - Alun Raglan

    Bug/Ty - William Ash

    Richie/Biker Bernard/Phil - Graeme Hawley

    Ben - John Catterall.

    My Heart's A Suitcase20110710David Edgar introduces a new production of 'My Heart's a Suitcase' by Clare McIntyre.

    McIntyre was one of the new generation of women playwrights who emerged with huge impact in the 1980s and this was one of her best-known plays from 1990.

    Two young women take a weekend break in Brighton but find that you can never really escape from your feelings, fear, money and the lack of it.

    Chris and Hannah are close friends and they decide to take up an offer of a weekend in Brighton, staying in a large but empty, seafront flat. Although they are close friends, they are very different, Hannah has MS but is accepting of her lot, her glass is always half full, Chris on the other hand is healthy but wishes she had more of everything and finds life hard to accept, her glass is always half empty!

    Over the weekend they encounter Elliot, a down on his luck homeless man who has been squatting in the flat and Tunis, the wealthy wife of the owner of the flat, who is and has everything Chris and Hannah are and have not! It is a weekend of visitations and attempts to confront the truth and with help, lighten and enlighten the load.

    David Edgar was a colleague of Clare McIntrye's, who died in 2009.

    Music by Stephanie Nunn

    Cast:

    Chris....Charlotte Emmerson

    Hannah....Poppy Miller

    Elliot....Sean Baker

    Luggage....sylvestra le touzel

    Pest....Sid Mitchell

    Tunis....Paloma Baeza

    Director: Celia de Wolff.

    Play about two young women on holiday in Brighton confronting the truth about their lives.

    Chris - Charlotte Emmerson

    Hannah - Poppy Miller

    Elliot - Sean Baker

    Luggage - Sylvestra le Touzel

    Pest - Sid Mitchell

    Tunis - Paloma Baeza

    Natural Born Caretakers20101024A new play by award winning writer Sarah Daniels that takes us behind the headlines about social work in 21st century Britain. The writer spent months talking to social workers and a week shadowing a London social work team. The resulting drama reflects current concerns, workloads and aspirations for social work teams at all levels.

    David Ashton is on the edge of retiring from his hectic job as a social work team manager; his wife Ann is about to leave him, and he is not sure what his teenage son Oliver does on a daily basis. Karen his colleague is beginning to doubt her reasons for leaving a successful business career in order to follow what she thought was her vocation. When Sue, their Team leader, calls them to her office first thing, they know it won't be good news. Ashley, a 4 year old boy on Karen's patch, has been rushed to hospital unconscious in the middle of the night. His mother, Nicole, has no coherent explanation for his injuries. When drugs are found on the premises and the police inform the social work team that a man was in the house, Karen and the team have to protect Sophie, Ashley's younger sister; find out what really went on; field press interest; and prepare a detailed report for their superiors.

    Sarah Daniels is a prolific writer for stage, screen and audio, putting current issues and social concerns at the heart of her dramas. She has won many awards for her work.

    David........Michael Garner

    Ann.........Deborah Findlay

    Karen.........Nadine Marshall

    Sue.........Emma Fielding

    Doris........Pamela Miles

    Dr Harvey......Philip Bretherton

    Ricki........Derek Riddell

    Dr Omosoto......Angela Wynter

    Oliver/Lucas.....Will Payne

    Ashley.........Ray Dowland

    Sophie......... Mala Yorke

    Dramatist........Sarah Daniels

    Sound design........ Eloise Whitmore

    Producer/director......Polly Thomas

    A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 3.

    A new, darkly humorous drama focusing on a day in the life of a social worker.

    David....Michael Garner

    Ann....Deborah Findlay

    Karen....Nadine Marshall

    Sue....Emma Fielding

    Doris....Pamela Miles

    Dr Harvey....Philip Bretherton

    Ricki....Derek Riddell

    Dr Omosoto....Angela Wynter

    Oliver/Lucas....Will Payne

    Ashley....Ray Dowland

    Sophie....Mala Yorke

    Dramatist....Sarah Daniels

    Sound design....Eloise Whitmore

    Producer/director....Polly Thomas

    New Mystery Plays20110417by Sean Buckley, Lin Coghlan, J Parkes, Katie Hims and Roy Williams. Five Old Testament stories revisited and set in present day London - Creation in the mind of a coma victim, The Flood in a DIY warehouse, Exodus in an Old Folks Home, Samson and Delilah in a hairdressers, David and Goliath in the world of young gang warfare.

    CREATION by Sean Buckley

    JO....ALEX TREGEAR

    NURSE....JONATHAN FORBES

    DAD....SEAN BAKER

    YOUNG JO....HARPER BONE

    THE FLOOD by Lin Coghlan

    GIBBONS....Sally Orrock

    KEVIN....Stuart McLoughlin

    LORD....Sean Baker

    LAURA....Lizzy Watts

    MUM....Joanna Monro

    BOB....Sam Dale

    BOOTSEY....Nyasha Hatendi

    SUZANNE....Alex Tregear

    EXODUS by J Parkes

    MO....Sally Orrock

    MIRIAM....Sue Porrett

    FAY....Joanna Monro

    HELEN....Jane Whittenshaw

    ELISA....Sandra Voe

    SAMSON AND DELILAH by Katie Hims

    SAMSON....James Alexandrou

    DELILAH....Katie Angelou

    TRACEY....Claire Rushbrook

    PHIL....Stuart Mcloughlin

    ANGEL....Sean Baker

    MARIE....Joanna Monro

    TEACHER....Jane Whittenshaw

    GARY....Nyasha Hatendi

    DAVID AND GOLIATH by Roy Williams

    DAVID....Jerome Holder

    MOE....Anthony Welsh

    JASE....Nyasha Hatendi

    ASHER....Osy Ikhile

    Sound... Pete Ringrose

    Director... Jessica Dromgoole.

    Old Testament stories revisited: Creation; The Flood; Exodus; Samson; David and Goliath.

    JO - ALEX TREGEAR

    NURSE - JONATHAN FORBES

    DAD - SEAN BAKER

    YOUNG JO - HARPER BONE

    GIBBONS - Sally Orrock

    KEVIN - Stuart McLoughlin

    LORD - Sean Baker

    LAURA - Lizzy Watts

    MUM - Joanna Monro

    BOB - Sam Dale

    BOOTSEY - Nyasha Hatendi

    SUZANNE - Alex Tregear

    MO - Sally Orrock

    MIRIAM - Sue Porrett

    FAY - Joanna Monro

    HELEN - Jane Whittenshaw

    ELISA - Sandra Voe

    SAMSON - James Alexandrou

    DELILAH - Katie Angelou

    TRACEY - Claire Rushbrook

    PHIL - Stuart Mcloughlin

    ANGEL - Sean Baker

    MARIE - Joanna Monro

    TEACHER - Jane Whittenshaw

    GARY - Nyasha Hatendi

    DAVID - Jerome Holder

    MOE - Anthony Welsh

    JASE - Nyasha Hatendi

    ASHER - Osy Ikhile

    Sound ... Pete Ringrose

    Director ... Jessica Dromgoole.

    Nordic Voices20171217A celebration of contemporary Nordic writing in three new short plays.

    by Anna Bro, Arne Lygre and Jonas Gardell

    First broadcast in 2015 as part of Radio 3's Northern Lights season, three short plays explore contemporary life in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

    The first play, An Emergency by Anna Bro, is set at a Danish summerhouse. A mother (Deborah Findlay) and father (Tim McInnerny) have laid out a birthday spread for their daughter and anticipate her imminent arrival from the ferry port. However, nerves are frayed. This will be the first time they will have seen their daughter since her breakdown and both parents are desperately worried about the reunion. So when a group of teenagers, armed with a crate of beer and a stereo, choose to loiter on the beach directly in front of their summerhouse, anxiety levels go through the roof. Ana Bro's drama explores parent-child dynamics within Danish family life, and themes which are instantly recognisable.

    Anna Bro is an award-winning Danish playwright.

    Cast:

    Mum....Deborah Findlay

    Dad....Tim McInnerny

    Lisbeth....Susan Jameson

    Daughter....Rebecca Hamilton

    Girl....Katie Redford

    Girl....Evie Killip

    Boy....George Watkins

    Boy....Leo Wan

    Adapted by Rebecca Lenkiewicz from a literal translation by Anders Lundorph

    Director: Sasha Yevtushenko

    The second play, Nothing of Me by Arne Lygre, is an innovative and moving play for voices, which follows a woman's (Amanda Hale) grieving process over a year. It explores identity, and how much we are defined by what other people think about us.

    Arne Lygre is a leading Norwegian playwright, and former writer-in-residence at Oslo's National Theatre.

    Her....Amanda Hale

    Him....Joel MacCormack

    His Mother....Susan Jameson

    Her Mother....Deborah Findlay

    Her Son....Alexander Arnold

    Adapted by Rebecca Lenkiewicz from a literal translation by May-Brit Akerholt

    Director: Anders Lundorph

    The final play, Wild Is The Wind by Jonas Gardell, tells the story of an interview between a religious young man and the Pastor from his local church. The young man describes a recent intimate encounter with another young man, and struggles to reconcile the church's doctrines with his own feelings. As with much of Jonas Gardell's work, the play explores homosexuality and the church, and challenges the perception of Sweden's liberalism surrounding LGBT rights.

    Jonas Gardell is an extremely popular playwright, author, comedian in Sweden. He wrote the internationally renowned trilogy Don't Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves about the impact of AIDS in the homosexual community in the early 1980s.

    Pastor....Tim McInnerny

    David....Matthew Tennyson

    Youth Leader....Chris Pavlo

    Tomas....Alexander Arnold

    Translated by Nichola Smalley from a literal translation by Anders Lundorph

    produced by Anders Lundorph and Sasha Yevtushenko.

    Of A Lifetime20180916Two young women travel round Europe, when a painful past tests their friendship.

    Part of Radio 3's showcase of new audio plays at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Recorded with an audience at the BBC's newly created pop-up drama studio at the Summerhall arts venue.

    What makes a true friendship? What do women in their mid 20s really think about each other? In an era of increasing identity politics and the coming of age of the #MeToo generation, Lulu Raczka's bold new drama is an exciting and insightful exploration of two young women's bonds. Whilst on a trip across Europe, Kaela and Georgia look back at their younger selves and how their friendship has changed. Eventually, Georgia reveals an incident of sexual violence that at the time, Kaela was unable to fully understand. With hindsight, the two women are able to acknowledge the impact of the incident on them both and move forward. With moments of warmth, humour and honesty, Of a Lifetime offers a unique and touching portrait of a younger generation of women, and the strength they draw from female friendship.

    Lulu Raczka is an award-winning young playwright and Company Director of Barrel Organ Theatre, with whom she worked on her first play ‘Nothing'. ‘Nothing' was awarded The Sunday Times Playwriting Award as well as the National Student Drama Festival Award for Creative Risk. Lulu's new play ‘A Girl in School Uniform (Walks into a Bar)' was first produced West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2017 and has just been produced at the New Diorama Theatre. She is currently writing an episode of Frank Spotnitz's new series ‘Medici: Masters of Florence', starring Dustin Hoffman and Richard Madden, for Lux Vide and Netflix. Lyn Gardner has described Lulu as ‘A voice so distinctive and fully formed it's hard to believe she's so young'.

    Georgia... Dani Heron

    Kaela... Lois Chimimba

    Co-producer, Polly Thomas

    Sound Designer and Executive Producer, Eloise Whitmore

    Writer, Lulu Raczka

    A Naked Production for BBC Radio 3.

    Orlando20190224Virginia Woolf's Orlando re-imagined by five poets

    An exhilarating, inventive, comedic odyssey spanning four centuries. A journey of self-discovery and transformation, unravelling gender expectations, identity and sexuality.

    Chapter 1 & 6: by Amanda Dalton

    Chapter 2: by Caroline Bird

    Chapter 3: by Zena Edwards

    Chapter 4: by Karen McCarthy Woolf

    Chapter 5: by Hannah Silva

    ORLANDO....Emma Frankland

    OAK TREE....Claire Benedict

    QUEEN ELIZABETH I / THE BLACKAMOOR....Nina Sosanya

    MRS GRIMSDITCH....Kate Rutter

    EUPHROSYNE / SASHA / MAID....Natalie Grady

    NICHOLAS GREEN / CAPTAIN....Rupert Hill

    GRACE....Leonie Elliott

    RUSTUM / NARRATOR....Stephen Marzella

    SHELMERDINE/ BOW STREET RUNNER....Cesare Taurasi

    Directed by Nadia Molinari

    A bold and inventive re-imagining of the Virginia Woolf classic.

    PericlesAn adventure full of tyrants, incest, murder, knights, a great hero and the goddess Diana.

    'An adventure full of tyrants, incest, murder, knights, a great hero and the goddess Diana.'

    Perpetual Light20101205When William Hellier dies, his wife creates an avatar of him and has it uploaded onto a cyberspace memorial site. But is he software? Or is his soul trapped in the machine?

