Radio 3 Drama & Readings, 2009
General notes: As programming is generally scheduled around evening concerts, start times have been noted after the date; Repeats are noted where listings specify them; 'Sunday Feature' entries with elements of drama (or those with actors credited) are to be found in the 'Other' section at the foot of the page.
Barry Hodge
DRAMA ON 3:
Sunday evenings, times and durations as noted.
(04-01-2009; 20:00) In The Absence Of Geoff
(Charlotte Jones) Adam Godley stars in a wry contemporary comedy by the award-winning Charlotte Jones. A comedy about love, loss and identity from award-winning writer Charlotte Jones. Geoff is in his 40s and facing ruin: his small business is about to collapse, his marriage is failing and his child hates him. He pretends to suffer from amnesia, becoming a media hero and bringing in money. But his daughter become suspicious and his cover finally cracks. Geoff - Adam Godley, Dawn - Amanda Lawrence, Lauren - Lizzy Watts, Stacey - Grainne Dromgoole, Instructor - Jonathan Tafler, WPC - Donnla Hughes, Journalist - Dan Starkey, Doctor - Gunnar Cauthery, Clifford - Malcolm Tierney. Directed by Claire Grove. (90m) (NB: Rptd 15-11-2009; 20:00)
(11-01-2009; 20:00; Rpt) Home
(David Storey/Martin Jenkins) A poignant, often funny play which looks at the lives of five people. First staged in 1970, David Storey's Home was a major critical success. A poignant, often darkly funny play which looks at the lives of five people. But who are they and where are they? Harry - Michael Maloney, Jack - Adrian Scarborough, Kathleen - Julia McKenzie, Marjorie - Lindsey Coulson, Alfred - Harry Myers. Adapted for radio and directed by Martin Jenkins. (90m) (NB: Marked as a repeat in the listings - there's mention online that it was first broadcast in 2006, but I cannot find anything more definite.)
(18-01-2009; 20:00) Echoes Of War
(Gary Mitchell) A play exploring the loose ends left by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Gary Mitchell's new play about music, friendship and politics moves between present day Belfast and the last 20 years, and explores the loose ends left by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Hugh, a music teacher, has had an accident and is visited in hospital by his talented pupil Charlie and his wife Sharon. He looks back on how their relationships evolved over the years as working-class Protestants feel increasingly marginalised by political change. Hugh - BJ Hogg, Charlie - Stuart Graham, Sharon - Alexandra Ford, Rat - Patrick Jenkins, DJ/Broadcaster/Police Officer/Security Man - James Doran. Musicians: Ivan Gilliland, Rod McVey, David Quinn, Mark Wilson. Director/Producer: Roland Jaquarello. (90m)
(25-01-2009; 20:00) Pornography
(Simon Stephens) A challenging play responding to the 7/7 London bombings. A stark and shattering play capturing Britain as it crashes from the euphoria and promise of the 2012 Olympics announcement into the devastation of the London bombings of 7 July 2005. It follows eight people on those fateful days. They seem unremarkable lives, but each of them is touched and changed in some indelible way by the events. Cast includes: Frances Ashman, Loo Brealey, Sacha Dhawan, Amanda Hale, Jeff Rawle, Sheila Reid, Billy Seymour, Sam Spruell. Directed for Birmingham Rep/Traverse Theatre by Sean Holmes. (90m)
(01-02-2009; 20:00) The Deep Blue Sea
(Terence Rattigan) It is post-war Britain around 1950 and Hester Collyer has left her husband. A new adaptation of Terence Rattigan's celebrated play. It is post-war Britain around 1950 and Hester Collyer has left her husband, an eminent judge, to be with an ex-RAF pilot with no prospects. The passion she feels for this younger man is not returned by him, and the play opens as Hester, in a state of despair, has attempted suicide. Mrs Elton - Auriol Smith, Philip Welch - Joseph Kloska, Ann Welch - Joannah Tinsey, Hester Collyer - Carolyn Pickles, Mr Miller - Hugh Ross, William Collyer - Anton Lesser, Freddie Page - Tom Mison, Jackie Jackson - Adrian Grove. Directed by David Timson. (110m)
(08-02-2009; 20:00) The Steps
(Mike Bartlett) Geraldine McEwan stars in Mike Bartlett's haunting new play. This programme contains some strong language. A new play, specially written for Radio 3, which follows an elderly lady, Rosie, who lives in an old people's home. She escapes into the wintry landscape outside with a reluctant teenager tagging along behind her. On her journey, she meets a woman in her 30s and a nine-year-old girl and discovers some interesting coincidences: they are on the run too and are also both called Rosie. Older Rosie - Geraldine McEwan, Oliver - Robert Lonsdale, Middle Rosie - Julia Ford, Charles - Phillip Jackson, Marion - Janice Acquah, Young Rosie - Lauren Mote, Paul - Jonathan Tafler. Director: Claire Grove. (75m)
(15-02-2009; 20:00; Rpt) Harold Pinter Double Bill:
Moonlight/Voices (Harold Pinter) Another chance to hear two plays in tribute to the playwright who died in 2008.
