Radio 3 Drama, 2024

Drama on 3 – 2024

Sundays

7 Jan 24 No drama

14 Jan 24 Bacon in Moscow
By Stephen Wakelam, based on the memoir by James Birch. How Francis Bacon became the first major Western artist to have a solo exhibition in the Soviet Union. Written by Stephen Wakelam, based on the memoir by James Birch. In 1986, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and his advisers had adopted glasnost (openness) as a political slogan, together with the terms perestroika (restructuring or regrouping) and demokratizatsiya (democratisation). Glasnost reflected a commitment of the Gorbachev administration to allowing Soviet citizens to discuss publicly the problems of their system and to explore potential solutions. On the 22nd September 1988 an exhibition of Francis Bacon's work opened at the Central House of Artists in Moscow: the result of a complex and convoluted negotiation by London gallerist James Birch. Birch had known Bacon since childhood. The play is about his struggle to make the exhibition happen. Francis Bacon …Timothy Spall, James Birch … Luke Norris, Sergei Klokov … Simonas Mozura, Elena Khudiakova/ Valerie Beston/ TV Interviewer … Amrita Acharia, Johnny Stuart/ John Edwards … John Hopkins, Bob Chenciner/ British Council/ Taxi Driver … Al Barclay, Russian Official/ Guard/ Vasili … Michael Tcherepashenets. Sound design by Markus Andreas and Alisdair McGregor. Directed and produced by Jeremy Mortimer. Production coordinator Annie Keates Thorpe. Executive Producer Joby Waldman. Indie (Reduced Listening).

21 Jan: Wunderkind
By Sebastian Baczkiewicz. It's 1770 and Leopold Mozart is taking his 14 year old son on a much-anticipated trip to Italy to perform for the great and the good. They hit trouble in Rome when young Wolfgang is found to have written down the closely-guarded and hitherto unpublished music for Allegri's sacred 'Miserere'. Cardinal Ucelli sees a chance to make a name for himself. The play is interesting because although we hear Wolfgang's playing, we never hear him speak. But a person who is only referred to in a radio play can be just as real as the other characters. Leopold Mozart ..... Paul Higgins, Cardinal Ucelli ..... Craige Els, Liana ..... Claire-Louise Cordwell, Donna Maria ..... Ayesha Antoine Lucius ..... Justice Ritchie, Anna Mozart ..... Jasmine Hyde, Violinist ..... Natalie Purton, Singer ..... Dominic Mattos, Composer/musical director ..... John Chambers, Produced by Toby Swift.

28 Jan: Under Milk Woods
By five Welsh writers. To mark the 70th anniversary of the first radio broadcast of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood (25 January 1954), five short dramatic portraits of each writer's parts of Wales in 2024. The writers are Joe Dunthorne (Swansea), Manon Steffan Ros (Tywyn), Menna Elfyn (New Quay), Hanan Issa (Cardiff) and Rachel Trezise (the Rhondda). Additional narration by Joe Dunthorne. The original Under Milk Wood moves through the fictional town of Llareggub over the course of a single day; these pieces do the same. First Voice.....Ruth Jones, Act 1: Swansea by Joe Dunthorne, Caitlin....Sophie Melville, Emlyn....Shaheen Jafargholi, Fiona.....Nadia Wyn Abouayen, Helen.....Tamara Brabon, Mikey.....Antoine Lopez-Norton, Act 2: Tywyn by Manon Steffan Ros, Mrs Satin....Sara Harris-Davies, Gwil the Poet.....Gwion Morris Jones, Delyth Elen.....Lois Meleri Jones, Afanc.....James O'Quinn, Act 3: New Quay by Menna Elfyn, Cai.....Ioan Hefin, Osian.....Ifan Huw Dafydd, Rhiannon.....Eiry Thomas, Act 4: Cardiff by Hanan Issa, Hanan.....Hanan Issa, Diff.....Dean Rehman, Lord Bute.....Colin Paterson, Act 5: The Rhondda by Rachel Trezise, Gracie Rowlands.....Maisie Lee Bryant, Bex.....Sophie Melville, Eric Watkins....Alan David, Amy Jenkins...Tamara Brabon. Production Co-ordinators Eleri Sydney McAuliffe and Lindsay Rees, Sound design by Jonathan Thomas and Catherine Robinson, Produced by Fay Lomas and Emma Harding, BBC Wales.

