Radio 3 Drama, 2015
Drama on 3 – 2015
Sundays
4 Jan 2015: Mary Stuart
By Friedrich Schiller. Play from 1800 in a version by David Harrower, dramatized for radio by Robin Brooks. The relationship between Elizabeth I and her cousin, the imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots. 90m. Mary: Meg Fraser, Elizabeth: Alexandra Mathie, Mortimer: Matthew Pidgeon, Leicester: Robin Laing, Burleigh: Richard Greenwood, Shrewsbury: Paul Young, Jane Kennedy: Wendy Seager, Paulet: Jimmy Chisholm, Davidson: Laurie Brown, Aubespine: Grant O'Rourke, Melville: John Buick. Producer: Gaynor Macfarlane. Rpt.
11 Jan 2015: A Traveller's Guide to Paterson
By Michael Symmons Roberts. William Carlos Williams' epic poem Paterson is a portrait of the New Jersey city where he worked as a doctor. Michael presents a portrait of the same city today alongside a fictional drama which responds to events described in Williams' poem. He travels to NJ to explore Paterson and the stories in the piece. 120m. M.S.Roberts: himself, W.C.Williams: Trevor White, Paterson: Lou Hirsch, Robert Coles/Fred/Receptionist: Louis Labovitch, The Passaic River: Kate Harper, Marie/Mother of sick boy: Pippa Bennett-Warner. Producers: Susan Roberts and Deborah McAndrew.
18 Jan: Mrs Updike [90m]
By Margaret Heffernan - When John Updike's mother was asked whether she was proud of her son's acclaim, she replied, "I'd rather it had been me." Updike said that one of his earliest memories was seeing his mother at her writing desk. He wrote many stories about his mother and mothers in general, almost all isolated by their intelligence and sensitivity, which their sons both love and fear. Replete with tension, they mirror the journey all children must make from love to separation to attempts at coexistence and back to love. But the stories are always about the son's journey, as though the mother has gone nowhere. But what of Mrs. Updike's journey? This play brings Updike and his mother together as Updike struggles with another failed marriage.
Mrs Updike - Eileen Atkins; John Updike - Charles Edwards; Young John Updike - Josef Lindsay; Wesley - Stuart Milligan; Springer - Garrick Hagon; Interviewer - Joseph May; Lara - Lorelei King.
First broadcast 10 Feb 2013.
25 Jan: Saint Joan [120m]
By George Bernard Shaw - Shaw's Saint Joan is the embodiment of absolute conviction. Given, as she believes, a divine mission to lead the French to victory and nationhood, she is also divinely forbidden to shed a single drop of blood. Her only weapon is her belief, and the courage it puts into those around her. In Joan, Shaw presents us with a character of remarkable talent and unshakeable faith - but no grace - and reveals her fate at the hands of normal men and women who, as Shaw notes, do what they find they must do, in spite of their best intentions. Joan's convictions are contagious. They make her an unstoppable force. They also lead her to destruction. 'There were only two opinions about her', Shaw observes in his preface to the play, 'One that she was miraculous: the other that she was unbearable.' The music is taken from 'The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace', by Karl Jenkins.
Joan (The Maid) - Lyndsey Marshal; Robert de Baudricourt/The Chaplain - Paul Ritter; The Archbishop of Rheims - Anton Lesser; The Duke of Tremouille/Inquisitor - Sean Baker; Charles, the Dauphin/Charles VII - Blake Ritson; Bluebeard/Brother Martin Ladvenu - Nyasha Hatendi; Captain La Hire/John d'Estivet - Daniel Rabin; Count of Dunois/de Poulengey - Trystan Gravelle; The Earl of Warwick - Jonathan Coy; Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais - Paul Hilton; Thomas de Courcelles - Stuart McLoughlin; de Baudrincourt's Steward - Brian Bowles; Dunois's Page - Ryan Watson; Adapted by Jonquil Panting; Produced by Jonquil Panting.
1 Feb: You Never Can Tell [120m]
By George Bernard Shaw - You The romantic comedy follows a battle of the sexes beside the seaside, with marital mayhem and social strategy. Mrs Clandon celebrated New Woman, returns to England from Madeira, with her three grown children. In Torbay they meet Valentine, an impecunious dentist. The offspring know nothing of their father, but they'll need one in British polite society. Valentine introduces the Clandons to his landlord, Mr Crampton. Guess who he turns out to be?
Valentine - Jamie Bamber; William - Ian Ogilvy; Fergus Crampton - Christopher Neame; Finch McComas - Adam Godley; Mrs Clandon - Rosalind Ayres; Gloria Clandon - Sophie Winkleman; Dolly Clandon - Moira Quirk; Phillip Clandon - Matthew Wolf; Boon QC - Julian Holloway; Jessie - Paula Jane Newman; Jo - Darren Richardson; Directed by Martin Jarvis; Piano music arranged and performed by Richard Sisson; Sound design, Wesley Dewberry; A Jarvis and Ayres Production.