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, Bel - Sara Kestelman, Ralph - John Shrapnel, Maria - Jill Johnson, Jake - Douglas Hodge, Fred - Harry Burton, Bridget - Indira Varma. Music by Elizabeth Parker. Directed by Janet Whitaker. (55m)
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. (35m)
(22-02-2009; 20:00) The Time Machine
(H G Wells/Philip Osment) Robert Glenister stars in Philip Osment's dramatisation of HG Wells' classic story of a time-traveller's journey to the future, where mankind has diverged into two species - the Eloi and the Morlocks. Time traveller - Robert Glenister, HG Wells - William Gaunt, Young Wells - Gunnar Cauthery, Martha - Donnla Hughes, Filby - Stephen Critchlow, Bennett - Chris Pavlo, Mrs Watchett - Manjeet Mann, Weena - Jill Cardo, Other parts played by Robert Lonsdale, Inam Mirza and Dan Starkey. Music by John Nicholls. Directed by Jeremy Mortimer. (105m) (NB: Rptd 30-08-2009; 17:45)
(01-03-2009) No programme (Mendelssohn's Elijah coverage)
(08-03-2009; 20:00) Bring Me The Head Of Philip K Dick
(Gregory Whitehead) Gregory Whitehead's dark, surreal and satirical drama, set in contemporary America, centres on a deadly futuristic weapon in the shape of the android head of science-fiction writer Philip K Dick. Invented by a shadowy research unit inside the Pentagon, the head - which believes it actually is Dick himself - is wreaking havoc on society and must be stopped before it finds its body. Cryptica Scriptura - Elizabeth Aspenlieder, Cathy Nebula - Karen Beaumont, Reverend Darkleigh - George Bergen, Nancy Robinson - Hilary Deely, Philip Dooley - Richard Jackson, Tiffany Splenda - Karen Lee, The Potato Man - Jon Swan, Perky Pat - Anne Undeland, The Patriot - Gregory Whitehead. Written, produced and directed by Gregory Whitehead. Music by Laura Wiens and Nick Zammuto. Poem by Jon Swan. (90m)
(15-03-2009; 20:00) The Tinker's Wedding/Riders To The Sea
(J M Synge) To mark the centenary of the death of Irish playwright JM Synge, Radio 3 presents new productions of two of his pivotal short plays. The Tinker's Wedding is a light comedy about the country people of Wicklow while Riders to the Sea is often described as the definitive Irish tragedy. They are presented alongside a documentary recorded on location in Galway and the Aran Islands. Produced and directed by Steven Canny. (90m) (NB: Rptd 03-01-2010; 20:00)
The Tinker's Wedding: Sarah Casey - Denise Gough, Michael Byrne - Stephen Hogan, Mary Byrne - Brid Brennan, Priest - John Rogan.
Riders To The Sea: Maurya - Brid Brennan, Nora - Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Cathleen - Denise Gough, Bartley - Nick Lee, Old Man - John Rogan, Another Man - Stephen Hogan, One of the Women - Caroline Guthrie. With contributions from Thomas Conway, James Harrold, Dara O Conaola, Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola, Maire Mulkerrin, Dolores Lyne and Sean O Coistealbha.
(22-03-2009; 20:00) Alone Together
(Neil McKay) A portrait of the curious marriage and lives of poet RS Thomas and his wife artist Elsi Eldridge, inspired by Byron Rogers's biography The Man Who Went into the West. Thomas was an unpublished poet when he met Elsi, 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. (90m) (NB: No cast/crew details listed; Rptd 04-07-2010; 20:00)
(29-03-2009; 20:00) The Government Inspector
(Nikolai Gogol/Alistair Beaton) Gogol's landmark 19th-century satire on corruption and sleaze in which a penniless clerk is mistaken for a government official by a corrupt town council. Khlestakov - Toby Jones, The Mayor - Paul Ritter, Education Director - Jeremy Swift, Anna - Frances Barber, Osip/Gendarme - Russell Tovey, Marya - Daisy Haggard, Dobchinsky - Sean Foley, Bobchinsky - Mark Heap, Shopkeeper 2/Postmaster - Paul Rider, Widow/Magistrate's Wife - Caroline Guthrie, Locksmith's Wife/Khlopov's Wife - Janice Acquah, Abdulin/Liuliukov - Jonathan Tafler, Mishka/Constable/Shopkeeper 1 - Benjamin Askew, Waiter/Doctor (German)/Ratakovsky - Matt Addis, Superintendent/Shopkeeper 3/Korobkin - Stephen Hogan, Magistrate - Stephen Critchlow, Health Commissioner - Malcolm Tierney, Avdotya/Korobkin's Wife - Lizzie Watts. (135m) (NB: Rptd 09-05-2010; 20:00)
(05-04-2009; 20:00; Rpt) The Trial & Death Of Socrates
(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. (90m)
(12-04-2009; 20:00) A Small Family Business
(Alan Ayckbourn) Ayckbourn's award-winning 1987 play about a family's descent into corruption viewed by many as a protest against the policies of the Thatcher governmnent. When Jack McCraken takes over his family's furniture business, he intends that it be an honest endeavour. However, his relatives' various dishonest actions soon come to light and threaten the company's future. Jack - Alfred Molina, Benedict - Adam Godley, Poppy - Rosalind Ayres, Anita - Joanne Whalley, Cliff - Kenneth Danziger, Ken - Roy Dotrice, Yvonne - Millicent Martin, Harriet - Jill Gascoine, Desmond - Julian Sands, Roy - Darren Richardson, Tina - Moira Quirk, Samantha - Fuschia Sumner, The five Rivetti brothers - Matthew Wolf. Consultant: Alan Ayckbourn. Director: Martin Jarvis. (120m) (NB: The next night's 'Night Waves Landmarks' was dedicated to Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests, which had been restaged the previous year by Kevin Spacey leading to Ayckbourn's reputation being reassessed and was pronounced 'Chekhov of the Suburbs'.)