4 Feb: The Farewell Glacier
By Nick Drake. In 2012, Nick visited the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard on a 19th-century ship. On his return home, he wrote a collection of poems in the voices of the many Westerners who came to the Arctic over the centuries - explorers, whalers, mapmakers, scientists, financiers, the famous and the forgotten. The poems have been turned into an audio drama for BBC Radio 3, intercut by interviews with Sheila Watt Cloutier. The announcer ..... Adjoa Andoh, St Brendan ..... Paisley James, Pytheas and the Poet ..... Peter Mullan, Robert Peary ..... Kevin Harvey, The future ..... Jude Coward Nicoll, Paisley James, Urmila Patel and Chloe Ragrag. All other roles played by the cast. Production team: Original music, Emma Jean and Isbel Pendlebury. Inuit throat singing, Sylvia Cloutier and Akinisie Sivuarapik. Inuit pronunciation advisor, Leslie Qammaniq. Producer: Polly Thomas. Nature Sound Recordist, Thomas Rex Beverly. Sound Designer/Exec Producer, Eloise Whitmore. Indie (Naked, in collaboration with Edel Rae).

11 Feb:French like Faiza
By Ilana Navaro, with Sudha Bhuchar and Nicolas Jackson. Faiza is French of Algerian descent and moves to London hoping to reset her life. She has never felt truly accepted in her own country and arrives in Britain eager to escape a sense of exclusion she believes unique to France. In the wake of a painful break-up she is also open to the romantic possibilities this new city might offer. But when she meets Mehdi, a British Pakistani, Faiza soon discovers that Britain is far from the land of butterflies and rainbows she had imagined. Faiza - Laila Alj, Mehdi - Navin Chowdhry, Elsa - Jade Matthew, Afrine - Sophie Khan Levy, Deepika - Hussina Raja, Prema - Sudha Bhuchar, Paul - Will Howard, Echo - Liz Sutherland-Lim, Atif - Danny Ashok, Sabrina - Adelia Esteve Richard, Elias - Djan Miske Navaro, Salma and Adele - Fatima Adoum, Nico - Yves Heck. Executive producer, Sara Davies. Mix, Steve Bond Sound design, Adam Woodhams. Produced and directed by Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica).

18 Feb: Oleanna
By David Mamet. Carol is worried about her grades so she goes to see her Professor. What follows develops into an explosive series of events that will eventually involve the college authorities. It is an exploration of gender, education, class, power and perception. John ..... Mark Bonnar, Carol ..... Cecilia Appiah. Produced by Gary Brown. Production Co-ordinator Lorna Newman. Sound Design Sharon Hughes. Tech Producer: Alison Craig. BBC Drama North.

25 Feb: Terminal 3
Setting of a stage play by Swedish playwright Lars Noren. Two couples sit in a hospital waiting room. One is here for the birth of their first child; the other has been asked to identify the body of their son. Introduced by writer Simon Stephens. She ..... Norah Lopez Holden, He ..... Joseph Ayre, Man ..... Shaun Dooley, Woman ..... Jane Slavin, Guard ..... Philip Bretherton. Translated from the Swedish by Marita Lindholm Gochman. Produced by Toby Swift. The writer died in 2021.

3 Mar: Dog in the Manger
By Lope de Vega. Spanish Golden Age comedy. This play was written in 1618 and is probably Lope's best play. It's a comedy in a new adaptation for radio by David Johnston. Diana - Olivia Poulet, Teodoro - Joe Thomas, Tristan - Sion Pritchard, Marcela - Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Ricardo - Francois Pandolfo, Federico - Danny Ashok, Fabio - Alex Devrient, Anarda - Valerie Vansovica, Octavio - Hugh Thomas, Ludovico - Simon Armstrong, Camilo - Dino Kelly, Peter - Curtis Kemlo. Translated and adapted by DJ, Sound: Catherine Robinson. Producer: John Norton. BBC Wales.

10 Mar Benny & Hitch
By Andrew McCaldon. The play is about the extraordinary and explosive relationship between director Alfred Hitchcock and film composer Bernard Herrmann. By the late 1950s Herrmann and Hitchcock – known to each other as ‘Benny' and ‘Hitch' – have formed the most famous composer-director partnership in film history, creating masterpieces of cinema together, including Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho. But with tensions growing between the two maverick artists and change afoot in the movie industry, Benny and Hitch's collaboration and friendship comes to a catastrophic end at a recording session for the film Torn Curtain. Recorded live, with an audience, at Alexandra Palace with the BBC Concert Orchestra playing Herrmann's scores from Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho. Bernard Herrmann ..... Tim McInnerny, Alfred Hitchcock ..... Toby Jones, Alma Hitchcock ..... Joanna Monro, Lucy Anderson/Tippi ..... Tara Ward, Lew Wasserman/Cary/Paul ..... Jonathan Forbes, BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Ben Palmer. Produced by Neil Varley and Tracey Neale. Directed by Tracey Neale.