First broadcast 29 Sept 2013.
8 Feb: Arms and the Man [120m]
By Bernard Shaw - It is 1885, and there is trouble in the Balkans. The Serbians and the Bulgarians are at war. Raina Petkoff is convinced her fiancé Major Sergius Saranoff will glorify himself in the war and become her hero - but after a dramatic encounter with a down-to-earth Serbian officer who hides in her room, she is brought face to face with the mundane truth about the conflict rather than its glories. The ideals and realities of war, hypocrisy and nationalism are all entertainingly explored in this romantic comedy.
Captain Bluntschli - Rory Kinnear; Raina Petkoff - Lydia Leonard; Major Sergius Saranoff - Tom Mison; Major Petkoff - Hugh Ross; Catherine Petkoff - Frances Jeater; Nicola - Glen McCready; Louka - Jo Herbert; Major Plechanoff - Roger May; Director - David Timson; Producer - Nicolas Soames; Technical Director - Norman Goodman.
Indie. Ukemi Productions Ltd.
15 Feb: Macedonia [90m]
By David Rudkin – Euripides has gone into self-imposed exile in the wilds of Macedonia. Determined to write an uncontroversial play for the King, he keeps catching sounds from the mountainside, sounds which lead him to the subject matter of his final, shocking drama, The Bacchae.
Euripides - Michael Pennington ; Oreivassa - Mia Soteriou; Nikos - Hambi Pappas; Mefistes - Sam Crane; Directed by Jeremy Mortimer; Music composed by Mia Soteriou; Sound design by David Chilton; Indie - Catherine Bailey Production.
22 Feb: Collaborators [120m]
By John Hodge - Moscow, 1938: A dangerous place to have a sense of humour, even more so a sense of freedom. The writer Mikhail Bulgakov, living among the dissidents, stalked by secret police, has both. After 3 years rehearsal his new play about Moliere has just opened, and may be just about to close unless he accepts a commission from the secret police to write a play to celebrate Stalin's sixtieth birthday. A poison chalice which he struggles to accept, until he receives an offer of help from the most unlikely quarter. Based on historical fact, John Hodge's blistering new play depicts a lethal game of cat and mouse as the writer loses himself in a macabre and disturbingly funny relationship with the omnipotent subject of his drama.
Mikhail Bulgakov - Alex Jennings; Yelena, Bulgakov's wife - Jacqueline Defferary; Vasilly, an ex-aristocrat - Patrick Godfrey; Praskovya, a teacher - Maggie Service; Sergei, a young man - Pierce Reid; Grigory, a young writer - William Postlethwaite; Anna, an actress - Jess Murphy; Vladimir, an NKVD officer - Lloyd Hutchinson; Stepan, an NKVD officer - Marcus Cunningham; Doctor - Nick Sampson; Moliere/Actor 1 - Michael Jenn; Lagrange/Actor - Perri Snowdon; Eva - Sarah Annis; Joseph Stalin, a dictator - Simon Russell Beale; Directed for the National Theatre stage by Sir Nicholas Hytner; Adapted by John Hodge and Chris Wallis; Radio adaptation directed by Nadia Fall; Composer - George Fenton; Producer - Chris Wallis; Technical Presentation - Nick Taylor and David Fleming Williams.
First broadcast 30 Sept 2012.
1 Mar: As You Like It [90m]
By William Shakespeare - A new production of Shakespeare's most joyous comedy. Lust, love, cross dressing and mistaken identity as Rosalind flees her uncle's court and finds refuge in the Forest of Arden. There she finds poems pinned to trees proclaiming the young Orlando's love for her. Mayhem and merriment ensue as Rosalind wittily embarks upon educating Orlando in the ways of women.
Rosalind - Pippa Nixon; Orlando - Luke Norris; Celia - Ellie Kendrick; Oliver - Patrick Baladi; Touchstone - Adrian Scarborough; Duke Ferdinand - Jonathan Coy; Duke Frederick - Sam Dale; Jaques - William Houston; Silvius - Paul Heath; Phoebe - Bettrys Jones; Adam - David Acton; Corin - Jude Akuwudike; Charles - Ian Conningham; Le Beau - Shaun Mason; Audrey - Jane Slavin; Jacques de Boys - Monty d'Inverno; Amiens - Johnny Flynn; Composer - Johnny Flynn; Singer - Johnny Flynn; Director - Sally Avens.
8 Mar: Sophocles – Electra
New version is written by Frank McGuinness. Electra is bound by grief following the murder of her father Agamemnon, unwilling to forgive and consumed by a desire for revenge, her anger builds. On the return of her brother Orestes, Electra's fury explodes without mercy, leading to a bloody and terrifying conclusion.