(19-04-2009; 18:00) Henry VIII
(William Shakespeare/John Fletcher) The murky world of Tudor politics, religion and sex revealed in Shakespeare's play. A rare chance to hear William Shakespeare and John Fletcher's history play depicting the life of Henry VIII, broadcast to mark the 500th anniversary in 2009 of the king's accession to the throne. It tells the story of the king's struggle to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled and the catastrophic fall of the all-powerful Cardinal Wolsey. Henry VIII - Matthew Marsh, Queen Katherine - Yolanda Vazquez, Cardinal Wolsey - Patrick Malahide, Duke of Norfolk - Joseph Mydell, Thomas Cranmer - Adam Godley, Duke of Suffolk - Stuart McQuarrie, Old Lady - Ann Beach, Anne Boleyn - Donnla Hughes, Buckingham/Cromwell - Paul Rider, Chamberlain, Capuchius - Chris Pavlo, Abergavenny, Surrey - Stephen Critchlow, Surveyor, Gardiner - Gunnar Cauthery, Sands, Campeius - Jonathan Tafler, Lovell, Griffith - Dan Starkey, Princess Elizabeth - Sonny Crowe. Other parts played by Jill Cardo, Robert Lonsdale, Manjeet Mann, Inam Mirza, Malcolm Tierney. Pipe and tabor played by Bill Tuck. Adapted for radio and directed by Jeremy Mortimer. (135m) (NB: Part of a week of programmes dedicated to the monarch.)
(26-04-2009; 20:00; Rpt) Babel's Tower
(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. (90m)
(03-05-2009; 20:00) My Brother God & The Ban Yan Tree
(Dusty Hughes) A play set in India in the 1910s against the backdrop of the struggle for independence from British rule. After British social reformer and Indian nationalism supporter Annie Besant joins the Indian National Congress to fight for independence from British rule, her appointment of a local schoolboy as a near-Messiah figure in the Hindu-style cult she presides over brings criticism. How does the naive youth cope with such a change in his life expectations? Annie Besant - Suzanne Bertish, Krishna - James Gandhi, Nityam - Akbar Kurtha, Leadbeater - Tim Pigott-Smith, Arundale - Stephen Hogan, Mrs Van Hook - Christine Kavanagh, Jiddu - Nadim Sawalha, Gokhale - Kaleem Janjua, Harrington - Sam Dale, Pentland - Philip Fox, Rosalind - Emerald Fennell, Francis - Matt Addis, Hubert - Benjamin Askew, McKenzie - Malcolm Tierney. Directed by Peter Kavanagh. (100m)
(10-05-2009; 20:00) Mendelssohn Weekend: A Midsummer Night's Dream
(WIlliam Shakespeare) A rare chance to hear Shakespeare's play and Mendelssohn's complete incidental music for it in its intended context, specially recorded in the Tudor setting of the Middle Temple Hall in London. Tim Carroll introduces his production in conversation with Louise Fryer. Oberon/Theseus - Martin Turner, Titania/Hippolyta - Melanie Jessop, Lysander/Flute - Alex Hassell, Demetrius/Starveling - Daniel Rigby, Helena/Snug - Catherine Bailey, Puck/Snout - James Garnon, Bottom/Egeus - John Paul Connolly, Hermia/Quince/First Fairy - Elena Pavli, Ladies' Choir of the Enlightenment, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Charles Hazlewood (conductor). Directed by Tim Carroll. (150m)
(17-05-2009; 20:00) Hum
(Laura Wade) Emma is part of a team in Bristol who are called out to cases of noise pollution. A number of cases defy explanation. Can an inexplicable 'hum' be to blame? Janet - Anne Reid, Emma - Nina Sosanya, Dave - Con O'Neill, Graham - Neil Dudgeon, Rob - Rory Kinnear, Mike - Philip Fox, Ewan - Stephen Hogan, Tonks - Stuart McLoughlin, Mr Ames - Paul Rider, Sarah - Lizzy Watts. (90m)
(24-05-2009; 20:00; Rpt) Scandinavian Dreams
(Steve Chambers) In the last years of the 18th century, as revolution raged in France, feminist writer and radical pamphleteer Mary Wollstonecraft embarked alone on a journey to the wilds of Scandinavia to recover her husband's lost treasure ship. This daring and dangerous journey was undertaken as much for reasons of the heart as for those of commerce, but her brilliant triumph failed to recover the thing she wanted most of all. Music by Martin Kiszko. Mary - Rachel Atkins, Imlay - John Schwab, Marguerite - Colleen Prendergast, Beckman - Martin Wenner, Wulfsberg - David Menkin, Elleson - Michael Roberts, Boatman - Gerard McDermott, Godwin/Nordberg - Christian Rodska, Nell - Ella Smith. (90m)
(31-05-2009) No programme (EBU Haydn Day coverage)
(07-06-2009; 20:00) Hyde Park-On-Hudson
(Richard Nelson) A play by Richard Nelson, blending history and conjecture. No reigning British monarch had ever been to the United States before George VI's visit in 1939, just on the cusp of a new world war. History was in the making when the King and Queen arrived at President Roosevelt's upstate New York home, with a promise of politics, a picnic and hot dogs. But the private life of the President provided a whole new dimension to an epochal moment, at least in the memory of his lover. Older Daisy, a woman in her 90s - Barbara Jefford, Daisy, her younger self - Emma Fielding, Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Tim Pigott-Smith, Missy, his secretary - Nancy Crane, Eleanor, his wife - Julia Swift, Mother, his mother - Sylvia Syms, Tommy Qualters, his bodyguard - John Chancer, Bertie - Corin Redgrave, Elizabeth - Kika Markham, Cameron - Jamie Newall. Directed by Ned Chaillet. (100m)
(14-06-2009; 20:00) The Gambler
(Fyodor Dostoevsky/Glyn Maxwell) A comic drama based on Dostoevsky's experiences as a young man, is a portrayal of the power of love and money. Glyn Maxwell's new version takes us deep into the mind of Alexei Ivanovich, a young tutor, just as he realises he's falling in love with the strikingly beautiful but unobtainable Polina. Alexei Ivanovich - Sam Crane, General Zagorski - Nicholas Le Prevost, Granny - Patricia Routledge, Polina Alexandrovna - Siobhan Hewlett, De Grieux - David Westhead, Astley - Robert Portal, Blanche De Cominges - Charlotte Randall. Directed by Guy Retallack. (90m) (NB: Rptd 04-12-2010, R4 Saturday Play)
(21-06-2009; 20:00) Darger & The Detective
(Mike Walker) A play drawing on the writings of reclusive artist Henry Darger, imagining his inner life starring Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts. It focuses on two obsessions - of the hunter Detective and his prey, and two characters locked in a conflict that flickers between fantasy and the streets and which unfolds from 1910 to 1970. Recorded in Chicago by actors from the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. (90m) (NB: No cast/crew listed.)