17 Mar Inspired by Hamlet: The Al-Hamlet Summit
By Sulayman Al-Bassam. A new production of a satirical reimagining of Hamlet, transplanted from Denmark to a modern Arab state in trouble. An enemy on the border, a crumbling dictatorship and civil war in the air. First performed at the Edinburgh Festival. Hamlet .... Tommy Sim'aan, Gertrude .... Sirine Saba, Claudius .... Kevork Malikyan, Polonius .... Paul Chahidi, Ophelia .... Sulin Hasso, Laertes .... Zed Josef, Arms Dealer .... Ewan Bailey, Fortinbras .... Samuel James. Production co-ordination by Gaelan Davis-Connolly. SMs Ali Craig, Keith Graham and Peter Ringrose. Produced by Abigail le Fleming; BBC.

24 Mar no drama

31 Mar When We Dead Awaken
By Henrik Ibsen, adapted for radio by Ian McDiarmid from the translation by Michael Meyer. Arnold Rubek, a well-known, returns to Norway with his disillusioned wife – only to bump into Irena, the woman who inspired his masterpiece, Resurrection Day. Rubek ..... Ian McDiarmid, Irena ..... Stella Gonet, Maja ..... Melody Grove Ulfheim ..... Sandy Grierson, Manager ..... John Dougall. Introduction by Professor Kirsten Shepherd-Barr. Sound recording by Gary Newman and Tim Sturgeon. Sound design by Eloise Whitmore. Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. BBC.

7 Apr The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff
The folk band The Young'uns - Sean Cooney and David Eagle with Jack Rutter (for Michael Hughes) present their production of The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff, recorded in front of an audience in Stockton-on-Tees. It's the true story of one man's journey from unemployment, through the Hunger Marches of the 1930s, the mass trespass movement and the Battle of Cable Street, to fighting fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Producer: Elizabeth Foster.

14 Apr: Henry V
By William Shakespeare; new production. As King Henry's ambitions lead him to invade France, he finds himself facing daunting challenges, battling to win not only the throne but the hearts and minds of his followers. Henry soon discovers, for all his fine words, that an imperfect world can call for imperfect actions. The Chorus/Alice ..... Penelope Wilton, King Henry ..... Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Exeter ..... Nicholas Farrell Fluellen/Bedford ..... Steffan Rhodri, Westmoreland/Governor of Harfleur .... Roger Ringrose, PIstol/Grey ..... Lloyd Hutchinson, Nym/Cambridge ..... Ben Crowe, Bardolph/Scroop .... Ewan Bailey Hostess ..... Jessica Turner, The Boy ..... Billy Jenkins, King of France/Bishop of Ely ..... Steve Toussaint, The Dauphin/Williams ..... Luke Newberry, Katharine ..... Freya Mavor, The Constable/York ..... John Lightbody, Orleans/Bates/French soldier ..... Charlie Anson Montjoy/Gloucester/Messenger ..... Ian Dunnett Jnr, Canterbury/Erpingham ..... MIchael Bertenshaw, Burgundy/Salisbury ..... Nicholas Murchie. Chorister, George B of The King's School, Gloucester and Gloucester Cathedral Choir. Music composed by Jon Nicholls. Production Co-ordinator, Ben Hollands. Technical Producers: Peter Ringrose and Ali Craig. Director - Sally Avens.

27 Apr Cymbeline
By William Shakespeare. Staged in an alternative present-day Britain. An ineffectual ruler, Cymbeline, governs a divided, insular Britain, alienated from the rest of Europe. He refuses to pay the taxes demanded by a foreign power, clinging to thoughts of sovereignty. But Cymbeline's judgement is clouded by grief, having lost his two older children as babies. When his daughter Imogen rebels and marries boyfriend Posthumus in secret, Cymbeline is enraged and banishes Posthumus. But waiting in the wings is a power-hungry figure, plotting to seize control by any means necessary. Adapted and directed for radio by Emma Harding; introduced by Professor Edith Hall. Imogen ..... Lydia Wilson, Cymbeline ..... Michael Maloney, Posthumus Leonatus ..... Daniel Rock, Iachimo ..... Philip Arditti, Queen ..... Amanda Lawrence, Cloten ..... Will Close, Caia Lucius ..... Greta Scacchi, Pisanio ..... Ayesha Dharker, Belarius ..... Ifan Huw Dafydd, Guiderius ..... Zak Ghazi-Torbati, Arviragus ..... Matthew Aubrey, Cornelia ..... Nadia Williams, Philario ..... Harry Taurasi, Jailer. .... Philippe Spall, Sue Sayer ..... Sara Gregory. Original music composed by Joseph Howard, performed by Zak Ghazi-Torbati, Joseph Howard and Eosaph Caimbeul. Shakespeare consultant, Paul Prescott. Production co-ordinator, Eleri Sydney McAuliffe. Sound design, Catherine Robinson. BBC Wales.