Servant - Peter Wright; Orestes - Jack Lowden; Electra - Kristin Scott Thomas; Chorus - Julia Dearden; Chorus - Golda Rosheuvel; Chorus - Thalissa Teixeia; Chrysothemis - Liz White; Clytemnestra - Diana Quick; Aegisthus - Tyrone Huggins; Director - Ian Rickson; Producer - Nadia Molinari; Writer - Frank McGuinness; Music composed by PJ Harvey; Directed for radio by Ian Rickson; Produced for radio by Nadia Molinari.
Electra was co-produced by The Old Vic and Sonia Friedman Productions.
15 Mar: The Master and Margarita [90m]
By Mikhail Bulgakov - The Devil comes to Moscow in Bulgakov's satire of Soviet life, and unleashes a whirlwind of chaos that entangles Moscow's literary elite, Margarita and her beloved, a condemned writer known only as the Master, Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate, as well as the vodka-drinking giant tomcat Behemoth. The play was written in secret during the darkest days of Stalin's reign.
Margarita - Anne-Marie Duff; Master - Paul Ready; Professor Woland - Anton Lesser; Koroviev - Carl Prekopp; Behemoth - Kevin Eldon; Hella - Rhiannon Neads; Pontius Pilate - Paul Hilton; Yeshua - Edward Hogg; Caiaphas - Sam Dale; Judas - Mark Edel-Hunt; Bezdomny - Sam Valentine; Berlioz - Stephen Critchlow; Stravinsky - Jessica Turner; Styopa - Ian Conningham; Varenukha - David Acton; Compere - David Hounslow; Telegram - Ayesha Antoine; Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko; Adapted by Lucy Catherine; With music composed by Stephen Warbeck; Violin - Bogdan Vacarescu; Accordion - Eddie Hession; Tuba - Oren Marshall; Percussion - Rob Millet; Clarinet - Sarah Homer; Banjo - Stephen Warbeck; Music preparation - Andrew Green; Production co-ordinator - Mary Halton; Sound design - Colin Guthrie and Caleb Knightley.
22 Mar: The Boy at the Back 90m
By Juan Mayorga - this psychological drama centres on 17-year-old Claudio who insinuates himself into a classmate's house and begins to write about it as homework, when 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. An exploration of the voyeuristic nature of fiction, the exercise of power and the ambiguity at the heart of human relations.
German - Neil Pearson; Juana - Haydn Gwynne; Claudio - Will Howard; Ester - Juliet Aubrey; Rafa Father - David Birrell; Rafa Son - Max Bowden; Translated by David Johnston; Executive Producer - Sara Davies; Produced and Directed by Nicolas Jackson; Sound design by Steve Bond. Indie: Afonica Sound Production.
First broadcast 30 Mar 2014.
29 Mar: Fanny and Alexander, Episode 1 [75m]
By Ingmar Bergman - Episode 1: Through the eyes of ten-year-old Alexander, we witness the delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family, a sprawling theatrical family in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Sweden.
Adaptor - Sharon Oakes; Fanny - Hollie Burgess; Alexander - Adam Thomas Wright; Emilie - Lisa Dillon; Gustav - Stuart McQuarrie; Oscar - Justin Salinger; Alma - Jessica Turner; Maj - Rhiannon Neads; Isak - Allan Corduner; Ismael - Carl Prekopp; Aron - Joseph Arkley; Bishop - Mark Bazeley; Henrietta - Jane Slavin; Justine/Ester - Hannah Wood; Produced and directed by Gaynor Macfarlane; Songs composed and performed by Carl Prekopp.
5 April: Fanny and Alexander, Episode 2 [75m]
By Ingmar Bergman - Episode 2: Fanny and Alexander's father has died and their mother, Emilie, has married the bishop and they are all now living at the Bishop's Palace.
Fanny - Hollie Burgess; Alexander - Adam Thomas Wright; Emilie - Lisa Dillon; Gustav - Stuart McQuarrie; Oscar - Justin Salinger; Alma - Jessica Turner; Maj - Rhiannon Neads; Isak - Allan Corduner; Ismael - Carl Prekopp; Aron - Joseph Arkley; Bishop - Mark Bazeley; Henrietta - Jane Slavin; Justine/Ester - Hannah Wood; Adapted by Sharon Oakes; Produced/directed by Gaynor Macfarlane; Songs composed and performed by Carl Prekopp.
12 April: The Picture of Dorian Gray [90m]
By Oscar Wilde - As London slides from one century to the next, a beautiful young man is cursed with the uncanny ability to keep his looks while descending into a world of heartless, drug-addicted debauchery. His portrait instead ages for him. Radical questioning of conventional morality is brought sharply into focus.