(28-06-2009; 20:00) Fall
(Zinnie Harris) An adaptation of the Traverse Theatre's production of Zinnie Harris' play. Set in a nation haunted by its war crimes, a drama dealing with politics, justice and revenge. It asks the question - to make your future, do you have to murder the past? In the aftermath of a horrific civil conflict, a new country is preparing for the mass execution of its war criminals. Kate knew one of the guilty men for 15 years and never suspected a thing. As the city burns and the new government struggles to look credible to the rest of the world, she gets tragically caught up in their conspiracy. Turned into an iconic figure, she is asked to decide whether the executions should go ahead or not. But can any answer she gives be the right choice? (90m) (NB: Again, no cast/crew listed.)
(05-07-2009; 20:00) Tartuffe
(Moliere/Roger McGough) A Liverpool Playhouse production of Roger McGough's version of Moliere's comedy Tartuffe. The wealthy merchant Orgon has taken in an apparently indigent religious man, Tartuffe. He is a beacon of piety and soon has his feet firmly under the table. But all is not as it seems and as Orgon becomes more enraptured with his new companion the whole city is chattering. Is he a friend, a fraud, a miracle or a hypocrite? Tartuffe - John Ramm, Orgon - Joseph Alessi, Cleante - Simon Coates, Elmire - Rebecca Lacey, Mdme Pernelle - Eithne Brown, Dorine - Annabelle Dowler, Mariane - Emily Pithon, Damis - Robert Hastie, Valere - Kevin Harvey, Loyal - Alan Stocks, Officer of the King - Roger McGough. Directed by Gemma Bodinetz. (105m)
(12-07-2009; 20:00) The Idylls Of The King
(Alfred Lord Tennyson/Michael Symmons) An adaptation of Tennyson's The Idylls of the King, narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith and broadcast to mark the bicentenary of the poet's birth. In this extraordinary epic poem, Tennyson transforms Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, infusing the legend of King Arthur with a passionate intensity. Told here in five acts, the central arc of the narrative encompasses Arthur's arrival, his relationship with Lancelot and Guinevere, the Holy Grail, the last tournament and his death. Narrator/Tennyson - Tim Pigott-Smith, Arthur - Jonathan Keeble, Lancelot - Simon Harrison, Guinevere - Kathryn Hunt, Lord Astolat/Bedivere - Malcolm Raeburn, Leodogran/Churl - Terence Mann, Lavaine/Tristram - Tom Ferguson, Dagonet - Russell Dixon, Elaine - Elen Rhys. Music by Paul Carghill. Directed by Susan Roberts.(120m)
(19-07-2009) No programme (BBC Proms coverage)
(26-07-2009) No programme (BBC Proms coverage)
(02-08-2009) No programme (BBC Proms coverage)
(08-08-2009; 21:15; Rpt) Donation
(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, Nathan - Lloyd Thomas, Jim - Peter Harding, Janitor - Leon Lissek. (75m) (NB: Saturday repeat from 13-01-2008.)
(09-08-2009) No programme (BBC Proms coverage)
(16-08-2009) No programme (BBC Proms coverage)
(23-08-2009; 20:45) The Hybernaculum
(Yolanda Pupo-Thompson) A play depicting a summer's day at The Wakes, the house of 18th-century amateur naturalist the Rev Gilbert White, when White, awaiting the final proofs of his book, is tormented by a form of tinnitus which he calls 'obsessive ruminations'. He is also distraught at the disappearance of his pet tortoise Timothy and, during the course of the search for his old friend, he is forced to emerge from his secluded hybernaculum and confront the fact that his days as a naturalist and active clergyman are nearly at an end. Rev Gilbert White - John Bett, Molly White - Madeleine Worrall, John Mulso - Simon Scott, Dr Chandler/Thomas Hoare - Crawford Logan, Hecky Chapone - Hilary Neville, Tom White - William Neville-Towle, Bee Boy - Carlos Williams. Music by Joe Acheson. Directed by Matt Thompson. (90m) (NB: Rptd 20-06-2010; 20:00)
(29-08-2009; 21:15; Rpt) Crossing The Bar
(Alfred Lord Tennyson) A headlong plunge into the sea-narratives of 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. (90m) (NB: Saturday repeat from 11-03-2007.)
(30-08-2009; 17:45; Rpt) The Time Machine
(H G Wells/Philip Osment) (NB: Rpt of 22-02-2009 - see above.)
(05-09-2009; 21:15; Rpt) 21:15) The Adding Machine
(Elmer Rice) Rice's wildly imaginative Expressionist classic play from 1923. 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 does not get the promotion he was expecting - quite the opposite in fact. 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. Produced by Steven Canny and Abigail le Fleming. (75m) (NB: Saturday repat of 02-03-2008.)