    By Melissa Murray

    Rachel - Claire Price

    Barbara - Sian Thomas

    Jas - Khalid Abdalla

    William - Sam Dale

    Castleford - Adeel Akhtar

    Leader - Sean Baker

    George - Tony Bell

    Counter/Sat Nav - Claire Harry

    Fee - Leah Brotherhead

    Maken 1 - Iain Batchelor

    Maken 2 - Henry Devas

    Directed by Marc Beeby

    It is the very near future.

    A new way to remember the dead has been developed. The Maken Corporation can construct an interactive avatar - a perfectly realistic representation of the deceased - in cyberspace, using all the data available on an individual. At first, this appears to be a huge comfort for the bereaved. They can see and speak to their dead. The pain of mourning is eased. But it's a controversial issue. One that divides society and divides families.

    When William Hellier dies suddenly his wife Barbara and daughter Rachel, not for the first time in their lives, come into conflict. Barbara goes to Maken and has an avatar of her dead husband created. But as she begins to spend more time with William - and more money at Maken - Rachel begins to believe that the corporation is preying on the grief of the vulnerable. Her cousin Jas, also has reasons to distrust Maken. He believes they have imprisoned William Hellier's soul. Can Jas persuade Rachel to destroy her father's avatar? And if he can, will Rachel go through with it once she comes face to face with the man she loved?

    A corporation finds a way of making interactive avatars of the dead. By Melissa Murray.

    Rachel....Claire Price

    Barbara....Sian Thomas

    Jas....Khalid Abdalla

    William....Sam Dale

    Castleford....Adeel Akhtar

    Leader....Sean Baker

    George....Tony Bell

    Counter/Sat Nav....Claire Harry

    Fee....Leah Brotherhead

    Maken 1....Iain Batchelor

    Maken 2....Henry Devas

    Pornography20090125
    Remorse, Or, The Sorrows Of Samuel Taylor Coleridge2016061220180520 (R3)By Robin Brooks. Drama about Coleridge's ill-fated friendship with Wordsworth.

    Samuel Taylor Coleridge promised to be the genius of his generation, but his creative achievement was contaminated by chronic procrastination, addiction and hallucination. Robin Brooks's inventive play tells the story of Coleridge's ill-fated friendship with William Wordsworth and his infatuation with Sara Hutchinson.

    At the crisis of a major breakdown, and suffering from a massive laudanum overdose, Coleridge is forced to review the train-wreck of his life. In an opium nightmare his crimes rise up to accuse him, and a court of friends and enemies is assembled to review the experiences that have brought him to this pass.

    Sound Design by Alisdair McGregor

    An Allegra Production for BBC Radio 3.

    Richard Ii2017041620190210 (R3)Richard II was the first king to insist on being called 'Majesty' and believed in the divine right of kings. In Shakespeare's lyrical play, Richard's folly and the delusion of autocracy bring about his own downfall. When he banishes Bolingbroke and then confiscates his land and wealth despite warnings, he triggers a chain of events that led to his overthrow and the accession of Bolingbroke as King Henry IV.

    This is the first recording of a Shakespeare play to be broadcast in binaural sound. The production has been recorded using a pioneering 3D microphone set-up: listen with headphones for an enhanced experience which highlights Richard II's subjective world view.

    When Shakespeare's Richard II banishes Bolingbroke he brings about his own downfall.

    Romeo And Juliet In Southwark|20040912By Georgia Finch.

    A play written in collaboration with the Globe Theatre Education Department and the pupils from an inner-London school, this is the story of two ordinary London teenagers, their lives, and the very special day they share. Based on real events.

    Stephen....Mohammed George

    Jessica....Petra Letang

    Francis....Mark Monero

    Jessica's Mum....Janice Acquah

    Bola....Troy Glasgow

    Mel....Medhavi Patel

    Jade....Aml Ameen

    Slick....Tyronne Lewis

    Driver....Nick Boulton

    Narrator....Georgia Fitch

    Directed by Marc Beeby.

    Stephen - Mohammed George

    Jessica - Petra Letang

    Francis - Mark Monero

    Jessica's Mum - Janice Acquah

    Bola - Troy Glasgow

    Mel - Medhavi Patel

    Jade - Aml Ameen

    Slick - Tyronne Lewis

    Driver - Nick Boulton

    Narrator - Georgia Fitch

    Ropewalk House20190113A daring new site-specific theatre piece set in a derelict rope factory.

    Written by ANITA SULLIVAN. Featuring members of the Shunt Collective.

    On the first day of rehearsals the cast arrives to begin devising a new work, based loosely around the minotaur myth. The director, Jarek, is known for creating bold, immersive theatre productions. The warehouse once boasted the world's longest `ropewalk??, the narrow corridor stretching the length of the building, and supplied rope to the Royal Navy. Jarek's cast includes old friends alongside aspiring young actors. As they explore the venue they discover it has unpredictable physical properties, with disturbing consequences.

    Recorded on location at the Fish Factory Studios.

    Jarek - Nigel Barrett

    Sarah - Hannah Ringham

    Gabe - Rob Heaps

    Nell - Gbemisola Ikumelo

    Mike - CARL PREKOPP

    Music by Ben and Max Ringham

    Sound design by Alisdair McGregor

    Directed by Joby Waldman

    Executive Producer Jeremy Mortimer

    A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3.

    By ANITA SULLIVAN. A daring site-specific theatre piece set in a derelict rope factory.

    Rosmersholm2017011520190127 (R3)Rebekka West, the visionary, passionate heroine of 'Rosmersholm' inspired the English novelist to adopt that name. Ibsen's most complex play sees a society in turmoil through the lens of pastor John Rosmer and Rebekka, his social-revolutionary companion. Rosmer is recovering from the suicide of his unstable wife, Beata. Now Rebekka, replacing her in his affections, urges him to surrender his privileged place in conservative Norwegian society. A local elite plot to make him hold to the status quo. Can Rebekka prevail? Translated by Frank McGuinness and featuring music by Norwegian composer Marius Munthe-Kaas.

    Music composed and arranged by Marius Munthe-Kaas

    Music supervisor, Giles Perring

    Gro Hole Austgulen (violin), Elin Kleppa Michalsen (violin), Anna Cecilia Johansson (viola), Olav Stener Olsen (cello)

    Adapted and directed by Peter Kavanagh

    Rosmersholm' premiered at the National Theatre, London, in 1987.

    Ibsen's play about a man rejecting society's conservative values. Will his peers let him?

    Rotterdam20180701Jon Brittain's Olivier-winning comedy about gender, sexuality and transitioning.
    Saint Joan, By Bernard Shaw20111009A Chronicle Play in Six Scenes and an Epilogue

    by Bernard Shaw

    It would be unthinkable not to include a new production of Saint Joan in Radio 3's Conviction season, which features new plays and classic drama about people with unwavering and uncompromising beliefs - and the consequences for those around them.

    Shaw's Saint Joan is the embodiment of absolute conviction. Given, as she believes, a divine mission to lead the French to victory and nationhood, she is also divinely forbidden to shed a single drop of blood. Her only weapon is her belief, and the courage it puts into those around her. In Joan, Shaw presents us with a character of remarkable talent and unshakeable faith - but no grace - and reveals her fate at the hands of normal men and women who, as Shaw notes, do what they find they must do, in spite of their best intentions. Joan's convictions are contagious. They make her an unstoppable force. They also lead her to destruction. 'There were only two opinions about her', Shaw observes in his preface to the play, 'One that she was miraculous: the other that she was unbearable.

    Joan of Arc was canonised in 1920, a fact which galvanised Shaw to complete the play with which he had long been toying. A humane masterpiece, full of comedy, outrage, satire and anger, it examines the seismic changes in medieval society of which Joan was a precursor, for an audience themselves struggling with a shocking new post-war order. An immediate success, the play restored Shaw to universal popularity, helping him to the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925, as the Academy observed, 'for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty'.

    Joan ('The Maid')....Lyndsey Marshal

    Robert de Baudricourt/The Chaplain (John de Stogumber)....Paul Ritter

    The Archbishop of Rheims....Anton Lesser

    The Duke of Tremouille/The Inquisitor....Sean Baker

    Charles, the Dauphin (later Charles VII)....Blake Ritson

    Bluebeard (Gilles de Rais)/Brother Martin Ladvenu....Nyasha Hatendi

    Captain La Hire/Canon John d'Estivet....Daniel Rabin

    Count of Dunois, Bastard of Orleans/Bertrand de Poulengey....Trystan Gravelle

    The Earl of Warwick....Jonathan Coy

    Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais....Paul Hilton

    Thomas de Courcelles....Stuart McLoughlin

    de Baudricourt's Steward/The Executioner....Brian Bowles

    Dunois' Page....Ryan Watson

    Adapted, Produced and Directed by Jonquil Panting

    The music is taken from 'The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace', by Karl Jenkins.

    Lyndsey Marshal stars in a new production of George Bernard Shaw's masterpiece.

    Joan ('The Maid') - Lyndsey Marshal

    Robert de Baudricourt/The Chaplain (John de Stogumber) - Paul Ritter

    The Archbishop of Rheims - Anton Lesser

    The Duke of Tremouille/The Inquisitor - Sean Baker

    Charles, the Dauphin (later Charles VII) - Blake Ritson

    Bluebeard (Gilles de Rais)/Brother Martin Ladvenu - Nyasha Hatendi

    Captain La Hire/Canon John d'Estivet - Daniel Rabin

    Count of Dunois, Bastard of Orleans/Bertrand de Poulengey - Trystan Gravelle

    The Earl of Warwick - Jonathan Coy

    Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais - Paul Hilton

    Thomas de Courcelles - Stuart McLoughlin

    de Baudricourt's Steward/The Executioner - Brian Bowles

    Dunois' Page - Ryan Watson

    Samson Agonistes20081214
    Say Goodbye Twice20101031by Oladipo Agboluaje

    To mark the 50th Anniversary of Nigerian Independence from Britain, a rollicking new Peckham-set comedy by acclaimed young playwright Oladipo Agboluaje.

    British Nigerian Noelle's son wants to move to Nigeria with his father, a Nollywood producer, for a taste of the good life he's been denied growing up on their Peckham estate. The fact that Noelle's a disgraced ex-copper with criminal past and a severe lack of money isn't helping her hang on to him. But when she takes one more dodgy job for cash, Noelle's pulled into a conspiracy which will finally force her to negotiate between her dual identities, and find a way of living with them both.

    Noelle - Ellen Thomas

    Paul - Tobi Bakare

    Chike - Jude Akuwudike

    Femi Fatai - Estella Daniels

    Shina - Femi Elufowoju Jr

    Simeon Atta - Lucian Msamati

    Kayode/Henry - Chucky Venn

    Chang/Khan - Paul Courtenay Hyu

    Sanni - Wale Ojo

    Gibson - Sean Baker

    Barry - Ben Crowe

    Mrs Witham - Christine Kavanagh

    Director: Jonquil Panting

    Oladipo Agboluaje adapted 'The Hounding of David Oluwale' for Eclipse theatre, and his free adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard set in a wealthy Nigerian family, 'The Estate', was the first of three recent hits at Soho Theatre, with 'The Christ of Coldharbour Lane', and The Estate prequel, 'Iya-Ile (The First Wife)', all produced by Tiata Fahodzi. Other work includes 'Knock Against My Heart', 'God Is A DJ' (Theatre Centre); 'British-ish' (New Wolsey Youth Theatre); 'For One Night Only' (Pursued by a Bear), and 'Captain Britain' (Talawa). He's adapting The Estate as a feature for Heyman Hoskins and the Film Council, and writing a feature from his short film 'Area Boys', with Mel Mwanguma for Focus Features.

    Young playwright Oladipo Agboluaje's new Peckham-set comedy noir play.

    Noelle....Ellen Thomas

    Paul....Tobi Bakare

    Chike....Jude Akuwudike

    Femi Fatai....Estella Daniels

    Shina....Femi Elufowoju Jr

    Simeon Atta....Lucian Msamati

    Kayode/Henry....Chucky Venn

    Chang/Khan....Paul Courtenay Hyu

    Sanni....Wale Ojo

    Gibson....Sean Baker

    Barry....Ben Crowe

    Mrs Witham....Christine Kavanagh

    Scandinavian Dreams
    Sea Change20120129By John Fletcher.

    This is the story of the battle between appeasers and anti-appeasers in the period before - and just after - the start of the Second World War, and the formation of a coalition which, like the election of 2010, abruptly ruptured all previous political alignments.

    New political alliances and social organizations - which had first arisen in the Bridgwater by-election of 1938, but which had been ignored by the London-based political and media establishments - united in their fight against appeasement. Suddenly and dramatically, in May of that year, this new united front rose against the government and, in the space of only three days, overthrew it. Somewhat surprisingly, the magnificent story behind this overthrow is little known. It is a story of ferocious loyalty and betrayal, outrageous media manipulation, blackmail, prejudice - and not a little courage.