Francis - Peter Guinness; Mrs Leaf - Maggie Steed; Lord Henry - Jasper Britton; Basil Hallward - Richard Lintern; Dorian Gray - Tom Canton; Victor - Gunnar Cauthery; James Vane - Owen Sharpe; Lady Ruxton - Geraldine Alexander; Sybil Vane - Zoe Telford; Lady Carlisle - Barbara Barnes; Adapted by Neil Bartlett; Produced by Turan Ali; Directed by Neil Bartlett; Sound designer, Norman Goodman.
A Bona Broadcasting production (Indie).
19 April: Vampyre Man [90m]
By Joseph O'Connor – this drama explores the close collaboration and intense friendship between Bram Stoker and Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. Under Irving's reckless tutelage, the young Irish accountant struggled to keep the theatre afloat. Irving's demands were indomitable and over the years Stoker endured the actor's outrageous whims and acerbic tongue, yet Stoker remained mesmerised by him, absorbing his traits and suffering his humiliations all the while letting him grow in his imagination until he was ready to release him into the world as Count Dracula.
Bram Stoker - Darragh Kelly; Henry Irving - Anton Lesser; Ellen Terry - Amanda Redman; Florence - Eva Birthistle; Harker - Patrick FitzSymons; Detective - Dan Gordon; Actor - Peter Ballance; Directed by Stephen Wright; Produced by Jenny Thompson and Gemma McMullan.
26 April: Ghosts [85m]
By Henrik Ibsen – a tale of family secrets and lies. Helene Alving, a widow, is delighted that her son has returned home to Norway from his artist's life in Paris. The orphanage founded in her husband's name is about to open with the blessing of the local pastor, but there are family secrets and ghosts of the past beneath the surface of her ordered life which are about to come out to devastating effect.
Helene - Lesley Manville; Pastor Manders - Will Keen; Oswald - Jack Lowden; Regina - Charlene McKenna; Jacob Engstrand - Brian McCardie; Directed by Richard Eyre; Adapted by Richard Eyre; Produced by Alison Hindell; Original sound design, John Leonard.
3 May: The Lady from the Sea [110m]
By Henrik Ibsen - Needing financial security, Ellida Wangel settled for a life as second wife to a dull, provincial doctor and is stepmother to his two resentful daughters. However, she is still spiritually possessed by the mysterious Stranger, a former sailor-lover, and she is left with a desperate yearning for the sea; the promise and ecstasy of the unknown. When this figure, a blatant representation of unrepressed sexuality, returns to claim her, it forces a crisis in her sterile marriage. This startling arrival stirs her desires and lures her back to the water's edge where she must confront both the past and a desire for the freedom that could destroy her. McGuinness poses the question is it better to suffocate on dry land or drown in the freedom of the sea? The surprising ending leaves the listener with a warm sense of hope and well-being.
Ellida Wangel - Lia Williams ; Stranger - Hugh Bonneville; Adapted for radio by Frank McGuinness ; Directed by Hannah Eidinow.
A Catherine Bailey Production. (Indie) First broadcast 01 Nov 2009.
10 May: The Process [90m]
Franz Kafka’s classic book The Trial is dramatised and updated by Mark Ravenhill as part of Radio 3's series "In the Shadow of Kafka".
Imagine being accused of something you've not only not done, you don't even know what it is. Imagine a series of quasi-authority figures invading your office, bedroom and streets at any time of day or night. Imagine the buildings and city in which you live changing in front of your eyes. Imagine a never-ending, increasingly frightening process in which you are the key player and the least in charge. Welcome to the world of Joseph K.
Joseph K - Sam Troughton; Caroline/Emma - Caroline Catz; Frank/Terry/John, an actor - Joe Armstrong; Will - Lloyd Hutchinson; Martin - Pearce Quigley; Abi/Katy, an actor - Hara Yannas; Jason/Bartle - Lloyd Hutchinson; The Facilitator/Block - Tony Gardner; Anne/Zoe - Jo Joyner; Leni - Sinead Matthews; Huld - Marion Bailey; O'Reilly - Gaye Brown; Child - Harli Jordean; Adapted by Mark Ravenhill; Directed and produced by Polly Thomas; Sound design, Eloise Whitmore; BA, Lucy Duffield; Executive producer, Joby Waldman.
A Somethin' Else production (Indie).
17 May: Macbeth [120m]
A new production of Shakespeare's thrilling tragedy. 'Your face, my thane, is as a book where men / May read strange matters...'
Macbeth - Neil Dudgeon; Lady Macbeth - Emma Fielding; Banquo - Shaun Dooley; Macduff - Paul Hilton; Weird Sister - Jane Slavin; Weird Sister - Carl Prekopp; Weird Sister - Ayesha Antoine; Duncan - David Hounslow; Ross - Ian Conningham; Malcolm - Alex Waldmann; The Porter - Carl Prekopp; Lady Macduff - Anastasia Hille; The Son - Kasper Hilton-Hille; Murderer - Stephen Critchlow; Murderer - Mark Edel-Hunt; Lennox - David Acton ; Siward - Sam Dale; Donalbain - Sam Valentine ; The Third Apparition - Rose Hilton-Hille; Composer - Timothy X Atack; Directed by Marc Beeby; Sound design by Colin Guthrie.