(06-09-2009) No programme (BBC Proms coverage)
(13-09-2009; 20:45) Edward The Second
(Christopher Marlowe) Christopher Marlowe's notorious portrait of a weak king in thrall to his passions, who pays the ultimate price for choosing his heart over his political responsibilities. Edward II - Toby Jones, Mortimer - Patrick Kennedy, Kent - Paul Hilton, Isabella - Anastasia Hille, Pembroke/Coventry/Leicester - Nigel Hastings, Lancaster/Matrevis/Sir John - David Hargreaves, Gaveston/Lightborn - Benjamin Askew, Spencer/Gurney - Stephen Hogan, Prince Edward - Ryan Watson, Warwick/Howell - Paul Rider, Canterbury/Spencer Snr - Malcolm Tierney, Arundel - Philip Fox, Lady Margaret - Lizzy Watts. Directed by Jessica Dromgoole. (120m)
(20-09-2009; 20:00) Slaughterhouse 5
(Kurt Vonnegut/Dave Sheasby) Adapted from arguably one of the greatest anti-war stories of all time, the play centres on Billy Pilgrim, who hops back and forth in time, reliving various moments in his real and fantasy lives, as a prisoner of war, optometrist and time traveller. Narrator - John Guerassio, Billy Pilgrim - Andrew Scott, Bernard V O'Hare - Nathan Osgood, Mary - Joanne McQuinn, Montana - Annabelle Dowler, Barbara - Sarah Goldberg, Valencia - Madeleine Potter, Roland Weary - Simon Lee Philips, Mother - Liza Ross, Eliot Rosewater - Kerry Shale, Howard J Campbell Jnr - Stephen Hogan, Bertram Rumfoord - Peter Marinker, English Officer - Michael Mears, Cinderella - Philip Fox, Paul Lazarro - Gunnar Cauthery, Soldiers - Orlando James, Michael Shelford. Music by 65 Days of Static. Directed by David Hunter. (90m)
(27-09-2009; 20:00) The Twyborn Affair
(Patrick White/D J Britton) Penny Downie and Julian Rhind-Tutt start in the first-ever adaptation of Nobel Prize-winner Patrick White's provocative and mysterious novel about sexual identity. Eadie 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. 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 DJ Britton. Directed by Alison Hindell. (90m) (NB: Rptd 14-11-2010; 20:00)
(04-10-2009; 20:00) Becket, Or The Honour Of God
(Jean Anouilh/Lucienne Hill) Toby Stephens stars in one of the classic French plays of the 20th century. It is 1173 and Henry II, the Norman King of England pays penance for the murder of the Archbishop Thomas Becket, once Chancellor and his friend. Plantagenet power has triumphed over the independence of the clergy, but at what personal cost? Henry II - Toby Stephens, Becket - David Morrissey, Queen Mother - Sara Kestelman, Archbishop - Adrian Lukis, London - Jonathan Keeble, Oxford - Terence Wilton, York/Pope - Mark Perry, Saxon Man/Cardinal - Jonathan Oliver, Little Monk - Steven Kynman, Young Queen - Teresa Gallagher, Gwendolen - Rachel Isaac. Director: Roy McMillan. Technical direction: Norman Goodman. Music: Arthur Ka Wai Jenkins. Producer: Nicolas Soames. (120m)
(11-10-2009; 20:00) The Researches Of Herodotus
(Herodotus/Tom Holland) Celebrated writer Tom Holland's new adaptation of his own translation of Herodotus' Histories - one of the most important books in literature and history writing. It is an extraordinary account by an Ancient Greek of how his country and people came into being through their encounters with other people. Described as the first history book, the work is also the first book of anthropology. It is an action novel, full of battles and blood and a political parable that warns its audience, and so the whole of Greece, of the dangers of getting embroiled on foreign soil. With Anton Lesser as Herodotus, plus a supporting cast including Richard Bremmer, Stephen Noonan, Owen Teale, Adam Levy and Pippa Heywood. Original music by Jon Nicholls. (90m) (NB: Rptd 30-05-2010; 20:00)
(18-10-2009; 20:00) The Threepenny Opera
(Berthold Brecht & Kurt Weill) Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weill's famous 1928 play with music, featuring a collaboration between BBC Radio Drama and the BBC Philharmonic. When Peachum discovers that his daughter Polly has secretly married London's most notorious gangster Macheath 'Mack the Knife', he wants revenge. Will Macheath be forced to go on the run? Macheath - Joseph Millson, Polly/Whore - Elen Rhys, Mrs Peachum/Whore - Ruth Alexander-Rubin, Mr Peachum/Rev Kimball - Zubin Varla, Lucy/Whore - Rosalie Craig, Jenny - Ute Gfrerer, Tiger Brown - Conrad Nelson, Matt - Kevin Harvey, Jack/Beggar - Sean Oliver, Walter - Declan Wilson, Sawtooth Bob/PC Smith - Peter Edbrook, Jimmy/Filch/Policeman - Graeme Hawley, Ballad Singer - HK Gruber, Betty - Olwen May, Chorus - Manchester Chamber Choir, Music by the BBC Philharmonic, HK Gruber (conductor). Directed by Nadia Molinari. A BBC Radio Drama North and BBC Philharmonic co-production. (180m)
(25-10-2009; 20:20) Free Thinking: Beware The Kids
(Karen Laws & Fiona Evans) A fictional story, developed with a community group in Byker, Newcastle, takes a journey into the reality of neglect as one child's life spirals out of control. Recorded in front of an audience as part of the Free Thinking Festival in Gateshead, this hard-hitting play explores how a tragedy can unfold right before the eyes of a child's family and carers. Mark - Matthew McNulty, Jaden - Rosie Stancliffe, Audrey - Judi Earl, Yvonne - Jane Holman, Ben - Tony Neilson, Kyle - Max Watson. Directed by Kate Rowland. (60m)
(01-11-2009; 20:00) The Lady From The Sea