    The appeasers are principally represented by Neville Chamberlain and his ruthless, over-protective spin doctor Joseph Ball - a man who would have eaten Alistair Campbell for breakfast. The anti-appeasers, battling through various foreign policy crises, are a disparate group: an Australian, Rex Leeper, the Foreign Office's press officer, constantly - and largely unsuccessfully - countering Ball's pro-appeasement spin from Number 10; Harold Nicolson MP, bravely opposing appeasement amid the innuendos of fellow backbenchers and Ball's press smears; Vernon Bartlett, a radical foreign correspondent for the News Chronicle, who is asked to stand as the anti-appeasement candidate in the Bridgwater by-election; and Guy Burgess, anti-appeasement patriot, communist and BBC political producer, who is blackmailed over his homosexuality by Ball into couriering secret messages between Chamberlain and the dictators.

    The fascinating and little known story of the struggle to establish the coalition government of 1940 - a story of idealism, blackmail, and political skulduggery. Based on real events.

    Harold Nicolson....Charles Edwards

    Joseph Ball.... Kim Wall

    Neville Chamberlain....John Rowe

    Rex Leeper....Richard Dillane

    Guy Burgess....Carl Prekopp

    Vernon Bartlett....Adam Billington

    Rev. Cresswell Webb....Gerard McDermott

    Metford Bown....James Lailey

    Queen Elizabeth....Adjoa Andoh

    Other parts played by Christopher Webster and Rikki Lawton

    Directed by Marc Beeby.

    By John Fletcher. The dark story behind the creation of the coalition government of 1940.

    Harold Nicolson - Charles Edwards

    Joseph Ball - Kim Wall

    Neville Chamberlain - John Rowe

    Rex Leeper - Richard Dillane

    Guy Burgess - Carl Prekopp

    Vernon Bartlett - Adam Billington

    Rev. Cresswell Webb - Gerard McDermott

    Metford Bown - James Lailey

    Queen Elizabeth - Adjoa Andoh

    Sea Longing20181223By Elizabeth Kuti

    With music by Philip Selway

    As a renowned folklore expert, Robert Whyman has spent his life getting secrets out of other people; and his recordings of selkie stories and folktales are legendary. Now, with time running out for Whyman, the tables are turned as he gives an interview of his own, excavating his own mythology in a journey that takes him to some unexpectedly dark and secret places.

    This drama explores the world of selkie and seal stories, and how their engagement with some of the darker sides of love, longing, taboo and conflict, makes them an extraordinary source of strength and insight for the generations of people who have told and listened to them.

    Starring award-winning actor Stephen Dillane as Robert Whyman.

    Cast also includes Anastasia Hille, Jo McInnes, Lee Ross, Kiki May, Mairi Hawthorn, Eva Traynor, Nicholas Boulton, Anya Ashton and Paolo Ashton

    Directed by Jo McInnes

    Sound design by David Thomas

    Producer Karen Rose for Sweet Talk Productions

    Philip Selway is an English musician and songwriter best known as the drummer of Radiohead. Philip's most recent release is a soundtrack album to the film drama Let Me Go; a story about mothers and daughters.

    Elizabeth Kuti has written award-winning stage plays including; The Sugar Wife and Treehouses. Her radio work includes, for Radio 4, Dear Spectator and Maychild, and for Radio 3, Maychild (R4) Mr Fielding's Scandal Shop.

    Jo McInnes has worked extensively as an actress and in 2003 co-founded A.P.E. Theatre Company. In 2006, Jo held the position of Artistic Director of New Writing South and she has directed workshops and rehearsed readings of new work for, amongst others, the Royal Court, The Old Vic and Hampstead Theatre.

    Karen Rose is a multi award-winning drama producer and co-director of Sweet Talk.

    Drama exploring the mythic world of selkie and seal stories. Stars Stephan Dillane.

    Skyvers20111211by Barry Reckord

    1960s London. A group of lads spends the last few days at their sink London comprehensive. What will become of the would-be footballer, the ambitious chancer or the boy on probation?

    Cast:

    Cragge....Danny Worters

    Brook....Jason Maza

    Colman....Abdul Salis

    Adams....Rikki Lawton

    Jordan....Theo Barklem-Biggs

    Helen....Joan Iyiola

    Sylvia....Shannon Tarbet

    Freeman....Carl Prekopp

    Webster....Gerard McDermott

    Headmaster....Paul Moriarty

    Directed by Mary Peate

    First produced at The Royal Court Theatre in 1963. Director Pam Brighton, to whom the play belongs, according to Reckord, says ' When I first came across Skyvers in 1970, it struck me as a powerful, relevant and hugely articulate work...How had Barry, a Jamaican teacher in a London comprehensive, described so accurately the alienation and rage of South London boys? The entrapment of both boys and girls bounded by sex, violence and either dull dead-end jobs or crime was described so perfectly by Barry.

    Playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah has curated new radio productions of three 20th Century plays for Radio 3's Drama on 3 and Skyvers is the last in the series. The three plays are introduced by Kwei-Armah, who describes how each of the writers influenced his own development as an actor and playwright. Kwame is currently based in Baltimore where he is Artistic Director of Center Stage Theater.

    Michael Billington on Skyvers in The Guardian:

    Other dramatists such as Nigel Williams in Class Enemy went on to explore the failure of the system to cope with those at the bottom of the heap. But Reckord got there first and while it is tempting to say times have changed, new figures show that up to 16million adults today have the reading and writing skils of primary schoolchildren... a piece that proves that the best drama offers vital social evidence.'.

    By Barry Reckord. The last days of school for a group of boys at a sink 60s comprehensive.

    Cragge - Danny Worters

    Brook - Jason Maza

    Colman - Abdul Salis

    Adams - Rikki Lawton

    Jordan - Theo Barklem-Biggs

    Helen - Joan Iyiola

    Sylvia - Shannon Tarbet

    Freeman - Carl Prekopp

    Webster - Gerard McDermott

    Headmaster - Paul Moriarty

    Slaughterhouse 520090920
    Snow20050410Snow

    By Orhan Pamuk.

    Ka, a poet and political exile, returns to Turkey to write an investigative piece about troubling events in the mysterious, snow shrouded city of Kars; a place haunted by the silences of its own history. Snow is a spectacular tour de force, evoking the spiritual fragility of the non -western world, its ambivalence about the godless West, and its fury.

    Orhan....Robert Glenister

    Ka....William Houston

    Ipek....Lia Wiliams

    Kadife....Jasmine Hyde

    Necip/Fazil....Philip Arditti

    Turgut Bey....Philip Jackson

    Sunay Zaim....Jak Klaff

    Funda Esser....Nina Wadia

    Director....Nadim Sawalha

    Blue....Michael Maloney

    Cavit/ Agent....Ben Crowe

    Z Demirkol....Stephen Critchlow

    Dramatised by James Friel

    Translated by Maureen Freely

    Additional music composed and performed by Melanie Pappenheim

    Directed by Marilyn Imrie

    Orhan ......... Robert Glenister

    Ka ............ William Houston

    Ipek ......... Lia Wiliams

    Kadife ..............Jasmine Hyde

    Necip/Fazil ......... Philip Arditti

    Turgut Bey ............ Philip Jackson

    Sunay Zaim ............. Jak Klaff

    Funda Esser ........... Nina Wadia

    Director ......... Nadim Sawalha

    Blue ........... Michael Maloney

    Cavit/ Agent ......... Ben Crowe

    Z Demirkol ............. Stephen Critchlow

    Spring Storm, By Tennessee Williams20110306By Tennessee Williams. A radio adaptation of the Royal and Derngate, Northampton production, broadcast to mark the centenary of the playwright's birth. Heavenly Critchfield has almost everything a young woman could desire, but when she's forced to decide between respectable suitor Arthur and handsome, wild lover Dick, her actions cause a chain of consequences that tear their lives apart.

    Heavenly Critchfield - Liz White

    Arthur Shannon - Michael Malarkey

    Dick Miles - Michael Thomson

    Hertha Neilson - Anna Tolputt

    Esmeralda Critchfield - Jacqueline King

    Aunt Lila - Joanna Bacon

    Mrs Lamphrey/Birdie Schlagmann - Janice McKenzie

    Henry Adams - Gavin Harrison

    Oliver Critchfield - James Jordan

    Ralph - Steven France

    Mabel - Ailish Symons

    Music by Jon Nicholls

    Directed by Laurie Sansom

    Produced by Jeremy Mortimer

    Tennessee Williams was born on 26th March, 1911. 'Spring Storm', one of his first plays, was written in 1937, when he was twenty-six. It didn't receive its first production until 1995 in Berkeley. The European Premier took place at the Royal and Derngate Northampton on 15 October 2009, running alongside Beyond the Horizon by Eugene O'Neill. Both productions subsequently transferred to the Royal National Theatre in 2010 to the Cottesloe Theatre.

    Adaptation of Tennessee WIlliams's play, starring Liz White and Michael Malarkey.

    Heavenly Critchfield....Liz White

    Arthur Shannon....Michael Malarkey

    Dick Miles....Michael Thomson

    Hertha Neilson....Anna Tolputt

    Esmeralda Critchfield....Jacqueline King

    Aunt Lila....Joanna Bacon

    Mrs Lamphrey/Birdie Schlagmann....Janice McKenzie

    Henry Adams....Gavin Harrison

    Oliver Critchfield....James Jordan

    Ralph....Steven France

    Mabel....Ailish Symons

    Sunset20120219Russia,1984. Andrei Demidov, an internationally-acclaimed - and controversial - novelist has just been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Outspoken and notoriously critical of the Soviet authorities, Demidov's novel 'Sunset', an exploration of the realities of the Soviet Union's involvement in Afghanistan, has been banned in his homeland, but thanks to the actions of Andrei's English publisher, Michael, has qualified and been awarded literature's most prestigious honour.

    Living under a restricted movement order in the countryside outside Moscow with his wife Alexandra, Andrei is faced with a difficult decision. The Soviet Authorities are not about to let one of their most vociferous critics travel to make an acceptance speech in Sweden denouncing the regime to an international audience. They might permit him to leave the country and live out the rest of his days as an exile, never to return to his beloved Russia. Or, he could acquiesce with the authorities, refuse the award, and in doing so ensure the freedom of his estranged son Nikolai.

    But in a world where everyone is manipulating everyone else for their own private or political ends, how much autonomy does Andrei really have? Is he master of his own fate, or a pawn in a game with greater stakes than he might imagine?

    The history of the Nobel Prize for Literature is no stranger to such controversies. From Boris Pasternak - who was awarded and then rejected the prize for 'Doctor Zhivago' - to Harold Pinter, who used his Nobel acceptance speech to denounce American foreign policy regarding the war in Iraq, the prize has frequently brought into focus the polemics of that eternal triumvirate which Pinter himself addressed in his speech: 'Art, Truth and Politics'. How far should art and artists engage in politics? Is personal veracity more important than utilitarianism? At what price does artistic integrity come? In this new drama for Radio 3, Doug Lucie pits such ideals against that of 'family' as Andrei's own future and that of his wife and son hang in the balance. For Andrei and his family, the prospect of freedom becomes as much of a prize as the award itself - but what exactly is freedom anyway?

    Cast

    Andrei Demidov....Julian Glover

    Alexandra....Stella Gonet

    Nikolai....Leo Bill

    Michael....David Bamber

    Yuri....Nicholas Woodeson

    Sergei....Jason Watkins

    Joe....Jim Norton

    Marina....Tracy Wiles

    Producer....Heather Larmour.

    Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Andrei Demidov must make an impossible decision.

    Andrei Demidov.............Julian Glover

    Alexandra.....................Stella Gonet

    Nikolai .........................Leo Bill

    Michael........................David Bamber

    Yuri............................Nicholas Woodeson

    Sergei.........................Jason Watkins

    Joe.............................Jim Norton

    Marina........................Tracy Wiles

    Producer.......................Heather Larmour.

    Synge: 100 Years On20090315
    Tartuffe20090705
    The Adding Machine20090905
    The Blackwood20180916Drama from Edinburgh's Summerhall: The Blackwood by Jacob Polley with music by John Alder

    the house of rain

    has sixty rooms

    ‘The Blackwood', a new drama born out of Jacob Polley's award-winning book Jackself, grows a new branch of the story of boyhood friends in a world both recognisably modern as well as starkly folkloric and weird. It recounts the journey of two boys through spaces real and rumoured, through the great forest of Blackwood, where voices and music weave alternative histories of boyhood, troubled friendship and the north of England. As well as a moving drama, The Blackwood is a haunting ‘landscape in noise', created by musician and sound designer John Alder.

    Narrator... Jacob Polley

    Jeremy Wren... Ashley Margolis

    Jackself... Kyle Gardiner

    With music composed and played by John Alder.

    Directed by Susan Roberts.

    Part of Radio 3's showcase of new audio plays at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Recorded with an audience at the BBC's newly created pop-up drama studio at the Summerhall arts venue.

    The Carhullan Army20100411By Sarah Hall

    Adapted by Sarah Hall and Dominic Power

    Since her second novel 'The Electric Michaelangelo' was nominated for the Man Booker Prize in 2004, Sarah Hall has been regarded as one of the most original and exciting voices in contemporary British fiction. 'The Carhullan Army', her third novel, was published in 2007 to acclaim and won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. A serious political novel that convincingly explores the mindset of fascism, and a haunting story of how far we will go to be free, it's also a kind of Cumbrian western, peopled with heroic personalities out of an all-female version of 'The Iliad'. It's a blistering achievement: darkly violent, funny, tender and gripping, 'The Carhullan Army' is like nothing else.