24 May: Lungs [90m]
By Duncan Macmillan - A couple are grappling with a dilemma. Should they bring a baby into a world full of uncertainties and anxieties?
With Kate O'Flynn & Alistair Cope; directed by Richard Wilson; produced by Toby Swift.
First broadcast 24 Mar 2013.
31 May: Head Hunters [90]
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; directed by Jeremy Mortimer.
First broadcast 9 Feb 2014
7 Jun: A Patriot for Me [100m]
By John Osborne - A Patriot for Me centres on an ambitious rising star, Alfred Redl, in the Austrian army, in the decadent society of turn-of-the-century Austria, whose journey of self-discovery leads to blackmail, betrayal and murder. Redl is compromised by his newly realised sexual freedom and is compelled by the Russian army to spy on the country and countrymen he cares for.
2015 marks the 50th anniversary of John Osborne's sensational and ground breaking epic play. This play is not only a sweeping epic but also an angry plea for tolerance and a condemnation of hypocrisy. ‘A Patriot for Me’ has been credited with helping to bring an end to official censorship in the UK.
Baron von Epp - Bette Bourne; Mohl - Peter Egan; Albrecht/Ferdy/Paul/Steinbauer - Joshua Elliott; Redl - Richard Goulding; Stanitsin - Martin Hutson; Kupfer/Deputy - Peter Moreton; Oblensky - Michael Pennington; Hilde - Alana Ramsey; Countess - Amanda Root; Kunz/Deputy - Simon Shackleton; Taussig/Tsarina/Deputy - Daniel Weyman; Siczynski/Stefan/Viktor/Young man - Matt Whitchurch; Adapted by Philip Osment; Directed by Philip Franks; Produced by David Morley.
14 Jun: Napoleon Rising [120m]
By Anthony Burgess - An epic drama charting Napoleon Bonaparte's meteoric rise in the early years of the French revolution, set against his tumultuous relationship with Josephine.
Part of Radio 3's 2012 Napoleon season, marking 200 years since his famous retreat from Moscow.
Napoleon - Toby Jones; Josephine - Jenny Jules; Talleyrand - Alex Jennings; Massena - James Norton; Councillor La Harpe - Joseph Kloska; Augureau - Richard Katz; Charles - Richard Goulding; Sergeant - Danny Sapani; Dr Corvisart - Mark Straker; Sieyes - Trevor Cooper ; Napoleon's mother - Frances Grey; Hortense - Effie Woods; Soldier - Rob Heaps; Fortune - Mouse; Adapted by Anjum Malik; Produced and directed by Polly Thomas; Sound design by Eloise Whitmore; BA, Kate Cooper-Owen; Executive producer - Joby Waldman; With thanks to: Chris Elcombe, Peggy Sutton, Tom Green, Phil Smith, Wilf Dalton.
A Somethin' Else production (Indie). First broadcast 02 Dec 2012.
21 Jun: The Father [90m]
By August Strindberg - this drama from 1890 was Strindberg’s response to the most famous gender drama of the day, Ibsen's A Doll's House and charts the power-struggle between a married couple. This new version makes a portrayal of the battle of the sexes in a 19th-century middle-class marriage, with insights into issues such as gender, the meaning of marriage, parental attitudes to child education, and the conflicts between science and religion.
The Captain - Joe Dixon; Laura - Katy Stephens; Bertha - Holly Earl; The Doctor - Patrick Toomey; The Pastor - Laurence Kennedy; The Nurse - Barbara Young; Nöjd - Staten Cousins-Roe; Directed by Joe Harmston; Adapted by Laurie Slade.
A Unique Production (Indie).
First Broadcast 22 Sep 2013
28 Jun: Bretton Woods [90m]
By Steve Waters - 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 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; Directed by Jeremy Mortimer; Produced by Jeremy Mortimer; Music - Lucinda Mason Brown.
A Cast Iron production (Indie).
First Broadcast 15 Jun 2014.
5 Jul: Scribblers [90m]
By Steve Waters - dramatising the shadowy relationship between state and stage in the 1730s, 'Scribblers' focuses on the relationship between young playwright Henry Fielding and the First Minister Robert Walpole. Tracking back and forth between high politics and the emergence of a fringe theatre of real dissent, it explores the premature birth of political theatre through the mad-cap work of Fielding before it was strangled by the Licensing Act of 1737.