5 May The Tragedy of Macbeth
By William Shakespeare; first broadcast in 1971. For many years this production was thought to be lost since its original live broadcast on Radio 3 in July 1971. Now it has been painstakingly reassembled by The British Library, The Radio Circle and Essential Radio. It has a full orchestral score by Stephen Dodgson, conducted by Rae Jenkins. The production was produced and directed by Raymond Raikes, and contains an extra scene, as scholar Andrea Smith explains in her introduction. Thanks are due to Andrea, of the University of Suffolk, Keith Wickham and Steve Arnold of The Radio Circle, Vedita Ramdoss, Stephen Cleary, Jonathan Summers and Karl Jenkins of the British Library, and Matthew Dodd of BBC Radio 3. Macbeth ..... Joss Ackland, Lady Macbeth ..... Googie Withers, Macduff ..... Robert Hardy, Malcolm ..... John Rye, Banquo ..... Clifford Norgate, Fleance ..... Barnaby Williams, Siward, Earl of Northumberland ..... Douglas Blackwell, Lady Macduff ..... Eva Stuart, Angus ..... Gerald Cross, Lennox ..... Kerry Francis, Young Siward/Donalbain ..... Nigel Anthony, King Duncan ..... Richard Hurndall, Ross ..... Sean Arnold, Macduff's son ..... Toby Daniels, Seyton ..... Trevor Martin, First murderer ..... Edward Kelsey, Second murderer ..... Ronald Herdman, Third murderer ..... Betty Baskomb, First witch ..... Marjorie Westbury, Second witch ..... Lewis Stringer, Third witch ..... Gladys Spencer, Porter/Captain ..... Henry Stamper, Old man/Doctor of physic ..... John Ruddock. Producer - Raymond Raikes. This 2024 remaster of the 1971 original is by Neil Churchill, and is produced by James Peak at Essential Radio Ltd.

12 May - Calmer
By Lolita Chakrabarti. A new drama about motherhood and chaos. Three generations of ultra-successful women in one family: Maya, a self-help guru; Nina, her daughter, a psychiatrist, and Amber, Nina's daughter, who has an offer from Cambridge. But things don't run smoothly. Maya…. Meera Syal, Nina… Lolita Chakrabarti, Amber… Payal Mistry, Michael… Julian Wadham, Jude… Benjamin Westerby, Grace… Sophie Melville, Production co-ordinator: Lindsay Rees, Original music… Lee Affen, Sound design: Nigel Lewis. Directed by Fay Lomas. BBC Wales.

19 May Maupassant's Confessions of a Hedonist
A journey through some of the short stories of French writer Guy de Maupassant, translated and adapted by Simon Scardifield. This medley contains adaptations of A Strange Night Out, Mouche, Laid To Rest, Cockcrow and Le Horla. Guy - Elliot Cowan, Mathilde - Holli Dempsey, Saval - Colin Ryan, Fly - Alexandra Hannant, Joseph - Gunnar Cauthery, Celeste - Ruth Everett, The Baron - Jonathan Forbes. Other parts played by Matthew Durkan, Lloyd Thomas and Simon Scardifield. Produced by Gemma Jenkins.

26 May Antigone
By Jean Anouilh, translated by Barbara Bray. After the deaths of Antigone's brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, the king Creon orders that Polynices's body be left unburied, rotting under the sun. Antigone, however is hell-bent on burying her brother, in full knowledge that she will be killed for defying the law. This powerful play was an instant success when first staged in Paris in 1944. It represented the French Resistance movement against the forces of the Vichy government during Nazi occupation. Prologue-Chorus ..... Jonathan Keeble, Creon ..... Sean Bean, Antigone ..... Rosy McEwen, Ismene ..... Norah Lopez-Holden, Nurse ..... Maureen Beattie, Haemon/Messenger ..... Joseph Ayre, Jonus ..... Owen Whitelaw. Introduction by Emma Smith from Hertford College, Oxford. Production Co-ordinator - Gaelan Davis-Connolly, Sound by Andrew Garratt, and Alison Craig. Adapted and directed by Pauline Harris. BBC.

02 Jun People Everywhere Will Sing
By Sarah Wooley. Set in 1951. After the death of his wife, and nearly 80, Ralph Vaughan Williams launches himself into a new life. He is frustrated by the traditional image that's been thrust upon him, so when he's asked to compose something for the Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, he decides on an unusual approach. Vaughan Williams .... Oliver Ford Davies, Ursula Wood .... Fenella Woolgar William McKie .... Ewan Bailey Ozzie Peasgood .... Robert Daws, Miss Lethbridge .... Georgie Lomax Ford, Woman at the opera .... Rebecca Crankshaw, Man at the opera .... Roger Ringrose, Archbishop Fisher and Sir Ernest Bullock .... David Hounslow, Stanley Roper .... Roger Ringrose. James Wilkinson ... Himself. SMs: Keith Graham, Jenni Burnett, Peter Ringrose. Production Co-ordinator: Gaelan Connolly. Producer: Abigail le Fleming.

