Radio 3 Drama, 2014
05 Jan 2014: Drama on 3 - Old Times
By
Harold Pinter. In a remote farmhouse, Deeley and Kate await a
visitor. Anna is Kate's best friend, though Deeley has never met her.
Is the past really as they remember it? Old Times is a play about
memory and desire. Tantalisingly enigmatic, it is a play about people
in their forties looking back on old times, about reconciling the
young person and the adult, about how you imagined things were going
to be and how they turned out. Kate -
Ruth Gemmell, Deeley - Justin Salinger, Anna - Olivia Williams,
Director - Gaynor MacFarlane, Vocal coach - Aimée Leonard
12 Jan 2014: Drama on 3 - The Oresteia: Agamemnon Episode 1 of 3
By Aeschylus. A new version by Simon Scardifield. The first of the three plays in Aeschylus' classic trilogy about murder, revenge and justice. Agamemnon returns home to Argos after his victory at Troy. But his wife, Clytemnestra, has determined to take terrible revenge for his sacrifice of their eldest daughter Iphigenia. The Chorus - Arthur Hughes, Philip Jackson, The Chorus Carolyn Pickles, Clytemnestra - Lesley Sharp, Agamemnon - Hugo Speer, Cassandra - Anamaria Marinca, Calchas - Karl Johnson, Aegisthus - Sean Murray, Iphigenia - Georgie Fuller, Herald - John Norton, Guard - Steve Toussaint, Guard - Harry Jardine, Singer - Adriana Festeu, Musicians - Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley, Stephen Whibley, Director - Sasha Yevtushenko, Sound design - Colin Guthrie, Performer- BBC Concert Orchestra
19 Jan 2014: Drama on 3 - The Oresteia: The Libation Bearers Episode 2 of 3
By Aeschylus. A new version by Ed Hime. The second play in Aeschylus's classic trilogy about murder, revenge and justice. Agamemnon's son Orestes returns home from exile to kill his mother in revenge for his father's murder. But where can he find the strength to carry out such a terrible deed? Orestes - Will Howard, Electra - Joanne Froggatt, Clytemnestra - Lesley Sharp, The Chorus - Sheila Reid, Amanda Lawrence, Carys Eleri, Aegisthus - Sean Murray, Cilissa - Carolyn Pickles, Pylades - Joel MacCormack, Servant - David Seddon, ServantJohn Norton, Iphigenia - Georgie Fuller, Singer - Adriana Festeu, Musicians - Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley, Stephen Whibley, Adaptor - Ed Hime, Director - Marc Beeby, Orchestra – Philharmonia, Conductor - Neeme Järvi, Sound design by Cal Knightley & Colin Guthrie
26 Jan 2014: Drama on 3 - The Oresteia: The Furies Episode 3 of 3
By Aeschylus. A new version by Rebecca Lenkiewicz. In the final play in Aeschylus' classic trilogy about murder, revenge and justice, Orestes has avenged his father Agamemnon by murdering his killer, his own mother Clytemnestra. Now the Furies, deities of revenge, are on his trail and baying for blood. Can the young gods Apollo and Athena stop this cycle of revenge? .Narrator - Niamh Cusack, Alecto - Polly Hemingway, Megaera - Maureen Beattie, Tisophone - Carolyn Pickles, Orestes - Will Howard, Athena - Chipo Chung, Apollo - Joel MacCormack, Clytemnestra - Lesley Sharp, The Pythia - Priyanga Burford, Girl - Carys Eleri, Judge - Sean Murray, Musicians Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley, Stephen Whibley, Director - Sasha Yevtushenko, Performer - BBC Concert Orchestra, Writer - Aeschylus, Adaptor - Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Sound design - Colin Guthrie
02 Feb 2014: Drama on 3 - The Witness
by Vivienne Franzmann. Captured in an iconic award-winning shot, Alex was rescued from Rwanda and adopted by the man behind the lens. Back from university and returning to the family home, the relationship between father and daughter cracks and then shatters as a long-hidden secret is slowly exposed. Based on the Royal Court Theatre production, this is a powerful and moving drama of modern morality. Joseph - Danny Webb, Alex - Pippa Bennett-Warner, Simon - Chike Okonkwo, PaulLloyd Peters, Producer - Gary Brown, Writer - Vivienne Franzmann, Director - Gary Brown
09 Feb 2014: Drama on 3 - Head Hunters
By Michael Eaton. In the early years of the twentieth century, the man generally credited with being the founding father of the new science of anthropology was James George Frazer, author of 'The Golden Bough'. Whereas Frazer rarely left his Cambridge study, it was Alfred Cort Haddon who led the first anthropological field-work expeditions, and in 1898 Haddon became the first anthropologist to film a re-enactment of an initiation rite on Mer, an island in the Torres Strait. Nearly twenty years later he signed up to work as a YMCA volunteer just a few miles from the trenches on the Western Front, and it was there that he re-met one of the members of his Mer team, now working on a study of the psychological impact of modern warfare on soldiers - 'shell shock'. Alfred Cort Haddon - Michael Maloney, James George Frazer - Sean Murray, Charles Myers - David Seddon, Passi - Sani Muliaumasealli, Jasper - John Norton, Emma - Georgie Fuller, Kathleen Haddon - Carys Eleri, Lily Fraser - Priyanga Burford, Soldier - Arthur Hughes, Soldier - Harry Jardine, Soldier - Joel McCormack, Writer - Michael Eaton, Director - Jeremy Mortimer