    In an unspecified near-future, life in Britain has become unrecognisable: the floodwaters have risen, food and fuel are scarce, and the country is run by the sinister Authority. All women are forced to wear contraceptive devices. Sister, as the book's narrator calls herself, escapes this repressive world and heads for a mysterious, quasi-mythical commune of women high in the Cumbrian fells, led by the legendary Jackie Nixon. The journey is a challenge but arrival is only the beginning of Sister's struggle.

    Anne-Marie Duff ('Nowhere Boy', 'Margot', 'Shameless') heads the cast as Sister, while Geraldine James takes the role of guerrilla messiah Jackie Nixon. Sorcha Cusack plays the sympathetic Lorrie, and 'the Army' is made up of newer talents Zawe Ashton, Sally Bretton and Jo Hartley.

    Novelist Sarah Hall teams up with radio dramatist Dominic Power ('Riddley Walker', 'Northanger Abbey', 'Joseph Andrews') to create the mayhem of a future Britain where society is poised on the edge, where - for a time at least - the only civilised solution appears to be to run to the hills.

    Sister - Anne-Marie Duff

    Jackie - Geraldine James

    Nicola - Jane Whittenshaw

    Lorrie - Sorcha Cusack

    Shruti - Zawe Ashton

    Corky - Sally Bretton

    Megan - Eliza Caitlin Parkes

    Chloe - Jo Hartley

    Fowler/Martin - Neil Dudgeon

    Jones - Andrew Dunn

    Calum/Terry - Edward MacLiam

    Directed by Lawrence Jackson

    Produced by Frank Stirling

    Unique.

    An adaptation by Sarah Hall and Dominic Power of Hall's third novel The Carhullan Army.

    Sister....Anne-Marie Duff

    Jackie....Geraldine James

    Nicola....Jane Whittenshaw

    Lorrie....Sorcha Cusack

    Shruti....Zawe Ashton

    Corky....Sally Bretton

    Megan....Eliza Caitlin Parkes

    Chloe....Jo Hartley

    Fowler/Martin....Neil Dudgeon

    Jones....Andrew Dunn

    Calum/Terry....Edward MacLiam

    The Chalk Garden20110313It is the mid-1950s. In a Sussex country house, the elderly Mrs St Maugham lives with her unruly granddaughter Laurel. Though without references, Miss Madrigal becomes the paid companion to Laurel. Only when The Judge visits does the truth unravel. The production is introduced by the director, Michael Grandage.

    Mrs St Maugham - Margaret Tyzack

    Miss Madrigal - Penelope Wilton

    Laurel - Felicity Jones

    The Judge - Clifford Rose

    Maitland - Jamie Glover

    Olivia - Suzanne Burden

    Second Applicant - Steph Bramwell

    Nurse and Third Applicant - Una Stubbs

    Written by Enid Bagnold

    Director: Michael Grandage

    Composer and sound design: Adam Cork

    Radio production: Penny Leicester and Wilfredo Acosta

    Producer: Nicolas Soames

    An Ukemi Productions Ltd production for Radio 3.

    Drama set in a country house, when the arrival of a judge reveals shocking secrets.

    Mrs St Maugham....Margaret Tyzack

    Miss Madrigal....Penelope Wilton

    Laurel....Felicity Jones

    The Judge....Clifford Rose

    Maitland....Jamie Glover

    Olivia....Suzanne Burden

    Second Applicant....Steph Bramwell

    Nurse and Third Applicant....Una Stubbs

    The Cherry Orchard20081221Anton Chekhov's tale of a Russian family forced to sell their house and cherry orchard.
    The Cherry Orchard20181118Chekhov's celebrated stage play is given a new version by writer/composer duo, Katherine Tozer and John Chambers. Ranyevskya returns to the family estate after 5 years in Paris to face seemingly insurmountable debts. Local businessman Lopakhin is keen to offer her a way out but there'll be a price to pay.

    Ranyevskya....Emma Fielding

    Lopakhin....Neil Dudgeon

    Anya....Lucy Doyle

    Varya....Joan Iyiola

    Gayev....Dominic Coleman

    Peter....Nicholas Prasad

    Pishchik....Tony Turner

    Charlotte....Alexandra Constantinidi

    Yepikhodov....Matthew Wilson

    Dunyasha....Saffron Coomber

    Yasha....Liam Lau Fernandez

    Firs....Sean Murray

    The Tramp....Lewis Bray

    Music composed by John Chambers

    Directed by Toby Swift

    Katherine Tozer and John Chambers work as writer and composer respectively for PALIMPSEST, the innovative multi-media theatre company. Palimpsest have created bespoke work for Leighton House, Dr. Johnson's House and William Morris's Red House.

    Actor and writer Katherine Tozer has acted for the RSC, the Almeida, the Donmar and the Young Vic, in the West End, nationally and internationally in new work by Churchill, Brenton and Wertenbaker, in roles ranging from Phaedra to Blanche du Bois, for which she was nominated for a TMA award. She founded Palimpsest in 2013.

    John Chambers is a composer and sound designer. He studied at Trinity College of Music, winning the John Halford, Daryl Runswick, and Chappell composition prizes. For over a decade he has created music for theatre, including writer/director Steven Berkoff's premiere production of Oedipus. Composition highlights include a fanfare for Her Majesty the Queen (Royal Observatory, Greenwich 2007), a fanfare for the Olympic Torch Relay (Trafalgar Square 2008) and High Flight for Baritone Voice and String Quartet (performed by the Finzi Quartet).

    Chekhov's classic play in a new version with music. It's 1903 and revolution is in the air

    The Comic Illusion20110925Ranjit Bolt's reworking of Pierre Corneille's classic comedy. An old man seeks his estranged son with the help of a wizard. The magician shows the grieving father the boy's recent life in the form of an action-packed comedy adventure.

    Matamore....John Sessions

    Alcandre....Richard Johnson

    Clindor....Michael Maloney

    Isabelle....Hattie Morahan

    G?ronte....Benjamin Whitrow

    Adraste....Pip Torrens

    Lyse....Rosie Fellner

    Pridamant....Paul Moriarty

    Dorante....Simon Bubb

    Jailer....James Lailey

    Page....Jonathan Forbes

    Empress, Queen....Victoria Inez-Hardy

    Original music composed and performed by Russell Taylor and Steve Cooke

    Director: Peter Kavanagh

    Although Pierre Corneille was a contemporary of Moliere and Racine in the 17th century golden age of French drama, he is much less known to us than are they. In France however, his plays, including Le Cid and this work, are staple fare, regularly cropping up on education syllabuses and frequently produced by La Comedie Francaise.

    Under Alcandre's magic spell we meet the runaway Clindor, now a penniless servant. He is working as go-between, wooing the lovely Isabelle on behalf of his employer, the mad braggart Matamore. But Clindor and Isabelle have fallen in love with each other, so Clindor now wooes on his own behalf!

    A concatenation of events leads to Clindor's imprisonment for murder. But in true comic fashion he escapes, and he, Isabelle, and two friends flee to Paris.

    And there the illusory scene shifts to a mysterious higher plain, as, in one of the first and great theatrical coups, Corneille raises the action yet another level - that of play within play within play - before all is finally revealed. Seldom has the magic of theatre received a more moving and entertaining tribute than in this renowned and much admired masterpiece.

    Ranjit Bolt is one of Britain's leading translators for the stage, with numerous acclaimed transformations of European classics - among them: The Liar with Jonathan Miller (Old Vic), The Venetian Twins (RSC 1993); The School For Wives, West End 1996 (dir Peter Hall); Tartuffe, starring Martin Clunes, at the National Theatre in 2002.

    Ranjit Bolt's version of Corneille's classic French comedy.

    Matamore - John Sessions

    Alcandre - Richard Johnson

    Clindor - Michael Maloney

    Isabelle - Hattie Morahan

    Géronte - Benjamin Whitrow

    Adraste - Pip Torrens

    Lyse - Rosie Fellner

    Pridamant - Paul Moriarty

    Dorante - Simon Bubb

    Jailer - James Lailey

    Page - Jonathan Forbes

    Empress, Queen - Victoria Inez-Hardy

    The Contingency Plan20091213
    The Dark Tower20171029A new production of Louis MacNeice's play 'The Dark Tower' with music by Benjamin Britten.

    Louis MacNeice's iconic verse drama, widely acknowledged to be the finest of his many works for radio and one of the most critically acclaimed radio plays of the 20th century. The play is inspired by the mythical quest in Robert Browning's mysterious poem 'Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came', but includes strong autobiographical and even satirical elements. At its core is original music by Benjamin Britten, to whom MacNeice dedicated the published script.

    Performed on 27th October 2017, in front of an audience at Orford Church, Suffolk, with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

    Roland....Harry Lloyd

    Gavin....Matthew Tennyson

    Sergeant-Trumpeter....Jude Akuwudike

    Mother....Lucy Robinson

    Tutor/Steward....Adrian Scarborough

    Soak....Jonjo O'Neill

    Blind Peter....Nicholas Murchie

    Sylvie....Manjinder Virk

    Priest/Officer/Stentor....Sam Dale

    Neaera....Hannah Genesius

    Barmaid/Clock Voice....Georgie Glen

    Young Roland....William Gidney

    BBC Concert Orchestra, conductor Robert Ziegler

    Director, Robin Brooks

    Producer, Fiona McAlpine.

    The Effect20180128Award-winning chemical romance by Lucy Prebble set during a clinical trial.

    by Lucy Prebble.

    Starring Jessie Buckley, Christine Entwisle, Damien Molony and SAMUEL WEST.

    'I can tell the difference between who I am and a side effect.'

    Award-winning chemical romance.

    Connie (Jessie Buckley - 'The Last Post', 'Taboo') and Tristan (Damien Molony - 'Crashing', 'Being Human') are taking part in a clinical trial for a new psychoactive drug. So when they start to feel attracted to each other, can they really trust how they feel?

    A profound, and funny, play about love, depression and selfhood, winner of the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play when it was performed at the National Theatre in 2012.

    Dr Lorna James.... Christine Entwisle

    Connie.... Jessie Buckley

    Tristan.... Damien Molony

    Dr Toby Sealey.... SAMUEL WEST

    Composer, Richard Hammarton

    Writer, Lucy Prebble

    Director, Abigail le Fleming

    THE WRITER

    Lucy Prebble is a writer for film, television, games and theatre. Before THE EFFECT she wrote the hugely successful ENRON (2010). Her first play, THE SUGAR SYNDROME (2003), won her the George Devine Award and was performed at the Royal Court.

    Lucy is an Associate Artist at the Old Vic Theatre.

    For television, she is the creator of the TV series SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL. She is Co-Executive Producer and writer on HBO's media mogul drama, SUCCESSION.

    THE COMPOSER

    Richard Hammarton is a composer and sound designer for Theatre, TV and Film. His work has been heard throughout the UK and Internationally. He was part of the design team that won the Manchester Evening News 'Best Design' award for DR FAUSTUS in 2010 and was Sound Designer for the Olivier Award winning play, THE MOUNTAINTOP. He also worked on the IVOR NOVELLO winning RIPPER STREET for TV.

    The Gambler20090614
    The Glass Menagerie20180708Tennessee Williams's breakthrough play about a family in crisis in 1930s St. Louis.

    By Tennessee Williams

    The Glass Menagerie was Tennessee Williams' first big success when it opened on Broadway in 1945, and has remained the most touching, tender and painful of his works. Closely based on the playwright's own life and family in St Louis in the 1930s, Williams breaks away from naturalism to create a dream-like atmosphere. The narrator Tom conjures up recollections of the cramped and claustrophobic tenement home he shares with his often over-bearing mother Amanda, and his painfully shy sister, Laura.

    The play simmers with frustration as each character is trapped in their own unhappy situation. Tom (also Williams' birth name) works in a warehouse but dreams of being a poet and escaping his mundane life supporting his mother and sister. Laura hides at home lacking the confidence to engage meaningfully with the outside world, preferring instead to get lose herself in her collection of fragile glass animals. Amanda sells magazine subscriptions over the phone and commits herself to finding a match for her daughter. One day, Tom succumbs to his mother's pressure and brings home a gentleman caller to visit his sister, and their quiet existence is shattered.

    The programme is introduced by John Lahr, author of the acclaimed biography Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh.

    Amanda....Anastasia Hille

    Tom....George MacKay

    Laura....Patsy Ferran

    Jim....Sope Dirisu

    Music for violin arranged and performed by Bogdan Vacarescu.

    Director: SASHA YEVTUSHENKO.

    The Government Inspector20090329
    The Great Game20101010A sequence of four plays tracing the history of the war in Afghanistan from the 1840s to the present day, introduced by Robin Lustig.

