Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A Midnight Revel | 20110308 | Martin Jarvis directs Helen Mirren, Joanna Lumley and Lisa Dillon as 'The Girls' in 'Good Show Clarissa!' from Jarvis & Ayres Productions - a series of three 'jolly hockey stick' stories for Radio 4 - performed by stars. These classic tales represent some of the best of popular 20th Century 'girls school fiction'. The first story, 'A Midnight Revel', written in 1926 and performed with girlish relish by Dame Helen Mirren, is a neat thriller in which the boarders at Hardwick High are prevented by the rainy weather from playing a hockey match. Bored at such inactivity, they decide to think of an adventurous alternative entertainment. It's left to Nan Stevenson, the one who usually has 'blossomy' ideas to come up with something exciting. 'I've got it!' she exclaimed at last, triumphantly. 'There's one thing we've never tried yet (and jolly fun it would be, too!) a midnight supper. Scrumptious! But how will they organise it? And will the girls' daring midnight spree proceed according to plan? What could possibly go wrong? Producer: Martin Jarvis A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4. By Angela Brazil. Will the girls' daring midnight spree go according to plan? |
| 02 | Jemima Gets Them Guessing | 20110309 | Martin Jarvis directs Lisa Dillon's humorous performance as the entire Fourth Form of Cliff House School in 'Jemima Gets Them Guessing'. Written by Hilda Richards in 1939, eccentric, monocled Jemima Carstairs (a sort of female fourteen year-old Bertie Wooster with brains) is presented with a problem. One of their class-mates, Frances Frost - the icicle of the Fourth - threatens to blackmail decent Clara Trevlyn for visiting the Palais de Danse, thereby jeopardising Clara's position as Captain of Games. But Clara may have had a perfectly proper motive for breaking bounds. To save her chum, Jemima concocts a plan involving a beach-side confrontation and a mysterious boat-trip. Can Jemima rescue Clara's reputation and prevent her from disgrace? Producer: Martin Jarvis A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4. By Hilda Richards. Eccentric Jemima Carstairs concocts a canny plan. But will it work? |
| 03 | The Cheat | 20110310 | Martin Jarvis directs Joanna Lumley's performance of this intriguing 'moral' tale from the prolific pen of Enid Blyton. Written in 1947 Susan, less fortunate than most of the other girls - and certainly not from their well-heeled backgrounds - must win the scholarship in order to continue her education. Then an opportunity occurs for her to cheat in the exam. Joanna Lumley tells this surprisingly serious story with great humanity and compassion. The story takes the form of both a thriller and a psychological account of an inner turmoil. Blyton and Lumley, in an ideal partnership, make us feel what it must be like, in this situation, to carry such a potentially heavy burden of guilt. And of course we are keen to know whether there might be a way out for Susan. Can she escape expulsion? Could she possibly avoid the stigma of being a cheat? Producer: Martin Jarvis A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4. By Enid Blyton. Susan desperate wants a scholarship. What if there is a chance to cheat? |