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu - Niamh Cusack; Robert Walpole - David Troughton; Henry Fielding - Carl Prekopp; James Ralph/Lord Hervey - Trevor White; Nicholas Paxton/Henry Giffard - Peter Hamilton Dyer; Molly Skerrett - Jane Whittenshaw; Charlotte Charke - Laura Elphinstone; Directed and produced by Jeremy Mortimer.
A Cast Iron production (Indie).
12 Jul: King Charles III [150m]
By Mike Bartlett - After a lifetime of waiting, Charles ascends the throne. A future of power. But how to rule?
Charles - Tim Pigott-Smith; Camilla - Margot Leicester; William - Oliver Chris; Kate - Lydia Wilson; Harry - Richard Goulding; Mr Evans - Adam James; Mr Stevens - Nicholas Rowe; James Reiss - Miles Richardson; Jess - Tafline Steen; Sarah/Diana/TV Producer - Katie Brayben; Spencer/Sir Gordon/Archbishop/Kebab Man - Paterson Joseph; Couttsey/Clive/Sir Michael/Speaker - Tom Robertson; Composer - Jocelyn Pook; Directed by Rupert Goold; Produced by Toby Swift.
19 Jul: The Provok'd Wife [100m]
By John Vanbrugh - This Restoration comedy is a bawdy romp through the destruction of a marriage and the promise of true love.
Heartfree - Julian Rhind-Tutt; Constance - Tom Mannion; Sir John Brute - Dave Hill; Lady Brute - Saskia Reeves; Belinda - Sarah Smart; Lady Fanciful - Josie Lawrence; Claudette - Tonia Chauvet; Colonel Bully - David Crellin; Lord Rake/Justice - Alexander Delamere; adapted by Jim Poyser; Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.
26 Jul: No 'Drama on 3' production.
2 Aug: Faust, Episode 1 [125m]
By Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - In Part 1, following an agreement between Mephistopheles and The Lord, the scholar Faust is tempted into a contract with the Devil. His life is changed and he plunges into the enjoyment of sensuality until his emotions are stirred by a meeting with Gretchen, leading to a tragic outcome.
Faust - Samuel West ; Mephistopheles - Toby Jones; Gretchen - Anna Maxwell Martin; The Lord - Derek Jacobi; Wagner (Faust's assistant) - Stephen Critchlow; Martha - Joannah Tincey ; Valentin (Gretchen's brother) - Peter Kenny; Earth Spirit - Sean Barrett; Composer - Roger Marsh; Composer - Norman Goodman; Directed by David Timson; Adapted by David Timson; Produced by Nicolas Soames; Translated by John R. Williams; Musicians: The 24, directed by the composer with Peyee Chen (soprano) Georgina Wells (harp) and Mark Hutchinson (oboe); Sound Design and Additional Music by Norman Goodman.
An Ukemi Production. Indie.
9 Aug: Faust, Episode 2 [135m]
By Johann Wolfgang Goethe - this second journey into the story of Faust presents a series of episodic scenes in which the poet places his eponymous hero in a variety of surprising circumstances reflecting the predicament of humanity.
Faust - Samuel West; Mephistopheles - Toby Jones; Wagner (Faust's assistant) - Stephen Critchlow; Helen/Care - Emily Raymond; The Emperor/Chiron/Proteus - Gunnar Cauthery; Lord Chancellor/Anaxagoras - Hugh Dickson; Homunculus - Anne-Marie Piazza; Thales - Sean Barrett; Nereus - Gerard Horan; Manto/Panthalis - Auriol Smith; Lynceus - Peter Kenny; Euphorion - Daniel Mair; Composer - Roger Marsh; Directed by David Timson; Translated by John R. Williams; Adapted by David Timson; Produced by Nicolas Soames; Musicians: The 24, directed by the composer with Peyee Chen (soprano) Georgina Wells (harp) and Mark Hutchinson (oboe); Sound Design and Additional Music by Norman Goodman.
An Ukemi Production (Indie).
16 Aug: No Drama on 3 production
23 Aug: The Oresteia: Agamemnon [80m]
By Aeschylus – The first of the three plays in Aeschylus’s 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, Carolyn Pickles; Clytemnestra – Lesley Sharp; Agamemnon – Hugo Speer; Cassandra – Anamaria Marinca; Calchas – Karl Johnson; Aegisthus – Sean Murray; Iphigenia – Georgie Fuller; Herald – John Norton; Guards – Steve Toussaint, Harry Jardine; Singer – Adriana Festeu; Musicians – Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley, Stephen Whibley; Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko; Adapted by Simon Scardifield; BBC Concert Orchestra; BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists – Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley; Sound design: Colin Guthrie.
First Broadcast 12 Jan 2014.