9 Jun Killer
By Eugene Ionesco, adapted by Dan Rebellato from 'Tueur sans gages' (1959). The play remains true to the essence and tone of the original, but is set in the present day. In 2024, the play speaks of the rise of European populism and Trumpian alt-right America; the contradictions of liberal democracy that allow these populist figures to emerge. The final sequence of the play has a liberal man confronting a murderer who is impervious to argument, evidence and logic. Toby Jones as Berringer, Ionesco's iconic Everyman hero, with Christine Bottomley and Liz Carr.

16 Jun Jubilee!
By Garth Bardsley and Ray Shell. As the dust settles on the American Civil War, a group of young black university students begin an extraordinary journey. This is the story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a choir of once - enslaved young men and women, founded to raise money for their beleaguered university. These young musicians would go on to captivate America and Europe, perform before presidents and royalty and become international celebrities. The choir introduced Spirituals to the world - songs which began on plantations and which started the march to freedom. Ella Sheppard: Sophia Nomvete, George White: Samuel West Professor Adam Spence: Kerry Shale, Henry Ward Beecher: Simon Callow, Benjamin Holmes: Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Laura White: Fiona Christie, Isaac Dickerson: Iman Marson, Maggie Porter: Alana M Robinson, Lord Shaftesbury: Richard Clifford. Miss Wells: Lorelei King, Jennie Jackson: Gabrielle Friedman, The Duchess of Argyll: Catie Flye, Minnie Tate: Lola May. Garth Bardsley played the male guest and the railroad superintendent, and Ray Shell was Simon Sheppard. Other roles were played by members of the company. The London Voices singers: Rachel Oyawale, Angela Caesar, Layla Ley, Christina Gill, Melanie Marshall, John Gyeantey, Ken Burton, and Themba Mvula. Choral Director - Ben Parry. Music composed by Sarah Llewellyn. Guitar performed by James Fox. Dialogue Editing by Andrew Taylor. Director - Andy Jordan. Producer - Kurt Brookes. Executive Producer - Ashley Byrne. Indie (Made in Manchester).

23 Jun Kenny Morgan
By Mike Poulton, adapted by Sean O'Connor. Based on the events which inspired the writing of Terence Rattigan's play The Deep Blue Sea. Actor Kenny Morgan was awarded ‘Best Newcomer' by the British film Industry in 1940, aged 20. He had a tremendous future ahead of him. He was Rattigan's lover for nearly ten years, then other things happened... however, no spoilers... The play starts with a suicide attempt and contains discussions about suicide - and some strong language. Kenny Morgan ..... Paul Keating, Terence Rattigan ..... Max Irons, Ritter ..... Anton Lesser, Mrs Simpson ..... Annette Badland, Alec ..... Calam Lynch, Dafydd ..... Cerith Flinn Norma ..... Ela Chapman. Sound design by David Thomas. Produced by Marina Caldarone. Indie (Pier).

30 Jun - Camille
By Pam Gems, ad. Satinder Chohan; a new adaptation for radio relocating the play from France to India. Based on Alexandre Dumas's novel ‘La Dame aux Camélias'. The original Parisian salons and courtesans of 1848 become the thriving courtesan houses of mid-19th-century Calcutta. Camille - Charithra Chandran, Armaan …… Ronak Patani, Maharaja - Narinder Samra, Premila - Shaheen Khan, Sophiya - Rameet Rauli, British General - David Holt, Dhanik - Nitin Ganatra, Ghassan - Ronny Jhutti, Yuvita - Manjeet Mann, Janpal - Robin Cross. With improvised music by Arun Ghosh (clarinet, harmonium, lute), Sarathy Korwar (tabla) and Preetha Narayanan (violin). Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Tombling. Sound Designer: Paul Arnold. Producer: Amber Barnfather. Indie (Flare Path).