16 Feb 2014: Drama on 3 - Is Your Love Better than Life?
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. Archbishop - Don Gilet, Minister - David Annen, Ingush - Mariah Gale, Citizen - Adam Rojko, Rone - Effie Woods, Producer & Director - Polly Thomas, Writer - Frances Byrnes, Singer - Thomas S. Allen. Performer - John Constable, Sound design - Eloise Whitmore, With thanks to Graham Hunter, St John's Church, Hoxton, Ed West and Canon Alan Billings
23 Feb 2014: Drama on 3 - Copenhagen [Repeat from 13 Jan 2013]
Michael Frayn's Tony award-winning play imagines Danish physicist Bohr and his wife, Margrethe, and physicist Werner Heisenberg meeting and re-drafting the events of Autumn 1941 in an attempt to make sense of them. A powerful exploration of the uncertainties of human memory and motivation. The Bohrs live in Nazi-occupied Denmark; their visitor, Heisenberg, is German. Two old friends, now on opposing sides, who between them have the ability to change the course of history, but why has Heisenberg, Bohr's former protégé, come to Copenhagen? Margrethe Bohr - Greta Scacchi; Niels Bohr - Simon Russell Beale; Werner Heisenberg - Benedict Cumberbatch; Writer - Michael Frayn; Adaptor - Emma Harding; Director - Emma Harding
02 March 2014: Drama on 3 - Lorca's Rural Trilogy - The House of Bernarda Alba Episode 1 of 3
By Federico Garcia Lorca. Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata. Following the death of her second husband Bernarda Alba, a tyrannical matriarch, rules over her house and daughters, imposing an eight-year period of mourning. Bernarda Alba - Sian Thomas, Poncia - Brigit Forsyth, Maria Josefa - Pauline Jefferson, Angustias - Kate Coogan, Magdalena - Victoria Brazier, Martirio - Christine Bottomley, Adela - Elaine Cassidy, Prudencia - Christine Cox, Girl - Daisy Jones, All other parts played by members of the cast, Male chorus singers - Les Pratt, Martin Medina, Nathan Jenkins, Andrew Johnston, David Cane, Peter Edge, George Leeming, Musical direction and original music composition by Conrad Nelson Adapted for radio, produced and directed by Pauline Harris
09 Mar 2014 Drama on 3 - Lorca's Rural Trilogy - Yerma Episode 2 of 3 [Repeat of 26 September 2010]
by Federico Garcia Lorca. Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata. The tragic tale of a woman's desperate yearning for a child that leads her to murder. Yerma - Emma Cunniffe, JuanConrad Nelson, VictorDeclan Wilson, MariaRebecca Callard, Pagan Old WomanAnnette Badland, DoloresClaire Benedict, Dolores' NeighbourKate Layden, WasherwomanDeborah McAndrew, WasherwomanFionnuala Dorrity, Washerwoman/Girl 1Liz Carter, Washerwoman/Female at the PilgrimagHelen Longworth, Male at the PilgrimageKevin Harvey, Spanish VoiceAnna Castineiras, MusicTayo Akinbode, Musicians - Tayo Akinbode, Richard Arthurs, Chris Cruiks, Singers - Leslie Pratt & members of the cast, Writer - Federico Garcia Lorca, Director - Pauline Harris
16 Mar 2014: Drama on 3 - Lorca's Rural Trilogy - Blood Wedding Episode 3 of 3 [Repeat from 13 Jul 2008
An atmospheric re-working by Ted Hughes of Lorca's 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. 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, Girl - Liz Carter, Woodcutter - Sam Curtis, Woodcutter - Chris Hannon, Little Girl - Daisy Jones, Composer - Matthew Wood, Director - Pauline Harris, Writer - Federico Garcia Lorca, Adaptor - Ted Hughes
23 Mar 2014: Drama on 3 - Roots
By Arnold Wesker. It's 1958. Beatie Bryant has been to London and fallen in love with Ronnie, a young socialist. As she anxiously awaits his arrival to meet her family at their Norfolk farm her head is swimming with new ideas. Ideas of a bolder, freer world, which promise to clash with their rural way of life. Beatie Bryant - Jessica Raine, Mrs Bryant - Linda Bassett, Stan Mann - David Burke, Jenny Beales - Lisa Ellis, Mr Bryant - Ian Gelder, Mr Healey - Nic Jackman, Jimmy Beales - Michael Jibson, Frank Bryant - Carl Prekopp, Pearl Bryant - Emma Stansfield, Director - James Macdonald, Producer - Catherine Bailey, Original Theatre Sound Designed by Ian Dickinson
30 Mar 2014: Drama on 3 - The Boy at the Back
By Juan Mayorga. Translated by David Johnston. When 17-year-old Claudio insinuates himself into a classmate's house and begins to write about it as homework, his literary voyeurism soon spirals out of control. Faced with this gifted and unusual pupil, class teacher German is reminded of his own abandoned literary pretensions. Despite his wife's misgivings, he encourages Claudio's artistic ambitions. However, the boy's incursion into the domestic intimacy of his subjects will have unpredictable consequences for both households in this psychological drama. German - Neil Pearson, Juana - Haydn Gwynne, Claudio - Will Howard, Ester - Juliet Aubrey, Rafa Father - David Birrell, Rafa Son - Max Bowden, Producer & Director - Nicolas Jackson, Writer - Juan Mayorga, Translated by David Johnston, Sound design by Steve Bond, Executive Producer: Sara Davies, An Afonica Sound Production (Indie)..