(Henrik Ibsen/Frank McGuinness) Lia Williams stars in a new version of Ibsen's late sensuous drama. Before her marriage to Dr Wangel, Ellida, his second wife, had promised herself to a sailor who then disappeared. Years later, Ellida's family life is strained. Her relations with her step-daughters is poor; she has no child of her own. She seems unhappy with her life. Then the sailor reappears to make his claim on her promise. Faced with the decision of what to do, she persuades her husband that she must have the chance to make her choice With Lia Williams as Ellida, and also featuring Hugh Bonneville, Katherine Parkinson, Ellie Kendrick, Tim McMullan, Sam Crane, Geoffrey Whitehead and Christopher Obi. Directed by Hannah Eidinow. (110m)
(08-11-2009; 20:00) The Promise
(Aleksei Arbuzov/Ariadne Nicolaeff/Nick Dear) As Russians fight off the Nazis in the savage 1942 siege of Leningrad, three teenagers are thrown together in a war-torn apartment block. Having lost everything, they forge relationships that bind them together and a new hope that keeps them alive - the promise of a better future. Lika - Ruth Wilson, Leonidik - Harry Lloyd, Marat - Russell Tovey. Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko. (90m)
(15-11-2009; 20:00) In The Absence Of Geoff
(Charlotte Jones) (NB: Rpt of 04-01-2009 - see above)
(22-11-2009; 20:30; Rpt) Don Quixote
(Thomas D'Urfey/Don Taylor) An adaptation of a stage version of Cervantes's classic picaresque novel, commissioned to mark the 300th anniversary of Purcell's death in 1995. The play, with music by Purcell, Eccles and others, was first performed in 1694. Don Quixote - Paul Scofield, Sancho Panza - Roy Hudd, Thomas Betterton - Roger Allam, Henry Purcell - Douglas Hodge, Thomas Durfey - Bill Wallis, Milkmaid - Emma Kirkby (soprano), Marcella - Evelyn Tubb (soprano), Cardenio - David Thomas (bass), Gines - Doug Wootton (baritone), Ambrosio - Peter Woodward, Carrasco - Peter Czajkowski, Duke - Sam Dastor, The Host - Michael Tudor Barnes, The Hostess - Kristin Milward, Other parts played by Derek Waring, Ian Masters and Jilly bond, with Lucy Skeaping (soprano), the Consort of Musicke, the City Waites and the Purcell Simfony. Additional music by Blaise Compton. Musical director: Anthony Rooley. Directed by Don Taylor. (195m) (NB: Rpt from 1995, unknown date.)
(29-11-2009; 20:00) The Changeling
(Thomas Middleton & William Rowley/Jeremy Mortimer) A new radio production of Thomas Middleton and William Rowley's Jacobean classic, set in Alicante, Spain, in the 1920s. Beatrice-Joanna is due to marry Alonzo e Piracquo, until she falls in love with Alsemero and seeks the help of her father's man, De Flores. Beatrice-Joanna - Anna Madeley, De Flores - Zubin Varla, Vermandero - Nicky Henson, Tomazo de Piracquo - Alex Hassell, Alonzo de Piracquo - Alex Blake, Alsemero - Simon Muller, Jasperino - Nigel Hastings, Diaphanta - Liz Richardson, Isabella - Catherine Bailey, Alibius - Philip Fox, Lollio - Stephen Hogan, Antonio - Piers Wehner, Franciscus - Joseph Cohen-Cole, Pedro - Rhys Jennings. Directed and adapted for radio by Jeremy Mortimer. (120m)
(06-12-2009; 20:00) The Hairy Ape
(Eugene O'Neill) A classic American expressionist drama from 1921. It 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, IWW 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. (90m) (NB: Rptd 03-10-2010; 20:00)
(13-12-2009; 20:00) The Contingency Plan
(Steve Waters) Drama set in the near future as the government deals with a real global warming crisis. A powerful new version of the play originally staged at The Bush Theatre in London, addressing the subject of climate change. As Britain faces unprecedented and catastrophic floods, government and scientists argue over what action to take. A young glaciologist arrives in Whitehall determined to convince the powers that be of the importance of immediate action. But he is also bent on avenging his father, a scientist whose views were discredited a generation ago. Will Paxton - Joseph Kloska, Sarika Chatterjee - Vineeta Rishi, Robin Paxton - Robin Soans, Jenny Paxton - Susan Brown, Christopher Casson - David Bark-Jones, Tessa Fortnum - Stella Gonet, Colin Jenks - Michael Elwyn. Producer/Director: Peter Leslie Wild. (120m)
(20-12-2009; 20:00) A Whistle In The Dark
(Tom Murphy) This powerful modern classic play is set in the early 1960s and centres on the reunion of an Irish family in Coventry. Michael Carney, with the help of his English wife, Betty, is putting up his brothers Harry, Iggy and Hugo in his house. When Dada arrives from Ireland with Des, the youngest brother, it has devastating consequences for all of them. Dada - John Kavanagh, Michael Carney - Aidan McArdle, Des Carney - Martin McCann, Harry Carney - Denis Conway, Iggy Carney - David Wilmot, Hugo Carney - Garrett Lombard, Mush - Ruaidhri Conroy, Betty - Emma Amos. Director/producer: Roland Jaquarello. (120m)
(27-12-2009; 20:00; Rpt) Your Only Man
(Annie Caulfield) A play imagining what might have happened if the author Brian O'Nolan's two alter egos met. 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. (90m) (NB: Rpt of 31-08-2008)
THE WIRE
Saturdays nights, times and durations as noted; Broadcast in batches again rather than monthly, plus a shorter-than-usual run of repeats during the Summer months; Note that the repeats from 08-08-2009 onward were from Drama On 3 and are listed in that category.