07 Jul Beowulf Retold
A radiophonic adaptation of the major poetic text - Beowulf - using the different BBC versions broadcast over the years, from the 1940s, including a Welsh language version, song, and a new commission by Patience Agbabi. Seamus Heaney's version pulsates its way through the entire poem interconnecting the many different versions. Beowulf is a classic text that has been interpreted by writers, poets and radio and film makers over and over again in the BBC's history. In this special version we pull together extracts from the various productions, showing how the text has been interpreted in different decades. Sandy Grierson plays Beowulf in Seamus Heaney's translation, abridged by Laura Ashe. Actors featured in the archive include Julian Glover in his own adaptation, Derek Jacobi, Timothy West, Frank Lincoln, Rhys Parri Jones, John A. Owen, Hazel Wyn Williams, John Castle, Anna Calder-Marshall, Harvey Hallsmith and Carleton Hobbs. Presenter: Michael Woods; Beowulf song composed and performed by Cheryl Frances-Hoad; Poet Maria Dahvana Headley. Production Co-ordinator - Pippa Day. Sound by Simon Highfield. Adapted and produced by Pauline Harris. This broadcast was nominated for Best Adaptation in the 2024 BBC Audio Drama Awards and received a Commendation.

14 Jul Love and Information
By Caryl Churchill. A drama about human relationships in the post-information age. In a series of vignettes, characters withhold, extract and disclose information; they believe things that aren't true and disbelieve things that are true; they interpret and misinterpret; they go to great lengths to discover pointless things; they regret a lack of connectivity. The scenes consider the relationship between knowledge and faith and between feeling and knowing; how memory works and whether it's always better to know. Ten stage and screen actors play over a hundred characters in over fifty scenes. They are: Michelle Austin, Josh Barrow, Rosie Cavaliero, Kathleen Cranham, Emma Fielding, Karl Johnson, Joel MacCormack, Sam Swann, Danielle Vitalis and Alan Williams. Multi-award-winning sound designer Jon Nicholls created a soundscape for each tiny drama and artfully weaved them together. Director: Mary Peate. Composer and Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls. 'Du bist die Ruh' singer: Helen Wright. 'Du bist die Ruh' pianist: John Wright. Producer: Jessica Dromgoole. Indie (Hooley Productions Ltd).

21 Jul No drama

28 Jul No drama

04 Aug No drama

11 Aug No drama

18 Aug No drama

25 Aug No drama

01 Sep No drama

08 Sep No drama

15 Sep Churchill versus Reith
By Mike Harris. Set in 1926; the general Strike. Churchill wants to commandeer the infant BBC to crush what he considers to be a Bolshevik (communist) uprising. The BBC's founder, John Reith, is determined to preserve its independence. Churchill is an ambitious, volatile, bon vivant aristocrat. Reith is an ascetic, deeply religious, middle-class Scot. Churchill thinks Reith's desire for political neutrality is ‘defeatist,' even traitorous. Reith regards Churchill as a dangerous extremist. What is at stake is the future independence of British broadcasting. John Reith..........Tom Goodman-Hill, Winston Churchill.......Christian McKay, Isobel Shields.........Emily Pithon, Ellen Wilkinson.........Helen O'Hara, John Davidson........Jonathan Keeble, Frank Horrabin.........Jonathan Forbes, May Bates/Clem Churchill.....Joanna Monro, Stanley Baldwin.......Roger Ringrose. Producer - Gary Brown. Production Co-ordinator - Pippa Day. Tech Team : Andy Partington & Vanessa Nuttall. Sound Design - Sharon Hughes.

22 Sep From Morning to Midnight
By Georg Kaiser; new production. We follow 'Clerk' who turns his back on the daily grind to in order to search for what life has to offer. It's set in pre-WW1 Germany. A normally docile bank clerk steals sixty thousand marks, and runs. The play follows what happens. Indie (Almost Tangible) - translated, adapted and directed by Simon Scardifield, and produced by Charlotte Melen and Saskia Black. The Clerk …… Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Sally Army Girl …… Diany Bandza, Woman, Mother, Official 2, Sally Army Officer …… Emily Bruni, Rich Client, Official 1, Man 2, Penitent 3 …… Alasdair Craig, Customer 1, Waiter, Wife, Official 4, Woman 3, Penitent 2 …… Eva Feiler, Manager, Official 3, Man 1, Soldier …… James Cooney, Customer 2, Son, Spectator, Waiter, Penitent 1 …… Ashley Gillard, Woman 2 …… Charlotte Melen. Sound Design, Jon Nicholls.

29 Sep Ivanov
By Chekhov. Ivanov is a man whose world is falling apart despite the efforts of his friends and family. Nicholas Ivanov ..... Rory Kinnear, Sarah ..... Dorothea Myer-Bennett, Sasha ..... Holli Dempsey, Paul ..... Joseph Kloska, Matthew ...... Dominic Coleman, Michael ..... Tyger Drew-Honey, Luke ..... Clifford Samuel, Zuzu ..... Joan Iyiola, Martha ..... Saffron Coomber, Ava ..... Melanie Kilburn, Dominic ..... Nuhazet Diaz Cano. Cellist ..... Liz Hanks. Sound designer ..... Peter Ringrose. Production Co-ordinator ..... Jenny Mendez. Directed by Toby Swift. BBC.