06 Apr 2014: Drama on 3 - Baby Farming
By Tanika Gupta. After years of heartbreak following failed IVF attempts and miscarriages Kareena and Jamie are desperate. In the slums of Mumbai, Hasina is struggling to feed and educate her daughter. Their lives become inextricably linked when Hasina agrees to become the surrogate mother for Kareena and Jamie's child. Karenna - Goldy Notay, Jamie - Reece Dinsdale, Hasina - Ayesha Dharker, Munni - Rhea Somaiya, Dr Gulati - Shelley King, Dr Mehat - Tony Jayawardena, Binita - Rina Mahoney, Sophiya - Rina Fatania, Director - Nadia Molinari, Writer - Tanika Gupta
13 Apr 2014: Drama on 3 - The Recruiting Officer [Repeat from 18 December 2011]
By George Farquhar, Restoration Comedy. 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, LucyAdjoa Andoh, AppletreeJames Lailey, PearmanAdam Billington, Bridewell - Rikki Lawton, Justice Scale - Paul Moriarty, Justice Scruple - Gerard McDermott, Director - Jessica Dromgoole, Writer - George Farquhar
20 April 2014: Drama on 3 - Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra is Shakespeare's late and epic tragedy of mature love and the catastrophic fall from grace and power that it brings about. Irresistibly drawn together, the couple are surrounded by friends, enemies, admirers and critics, none of who remain unscathed by the folly and heartbreak of this magnificent pair. As empires clash around them, their destiny seems inevitable: to love each other till death and even beyond. A new production to mark the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare. Antony - Kenneth Branagh, Cleopatra - Alex Kingston, Octavius Caesar - Geoffrey Streatfeild, Enobarbus - Robert Pugh, Lepidus - Nigel Anthony, Agrippa - Simon Armstrong, Dolabella - Matthew Gravelle, Proculeius - Alun Raglan, Octavia/Iras - Priyanga Burford, Philo - Richard Clifford, Pompey - Richard Harrington, Charmian - Janice Acquah, Alexas - Don Gilet, Mardian - Ewan Bailey, Eros/Messenger - Will Howard, Soothsayer/Snakeman - Peter Polycarpou, Composer - Elizabeth Purnell, Director - Alison Hindell Writer - William Shakespeare, A BBC Wales production (Indie).
27 Apr 2014: Drama on 3 - Romeo and Juliet [Repeat from 29 April 2012]
Shakespeare's quick witted summer tragedy. In a town full of hatred, where the streets ring with the Capulet Montague feud, and swords are too easily drawn, Romeo and Juliet find each other, and love, and never let go. 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, Composer - Roger Goula, Director - Jessica Dromgoole Writer - William Shakespeare, Sound Design, Colin Guthrie
04 May 2014: Drama on 3 - Dylan Thomas: The Beach of Falesa
Duration: 1 hour, 40 minutes World premiere of an unfilmed screenplay by Dylan Thomas, newly adapted for radio for the centenary of his birth. Wiltshire arrives on an unnamed Pacific island hoping to trade in copra. But an encounter with rival trader Case leads to a macabre wedding. Shunned by the locals, Wiltshire sets out to uncover the secret behind Case's mysterious hold over the islanders, and the truth in the tales of the singing devils living deep in the bush. Narrator - Matthew Rhys, Wiltshire - Matthew Gravelle, Case - Nicky Henson, Uma - Fiona Marr, Jenkins/Captain - Simon Armstrong, Randall - Stephen Critchlow, Little Jack - Steve Toussaint, Composer - Roger Goula, Sound - Nigel Lewis, Director - Alison Hindell, A BBC Wales production.