30 Aug: The Oresteia: The Libation Bearers [65m]
By Aeschylus - The second play in Aeschylus's classic trilogy. 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; Servants - David Seddon, John Norton; Iphigenia - Georgie Fuller; Singer - Adriana Festeu; Musicians - Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley, Stephen Whibley; Adapted by Ed Hime; Directed by Marc Beeby; Sound design by Cal Knightley & Colin Guthrie.
First Broadcast 19 Jan 2014.
6 Sep: The Oresteia: The Furies [85m]
By Aeschylus - The final play in Aeschylus's trilogy. 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; Adapted by Rebecca Lenkiewicz; Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko; BBC Concert Orchestra; BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists: Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley; Sound design: Colin Guthrie.
First Broadcast 26 Jan 2014.
13 Sep: Baby Farming [95m]
By Tanika Gupta - the drama explores the growing phenomenon of childless couples in the West travelling to India to find a surrogate mother. 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; Directed by Nadia Molinari.
First Broadcast 6 Apr 2014.
20 Sep: Being Human (The Debate at Valladolid) [90m]
By Mike Walker & Andrew Whaley - Spain, 1550, two Jesuit Priests are brought before the King of Spain to debate the future of the inhabitants of the New World. Are they human and to be respected, or subhuman and ripe for slavery? Cape Town, 2015. Alicia, a Cape Coloured lawyer, wrestles with the dilemmas of a slave past and a free future. Where once the Old world looked out, now a new order is looking back. And as always, there is a price to pay.
Juan Gines de Sepulveda/William - Steve Toussaint; Bartolome de las Casas/Max - Maynard Eziashi; 'Indian Girl' - Pippa Bennett Warner; Alicia - Adjoa Andoh; produced and directed by Marion Nancarrow.
27 Sep: Chicken Soup with Barley [110m]
By Arnold Wesker – the play, from 1958, captures the collapse of an ideology, alongside the disintegration of a family. Sarah Kahn, an East End Jewish mother, a feisty political fighter and a staunch communist is battling against the State and her shirking husband as she desperately tries to keep her family together.
Sarah Kahn - Samantha Spiro; Harry Kahn - Danny Webb; Monty Blatt - Harry Peacock; Dave Simmonds - Nitzan Sharron; Directed for radio by Simon Godwin; Produced by Catherine Bailey.Indie. (Catherine Bailey Productions).
First Broadcast 20 May 2012.
4 Oct: Roots[110m]
By Arnold Wesker. Donmar Warehouse production of this drama from 1958. Beatie Bryant has been to London and fallen in love with Ronnie, a young socialist. As she awaits his arrival to meet her family at their Norfolk farm, her head is swimming with ideas likely to clash with rural ways. Beatie: Jessica Raine, Mrs. Bryant: Linda Bassett, Stam 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. Porudcer Catherine Bailey, director James MacDonald. Indie: Catherine Bailey Productions.
11 Oct: Death Of A Salesman[140m]
By Arthur Miller. Social story about a worn-down travelling salesman Willy and his wife Linda. The family gathers under one roof for the first time in years when their two sons return home. Part of the Arthur Miller season. Willy: Loman: David Suchet, Linda: Zoe Wanamaker, Biff Loman: Daniel Lapaine, Happy Loman: Brendan Patricks, Charlie: Adam Best, Uncle Ben: Simon Kunz, The Woman: Lucy Black, Howard: John Mackay, Letta: Laura Rogers, Miss Forsythe: Florence Hall. Wilf Dalton played the penny whistle, the producer was Chris Wallis and the director Howard Davies.
18 Oct: A View From The Bridge[95m]
By Arthur Miller. Social story with all-American cast, set in an Italian-American tenement near Brooklyn Bridge, New York.. It's about family, guilt, loyalty, desire and jealousy. A man offers shelter to illegal immigrants in 1950s New York. Eddie Carbone: Alfred Molina, Alfieri: Hector Elizondo, Beatrice Carbone: Jane Kaczmarek, Catherine: Melissa Benoist, Marco:Reic Scott, Rodolpho: Matthew Wolf, Louis/immigration officer: Andre Sogliuizzo, Mike/another immigration officer: Darren Richardson. Produced by Rosalind Ayres; directed by Martin Jarvis. Indie (Jarvis & Ayres).
25 Oct: The Witness [120m]
By Vivienne Franzmann, based on the production at the Royal Court Theatre in 2012. Alex was pictured in an award-winning photograph; she was rescued from Rwanda and adopted by the photographer. But when she returns from university the relationship deteriorates ... Joseph: Danny Webb, Alex: Pippa Bennett-Brown, Simon: Chike Okonkwo, Paul: Lloyd Peters. Produced by Gary Brown.