6 Oct The Seagull
By Chekhov. A new version by Katherine Tozer. BBC blurb ".... classic stage play about art and love". Irene ..... Emma Fielding, Stan ..... Mark Quartley, Peter ..... Dominic Coleman, Nina ..... Erin Doherty, Boris ..... Joel MacCormack, Eugene ..... Danny Sapani, Paulie ..... Nina Wadia, Ian ..... Paul Rider, Martha ..... Chloë Sommer, Simon/Jacob ..... Tom Kiteley. Sound Design by Peter Ringrose. Directed by Toby Swift.

14 Oct The Pride of Parnell Street
By Sebastian Barry. Ordinary life on the streets of Dublin. Through interconnecting monologues, an estranged couple, Janet and Joe, talk about the course of their love and the rupturing of their relationship, as well as their observations about the city. Janet ..... Mary Murray, Joe ..... Aidan Kelly. Music composed by Denis Clohessy. Directed by Jim Culleton. Produced by Toby Swift. (Mary Murray won the Best Actress award in the 2023 BBC Audio Drama Awards for this performance)

20 Oct Venice Preserved
By Thomas Otway. Politican thriller from 1682. The government of Venice is corrupt and self-serving. A group of rebels prepares for revolution. A married couple are forced to choose between their love for each other and the future of the state. Jaffier ..... Sandy Grierson, Pierre ..... Paul Adeyefa, Belvidera ..... Anna Russell-Martin, Priuli ..... Michael Nardone, Aquilina ..... Maggie Service, Antonio ..... Stuart McQuarrie, Bedamar ..... Anne Lacey, Spinosa/Duke ..... Nalini Chetty Renault ..... Cal MacAninch. Sound recording by Kris McConnachie. Sound design by Jon Nicholls. Adapted for radio and produced by Gaynor Macfarlane.

27 Oct The Age of Anxiety
By Auden, dram. Robin Brooks. Four strangers meet in a New York bar on All Hallows Eve and embark on a fantastic journey. Auden's poem is written in the form of a verse-drama: four characters, all single, lonely and adrift, spend an evening together. Auden ..... Julian Bleach, Quant ..... Jonjo O'Neill, Malin ..... John Light, Rosetta ..... Genevieve Gaunt, Emble ..... Luke Thallon. Sound Design by Jon Nicholls. Produced and Directed by Fiona McAlpine.Indie (Allegra).

Nov 3 Star
By Sarah Wooley; a play about about the making of the movie 'A Star Is Born', with Judy Garland in the 1950s. The story - it is 1952 and Judy Garland, let go by MGM for her erratic behaviour, wants to make a comeback. She and soon-to-be husband Sid Luft start their own production company and get the rights to remake the classic 30s film 'A Star Is Born' as a musical. This time, they will be in control. Judy Garland....Lydia Wilson, Sid Luft....Carl Prekopp, Harold Arlen....Nigel Lindsay, Ira Gershwin....Allan Corduner, Jack Warner....David Hounslow, George Cukor....Samuel James, Warner's secretary....Andi Bickers, Taylor....Ian Dunnett Jnr, John Meyer....Nuhazet Diaz Cano. Sound by Peter Ringrose, Keith Graham and Andy Garrett. Piano played by Peter Ringrose. Production co-ordination by Jenny Mendez. Produced by Abigail le Fleming.

Nov 9 The Dance of Death
By Strindberg; version by Conor McPherson. Play about a toxic marriage. It is set in a military outpost off the coast of Sweden. The Captain and his wife play spiteful games in the hell they've created for themselves. Then Kurt, a figure from their past, arrives. The Captain - Robert Glenister, Alice - Hattie Morahan, Kurt - Blake Ritson. Piano performed by Peter Ringrose. Directed by Gemma Jenkins.

Nov 16 Different Truths
By Durrenmatt. Two short plays about the place of the writer in society. New versions by Ian McDiarmid.

A CONVERSATION AT NIGHT
A liberal writer in an unnamed European dictatorship comes face-to-face with the state assassin assigned to kill him. The writer has long awaited his visitor and - as they wait for the inevitable - the writer defends his right to freedom of expression.

AN INCIDENT AT TWILIGHT
A Nobel laureate is confronted in his hotel room by a retired bookkeeper. All of the author's novels have centred on the death of a character - and the bookkeeper believes that these deaths have been real - not fictional.

A CONVERSATION AT NIGHT Man ..... Ian McDiarmid, Other ..... Jim Broadbent, Newsreader ..... Ian Dunnett Jnr.