11 May 2014: Drama on 3 - Marathon Tales [Repeat of 11 August 2012]
The original Marathon runner Pheidippides finds himself racing alongside long distance athletes from mythology and more recent times. They all have powerful stories to tell: Pheidippides charged with covering an immense distance to seek help from the Spartans; Abebe Bikila, the Ethiopian who won the 1960 Marathon in Rome, Atalanta, the formidable mythical figure who ran naked, John Tarrant, the "Ghost Runner" desperate to prove his amateur status and beat the privileged elite, Kathrine Switzer, the American athlete who ran the Boston Marathon when women weren't allowed in long distance competitions, and Grete Waitz the Norwegian Marathon winner who talks as fast as she runs. Pheidippides - Alex Lanipekun, Pan - Kathryn Hunter, Atalanta - Daisy Lewis, Abebe Bikila - Richie Campbell, Kathrine Switzer - Susie Riddell, John Tarrant - Sam Alexander, Hippomenes - Harry Livingstone, Grete Waitz - Marit Kile, Onni Niskanen - Nils Bergstrand, Ella - Amaka Okafor, Harold Abrahams - Patrick Brennan, Chris Chataway - Joe Sims, John Disley - Robert Blythe, The broadcaster - Don Gilet, Daughter - Lily Teevan, Nurse - Christine Absolom, Director - David Hunter, Writers - Hannah Silva & Colin Teevan
18 May 2014: No Drama on 3 - The Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards 2014
25 May 2014: Drama on 3 - The Octoroon [Repeat from 05 May 2013]
By Dion Boucicault, Episode 2 of 3. As part of a season of plays curated by playwright Mark Ravenhill, BBC Radio 3 presents new production of Dion Boucicault's 1859 melodrama The Octoroon - a play that sparked debates about the abolition of slavery and the role of theatre in politics. The drama was recorded in front of an audience at Theatre Royal Stratford East, the venue that saw an earlier production of the same play in 1885. The story centres around the inhabitants of the Louisiana plantation of Terrebonne. Zoe, the "octoroon" of the title, is the daughter of its owner Judge Peyton by one of his slaves, but she has been raised as part of the family. When the Judge dies, the plantation falls into financial ruin and the Judge's handsome nephew George arrives as heir apparent. George and Zoe soon find themselves in love, but their future happiness is thrown into jeopardy by the plantation's evil overseer Jacob McLosky who has dastardly designs on both the property and Zoe. McLosky will stop at nothing - not even murder. Mrs Peyton - Barbara Barnes; Sunnyside - Geoffrey Burton; Jacob M'Closky - Steven Hartley; Salem Scudder - Toby Jones; Wahnotee - Earl Kim; Dora Sunnyside - Claire Lams; Paul - John MacMillan; Zoe - Amaka Okafor; Ratts - Paul Stonehouse; Pete - David Webber; George Peyton - Trevor White; Music composed and performed by Colin Sell; Director: Sasha Yevtushenko; Production Co-ordinator: Lesley Allan; Studio Managers: Colin Guthrie, Alison Craig, Steve Oak; Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer.
01 June 2014: Drama on 3 - Uncle Vanya
by Anton Chekhov adapted by Christopher Hampton. Life on a provincial Russian estate is thrown into turmoil by the visit of the ailing Professor Serebryakov and his beautiful young wife Yelena. Vanya - Neil Dudgeon, Yelena - Lyndsey Marshal, Astrov - Geoffrey Streatfield, Sonya - Bryony Hannah, Serebryakov - Anton Lesser, Marina - Polly Hemingway, Telyegin - Michael Bertenshaw, Mrs Voynitsky - Maggie McCarthy, Labourer - Clive Hayward..
08 Jun 2014: Drama on 3 - The Seagull [Repeat from 31 Jan 2010]
Chekhov's classic drama is in part a tragic play about eternally unhappy people. All the characters are dissatisfied with their lives. Some desire love. Some yearn for success. Some crave artistic genius. But no one ever seems to attain happiness. When famous actress Irina Arkadina arrives to spend the summer on her brother Sorin's country estate, tempers inevitably get frayed. Arkadina - Siobhan Redmond, Trigorin - Paul Higgins, Konstantin - Robin Laing, Sorin - Sean Scanlan, Nina - Ashley Smith, Shamrayev - Lewis Howden, Polina - Daniela Nardini, Masha - Meg Fraser, Dorn - Finlay Welsh, Medvedenko - Tom Freeman, Director - Dominic Hill, Writer - Anton Chekhov, Adapted for radio by Stuart Paterson from the first ever English translation by George Calderon.
15 June 2014: Drama on 3 - Bretton Woods
By Steve Waters. Seventy years ago, in July 1944, with the most disastrous war in history in its death-throes, a secret meeting took place in a hotel deep in the forests of New Hampshire. Bankers and economists from over forty nations met to draw up a settlement to save the world economy and secure the peace. Everything depended on two men - John Maynard Keynes and Harry Dexter White. Seen through the eyes of the main participants (including the eccentric Lady Keynes) this dive into big money and high politics takes Bretton Woods as a lens to reflect on one of the most burning issues of our times. Out of this meeting emerged two powerful institutions, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. John Maynard Keynes - Simon Callow, Harry Dexter White - Henry Goodman, Lydia Lopokova - Alison Pettitt, Anne White - Laurel Lefkow, Ed Bernstein/Mihail Stepanov - Simon Lee Phillips, Lionel Robbins - Peter Hamilton Dyer, Henry Morgentha/Dennis H Robertson - Sean Baker, Florence Macy/Judith Firestone - Laura Elphinstone, Director & Producer - Jeremy Mortimer, Music - Lucinda Mason Brown Writer - Steve Waters, Sound by David Chilton, A Cast Iron production for BBC Radio 3.
22 Jun 2014: Drama on 3 – Babbage [Repeat from 16 June 2013]
by David Pownall. The truly extraordinary story of Charles Babbage, a forgotten genius. One of the great scientific brains of the nineteenth century, he first conceived the computer but died a despised failure. Although most people today rely on their computers, few will have little knowledge of Babbage. This is a play with strong contemporary overtones as Babbage is forced to constantly struggle against financial cuts and restraints imposed by successive governments and a lack of investment in scientific projects. When Babbage learns his project will no longer be funded by Government, he cracks and loses the will to fight on. He is flat broke, exhausted, bitter and disillusioned. If no one wants his computer, so be it. Let the thing be scrapped. Only one friend is able to imagine the future of the computer - Ada Lovelace, Byron's daughter, poet, prophet, gambler and mathematician. Following the early death of Babbage's wife, Ada is the most important woman in his life, albeit she is married to an aristocrat. Through thick and thin, illness and despair, Babbage and Ada are a team in numbers, imagination and dreams. Charles Babbage - Sam Kelly; Ada Lovelace - Monica Dolan; Lord Lovelace - Michael Maloney; Disraeli - Nicholas Boulton; Wellington and Lord Aberdeen - Geoffrey Whitehead; Lady Byron - Frances Jeater; Marsden - Robert Glenister; Jeppes - Carl Prekopp; Italian Organ Grinder - Andrew Branch; Music composed by Max Pownall; Director - Martin Jenkins.