    Produced by Jeremy Mortimer

    Bugles at the Gates of Jalalabad' by Stephen Jeffreys

    In January 1842 a contingent of British soldiers, 16000 strong, retreated from Kabul. Only a few stragglers were left alive in the British Army's worst defeat in history. The General's wife, Lady Sale, documents the battles in the Hindu Kush; whilst four buglers sound the advance at the gates of Jalalabad as a signal to any survivors.

    Lady Sale - Jemma Redgrave

    McCann - Daniel Betts

    Dickensen - Tom McKay

    Hendrick - Rick Warden

    Winterflood - Karl Davies

    Afzal - Nabil Elouahabi

    Directed by Indhu Rubasingham.

    Miniskirts of Kabul' by David Greig

    The Taliban are closing in on Kabul: shells and rockets are exploding around the capital. A woman is interviewing

    President Najibullah, who has sought refuge in the UN compound. He talks about fashion, communism, torture and whisky, but time is running out.

    Writer - Jemma Redgrave

    Najibullah - Daniel Rabin

    Honey' by Ben Ockrent

    While civil war rages, a lone CIA agent realises the dangers of American disengagement. He's found an 'in' to persuade Commander Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir, to help them get back into the game. But with the Taliban closing in on Kabul, will it be enough?

    Masood Khalili - Vincent Ebrahim

    Robin Raphel - Jemma Redgrave

    Gary Schroen - Michael Cochrane

    Ahmad Shah Massoud - Daniel Rabin

    Reporter - Danny Rahim

    Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko

    Canopy of Stars' by Simon Stephens

    In a bunker guarding the Kajaki Dam, two soldiers talk of chips and gravy, football, women and whether the British should start to negotiate with the Taliban insurgents. A searing insight into soldiers at war, and what happens when they go home.

    Sergeant Jay Watkins - Tom McKay

    Private Richard Kendall - Karl Davies

    Lloyd - Lloyd Thomas

    Murray - Danny Rahim

    Cutty/Voice on Radio - Rick Warden

    Cheryl/Medic - Cloudia Swann

    Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.

    What a day, what a theatre, what a company. This is theatre to be proud of.' Sir Tom Stoppard

    Its scope is unparallelled. It's a fine achievement.' The Times

    Robin Lustig introduces four plays tracing the history of war in Afghanistan.

    Lady Sale....Jemma Redgrave

    McCann....Daniel Betts

    Dickensen....Tom McKay

    Hendrick....Rick Warden

    Winterflood....Karl Davies

    Afzal....Nabil Elouahabi

    Writer....Jemma Redgrave

    Najibullah....Daniel Rabin

    Masood Khalili....Vincent Ebrahim

    Robin Raphel....Jemma Redgrave

    Gary Schroen....Michael Cochrane

    Ahmad Shah Massoud....Daniel Rabin

    Reporter....Danny Rahim

    Sergeant Jay Watkins....Tom McKay

    Private Richard Kendall....Karl Davies

    Lloyd....Lloyd Thomas

    Murray....Danny Rahim

    Cutty/Voice on Radio....Rick Warden

    Cheryl/Medic....Cloudia Swann

    The Hairy Ape20091206Classic American expressionist drama from 1921. The play tells the tragic tale of Yank, a stoker whose whole world is turned upside down when a young heiress ventures into the engine room of a transatlantic ocean liner.

    Yank - Dominic West

    Long - Shaun Dingwall

    Paddy - Jim Norton

    Mildred - Sasha Pick

    Aunt - Annabelle Dowler

    I.W.W. Secretary - John Guerrasio

    Other parts played by John Kay Steel, Joe Montana, Matt Addis, David Hargreaves, Stephen Hogan, Benjamin Askew and Philip Fox.

    Directed by Toby Swift.

    Eugene O'Neill's classic American expressionist drama starring Dominic West as Yank.

    Yank....Dominic West

    Long....Shaun Dingwall

    Paddy....Jim Norton

    Mildred....Sasha Pick

    Aunt....Annabelle Dowler

    I.W.W. Secretary....John Guerrasio

    The Hybernaculum20090823
    The Idylls Of The King20090712
    The Lady From The Sea20091101
    The Last Of The Volsungs20180218'

    Drawn from one of the best known Icelandic sagas, a powerful new dramatisation of the tragic story of Sigurd Volsung and Brynhild, the woman he loves, With an introduction by the author.

    By MELISSA MURRAY

    Sigurd....David Sturzaker

    Regin....DAVID SCHOFIELD

    Gunnar....CARL PREKOPP

    Hod....Gerard McDermott

    Gudrun....LYNDSEY MARSHAL

    Brynhild....Abbie Andrews

    Sadhbh....Isabella Inchbald

    Arvid....Clive Hayward

    Alf....Rupert Holliday-Evans

    Hjordis....Kath Weare

    Warriors....Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Gary Duncan, PHILIP BRETHERTON

    Directed by MARC BEEBY

    The Last of the Volsungs is based, at times loosely, on part of the 13th century Icelandic Volsunga Saga. The sagas are an extraordinary rich and varied cultural treasury. In style they can be domestic, historical, heroic, funny and tragic and can claim with a lot of justification to be the earliest European novels or at least the precursors to them. The Volsung saga falls within the heroic tradition and it has been the inspiration for many - William Morris, Tolkien and of course Wagner.

    At the bedrock of the heroic saga is the idea of Ragnarok, the doom of the Gods. At the end of time the Gods go out and fight a last battle with their enemies, the Frost Giants and their allies, and in the conflict the universe is destroyed. The Gods die. This is not a Last Judgement; there are no morally justified winners and damned sinners. It's just the end - the inevitable, organic end of everything. What's deemed admirable - although post apocalypse there's actually no one left to admire it - is the stoicism, the courage of the warriors as they rally round Odin All Father facing certain annihilation in that final battle. It's a stark enough philosophy. It leads to a warrior class more than half in love with bloody death, their own as much as their enemies.

    The Leopard
    The Light Of Darkness20100801When Leslie Davis suddenly takes up a diplomatic posting in Harput, a remote province of Turkey, he is determined to find commercial opportunities for America. Instead, soon after his arrival, Turkey enters World War One on Germany's side. Davis finds himself playing poker to save the lives of his young secretary, his interpreter and many other Armenians. Later he wrote up the account of his Harput experience in a book called Slaughterhouse Province.

    Louis Nowra is a playwright who has researched Davis's life and work and the history of Harput. He is based in Australia and was drawn to this story by way of his admiration for the music of the Armenian composer Komitas, which features in the play.

    Consul Leslie Davis - John Guerrasio

    Garabed Bergosian - Wiliam El Gardi

    Sushan Krikorian - Betsabeh Emran

    The Governor, Sabit Bey - Jack Klaff

    The Chief of Police, Rachid Bey - Basher Savage

    Dr Atkinson - Scott Handy

    Mrs Balakian - Tamara Hinchco

    Other parts were played by members of the cast as well as

    Rita, Elise and Maral Ovanessoff

    Gokman Gubener

    Abdullah Tercanli

    and Haydar Koyel

    Technical Production by Peregrine Andrews

    Director/Producer: Judith Kampfner.

    A Waters Company production.

    As Turkey enters the war in 1915, the American consul is playing a diplomatic poker game.

    Consul Leslie Davis....John Guerrasio

    Garabed Bergosian....Wiliam El Gardi

    Sushan Krikorian....Betsabeh Emran

    The Governor, Sabit Bey....Jack Klaff

    The Chief of Police, Rachid Bey....Basher Savage

    Dr Atkinson....Scott Handy

    Mrs Balakian....Tamara Hinchco

    The Marriage Of Figaro20101226As a prelude to The Genius of Mozart, Radio 3's major new season in the new year, a rare chance to hear Beaumarchais' original play. Bristling with social and political conflict, behind the comic intrigues of da Ponte's libretto lies a drama that was considered too dangerous to be allowed to be performed in its own time. It is edgy, political, dealing with class and stroppy servants sensing the smell of Revolution in the air.

    The author, Beaumarchais, led a life as colourful as the world of his plays. At the height of the French Revolution, as he had been a royal servant, he was brought before the Revolutionary council. His life was spared when he declared in his defence that he was the creator of Figaro. This character epitomised the underdog striving to be free and was hugely popular with the revolutionaries. Napoleon realised its power when he declared it to be 'the Revolution in action'.

    Cast:

    Figaro - Rupert Degas;

    Count - Nicholas Rowe;

    Suzanne - Joannah Tincey;

    Countess - Clare Wille;

    Antonio/Double-Main - Sean Barrett;

    Marceline - Frances Jeater;

    Bazile/Pedrillo - Hugh Dickson;

    Brid'oison - Stephen Thorne;

    Bartholo - Anton Lesser;

    Fanchette - Gina Bramhill;

    Cherubin/Gripe-Soleil - Charlie Morton.

    Adapted and directed for Radio 3 by David Timson.

    Produced by Nicolas Soames.

    A rare chance to hear Beaumarchais' original play, on which Mozart's opera was based.

    Figaro....Rupert Degas;

    Count....Nicholas Rowe;

    Suzanne....Joannah Tincey;

    Countess....Clare Wille;

    Antonio/Double-Main....Sean Barrett;

    Marceline....Frances Jeater;

    Bazile/Pedrillo....Hugh Dickson;

    Brid'oison....Stephen Thorne;

    Bartholo....Anton Lesser;

    Fanchette....Gina Bramhill;

    Cherubin/Gripe-Soleil....Charlie Morton.

    The Merchant Of Venice20180422Andrew Scott stars in Shakespeare's play of debt, greed and prejudice, transposed to 2008.

    Andrew Scott, Ray Fearon, Hayley Atwell and Colin Morgan star in Shakespeare's ever-topical story of over-confident traders, a debt-ridden country dependent on credit, and a society suspicious of religious difference, transposed to the City of London and the 2008 financial crisis. Introduced by the BBC's Business Editor, Simon Jack.

    Adapted and directed by Emma Harding

    Antonio....Ray Fearon

    Bassanio....Colin Morgan

    Portia....Hayley Atwell

    Shylock....Andrew Scott

    Salarino....Ryan Whittle

    Salanio....Neerja Naik

    Gratiano....Ryan Early

    Lorenzo....Chris Lew Kum Hoi

    Jessica....Lauren Cornelius

    Launcelot Gobbo....Luke Bailey

    Nerissa....Kerry Gooderson

    Morocco....Stefan Adegbola

    Arragon....Javier Marzan

    The Duke....Neil McCaul

    Tubal....Clive Hayward

    Balthasar....Rupert Holliday-Evans

    Musical setting of 'Where is fancy bred? composed by Emma Harding, performed by Kerry Gooderson and Peter Ringrose.

    The Moors Of England20181104By Rex Obano

    England is divided as never before. The country has turned its back on Europe. Not Britain today but the 16th Century. The story of Sir Robert Cecil and his black Muslim servant Fortunatus.

    Fortunatus....Ray Fearon

    Sir Robert Cecil....John Heffernan

    Beaupere....Sope Dirisu

    Casper Van Senden....Tristan Sturrock

    Duque de Sessa....Youseff Kerkour

    Queen Elizabeth....Elizabeth Counsell

    Sir Edward Coke....Philip Bretherton

    Sir Thomas Sherley....Sean Murray

    Mae Mice....Lucy Doyle

    Frances Cecil....Ella Glendinning

    Lady Frances....Emma Handy

    Watchman....Cameron Percival

    Director: David Hunter

    London, 1600. Fortunatus, a black Muslim refugee, takes drastic action to change history.

    The Mother20170917Gina McKee stars in Florian Zeller's award-winning companion piece to The Father.

    Florian Zeller's 'The Father' was a West-End - indeed world-wide - hit. This companion piece is just as devastating and equally funny. In the place of a snarling patriarch's growing dementia we now have a mother coming to terms with the 'empty nest' effect, soon after the departure of her two children who have found partners and new lives for themselves.

    Translated by Christopher Hampton

    Featuring music by Philip Glass, Christopher Hampton's regular collaborator.

    Told in an original and ingeniously fractured style, the play charts - like The Father, in a surprisingly entertaining way - the woman's descent into a world of imagination and make-believe. Can we trust anything she or the other characters say? Are their appearances indeed figments of her imagination?

    Christopher Hampton is surely our foremost translator (Art, God of Carnage) as well as outstanding playwright (Liaisons Dangereuses, The Philanthropist etc) again translates with effortless skill and comic timing.

    Gina McKee (Our Friends from the North / Wonderland / Notting Hill / Atonement) reprises her stage role from Bath and London's Tricycle Theatre, as the troubled matriarch, relying too heavily on white wine and pills. In scaldingly comical exchanges she accuses her husband (Tom Goodman-Hill) of seeing a mistress when he claims to be at conferences or working late.

    She trains her - sadly oppressive - attention on their son (Jonathan Bailey) who can't reciprocate her affection: he's obsessing about his girlfriend (Kesiah Joseph) with whom he's just had a blazing row. Will the Mother's attempts to stoke the flames of antagonism between them succeed?

    Tom Goodman-Hill has appeared in Everest (2015), The Imitation Game (2014) and Humans (2016) as well as Mr Selfridge.