AN INCIDENT AT TWILIGHT Author ..... Ian McDiarmid, Visitor ..... Michael Moreland, Sebastian ..... Ian Dunnett Jnr. BBC Scotland.

Nov 23 Venice Preserved
By Thomas Otway, 1682. Rpt. A political thriller. Repeated from a month ago (20 Oct).

Nov 30 Come Closer Now
Katie Hims' love letter to radio drama to celebrate 100 years of the medium. Annie is writing a radio play about a hundred years of radio plays, and it's also the story of her own family. As she writes, she unearths the stories that have been part of her family's fabric for generations. Some are about uncomfortable facts. From gathering around the wireless to listening on-demand on headphones, the listener, and the medium, has changed almost beyond recognition over the last hundred years the century. It has remained a deeply intimate art form, and in a way it is the most visual art form there is. Annie - Rebekah Staton, Farley - Joseph Kloska, Connie and Jane - Rhiannon Neads, Older Jane - Jessica Turner, Younger Jane - Maisie Avis, Dan - Don Gilet, Joe - Tyler Cameron, Michael - Josh Bryant-Jones, Nora - Kitty O'Sullivan, The Boy - Milton Dighton. Directed by Anne Isger. Sound by Ali Craig and Andy Garrett. Production Co-ordination by Jenny Mendez. BBC.

Dec 7 War with the Newts
Ed Harris's play, adapted from Karel Capek's 1936 novel, a satire about the destruction of mankind at the hands of a new species of newt, but set in the present day. It follows MP Lili Clay and her family. The newts can use basic tools and language and so a new labour-saving workforce is born. Newtmania sweeps the planet but with new opportunities, old conflicts arise, left and right squabble, and companies turn this global disaster into profit. The story is told through promotional videos and news reports. Narrator…. Dona Croll, Lili Clay - Laura Elphinstone, Mum - Liza Sadovy, Leon Clay - Joseph Ayre, Graham Knox - Jude Akuwudike, Barney - Oliver Westlake, Oscar/ Hugo Latymer - Tom Edward-Kane. Original song by Vern Asbury. Sound design by Alisdair MacGregor. Directed by Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Reduced Listening).

Dec 14 No drama

Dec 21 Gershwin & Miss Swift
By Andrew McCaldon. The true story of composer Kay Swift, the first woman to score a hit Broadway musical, and her ten-year love affair with George Gershwin. When Kay meets George, sparks fly. But Kay is happily married with children, and George is only truly faithful to his creative talent. A psychoanalyst adds fuel to the fire. Kay chooses to forge her own future in love and music, risking everything along the way. Recorded live in front of an audience at the Alexandra Palace Theatre, London, with Swift and Gershwin's music performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra with singer Lucy-Anne Daniels and pianist Ben Dawson. The conductor is Keith Lockhart. Kay Swift - Lydia Leonard, George Gershwin - Jamie Parker Jimmy Warburg - Jacob Fortune-Lloyd Gregory Zilboorg - Joseph May Ellen Swift - Tara Ward. Directed by Tracey Neale. Producers - Tracey Neale and Neil Varley. With special thanks to Katharine Weber, Aaron Gandy, and the Kay Swift Trust.

Dec 28 Kafka's Dick
By Alan Bennett; first performed in 1986, at the Royal Court. New production, Franz Kafka and his friend Max Brod, returned from the dead (Kafka metamorphosing from a pet tortoise), find themselves in the suburban home of Sydney, a Kafka fanatic, and his less literary-minded wife, Linda. Brod spends the entire drama trying to hide the fact that he did not burn Kafka's papers, as promised, but had them all published, thus making his friend one of the world's best-known writers. Along the way paternal relationships are examined. Kafka and his father Herman K's relative penis size become crucial to the plot whilst Sydney's father, who pops in and out of the action, is increasingly convinced that these strange visitors are assessing him for a place in a care home. Franz Kafka ..... Toby Jones, Max Brod/Recording Angel ..... Mark Heap, Sydney ..... Jason Watkins, Linda ..... Fenella Woolgar, Father ..... Jim Broadbent, Herman K/God ..... Don Warrington. Director, Producer and Adaptor, Polly Thomas. Co-Director, Dermot Daly. Production Manager, Darren Spruce. Recording Engineer, Paul Clark at Sonica Studios. Sound Designer, Alisdair McGregor. Indie (Naked Productions).

Jan 4 2025 The Dead
By James Joyce. 'Snow was general all over Ireland.' An overheard Irish folk song at a Twelfth Night party in Dublin uncovers deep-buried memories and provokes a personal epiphany for Gabriel Conroy. For Twelfth Night, James Joyce's short story from 'Dubliners' (1915). Read by Jonathan Forbes; sound design by Jonathan Thomas. Produced by Emma Harding, BBC Wales.

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