29 June 2014: Drama on 3 - Music in the Great War: A Soldier and a Maker
Iain Burnside's play is about the tragic World War One figure of Ivor Gurney. The play features many of Gurney's songs, performed by the cast, with Burnside at the piano. Gurney began to write poetry and songs seriously during World War One. In 1918 Gurney suffered the first of his breakdowns, triggered in part by the end of a love affair. In 1922 he was declared insane and interned in a mental hospital, where he was detained for the last 15 years of his life. Interweaving original material with Gurney's own music, poems and letters, the results are a poignant impression of a great artist dealing with mental illness. Taylor - Nick Allen, Rose/Radio Girl - Holly Marie Bingham, Snowy/Dr - Alexander Cobb, Winifred Gurney - Stephanie Cole, Billy - Dominick Felix, Ivor Gurney - Richard Goulding, Nurse Wallace - Katie Grosset, Ethel Gurney - Bethan Langford, Actor - Jevan McAuley, Marion Scott - Jemma Redgrave, Wilf - Frazer Scott, Reg/Herbert Howells/Ronald Gurney - David Shaw Parker, Tug/Dr TerryAdam Sullivan, Florence/Helen/Nurse Drummond - Zoe Waites, Writer - Iain Burnside, Director - Philip Franks, Producer - David Morley, A Soldier and a Maker is directed by Philip Franks of the RSC, Sound Presentation: Wilfredo Acosta. A Perfectly Normal Production (Indie).
06 July 2014: Drama on 3 - Life in the Tomb
Stratis Myrivilis' masterwork of Greek fiction, Life in the Tomb provides a different perspective on the anniversary of the Great War. Originally published as extracts in a national Greek newspaper, the book takes the form of a series of letters from a young soldier back to his girlfriend in Lesvos, as his platoon moves deeper into trench warfare. Myrivilis based the book on his own experience of fighting on the Macedonian front. The book is so honest about how appalling conditions were and how badly the army was managed that it was banned on publication. Kostoulas - Scott Arthur, Givezo - Mariah Gale, Anjo - Pamela Miles, General Balafras - Nick Mercer, Brother - Danny Lee Wynter, Doctor - Kevin Harvey, M'Chigilous - Andrew Leung, Adaptor - April De Angelis, Composer - Errollyn Wallen, Producer & Director Polly Thomas, Executive producer - Joby Waldman, Bouzouki and guitar player, Grant McFarlane Dowse, Violinist, Chris Elcombe, Sound design, Eloise Whitmore, Somethin' Else (Indie production).
13 July 2014: Drama on 3 - Death and the King's Horseman
Wole Soyinka’s drama based on a real event in 1940s Nigeria. A colonial district officer intervenes to prevent a local man committing ritual suicide. Praise Singer - Jude Akuwudike, Elesin - Danny Sapani, Iyaloja - Claire Benedict, Market Woman/Bride/singer - Rakie Ayola, Market Woman 2/singer - Hazel Holder, Market Woman 3/singer - Ayo-Dele Edwards, Simon Pilkings - Jonathan Keeble, Jane Pilkings - Zoe Tapper, Sergeant Amusa - Anthony Ofoegbu, Joseph - Maynard Eziashi, Olunde - Adetomiwa Edun, Musicians - Yaw Asumadu, Wale Ogungbe, Composer and Musical director - Juwon Ogungbe, Producer - Pauline Harris, Director - Pauline Harris
20 Jul 2014: Drama on 3 - Document of Identity [Repeat from 1999]
by Wole Soyinka. The second play celebrating Nobel Prize winning Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka's 80th birthday. This semi-autobiographical is an account of events that took place under the brutal regime of Nigerian dictator General Sani Abacha. Based on the experience of Soyinka's daughter, an academic forced to flee Nigeria by the threats against her father's family. Whilst in London, en route to the US, she gives birth prematurely only to find the newborn trapped in a stateless limbo. The British authorities say they are unable to issue the newborn with a visa and therefore the family cannot join Soyinka in the US. Aigbo Ediale - Paterson Joseph, Suulola Ediale - Rakie Ayola, Talese Ediale - Oluwawemimo Oleyana, Razaq Baniye - Anthony Ofoegbu, Kiisu - Claire Benedict, Professor Saliu - Patrice Naiambana, Oseoba Ediale - Ehizogie Odigie, Mrs Bursley - Brigit Forsyth, Mr Brecross - Ron Berglas, Doctor - Martin Reeve, Writer - Wole Soyinka, Composer - Juwon Ogungbe, Director & Producer - Pauline Harris
27 Jul 2014 No Drama on 3 - BBC Proms
03 Aug 2014 No Drama on 3 - BBC Proms
10 Aug 2014 No Drama on 3 - BBC Proms
17 Aug 2014: Drama on 3 - The Marriage of Figaro [Repeat from 26 Dec 2010]
Another chance to hear the original play that inspired Mozart's now more famous opera. Written by French writer Beaumarchais, and considered too dangerous to perform in its own time. Bristling with social and political conflict, behind the comic intrigues of da Ponte's libretto lies a drama that is edgy, political, dealing with class and stroppy servants sensing the smell of Revolution in the air. 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
24 Aug 2014 No Drama on 3 - BBC Proms
31 August 2014: Drama on 3 - August 1914