    Jonathan Bailey was nominated for the award for Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for his performance in David Hare's South Downs. Roles include the young Leonardo da Vinci in BBC's Leonardo, and the musical American Psycho at London's Almeida Theatre.

    The Name20180211Jon Fosse's Ibsen Prize-winning stage play is the story of a young woman's return home.

    Norwegian Jon Fosse, winner of the prestigious International Ibsen Prize in 2010, is one of the world's most performed playwrights. His breakthrough came with Namnet ('The Name'), written in 1995, and it remains one of his most widely produced plays. It tells the story of a pregnant young woman's return to the claustrophobia of family home with the reluctant father-to-be in tow. Translated by Gregory Motton.

    The Girl....Norah Lopez Holden

    The Boy....Joseph Ayre

    The Mother....Ellie Darvill

    The Father....Philip Bretherton

    The Sister....Isabella Inchbald

    Bjarne....Nikhil Parmar

    Directed by Toby Swift

    British playwright Simon Stephens introduces the drama. His adaptation of Fosse's play I AM THE WIND was performed at the Young Vic in 2011.

    The News From Home20171119Nick Dear's play, which was written for the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin.

    The News from Home was written by Nick Dear to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising in Dublin.

    The play views the events of Easter Week 1916 and its aftermath through the eyes of Kitty and Nora, maidservants of an English country house, tucked away in the New Forest. Kitty and Nora come from Roscrea, Tipperary, and have always thought of themselves as British citizens, but their views change as they learn that there has been an armed insurrection in their homeland, and for a few days, as news trickles in, it seems just possible that the nascent Irish Republic may succeed. Overnight the girls become thought of as Irish, not British, and potentially in league with the German enemy.

    Kitty.. Clare Dunne

    Nora.. Charlene McKenna

    Ilsa.. Geraldine Somerville

    Blanche.. Nelly Harker

    Scammell.. Sam Dale

    Cook.. Serena Evans

    Archie.. Sam Troughton

    Ken.. Ferdinand Kingsley

    Directed by Celia de Wolff

    A Pier Production for BBC Radio 3.

    The Pattern Of Painful Adventures20081123Antony Sher plays William Shakespeare in a play about the Bard's life.

    The Pattern of Painful Adventures, by Stephen Wakelam

    A new play in which Antony Sher portrays William Shakespeare.

    Business is going well, but the playwright urgently needs a collaborator for his latest work. His daughter is getting married, while his brother has a sick child and is in need of a job. It is 1607 and Shakespeare's life is at a turning point.

    William Shakespeare....Antony Sher

    Jack Robinson....Will Keen

    John Marston....Stephen Critchlow

    George Wilkins....Chris Pavlo

    Susannah Shakespeare....Helen Longworth

    Richard Burbage....John Rowe

    William Ostler/Robert Johnson....Robert Lonsdale

    Edmund Shakespeare....Joseph Kloska

    Produced and directed by Jeremy Mortimer.

    William Shakespeare - Antony Sher

    Jack Robinson - Will Keen

    John Marston - Stephen Critchlow

    George Wilkins - Chris Pavlo

    Susannah Shakespeare - Helen Longworth

    Richard Burbage - John Rowe

    William Ostler/Robert Johnson - Robert Lonsdale

    Edmund Shakespeare - Joseph Kloska

    The Piano Lesson20111127In August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play set in Pittsburgh in 1936, an ancient upright piano carved with African faces dominates the parlour of Doaker Charles. Boy Willie and his partner Lymon have come up from the south to sell watermelons. Boy Willie has just got out of prison and he wants to buy the land his ancestors once worked as slaves but his sister is not about to sell the piano.

    Boy Willie...John Earl Jelks

    Berniece...Roslyn Ruff

    Doaker...Stephen McKinley Henderson

    Lymon...Chris Chalk

    Wining Boy...Anthony Chisholm

    Grace...Marsha Stephanie Blake

    Avery...Leland Gantt

    Maretha...Zadshire Dupuis

    Creative consultant Ricardo Khan,

    Pianist Ernie Scott

    Director Claire Grove

    Playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah has curated new radio productions of three 20th Century plays for Radio 3's Drama on 3, The Piano Lesson is the first in the series and will be followed by The Plough and the Stars by Sean O'Casey on December 4th and: Skyvers by Barry Reckord on December 11th.

    The three broadcasts will be introduced by Kwame Kwei-Armah, who will talk about how each of the writers, and the plays, influenced his own development as an actor and playwright. Kwame is currently based in Baltimore where he is Artistic Director of Center Stage Theater.

    The glow accompanying August Wilson's place in contemporary American theatre is fixed.' Toni Morrison.

    August Wilson (1945 - 2005) is America's foremost black playwright. This production was recorded at Tony Award winning Crossroads Theatre New Brunswick, New Jersey, with the support of August Wilson's widow, and an outstanding cast which includes actors like Stephen Henderson and Anthony Chisholm who worked extensively with August Wilson. Anthony and Stephen were both in the Olivier award winning production of Jitney which took London by storm ten years ago and Stephen and Chris Chalk were both in the Broadway Tony award winning production of August Wilson's Fences starring Denzel Washington. Stephen Henderson has just finished working on Spike Lee's new film which will be released next year and he is currently working on a new film with Steven Spielberg.

    The Piano Lesson is the fourth of August Wilson's cycle of ten plays about the African American experience in the twentieth century. It opened at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1987 and in 1990 on Broadway it won a Pulitzer Prize , a Drama Desk Award and New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. The play was inspired by Romare Bearden's painting of the same name. August Wilson saw its scene of a teacher and student as an allegory for how African Americans must learn to negotiate their history.

    August Wilson's play about a brother and sister and a piano carved with African faces.

    The glow accompanying August Wilson's place in contemporary American theatre is fixed.' Toni Morrison .

    The Plough And The Stars20111204Sean O'Casey's classic play set in the midst of the Easter Rising of 1916. The impact of events is viewed through the eyes of ordinary people inhabiting a Dublin tenement. O'Casey's masterpiece paints a vivid portrait of a city and a nation in turmoil.

    The Plough and the Stars is the second in a three-part series of classic plays chosen for Drama on 3 by the playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah. Kwame also introduces this new production of the play.

    NORA....Elaine Cassidy

    JACK....Padraic Delaney

    BESSIE....Gabrielle Reidy

    FLUTHER....Finbar Lynch

    PETER....Stephen Hogan

    THE COVEY....Jonathan Forbes

    MRS GOGAN....Fiona Clarke

    MOLLSER....Rebecca Gleeson

    ROSIE....Jane McGrath

    CAPT BRENNAN....Matthew McNulty

    LIEUT. LANGAN....Sam Smith

    Musical Director....Conrad Nelson

    Directed by Nadia Molinari.

    NORA - Elaine Cassidy

    JACK - Padraic Delaney

    BESSIE - Gabrielle Reidy

    FLUTHER - Finbar Lynch

    PETER - Stephen Hogan

    THE COVEY - Jonathan Forbes

    MRS GOGAN - Fiona Clarke

    MOLLSER - Rebecca Gleeson

    ROSIE - Jane McGrath

    CAPT BRENNAN - Matthew McNulty

    LIEUT. LANGAN - Sam Smith

    Musical Director - Conrad Nelson

    The Present Experiment2016092920180909 (R3)Robin Brooks's comedy celebrating the birth of the Third Programme.

    Robin Brooks' deliciously lyrical comedy romps through the first hours of the pioneering Third Programme, in fact and fantasy.

    1946. A new government and the NHS. The first Festival of British contemporary music. Peter Grimes. De-mobbed servicemen and young working-class beneficiaries of the Butler Act are crowding into university. And in a Blitz-battered Broadcasting House, chosen head George Barnes (1st in History, Kings) and his Director-General William Hayley (no university education) meet to discuss a new arts network, Programme C, (after A - Light - and B - Home) to pull up the cultural life of the nation by its bootstraps.

    Inspired by the disruptive geniuses of early contributors Louis MacNeice, Dylan Thomas and Benjamin Britten, the story of the network's dreams and fears begins to unwind in a fantastical verse adventure through the corridors of Broadcasting House. Meanwhile in the wry BBC realpolitik of W1A 1946, staff producer Guy Burgess is being consulted about how to stop the Russians invading the frequency with weird interruptions from Riga Station.

    Katherine, the Herald....Pippa Bennett-Warner

    George Barnes....Pip Torrens

    Gwylim Jones....Trystan Gravelle

    Lawrence O'Neill....Jonjo O'Neill

    Lord Reith....Christopher Godwin

    Roland Givens....Tim Potter

    Guy Burgess....Gunnar Cauthery

    William Hayley....Michael Bertenshaw

    Rex Hardcastle....Adrian Scarborough

    Virginia, the Sorceress....Carolyn Pickles

    Heidi O'Neill....Catriona McFarlane

    Ethel McRea....Natasha Cowley

    with Nicholas Murchie and John Dougall

    Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting

    The Promise20091108
    The Reality Tunnel20180916A comedy about the philosophy of sound. Do we all hear things the same way?

    A new comedy by Karen Laws about the philosophy of sound. Do we all hear things the same way? Can we be tricked into hearing what isn't there? And will sound engineer Ben get trespasser Isla out of his studio, or will she bring him to his senses? Ben is appalled to find an intruder working his desk in the studio he's hired by the hour. She needs to go! But Isla is a free spirit, breaking in where she can to mix her pieces of sound art. Ben questions her right to be there: Isla questions Ben's right to ‘own' sound. When she plays him something, have they really heard the same thing? Are our senses objective or do we hear what we want through our own reality tunnels? Come and join award-winner Sarah Miele as Isla and Sam Newton as Ben (Toast, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time) and explore your very own reality tunnel.

    Isla... Sarah Miele

    Ben... Sam Newton

    Writer, Karen Laws

    Director, Mel Harris

    Sound Designer, Eloise Whitmore

    Exec Producer, Polly Thomas

    Part of Radio 3's showcase of new audio plays at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Recorded with an audience at the BBC's newly created pop-up drama studio at the Summerhall arts venue.

    The Recruiting Officer20111218George Farquhar's popular Restoration Comedy, broadcast in combination with Our Country's Good (this weekend's Radio 4 Saturday Play). During a lull in the War of the Spanish Succession, Captain Plume comes to Shrewsbury, to seduce soldiers into the army, and - if possible - recruit Silvia into marriage.

    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 Moriarty

    Justice Scruple....Gerard McDermott

    Directed by Jessica Dromgoole

    The Recruiting Officer enjoyed enormous success and popular acclaim during the eighteenth century, when it was produced more often than any other play, outstripping its nearest rival, Hamlet, by a wide margin. The play also holds the honour of being the first piece of theatre ever to be produced in Australia, with a cast of convicts and officers, an event described by Thomas Keneally in his book The Playmaker, and then dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker in her play, Our Country's Good. A double bill of the two plays was staged in repertory to great acclaim at The Royal Court in 1988, with a common cast. This new pair of radio productions reproduces the enterprise.

    Farquhar's 1709 Restoration comedy, where wives are recruited while soldiers are wooed.

    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 Moriarty

    Justice Scruple - Gerard McDermott

    The Researches Of Herodotus20091011
    The Royal Game20101219The Viennese writer Stefan Zweig, most famous for Beware of Pity, wrote the original Schachnovelle or Chess Novel in 1942. The translator is Anthea Bell.

    It is the story of Dr. Berg (Paul Rhys) a well to do German banker who is interrogated by the Gestapo who want to find out where influential members of the Clergy and aristocrats have hidden their money. They hold him in a deserted hotel in solitary confinement in order to break him down. But he steals a book of chess puzzles from a guard and this keeps his mind active. Unfortunately after learning to play games in his head Dr. Berg goes mad.

    Dr. Berg - Paul Rhys

    The Interrogator - Rupert Young

    The Writer - Kevin Trainor

    Katz - Allan Corduner

    McConnor - Hamish Clark

    Centovic/Bennett - Sandy Grierson

    Servant /Nurse - Madeleine Brolly

    This original adaptation for radio is by Yolanda Pupo-Thompson who also wrote The Hybernaculuum which was a day in the life of the naturalist the Rev Gilbert White.

    The play was recorded on location in a deserted mansion in Belgrave Square by the sound designer Joe Acheson.

    Music is from Carl Orff's Schulwerk

    Director Matt Thompson.

    Adaptation of Stefan Zweig's novella about chess madness.

    Dr. Berg....Paul Rhys

    The Interrogator....Rupert Young

    The Writer....Kevin Trainor

    Katz....Allan Corduner

    McConnor....Hamish Clark

    Centovic/Bennett....Sandy Grierson

    Servant /Nurse....Madeleine Brolly

    The Seagull20100131
    The Secret Grief20110320by David Eldridge

    Nigel is bored. But then he

    meets the glamorous Liv and Tony and becomes

    part of their beautiful world; a beauty that hides a disturbing secret.

