Michael Frayn's Pocket Playhouse

Episodes

EpisodeFirst
Broadcast
RepeatedComments
012018060120191126 (R4)An astonishing tour de force of comic imagination and satire.

Martin Jarvis directs Michael Frayn's masterly comic series,

Featuring an outstanding cast led by Ian McKellen, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry, Alfred Molina, Alex Jennings and Jarvis himself.

Michael Frayn - author of Noises Off - is the most comic philosophical writer of our time.

Each episode reveals his infectious delight in writing between the lines of theatre, fiction, TV and the media, the church, relationships - life in general.

* Joanna Lumley opens the series with 'assembly instructions

* Alex Jennings is a subversive theatre director

* Ian McKellen meets Mozart (George Blagden)

* Alfred Molina has security problems with packaging

* Lisa Dillon and Edward Bennett are Gainsborough's Mr and Mrs Andrews National Gallery portrait

* Stephen Fry conducts a weird press interview with Martin Jarvis

* Ian McKellen and Joanna Lumley are Mr and Mrs God.

Director: Martin Jarvis

A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2018.

Martin Jarvis collaborates with Michael Frayn in this all-star comic tour-de-force.

Short entertainments based on Frayn's acclaimed book of comic dialogues and monologues

022018060820191203 (R4)Martin Jarvis directs Michael Frayn's masterly comic series with an outstanding cast led by Ian McKellen, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry, Alfred Molina, Alex Jennings and Jarvis himself.

Michael Frayn - author of Noises Off - is the most comic philosophical writer of our time.

Each episode reveals his infectious delight in writing between the lines of theatre, fiction, TV and the media, the church, relationships - life in general.

* Darren Richardson conducts a misguided sight-seeing tour

* Ian McKellen has Helpline difficulties

* Nigel Anthony and Joanna Lumley revisit Listen With Mother

* Martin Jarvis attempts to broadcast from The Royal Opera House

* Alex Jennings and Janie Dee are a confused married couple

* George Blagden is an unusually literate weatherman

* Ian McKellen, as Richard III, is interrupted by footnote scholars

Director: Martin Jarvis

A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2018.

Martin Jarvis collaborates with Michael Frayn in this all-star comic tour-de-force.

Short entertainments based on Frayn's acclaimed book of comic dialogues and monologues

032018061520191210 (R4)Martin Jarvis directs Michael Frayn's masterly comic series with an outstanding cast led by Ian McKellen, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry, Alfred Molina, Alex Jennings and Jarvis himself.

Michael Frayn - author of Noises Off - is the most comic philosophical writer of our time.

Each episode reveals his infectious delight in writing between the lines of theatre, fiction, TV and the media, the church, relationships - life in general.

* Stephen Fry gives smug thanks to God

* Matthew Wolf and Martin Jarvis become mute mime-artists (yes on the radio)

* Nigel Anthony invites sponsorship for doing precisely nothing

* Sir Ian McKellen as God conducts his own prayer-answering service

* Rosalind Ayres provides a tetchy update to your Pocket Playhouse.

Director: Martin Jarvis

A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2018.

Martin Jarvis collaborates with Michael Frayn in this all-star comic tour-de-force.

Short entertainments based on Frayn's acclaimed book of comic dialogues and monologues

042018062220191217 (R4)Martin Jarvis directs Michael Frayn's masterly comic series with an outstanding cast led by Ian McKellen, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry, Alfred Molina, Alex Jennings and Jarvis himself.

Michael Frayn - author of Noises Off - is the most comic philosophical writer of our time.

This final episode reveals his infectious delight in writing between the lines of theatre, fiction, TV and the media, the church, relationships - life in general.

* Joanna Lumley presents a surprising travel programme

* Janie Dee and Alex Jennings have memory lapses, and the ensemble provides an unusual restaurant menu.

* Alex Jennings fronts a manic infomercial

* Gyles Brandreth chairs the TV-watching Championships, assisted by Nigel Anthony and George Blagden

* Alfred Molina and Yeni Alvarez speak 'international English

* Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres wonder what's really happening on the radio.

Director: Martin Jarvis

A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2018.

Martin Jarvis collaborates with Michael Frayn in this all-star comic tour-de-force.

Short entertainments based on Frayn's acclaimed book of comic dialogues and monologues