A new adaptation for radio of Nobel Prize-winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's epic story of the first battle of the Eastern Front in 1914 - which was a disaster for Russia. In August 1914, Colonel Vorotyntsev advances into East Prussia in search of the elusive front line. As he encounters the truth about the German war-machine his military ideals rapidly tarnish and he must decide whether to volunteer his men for certain death or retreat. At the outbreak of the First World War, the Russian advance met with catastrophic results. Bungled orders, poor and insufficient supplies, out-dated equipment and tactics, and deliberate misinformation resulted in chaos and the near-annihilation of the army at the hands of the Germans. Three years later the tsarist regime fell as Lenin led the October Revolution. Narrator - Fiona Shaw, Vorotyntsev - Alex Waldmann, Samsonov - Michael Bertenshaw, Arseni - Sion Pritchard, Sasha Lenartovich - Mark Edel-Hunt, Yaroslav Kharitonov - Will Howard, Lenin - Clive Hayward, Grokholets - Robert Pugh, Filimonov - Sam Dale, Krymov - Simon Armstrong, Ofrosimov - Matthew Watson, Artamonov - David Cann, Tanya - Melangell Dolma, Kramchatkin - Chris Gordon, Luntsov - Sion Ifan, Agafon - Alex Hope, Director - Alison Hindell, Writer - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Dramatised by Robin Brooks from the translation by H.T.Willett, Sound - Nigel Lewis & Catherine Robinson, BBC Wales production.
07 Sep 2014: Drama on 3 - The White Devil [Repeated from 15 Aug 2010]
First performed in 1612, John Webster's revenge play is here set in a 1950s underworld of shifting alliances and sudden violence. 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. 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, Writer - John Webster, Adapted and directed by Marc Beeby
14 Sep 2014: Drama on 3 - Time and the Conways
J.B. Priestley's well-known play from 1937 toys with the idea of time, telling the story of one family in several scenes set over 19 years. A World War has just ended. The Conway family gather to celebrate daughter Kay's 21st birthday party. But 19 years later we see that the future is far from the one they imagined. Mrs Conway - Harriet Walter, Kay - Anna Madeley, Alan - Rupert Evans, Carol - Amaka Okafor, Hazel - Eleanor Howell, Robin - Harry Hadden-Paton, Madge - Heather Craney, Joan - Clare Corbett, Ernest Beevers - Tony Bell, Gerald Thornton - Clive Hayward, JB Priestley - Michael Bertenshaw, Pianist - Colin Guthrie, Director - David Hunter, Writer - JB Priestley
21 Sep 2014: Drama on 3 - Everyday Time Machines
Al Smith's play looks at the fate of three physicists who meet at Oxford and how Time plays a central part in their work and their relationships with devastating consequences. Physicists, Michael and Harry, meet at Oxford; they are hugely competitive both in their work and for the affections of Samantha, a witty American astro physicist. A competitiveness that will drive them all to make extraordinary choices. The play explores how the scientific world has made huge leaps in the understanding of matter and time and the consequences of their acts are fully revealed. Michael - Sam Troughton, Samantha - Pippa Bennett-Warner, Harry - Steven Robertson, Hauptmann - Mark Edel-Hunt, Grimshaw - David Acton, Feynman - Shaun Mason, Rosemary - Jane Slavin, Teacher - Roslyn Hill, Writer - Al Smith, Director - Sally Avens
28 Sep 2014: Drama on 3 - The Outsider [Repeat from 03 Nov 2013]
by Albert Camus, dramatised by John Retallack, from the translation by Sandra Smith. In Camus's classic existential novel Meursault refuses to pretend and is prepared to face alone the indifference of the universe. Coincides with the centenary of Camus' birth. Meursault - Alex Lanipekun, Magistrate - Michael Bertenshaw, Celeste - Arthur Hughes, Chaplain - John Norton, Prosecutor - Sean Murray, Marie - Priyanga Burford, Salamano - Sean Baker, Raymond - Stephen Hogan, Fifi - Sirine Saba, Defence - David Seddon, Nurse - Carys Eleri, Director - David Hunter Writer - Albert Camus Adaptor - John Retallack
05 Oct 2014: Drama on 3: In the Depths of Dead Love
By Howard Barker. A play about marriage and its secrets, set in ancient China. Banished poet Chin has bought
a bottomless well into which unhappy locals jump to end their suffering. Then the beautiful Hasi appears and seems
disinclined to jump in, and Chin begins to hope she won't. Chin: Richard Grant, Hasi: Francesca Annis, Ghang: Michael Bertenshaw, Mrs. Hu: Jane Bertish, Student: Arthur Hughes. Producer: Peter Kavanagh.
12 Oct 2014: Drama on 3: Hide the Moon
By Martyn Wade. About Richard Strauss. In 1945, the composer is visited at his home by two American GIs who
want to interview him. Strauss's wife is suspicious and protective. Strauss: David Calder, Mr.Brown: Alun Raglan,
Pauline Strauss: Sian Phillips, Curt Riess: Mark Edel-Hunt. Pianist: Peter Ringrose; produced by Marion Nancarrow.