    Nigel - Paul Chequer

    Liv - Frances Barber

    Tony - David Schofield

    Roger - Struan Rodger

    Kelly - Alex Tregear

    Igor - Stuart McLoughlin

    Stowaway - Nyasha Hatendi

    David Eldridge is one of Britain's most exciting playwrights. His adaptations of 'Festen' and 'The Wild Duck' won huge acclaim and his original writing includes 'Under The Blue Sky' and 'Market Boy'. His new play 'The Knot of The Heart' is currently playing at The Almeida. In this commission for Radio 3 he explores the idea of a fascism of the mind.

    David Eldridge's play in which a young man take up with a couple of mysterious strangers.

    Nigel....Paul Chequer

    Liv....Frances Barber

    Tony....David Schofield

    Roger....Struan Rodger

    Kelly....Alex Tregear

    Igor....Stuart McLoughlin

    Stowaway....Nyasha Hatendi

    The Shadow Of A Doubt20181028World premiere of a newly discovered play by Edith Wharton from 1901, starring Phoebe Fox, Francesca Annis, Paul Ready, David Horovitch and Don Gilet.

    Introduced by Laura Rattray, Reader in American Studies, University of Glasgow

    Adapted for radio by Melissa Murray

    Directed by Emma Harding

    Long before she achieved fame with her novel, 'The Age of Innocence', Edith Wharton wrote a number of plays. But they were all believed lost until two academics, Laura Rattray and Mary Chinery, discovered the complete manuscript of 'The Shadow of a Doubt' in 2017. Wharton's play - which pivots on the issue of assisted suicide - was about to be staged in New York in early 1901, before the production was abandoned for unknown reasons.

    Kate, a former nurse, has recently married above her class to John Derwent, whose first wife Kate had nursed following an horrific accident. But others are suspicious of Kate's social ascent. And others have knowledge that could destroy her.

    Kate Derwent....Phoebe Fox

    John Derwent....Paul Ready

    Sylvia Derwent....Rosie Boore

    Lord Osterleigh....David Horovitch

    Lady Uske....Francesca Annis

    Dr Carruthers....Don Gilet

    Clodagh Nevil....Alexandra Constantinidi

    Bobby Mazaret....Cameron Percival

    Footman....Lewis Bray

    Mrs Fullerton....Emma Handy

    Phoebe Fox stars in a world premiere of a newly discovered play by Edith Wharton from 1901

    The Steps, By Mike Bartlett20090208
    The Strange Case Of The Man In The Velvet Jacket20111030A powerful and intriguing original play by Robert Forrest based on the writer Robert Louis Stevenson's early life in Edinburgh.

    Set in 1873, the play focuses on Stevenson as a young man invigorated by the intellectual maelstrom that was still challenging the way people saw and navigated the world of arts, science and politics following the Enlightment. He may have been unsure of what his role in all this could be, but it was the things he knew he had to reject - belief in God, a career in law or engineering - that were creating turmoil in his own mind and heartache in his relationship with his parents. And meanwhile his discovery of the female species was also pre-occupying his thoughts and emotions.

    Robert Forrest writes,

    'Famously Stevenson created no convincing or complex women in his fiction until late in his life, with (to a degree) Catriona and (wonderfully) the two Kirsties in Weir of Hermiston. But the Stevenson who is revealed in his letters and essays is altogether different; his understanding of women, his liking, respect and admiration for them, are very striking. There was a story that he developed an intense love for an older Highland woman (he later was indeed drawn to women older than himself), but that youthful affair has been dismissed as mere legend. But what if this mysterious woman is his own invention, his inner muse, a dream figure he conjures up and is then haunted by? There are shades of Jekyll here - he creates this woman and then can't be rid of her. Is she the haunting figure of his muse?'

    Louis....TOM FREEMAN

    Thomas Stevenson....ALEXANDER MORTON

    Margaret Stevenson....CAROL ANN CRAWFORD

    Kate/Frances....MEG FRASER

    John Todd....PAUL YOUNG

    Mary Henderson/Henrietta/Ellen....ROSALIND SYDNEY

    Bob....KEITH FLEMING

    Original music by IAIN JOHNSTONE

    Singer....DOMINIC BARBERI

    Produced and Directed by David Ian Neville.

    Robert Forrest's play based on Robert Louis Stevenson's early life in Edinburgh.

    Louis - TOM FREEMAN

    Thomas Stevenson - ALEXANDER MORTON

    Margaret Stevenson - CAROL ANN CRAWFORD

    Kate/Frances - MEG FRASER

    John Todd - PAUL YOUNG

    Mary Henderson/Henrietta/Ellen - ROSALIND SYDNEY

    Bob - KEITH FLEMING

    Singer - DOMINIC BARBERI

    The Threepenny Opera20091018
    The Tidebreak2016121120180603 (R3)Three lyrical, linked tales set on the sea defences of Morecambe Bay.
    The Trial And Death Of Socrates
    The Twyborn Affair20090927Eadie was no good as a mother: raising eyebrows in Edwardian Sydney society was more exciting and anyway her child kept running away. Now in her old age she hopes to rekindle family affections. As the London Blitz begins, the Twyborns reveal their unconventional choices in this dramatisation of Nobel Prize-winner Patrick White's provocative tale of sexual identity.

    Eddie - Julian Rhind-Tutt

    Eadie - Penny Downie

    Joan - Hattie Morahan

    Don - Philip Quast

    Marcia - Leigh Funnelle

    Angelos/Rod - John Rowe

    Curly/Greg - David Henry

    Peggy/Ada - Manon Edwards

    Driver - Piers Wehner

    Bridie - Emerald O'Hanrahan

    Philip - Joseph Cohen-Cole

    Dramatised by D.J.Britton

    Director: Alison Hindell.

    An adaptation of Patrick White's provocative and mysterious novel about sexual identity.

    Eddie....Julian Rhind-Tutt

    Eadie....Penny Downie

    Joan....Hattie Morahan

    Don....Philip Quast

    Marcia....Leigh Funnelle

    Angelos/Rod....John Rowe

    Curly/Greg....David Henry

    Peggy/Ada....Manon Edwards

    Driver....Piers Wehner

    Bridie....Emerald O'Hanrahan

    Philip....Joseph Cohen-Cole

    The White Devil20100815By John Webster

    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

    The wealthy Brachiano conceives a violent passion for the married Vittoria Corombona. Her brother Flamineo, Brachiano's secretary, plots to bring his sister and his master together, in the hope of advancing his own career. Their plans are impeded by the return to Rome of Isabella - Brachiano's wife, and sister to the powerful Francisco. Desperate for Vittoria, Brachiano arranges to have both Isabella and Vittoria's husband murdered. And in so doing makes an implacable enemy of the deadly Francisco...

    The play was first performed in 1612, but this production sets the action in a murky underworld of the 1950s - a world that seeks to hide its shifting alliances, betrayals and sudden violence beneath a flaky veneer of honour and respectability.

    A new production of John Webster's classic play of murder and revenge, set in the 1950s.

    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

    The Wolf In The Water20180114Drama exploring what happened to Jessica, Shylock's daughter in The Merchant of Venice.

    What happened to Jessica, Shylock's daughter in The Merchant of Venice?

    In the original Shakespeare, Jessica is a minor but fascinating character, Shylock's only daughter, who leaves him to convert to Christianity and marry Lorenzo. We are left rather uncertain about how that marriage is going to work out. It's also implicit that the conversion isn't going to be easy on either party....

    The Wolf in the Water by Naomi Alderman is an imaginative response to The Merchant of Venice, in which we meet an older Jessica in 1615, secretly still practising her Jewish faith in a turbulent Venice that is increasingly hostile to Jews. A murder, twenty innocent Jews facing death - Jessica becomes embroiled in a mystery that challenges her apparently settled life and reconnects her with her identity. The year may be 1615, but the themes are universal and relevant. What drives one group to persecute another? What shameful deeds are done by those to whom we entrust our money? Can we ever be cosmopolitans - citizens of all nations and none - or will our ethnicity, our religion, even the ineradicable traces of God, always draw us back, perhaps to doom ourselves?

    Cast

    Jessica....Pippa Bennett-Warner

    Lorenzo....Scott Arthur

    Anna....Jennifer Tan

    Augusta....Tracy-Ann Oberman

    Tubal....Vincent Ebrahim

    Thief 1....Philip Nightingale

    Thief 2....Philip Jennings

    Producer, Polly Thomas

    Sound designer, Elosie Whitmore

    Additional Venice sound, Enrico Coniglio

    Development producer, Russell Finch

    Naomi Alderman is an award-winning writer, writing her first BBC Radio 3 drama commission, after establishing herself at the cutting edge of new fiction and audio gaming.

    The Wolf in the Water cast includes actors from the regular cast of Zombies, Run! the global phenomenon that Naomi co-created and now has over 1 million players.

    A Somethin' Else Production for BBC Radio 3 - first broadcast in 2016 as part of the BBC's Shakespeare Festival and also marking the 500th anniversary of the establishment of the Venice ghetto.

    These Are The Times: The Life Of Thomas Paine20100307'class='blq-clearfix'>'
    Transformations20180121Love, passion and change. Five stories dramatised from tales told in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

    Love, passion and change. Five stories from tales told in Ovid's Metamorphoses brought vividly to life in a new dramatisation. With a special introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate

    Dramatised by Lucy Catherine

    Ceyx and Alcyone

    Ovid....Jim Norton

    Alcyone....Clare Corbett

    Ceyx....Philip Bretherton

    Somnus....Neil McCaul

    Juno....Isabella Inchbald

    Captain....Tayla Kovacevi-Ebong

    Pygmalion

    Pygmalion....Rupert Holliday Evans

    Theras....Gary Duncan

    Orpheus and Euridice

    Orpheus....Tom Forrister

    Eurydice....Madeline Hatt

    Charon....Neil McCaul

    Pluto....Philip Bretherton

    Proserpina....Isabella Inchbald

    Priest....Clive Hayward

    Byblis and Cannus

    Byblis....Abbie Andrews

    Cannus....Adam Fitzgerald

    Servant....Isabella Inchbald

    Mother....Ellie Darvill

    Woman....Kath Weare

    Baucis and Philemon

    Baucis....Sheila Reid

    Philemon....John Rowe

    Strangers....Clive Hayward and Tayla Kovacevi-Ebong

    Directed by Marc Beeby.

    Victim2017070920190106 (R3)Play about the making of Victim, the first British film to address homosexuality seriously

    by Sarah Wooley.

    A drama about the making of 'Victim', the first British film to seriously address homosexuality. This programme is part of Gay Britannia, a season across the BBC marking the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act 1967.

    The 1961 film, starring matinee idol Dirk Bogarde in the gamble of his career, is often credited with helping to change public attitudes to homosexuality. This fast-moving drama follows the extraordinary mixture of bravery and pragmatism involved in getting this groundbreaking enterprise off the ground, providing a fascinating glimpse of Britain at a tipping point of social change.

    THE WRITER

    Sarah Wooley has written many plays for the radio including FIFTEEN MINUTES about Andy Warhol, MOVING MUSIC about Philip Glass and Steve Reich, PLANNING PERMISSION about the Brutalist architect Erno Goldfinger and A NICE LITTLE HOLIDAY about playwright John Osborne. Her last play for Radio 4 was 1977, about the scoring of the film 'Watership Down' and the story of trans composer Angela Morley.

    Her stage plays are published by Oberon and include the sell-out hit OLD MONEY, which ran at Hampstead Theatre main stage in 2012 and starred Maureen Lipman.

    The 1961 film, starring matinee idol DIRK BOGARDE in the gamble of his career, is often credited with helping to change public attitudes to homosexuality. This fast-moving drama follows the extraordinary mixture of bravery and pragmatism involved in getting this ground-breaking enterprise off the ground, providing a fascinating glimpse of Britain at a tipping point of social change.

    Clip from Peeping Tom (c) Michael Powell (Theatre)/Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors/Michael Powell

    Her stage plays include the sell-out hit OLD MONEY (Hampstead Theatre, 2012) starring MAUREEN LIPMAN.

    The story of Victim, the first British film to address homosexuality seriously.

    A drama about the making of 'Victim', the first British film to seriously address homosexuality. Part of Gay Britannia, a season across the BBC marking the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act 1967.

    Vieux Carre|20041003Tennessee Williams's disturbing but often funny play set in a seedy boarding house in New Orleans run by a half-mad landlady.
    Widowers' Houses20110703Martin Jarvis directs Ian McKellen, Charles Dance, Tim Pigott-Smith and an impressive cast in Bernard Shaw's first play - the latest drama in Radio 3's 'Money Talks' series which brings together 150 years of dramatists tackling the question of money.

    What happens if an Englishman, decent enough in private, shuts his eyes and conscience to the monstrous abuses of the poor by slum landlords, especially if the remedy might affect his own financial security? The theme has resonated down the years.

    Written Widower's Houses 1892 it became an immediate success and remains astonishingly relevant in the present property investment world. Funny, observant, incisive in examining moral dilemmas and business ethics.