(31-01-2009; 21:15) The Number Of The Dead
(Mark Lawson) Newscaster Timothy Freeman faces a crisis when his son holds up a bank at gunpoint. A new dramatic work written for Radio 3 by presenter, journalist and playwright Mark Lawson. Contains strong language. Timothy Freeman, newscaster and voice of the nation's major news network, is facing a crisis, seeing himself overlooked by younger colleagues. His teenage son Tom is holding up a bank at gunpoint and demands to speak to him live on air, broadcasting Timothy's failings as a father and a man to a million-strong audience who listen aghast. (60m) (No Rpt)
(07-02-2009; 22:00) Sold On eBay
(Van Badham) Van Badham's edgy comedy, which takes the modern phenomenon of internet selling to extremes and explores the extent to which we are defined by our possessions. In a fit of self-loathing after being dumped by his girlfriend, Richard puts his life up for sale on eBay. To his surprise he gets an offer he can't refuse. Cut off from everything familiar - his flat, his job, his ex, even his own name, he is propelled on a journey of self-discovery. Richard - Bruce Mackinnon, Suzy - Claire Rushbrook, Lian - Zita Sattar, Clive - Emil Marwa, Richard's Mum - Amelda Brown, Cyber Characters: Dan Starkey, Malcolm Tierney, Donnla Hughes, Manjeet Mann, Jill Cardo, Stephen Critchlow, Robert Lonsdale and Gunnar Cauthary. Directed by Mary Peate. (45m) (No Rpt)
(14-02-2009; 21:15) Nina Black
(Melanie Harris) Melanie Harris' portrait of a woman with severe attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Nina has to get to Glasgow but she has no money, no minder and no sense of time or place. She falls in with a boy and his dog, but is he really her friend? A mix of drama and interviews with the real-life Nina Black - a Swede with severe attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder - creates a complex portraix of living with ADHD. Nina - Bonnie Engstrom, Boy - Ashley Gerlach, Sophie - Sophie Dow, Guard - Charles Swift, Woman - Caitlin Thorburn, Man - Colin Warner, Girl - Georgia Keatley-Barclay. Music by Leafcutter John and Rupert Shean. Directed and produced by Melanie Harris. (45m) (NB: Rptd 01-08-2009; 21:45)
(21-02-2009; 21:30; Rpt) Gulf
(Mark Kotting) Crazy golf takes on a whole new meaning in this fiery portrait of a family in meltdown, as 30 years of smouldering tensions finally reach their flashpoint. Terry - Steven Hartley, Nan - Ann Mitchell, Danny - Ben Onwukwe, Emma - Emma Noakes, Carol - Tilly Vosburgh, Mr Pink - Simon Treves, Doctor - Peter Marinker. Directed by Toby Swift. (45m) (NB: Rpt of 01-12-2007)
(28-02-2009; 21:30) Salmonella Man On Planet Porno
(Yasutaka Tsutsui) Adaptation of Yasutaka Tsutsui's sci-fi black comedy set on Planet Porno, where any plant, animal or human can mate with any other species. It is a place where Darwin's rule of evolution - the survival of the fittest - is no guide to staying alive, and Eros rules. The three astronauts who strike out into the jungle are woefully ill-prepared for what is to come. With Ophelia Bitz, Donald McCleary, Stewart Porter, Ron Donachie, Crawford Logan, Morag Stark and Geoff Noar. (60m) (No Rpt)
(07-03-2009; 21:30) The Meek
(Denise Mina) Crime novelist and Hellblazer comic contributor Denise Mina's dark and surreal drama about a mother coming to terms with her child's disability. Newborn Simone has Down's syndrome but her mother is convinced she has extraordinary powers. Is this complete fantasy or is Simone really in a world where superheroes exist and are being hunted down? Mum - Meg Fraser, Simone - Sarah Gordy, Social Worker - Lucy Paterson, Doctor/Telekenetic Boy's Mum - Louise Ludgate, Telekenetic Boy - Robert Softley, Francis/Soldier 1 - Ben Lewis, Receptionist/Soldier 2 - Nick Underwood. Sound design: Paul Wilson and Dan Lyth. (45m) (NB: Rptd 25-07-2009; 21:45)
(14-03-2009; 22:00; Rpt) The Third Trial
(Hattie Naylor) When ex-soldier Matthew dies in a diving accident, his parents are forced to come to terms not only with a rising tide of grief, but also the ghost of responsibility. Sweetmeat - Desmond McNamara, Sugar - Paula Wilcox, Jeannie - Jade Williamsk, Mina - Rachel Bavidge, Matthew (adult) - Jot Davies, Matthew (young) - Jordan Clarke. (45m) (NB: Rpt of 02-06-2007.)
(21-03-2009; 21:00) Alex Tripped On My Fairy
(Meredith Oakes) Social comedy about a man who suddenly and unexpectedly falls out of love with his wife. Matthew and Elizabeth are having drinks with their new neighbours while the children play in the garden. Matthew is watching his beautiful young wife navigate this new social scene when he suddenly he falls out of love with her. He can't help it. Matthew - Paul Hilton, Elizabeth - Hattie Morahan, Sue - Beth Goddard, Mark - Nigel Lindsay, Alex - Ben Greaves-Neal, Amy - Agnes Dromgoole, Flo - Bella Corwin, Simon - Luca Corwin. Directed by Mary Peate. (55m) (NB: Rptd 26-12-2009; 21:30)
(18-07-2009; 21:15; Rpt) 49 Donkeys Hanged
(Carl Grose) A surreal, dark comedy by Cornish writer Carl Grose, inspired by seeing a Johannesburg local newspaper headline about a farmer who hanged 49 donkeys from tree branches on his land. In Grose's play, Stanley Bray, a Cornish farmer, is compelled to hang donkeys and his wheelchair-bound wife Joy is desperate to get out of the house. Their way of life is fast disappearing, the farm is bankrupt and this is Stanley's bizarre response. Stanley Bray - Charles Barnecut, Joy Bray - Amanda Lawrence, Solomon Singo - Sibusiso Mamba, Sally Tregersick - Helen Longworth, Randy Tregersick - John Canford, Carl Grose - himself. Directed by Claire Grove. (60m) (NB: Rpt of 01-11-2008)
(25-07-2009; 21:45; Rpt) The Meek
(Denise Mina) (NB: Rpt of 07-03-2009 - see above.)
(01-08-2009; 21:45; Rpt) Nina Black
(Melanie Harris) Winner of the 2009 New York Festivals Gold World Medal for Best Drama Special. (NB: Rpt of 14-02-2009 - see above.)