19 Oct 2014: Drama on 3: Rhinocerous in Love
By Liao Yimei. A romance about a rhinocerous keeper, Malu, who falls in love with his beautifuil neighbour, Mingming.
Malu: Jason Wong, Mingming: Vera Chok, Toothbrush: Jonathan Forbes, Daxian: Paul Heath, Heizi: Shaun Mason, Honghong: Liz Sutherland, Love Professor / TV host: Monty D'Inverno. Producer: Emma Harding.
26 Oct 2014: Drama on 3: The Beach of Falesa
By Dylan Thomas. First performance of an unfilmed screenplay by DT. Newly adapted for radio for the centenary of his birth. Wiltshire arrives on an unnamed Pacific island hoping to trade in dried coconut flesh. An encounter with a rival trader leads to a macabre wedding. Shunned by the locals, Wiltshire sets out to uncover Case's hold over the islanders.
Narrator: Matthew Rhys, Wiltshire: Matthew Gravelle, Case: Nicky Henson, Uma: Fiona Marr, Jenkins / Captain: Simon Armstrong, Randall: Stephen Critchlow, Little Jack: Steve Toussaint. Original music, composed by Roger Goula. Produced by Alison Hindell.
02 Nov 2014: Drama on 3: Imo and Ben
By Mark Ravenhill. How Imogen Holst moved to be near Ben Britten as he worked on Gloriana, premiered
in 1953. Ben: Paul Ready, Imogen: Amanda Root, Lord Harewood: Charles Edwards. Music: Emma Tring (sop), Joseph Houston (piano), with the New London Children's Choir. Produced by Jeremy Mortimer.
09 Nov 2014: Drama on 3: A Soldier and a Maker
By Iain Burnside. A play about the poet and composer Ivor Gurney. He was badly affected by his experiences during WW1, and in 1918 he suffered depression caused by the breakdown of a love affair. He continued to compose, but in 1922 was declared insane and institutionalised for the remainder of his life. His piano preludes are rather inaccessible to the amateur pianist but the one in Db isn't bad. Gurney: Richard Goulding, Taylor: Nick Allen, Rose/radio girl: Holly Marie Bingham, Snowy / Dr. Templeton: Alexander Cobb, Winifred Gurney: Stephanie Cole, Billy: Dominick Felix, Nurse Wallace: Katie Grosset, Ethel Gurney: Bethan Langford, Marion Scott: Jemma Redgrave, Wilf: Frazer Scott, other parts: David Shaw-Parker, Adam Sullivan, Zoe Waites. Produced by David Morley.
16 Nov 2014: Drama on 3: Juno and the Paycock
By Sean O'Casey. Stage play set in a Dublin tenement in 1924 during the Irish Civil War, adapted for radio. (Not sure who did the adaptation). The Boyles are blighted by poverty and the alcoholism of their patriarch. Juno's son is a traumatised amputee and her husband a drunken fantasist. She struggles to keep her impoverished family afloat. Juno Boyle: Sorcha Cusack, Captain Boyle: Stanley Townsend, Joxer Daly: John Kavanagh, Mary: Beth Cooke, Johnny: Rory Fleck-Byrne, Charles Bentham: Rory Conaghan, Maisie: Michele Moran, Mrs. Tancred: Marcella Riordan, with Stephen Hogan, David Cann, Craig Els and Scarlett Brookes. Produced by Peter Kavanagh.
23 Nov 2014: Drama on 3: The Plough and the Stars
By Sean O'Casey. This play is set during the Easter Rising of 1916. It gives a vivid picture of a city in turmoil from the point of view of ordinary people living in a Dublin tenement. Elaine Cassidy, Padraic Delaney, Gabrielle Reidy, Finbar Lynch, Stephen Hogan, Jonathan Forbes, Fiona Clarke, Rebecca Gleeson, Jane McGrath, Matthew McNulty, Sam Smith. Producer: Nadia Molinari.
30 Nov 2014: Drama on 3: Dream of White Horses
By Linda Marshall Griffiths. Two friends release a film onto the internet exposing a military operation which they believe constitutes murder. However, truth is complicated and their action has consequences for them... Chris: Derek Riddell, Sean: William Ash, Sarah: Christine Bottomley, Stevie: Sam Hattersley, Paul: Jonathan Keeble. Produced by Nadia Molinari.
07 Dec 2014: Drama on 3: Decameron Nights
Five stories by Boccaccio, each one lasting 15 minutes:
1. Saint Ciappelletto.
The theme of the play is "Luckily, God listens to the sincerity of our prayers, and takes no account of their ignorance..."... All is not what it seems when a 14th-century Tony Soprano makes a confession. Ciappelletto: Colin McFarlane, Musciatto: Sam Dale, Holy Friar: Michael Bertenshaw, Federico: Monty D'Inverno, Anselmo: Paul Heath, Doctor: Ian Conningham. Dramatised by Robin Brooks; produced by Jonquil Panting.
2.Federigo and His Falcon
Today's theme: Lovers who, after many disasters, find happiness". Courtley Federigo spends every last groat trying to win the affections of the beautiful Monna. Federigo degli Alberighi: John Finnemore, Monna: Ingrid Oliver, Elena: Carrie Quinlan,Beppo: Shaun Mason, Niccolo: Adam Thomas Wright. Dram. Robin Brooks; producer Jonquil Panting.