1 Nov: Light Shining In Buckinghamshire [110m]
By Caryl Churchill. The play is about the political movements which sprang up during the English Civil War in the 1640s. At the heart of the play is an edited dramatisation of the Putney Debates in which the Levellers argue for liberty and the vote while the military establishment stands for security and property as the basis for electoral eligibility. Amanda Drew, Monica Dolan, Joseph Mydell, Justin Salinger, Paul Rhys, Andrew Woodall. Rpt. from 2013. Producer: Jeremy Mortimer; director Mark Ravenhill.
8 Nov: Old Times [65m]
By Harold Pinter. A play about memory and desire set in a remote farmhouse. Deeley and Kate are waiting for a visitor. Anna is Kate's best friend; Deeley has never met her. Is the past really as they remember it? Kate: Ruth Gemmell, Deeley: Justin Salinger, Anna: Olivia Williams. Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane.
15 Nov: A Kind Of Alaska / Ashes To Ashes [total 75m]
By Harold Pinter: a double bill. In the first play, Harriet Walter plays Deborah, who has lost the last 29 years to sleep. In the other play, Harriet plays Rebecca, who is haunted by a different kind of loss. Deborah/Rebecca: Harriet Walter, Hornby: Guy Paul, Pauline: Indira Varma, Devlin: Nicholas Woodeson. Producer: Toby Swift.
22 Nov: Dinner [65m]
By Moira Buffini; comedy drama which started life at the National in 2002. In this radio production, Harriet Walter returns to the role she created: Paige, the hostess and architect of an evening which her guests will never forget. Paige: Harriet Walter, with Nicholas Farrell, Penny Downie, Paul Bazeley, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Peter McDonald and David Houslow. Produced by Jonquil Panting.
29 Nov: A Human Being Died That Night [90m]
By Nicholas Wright, based on the book by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela. The play is about the relationship between the psychologist (PG-M) and Eugene de Kock, the apartheid regime's most notorious assassin. Madikizela: Noma Dumezweni; de Kock: Matthew Marsh. Producer: Toby Swift.
8 Dec: Finlandia [90m]
By Stephen Wyatt. The play interweaves a conflict between husband and wife about burning the manuscripts, with scenes from The Kalevala, the national epic of Finland. Excerpts from the epic weave in and out of the drama to shine a light into the composer's mind, underscored with the music which The Kalevala inspired Sibelius to write. The argument between Aino and Sibelius highlights parts of Sibelius' past and his attitude towards his music, towards composition, and towards his country. Sibelius: Tim Piggott-Smith, Aino: Barbara Flynn, Reporter: Mark Edel-Hunt, famle voice: Alex Tregear, male voice: Chris Pavlo. Produced by Tracey Neale. (notes by ND)
15 Dec: Nordic Voices: three plays [80m]
Three new plays exploring contemporary life in Scandinavia. (1)An Emergency, by Anna Bro: two parents await the homecoming of their estranged daughter; (2)Wild Is The Wind, by Jonas Gardell: A young boy discovering his sexuality tries to confide in the priest at his conservative church; based on a true story; (3)Nothing of Me, by Arne Lygre..a play exploring the impact of losing a child, and the subsequent fracturing of family relationships. Tim McInnerny, Deborah Findlay and Susan Jameson. Producers: Anders Lundorph and Sasha Yevtushenko.
22 Dec: Brand [120m]
By Henrik Ibsen. Brand is a priest who wants to take the consequence of his choices; he is deeply bound to doing the right thing. He believes primarily in the will of man; everything is black or white and to make compromises is difficult. His picture of God is clearly derived from the Old Testament. His beliefs render him lonely, because not many people are willing or able to follow his example. Brand's visions are great, but his judgment of others may seem harsh and unfair.Brand: Gerard Murphy, Agnes: Morven Christie, Major: Jeremy Swift, Mother / voice: Ann Mitchell, Ejnar: Carl Prekopp, Gerd/son/woman: Alex Tregear, Doctor: Alan Cox, Provost: Mark Tandy, Guide/man: James Lailey, Crazed woman: Susie Riddell, Gypsy/woman: Elaine Claxton, Sexton/man: James Stewart, Schoolmaster/man: Gerard McDermott, Man: Simon Bubb. Music composed and played by Nicolai Abrahamsen. produced by Peter Kavanagh.
29 Dec: Votes For Women! [90m]
By Elizabeth Robins, an American actress and suffragette (1862-1952). MP Geoffrey Stonor is relishing his engagement to the ebullient young heiress Jean until he meets Vida, a charismatic advocate of women's suffrage. Vida: Zoe Tapper, Geoffrey: Sam West, Jean: Charity Wakefield, Lady John: Sylvestra Le Touzel, Lord John: Michael Bertenshaw, Famborough: Jolyon Coy, Mrs. Freddy: Philippa Stanton, Lydia Heriot/working woman: Joanna Brookes, St. John Greatorex: Sean Murray, Ernestine Blunt: Emerald O'Hanrahan, Mr. Pilcher: Ben Crowe. Produced by Marion Nancarrow.
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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