    Slum-landlords - a comedy? Shaw was already turning the tradition of Victorian drama on its head, understanding that social and political points are best made via human comedy

    Cast:

    Mr Sartorius....Ian McKellen

    William Cokane....Charles Dance

    Lickcheese....Tim Pigott-Smith

    Harry Trench....Dan Stevens

    Blanche Sartorius....Honeysuckle Weeks

    Jessie....Siobhan Hughes

    The Waiter....Jon Glover

    Music specially composed by Mark Holden and Michael Lopez

    Director: Martin Jarvis

    Producer: Rosalind Ayres

    A Jarvis and Ayres Production for BBC Radio 3.

    Martin Jarvis directs Ian McKellen in George Bernard Shaw's play about slum landlords.

    Mr Sartorius - Ian McKellen

    William Cokane - Charles Dance

    Lickcheese - Tim Pigott-Smith

    Harry Trench - Dan Stevens

    Blanche Sartorius - Honeysuckle Weeks

    Jessie - Siobhan Hughes

    The Waiter - Jon Glover

    Woyzeck20110220By George Buchner. Translated by Gregory Motton.

    Franz Woyzeck, a lowly soldier stationed in a provincial German town, is the father of an illegitimate child by his mistress Marie. He earns extra money for his family by performing menial jobs for his captain and agreeing to take part in medical experiments conducted by the regimental doctor. But then an act of betrayal shatters his brittle life. Written in 1837 but not performed until the early twentieth century, this shard-like unfinished play is now recognised as a major work, perhaps the first modern play, in that it argues that our lives are determined by social circumstance.

    Woyzeck - Lee Ingleby

    Marie - Deborah McAndrew

    Drum Major - Derek Riddell

    Andres - Gerard Fletcher

    Margret - Becky Hindley

    Captain - Rob Pickavance

    Doctor - Jonathan Keeble

    Child - Perveen Hamilton

    Original Music by Tom Lingard

    Produced by Gary Brown

    Buchner was a political radical and an academic in natural sciences; he set out to write a political play in that he placed the common man as the central character. The script evolved in tandem with Büchner's research on the nervous system and cerebral lesions, together with his annotations of Spinoza, which he pursued to the day of his early death. But the play is more than a test case. It is a pyscho-drama that abolishes the hierarchy of suffering. The anti-hero may be inarticulate and he commits the most heinous crime but he is presented as a victim whose actions demand to be examined and understood. It has been claimed by both naturalists and expressionists.

    Seminal 19th-century expressionist play based on a real life murder case.

    Woyzeck....Lee Ingleby

    Marie....Deborah McAndrew

    Drum Major....Derek Riddell

    Andres....Gerard Fletcher

    Margret....Becky Hindley

    Captain....Rob Pickavance

    Doctor....Jonathan Keeble

    Child....Perveen Hamilton

    Wuthering Heights20110327A new adaptation by Jonathan Holloway of Emily Bronte's great novel of violent obsession. Heathcliff and Catherine have entered the world's imagination as great lovers. Yet they kiss once only. Dante Gabriel Rossetti described the story: 'A fiend of a book. The action is laid in Hell - only it seems places and people have English names there.' There is extraordinary cruelty and madness in the story and yet its extremes grip us and each generation since the book was first published in 1847 has made what it will of the lovers and their disasters.

    With Carl Prekopp as Heathcliff, Natalie Press as Catherine (and Cathy), Janine Duvitski as Ellen, Samuel Barnett as Edgar, David Birrell as Mr Lockwood, Hayley Doherty as Isabella and Russell Boulter as Hindley.

    Yerma20100926Yerma by Federico Garcia Lorca

    in a translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata

    The tragic tale of a woman's desperate yearning for a child that leads her to murder. Infused with poetic imagery and song this is one of Lorca's best known plays.

    Yerma - Emma Cunniffe

    Juan - Conrad Nelson

    Victor - Declan Wilson

    Maria - Rebecca Callard

    Pagan Old Woman - Annette Badland

    Dolores - Clare Benedict

    Dolores' Neighbour - Kate Layden

    Washerwoman - Debbie McAndrew

    Washerwoman - Fionnuala Dorrity

    Washerwoman/Girl 1 - Liz Carter

    Female at the Pilgrimage - Helen Longworth

    Male at the Pilgrimage - Kevin Harvey

    Spanish Voice - Anna Castineiras

    Composer, Tayo Akinbode

    Musicians, Tayo Akinbode, Richard Arthurs, Chris Cruiks

    Singers, Members of the cast and Leslie Pratt

    Directed by Pauline Harris

    Federico Garcia Lorca (1898 - 1936) is, with Cervantes, the best known figure in Spanish literature. Blood Wedding, Yerma and The House of Bernada Alba are often referred to as a 'rural trilogy', and are Lorca's most mature and characteristic works.

    Lorca's classic tale of a woman's desperate yearning for a child that leads to murder.

    Yerma....Emma Cunniffe

    Juan....Conrad Nelson

    Victor....Declan Wilson

    Maria....Rebecca Callard

    Pagan Old Woman....Annette Badland

    Dolores....Clare Benedict

    Dolores' Neighbour....Kate Layden

    Washerwoman....Debbie McAndrew

    Washerwoman....Fionnuala Dorrity

    Washerwoman/Girl 1....Liz Carter

    Female at the Pilgrimage....Helen Longworth

    Male at the Pilgrimage....Kevin Harvey

    Spanish Voice....Anna Castineiras

    Your Only Man20091227
    01Shakespeare On 3, Twelfth Night20120422or What You Will,

    by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.

    A comedy of misrule and a trenchant attack on puritanism as disguise and deceit leads to misadventure, madness and mistaken love in one of Shakespeare's happiest plays. 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. Shakespeare unravels a comic knot and fashions a masterpiece.

    Drama on 3 is featuring new productions of Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest as part of the BBC's Shakespeare Unlocked season. The first two plays, which reflect upon Shakespeare and love are performed by a company of actors including DAVID TENNANT and ROSIE CAVALIERO who won best actor and best actress respectively at the recent Audio Drama Awards.

    Essays on Shakespeare and Love can be heard all next week on Radio 3 at 2245

    Viola/Cesario....Naomi Frederick.

    Sebastian....Trystan Gravelle.

    Sea Captain....Gerard McDermott.

    Orsino....Paul Ready.

    Valentine....HARRY LIVINGSTONE.

    Maria....ROSIE CAVALIERO.

    Sir Toby Belch....RON COOK.

    Sir Andrew Aguecheek....ADAM JAMES.

    Olivia....Vanessa Kirby.

    Feste....JAMES LAILEY.

    Malvolio.... DAVID TENNANT.

    Fabian....DON GILET.

    Antonio....PETER HAMILTON DYER.

    Music composed by Roger Goula.

    Directed by SALLY AVENS.

    Shakespeare's comedy of disguise, madness and love, with DAVID TENNANT as Malvolio.

    Viola/Cesario - Naomi Frederick.

    Sebastian - Trystan Gravelle.

    Sea Captain - Gerard McDermott.

    Orsino - Paul Ready.

    Valentine - HARRY LIVINGSTONE.

    Maria - ROSIE CAVALIERO.

    Sir Toby Belch - RON COOK.

    Sir Andrew Aguecheek - ADAM JAMES.

    Olivia - Vanessa Kirby.

    Feste - JAMES LAILEY.

    Malvolio - DAVID TENNANT.

    Fabian - DON GILET.

    Antonio - PETER HAMILTON DYER.

    02Shakespeare On 3, Romeo And Juliet20120429Shakespeare's quick witted summer tragedy, recorded with the same company as Twelfth Night, his melancholic winter comedy, which was the first in this Drama on 3 Shakespeare and Love season. 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.

    Cast

    Romeo....Trystan Gravelle

    Juliet....Vanessa Kirby

    Nurse....ROSIE CAVALIERO

    Friar Laurence....RON COOK

    Prince Escalus....DAVID TENNANT

    Mercutio....Paul Ready

    Benvolio....ADAM JAMES

    Tybalt....CARL PREKOPP

    Paris....Johnny Flynn

    Capulet....JAMES LAILEY

    Lady Capulet....Naomi Frederick

    Montague....PETER HAMILTON DYER

    Balthasar....DON GILET

    Apothecary... CHRISTINE ABSALOM

    Gregory....HARRY LIVINGSTONE

    Sampson....Joe Sims

    Prologue....TRACY WILES

    Music....Roger Goula

    Sound Design....COLIN GUTHRIE

    Directed by JESSICA DROMGOOLE

    The second of Drama on 3's season, featuring new productions of Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest, the first plays aired in the pan-BBC Shakespeare Unlocked celebration. The first two plays, which reflect upon Shakespeare and Love are performed by a single company of actors including DAVID TENNANT and ROSIE CAVALIERO both of whom won best actor and best actress at the recent Audio Drama Awards.

    Shakespeare's tragic love story, with Trystan Gravelle and Vanessa Kirby as the lovers.

    Romeo - Trystan Gravelle

    Juliet - Vanessa Kirby

    Nurse - ROSIE CAVALIERO

    Friar Laurence - RON COOK

    Prince Escalus - DAVID TENNANT

    Mercutio - Paul Ready

    Benvolio - ADAM JAMES

    Tybalt - CARL PREKOPP

    Paris - Johnny Flynn

    Capulet - JAMES LAILEY

    Lady Capulet - Naomi Frederick

    Montague - PETER HAMILTON DYER

    Balthasar - DON GILET

    Apothecary ... CHRISTINE ABSALOM

    Gregory - HARRY LIVINGSTONE

    Sampson - Joe Sims

    Prologue - TRACY WILES

    Music - Roger Goula

    Sound Design - COLIN GUTHRIE

    03Curated, By Harriet Walter, A Human Being Died That Night'

    Harriet Walter introduces an acclaimed theatre production from the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town and later seen in London and New York. Based on Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela's book, Nicholas Wright's play explores the relationship between the psychologist and Eugene de Kock, the apartheid regime's most notorious assassin.

    Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela....Noma Dumezweni

    Eugene de Kock....Matthew Marsh

    Sound design by Christopher Shutt

    Directed by Jonathan Munby

    Produced for the Fugard Theatre by Eric Abraham

    Produced for radio by Toby Swift

    1997. Pretoria Central Prison, South Africa. Psychologist Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela prepares to sit opposite the notorious Eugene de Kock, nicknamed 'Prime Evil', the head of the apartheid regime's death squads. A member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Madizikela questions de Kock who is serving a 212 year sentence for crimes against humanity, murder, conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, assault, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms, and fraud. She is determined to try to understand what motivated de Kock's actions. One is reminded of European writer and philosopher Hannah Arendt's endeavour to understand the nature of evil when she wrote about the Nazi holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann's trial in Israel in 1961.

    A Human Being Died That Night' is based on Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madizikela's best-selling book of the same name and explores, through her extraordinary prison interviews with de Kock, how a fundamentally moral person could become a mass murderer.

    South African born Nicholas Wright is one of Britain's foremost playwrights and has written regularly for the National Theatre. His plays include 'Vincent in Brixton' (Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play 2003), 'The Last of the Duchess' (2011), 'Travelling Light' (2012) and recently a dramatisation of Pat Barker's 'Regeneration' (2014).

    05Faith Healer20100912FAITH HEALER by Brian Friel

    Frank.....Owen Roe

    Grace.....Lia Williams

    Teddy......Phil Daniels

    Directed by Peter Kavanagh

    A magisterial study of the torments of creative genius and the healing power of love. In one of the great classic plays in the modern Irish canon, a faith healer returns to his native Ireland to a potentially terrible fate. When fortune smiles, Frances Hardy's gifts are prodigious. Otherwise his devoted wife, Grace, can only watch on as he wages a drunken 'feud between himself and his talent'. Grace has given up a privileged background and a career in law to join Frank and his engaging wide-boy manager Teddy, touring remote corners of Scotland and Wales in a battered van. But now Frank senses that a return to his native land may be the only way to restore his waning powers. And so the fateful crossing is made, in a homecoming that will change the lives of all three forever.

    The play, now considered a modern masterpiece and a formative influence on subsequent Irish writing (its monologue structure prefigures Conor Mc Pherson's The Weir, and Port Authority among other) ran to only twenty performances in its New York in 1979 . It was with the 1994 production and Donal Mc Cann as the eponymous healer - alongside Judy Geeson and Ron Cook - that the play truly made its mark on Broadway, Dublin, and London West End audiences, and worldwide. A recent production originating at the Gate Theatre with Ralph Fiennes in the role won Ian Mc Diarmid a Tony for best supporting actor.

    This new production for radio features Owen Roe, who performed the title role in Dublin and Edinburgh last year. Newcomers to the play are Lia Williams as Grace and Phil Daniels as Teddy.

    PHIL DANIELS became famous at a young age with the cult film Quadrophenia, subsequently with Blur in their single Parklife and lately has been television detective DCS Frank Paterson and Inspector Hardcastle in 'Poirot 'The Clocks' and is familiar as a regular in Eastenders.

    LIA WILLIAMS, apart from many television and film roles, has appeared on the West End in numerous plays, including David Mamet's Oleanna directed by Harold Pinter, KIng Lear and As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Eccentricities Of A Nightingale, and Mappa Mundi at the Royal National Theatre.

    Brian Friel's classic play about a failed Irish faith healer returning to his native land.