3.How Elena Blew Hot and Cold.
Robin Brooks / Jonquil Panting. Theme: Tricks which men play on women. When Elena, a widow, snubs a man for the amusement of another, she picks the wrong victim. Elena: Lydia Leonard, Rinieri: Cyril Nri, Violante: Elaine Claxton, Pyrrhus: Paul Heath.
4.How to Get It Off Your Chest
Robin Brooks / Jonquil Panting. Theme: The best ways to take revenge. When Zeppa discovers his wife with his best friend, he is keen to respond. Giovanni: Jude Akuwudike, Zeppa: Ian Conningham, Spinelloccio: Shaun Mason, Mrs. Z: Hannah Genesius, Mrs. S: Bettrys Jones.
5. Kind Hearts and Bayonets
Robin Brooks / Jonquil Panting. Theme: Tales of great generosity or magnificence. Mithridanes wants to be a wise and generous benefactor, but his neighbour Nathan is always wiser and more generous. How can he deal with this problem? Mithridanes: Samuel Barnett, Nathan: Sam Dale, Beggar Maid: Bettrys Jones.
14 Dec 2014: Drama on 3: Decameron Nights
Five more stories by Boccaccio:
6. The Sweetest Young Man In Perugia
Robin Brooks / Jonquil Panting. A young bride can't work out why her marriage seems flat, until she and her husband meet the sweetest young man in Perugia. Pietro: Tim McInnerney, Madam: Hannah Genesius, Pandara: Jane Slavin, Masetto: Monty d'Inverno, Ercolano: David Acton.
7. The Wager
Robin Brooks / Jonquil Panting. When Bernabo makes a bet on his wife's chastity, his friend sets out to prove him wrong. It changes both their lives. Musciatto: Michael Bertenshaw, Ambrogiuolo: Geoffrey Streatfield, Bernabo: Paul Ritter, Zinevra: Louise Bradley, Sultan: Jude Akuwudike, Captain: Shaun Mason.
8. A Job For The Boys
Robin Brooks / Jonquil Panting. Masetto is having a quiet drink when the chance of a new job comes his way. Masetto: Neil Pearson,Sister Donna: Tameka Empson, Sister Lisa: Rhiannon Neads, Hildegard: Jane Slavin, Nuto: Sam Dale, Steward: Michael Bertenshaw.
9. Love Lies Sleeping
Robin Brooks / Jonquil Panting. In the middle of the night, Beppo's wife wakes him to tell a story. Silvestra: Laura Molyneux, Beppo: Rudi Dharmalingam, Giovanni: Joseph Drake, Rinaldo: David Acton, Mother: Jane Slavin.
10. A Quiet Night In Naples
Robin Brooks / Jonquil Panting. Country boy Andreuccio comes to Naples to buy a horse. Andreuccio: Gunnar Cauthary, Filomena: Roslyn Hill, Scarabone: Shaun Mason, Neighbour: David Acton, Ludo: Paul Heath, Bruno: Ian Conningham, Sister Lise: Elaine Claxton, Sister Donna: Hannah Genesius.
The Decameron contains about 100 stories. A previous production which went out as a classic serial in 1998 in three 60m episodes (dramatised and produced by Don Taylor and translated by his son, Jonathan Dryden Taylor) is described here by 'Jim'.
21 Dec 2014: Drama on 3: Paines Plough at 40
Three short plays to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the PP touring theatre company. James Grieve and George Perrin introduce three short plays recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre:
Happiness
By Nick Payne, in which a married couple attempt to remedy their respective unhappiness with a variety of far-flung undertakings.
Silver Drills
By Robin French. The fortunes of Humboldt Zoo are about to be turned around by the arrival of some mysterious and endangered animals.
Reunion
By Katie Douglas. Gary has invited his family round for lunch, but the reunion turns out to be a far cry from what he was expecting.
Cast for the three plays: Susan Brown, Karl Johnson, Clare Corbett, Bryan Dick, Monty d'Inverno, Roslyn Hill. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko, directors James Grieve (Happiness), George Perrin (Silver Drills) and Sasha Yevtushenko (Reunion).
28 Dec 2014: Drama on 3: Anthony & Cleopatra
Shakespeare, with Kenneth Branagh, Alex Kingston, Geoffrey Streatfield, Robert Pugh, Nigel Anthony, Simon Armstrong, Matthew Gravelle, Alun Raglan, Priyanga Burford, Richard Clifford, Richard Harrington, Janice Acquah, Don Gilet, Ewan Bailey, Will Howard, Peter Polycarpou. Producer: Alison Hindell. 2 hours 25m.
TWENTY MINUTES:
Various dramatic twenty-minute pieces that are used as mid-concert interval pieces during Performance On 3 and Opera On 3; Writer/reader credits have been noted where available; Documentaries/talks have been omitted.
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BETWEEN THE EARS
Saturday nights, 30mins unless otherwise noted; Writer credits, and in some cases entry titles, aren't always given.
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THE WIRE
Saturdays nights, times and durations as noted; Broadcast in batches again rather than monthly, including the usual run of repeats during the Summer months.
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OTHER
Dramatised pieces and readings that don't fit within the usual slots:
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