(19-09-2009; 21:30) People Snogging In Public Places
(Jack Thorne) A frank and funny coming-of-age play about what happens when an uncle with learning disabilities moves in with his nephew's family. Told in a striking and bold style, it examines the consequences of disabilities on family members. James - Rupert Simonian, Patrick - Adrian Scarborough, Angela - Lindsey Coulson, Tim - Philip Fox, Pete - Jamie DiSpirito, Lisa - Candassaie Liburd, Alice - Lizzy Watts, Phyllis - Annabelle Dowler, Mr Morris - Paul Rider, Doctor - Matt Addis, Speaking Clock - Malcolm Tierney. Sound design: Caleb Knightley. Producer: Steven Canny. (60m) (NB: Rptd 23-10-2010; 21:30; 2011, BBC7)
(26-09-2009; 20:50) Side Effects
(Morna Pearson) An outspoken and uncompromising new play by an award-winning young Scots writer that explores the relationship of Rachel, 15, and her cousin, 17 - a relationship based on desire for escape from their empty lives in rural Aberdeenshire. Rachel's life is transformed, root and branch, when she swallows an apple pip and discovers a new way of living. Rachel - Ashley Smith, James - Gary Collins. Music by Pippa Murphy. Directed by Lorne Campbell. (45m) (NB: Rptd 24-07-2010; 21:45)
(03-10-2009; 21:00) The Lady Of Kingsland Waste
(J Parkes) Parkes' magical story of love, death and redemption, recorded on location in Hackney. Four inner-city children discover the beauty of life when they become strangely involved with a dying woman. Bernie - Candassaie Liburd, Nathan - Pascal Akuwudike, Juliet - June Bailey, Pastor - Jude Akuwudike, Raff - Rhiannon Harper-Rafferty, Knolidge - Gabriel Akuwudike. Directed by Jessica Dromgoole. (45m) (NB: Rptd 21-08-2010; 21:45)
(10-10-2009; 21:45) The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life
(Martin Jameson) A shapeshifting, existential comedy nightmare about the modern world. Toby has a bad day at work on the phones for Careless, the household cover people. When an angry customer pushes him too far - he snaps and tells him to have a heart attack and die. The next morning he wakes up as Dr Richard Jugg. And the next day as a homeless person called Deke. How are these events connected? And where will this nightmarish journey end? Toby/Richard/Deke/Clive - Jonathan Keeble, Craig/Scott - Andonis James Anthony, Tariq - Armand Beasley, Sheila - Sue Jenkins, Anastasia/Nurse Phoenix - Melissa Jane Sinden, Stacey/Renata - Catherine Kinsella. Directed by Gary Brown. (60m) (NB: Rptd 02-10-2010; 20:45)
(24-10-2009; 21:15) Me & Cilla
(Lee Mattinson) Priscilla Stephenson's preparations are well underway for her perfect Christmas Eve party, but with her son about to make his first public appearance in a miniskirt and her husband's affair with the neighbour about to rear its ugly head, will the glue holding this family together be strong enough? Will the powerful truth in Cilla Black's lyrics give them the words to show each other their wounds and start the healing process? Cilla - Charlie Hardwick, Alfie - James Baxter, Ringo - Trevor Fox. Directed by Katherine Beacon. (45m) (NB: Rptd 31-07-2010; 21:45)
(26-12-2009; 21:30) Alex Tripped On My Fairy
(Meredith Oakes) (NB: Rpt of 21-03-2009 - see above.)
OTHER
Pieces that don't fit within the usual slots, including the first which I missed out of the 2008 list:
(22-12-2008 to 02-01-2009) Paradise Lost
(John Milton) During December 2008 and through into the New Year Radio 3 commemorates the 400th anniversary of the birth of poet John Milton (1608-1674) with a host of programmes exploring his life and works. Acclaimed actor Anton Lesser reads the complete Paradise Lost (12 books), Milton’s best know work, every weekday at 5pm and at the weekend at 9.30pm. (50-70m)
1: Milton explains man's disobedience, the loss of Paradise and describes the fall of Satan.
2: Satan and his cohorts debate whether another battle should take place to recover Heaven.
3: God explains to his son that he will regard man's fall with some grace as he was seduced.
4: Satan journeys to Paradise where he looks into the garden and sees Adam and Eve.
5: God sends Raphael to warn Adam and to explain how free will operates.
6: Michael continues to explain to Adam the conflict with Satan and his Angels.
7: Adam asks Raphael to tell him why the world was created.
8: Adam and Raphael talk further, as Adam explains his life in Paradise and Eve's arrival.
9: Satan returns to Paradise as a 'mist by night' and enters the Serpent.
10: God tells the Guardian Angels that Satan's entrance into Paradise was inevitable.
11: The Son of God explains that the Transgressors have repented, but they are driven out.
12: The Archangel Michael ends his account with the story of Christ's resurrection.
(27-02 to 13-03-2009; 21:15) The Verb - BBC writersroom
(NB: Three episodes of the long-running arts slot were listed and numbered under this subtitle with the following lines - presumably the LaBute thing was an extra piece, but there is no mention of what this 'new drama' could otherwise have been...)
1. Ian McMillan presents a new drama written specially for The Verb, from BBC writersroom.
2. Ian McMillan presents a new drama written specially for The Verb, from BBC writersroom.
3. Ian McMillan talks to Neil LaBute about his monologue, entitled I Love This Game.
(05-04-2009; 21:30) Sunday Feature - Wheels & Stones:
Robert Powell reads from George Sturt's The Wheelwright's Shop, an account of the process of building wooden wheels and making wagons. Punctuating Sturt's observations about apprentices, pricing, drunken sawyers, injuries and the threat of machinery are accounts of a contemporary stonemason, Simon Verity, who carved in cathedrals and villas, and Charlotte de Syllas, a jeweller whose work is shown in museums. There are also stories from a firm of coachwrights in Kent. The stories reinforce Sturt's pride in his craft and highlight the struggles of trying to survive the threats from outsourcing, using cheaper materials and looking for commercial success. (45m)
