R4 Drama 2022
			I'm typing these entries out, summarising them from RT, removing spoilers and editing / adding notes where necessary. Typos are gradually being removed. The page is generally updated at the end of each month. To locate a play, use Control-F which will bring up a search box. The page lists afternoon dramas including Sat-Sun. (Saturday Drama and Classic Serial). .........ND Note that the 'Classic Serial' slot on Sunday afternoons is no longer described as such in the Radio Times. However I am still using the term so people can navigate the page more easily. Plays made by independent production companies are indicated by 'Indie'. THE PLAYS: 1 Jan: Saturday Play slot - The Princess Bride, 2 By William Goldman, dram. Stephen Keyworth. With Westley captured and Buttercup about to marry the dastardly Prince Humperdinck, there are only two people in the world who can save the day – Inigo and Fezzik. But one of them is lost and the other is drunk. Buttercup … Ruby Barker, Fezzik … Tyler Collins, Inigo… Emun Elliott, Count Rugen … Robin Laing, Goldman Snr / Arch Dean / Max …Crawford Logan, Westley … Lorn Macdonald, Prince Humperdinck / William Goldman…Grant O’Rourke, Hellin / Valerie …Rosalind Sydney. Sound recording: Joanne Willott. Sound design: Fraser Jackson. Produced by Kirsty Williams. 2 Jan: Classic Serial slot - Ambridge Mystery Plays, 2 - The Passion Ad. Nick Warburton. Queen of Ambridge amateur theatricals, Lynda Snell, takes charge of this brand new adaptation of the Mediaeval dramas. It portrays the life of Jesus from baptism to the Resurrection. Jesus …. James Cartwright, Mary …. Alison Dowling, John the Baptist …. Ian Pepperell, Peter …. Charlotte Martin, John …. Nick Barber, Andrew …. Ryan Kelly, Judas …. Ian Pepperell, Caiaphas …. Paul Copley, Annas …. Katie Redford, Pontius Pilate …. Nick Barber, Malchas …. Alison Dowling, 1st Torturer …. Annabelle Dowler, 2nd Torturer …. Charlotte Martin, 1st Soldier …. Katie Redford, 2nd Soldier …. Ian Pepperell, Mary Magdalene …. Annabelle Dowler, Joseph of Arimathea …. Paul Copley. Other parts played by members of the company. Producer …. Kim Greengrass, Executive Editor …. Jeremy Howe, Technical Producers …. Andy Partington & Vanessa Nuttall, Production Coordinators …. Sally Lloyd & Andrew Smith. BBC Birmingham. 3 Jan: United Kingdoms Series capturing contemporary life across the UK with bitesize dramas, monologues, poetry and song. Each episode features five short works by writers from across the UK, and each episode responds to a different theme. In this episode: LAUGHING By Julie Ma. Is Enfy's dog laughing at her? Or perhaps he knows something she doesn't? Performed by Di Botcher, Sound Design by Nigel Lewis, Produced by Emma Harding. HEREFORD By 1990s Chris (sic). We follow a gay working class man growing up in rural Herefordshire, and the laughs that teach him what it is to be a man. Performed by 1990s Chris and Charlie Staunton. Sound Design by Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton. Produced by Celia de Wolff. COLERAINE By Rachel Wilkinson. If you were asked to sum up your career in eight minutes, what would you talk about? The promotions, the workload, the Christmas do's? Or your friends and the day to day of the job? For this NI police officer, she is doing just that, focusing on the smallest yet most important points of her career in the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Performed by Lloyd Hutchinson and Riona O Connor. Sound design by Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton. Produced by Celia de Wolff. CAPUTH Farmer and stand-up comedian, Jim Smith, muses on single life in rural Perthshire; written and performed by him. Produced by Gaynor McFarlane. DIGBETH A man flows about smiling and laughing through the shifts of life, reminding us to take responsibility for choices. Written and performed by RTKal (sic). Music Engineer: Rowan Coleing. Produced by Polly Thomas and Yusra Warsama. Original Music composed by Niroshini Thambar. Curated by Celia de Wolff for Pier Productions, BBC Cymru Wales, BBC Scotland, BBC Northern Ireland, and Indie company Naked Productions. 4 Jan: Nemesis, 1 By David Ashton, rpt. from 14 Nov 2019. First half of a play set in the late 1600s, when England is facing a financial crisis because of coins being abused and forged. The Warden of the Royal Mint, Isaac Newton, decides to recoin all silver currency, which means melt down the old coins and mint new ones. However there are politicians and others who don't want this strategy. Note that there is another play about this by David Ashton (55m, with some overlap of cast and the same producer), broadcast 21 Jul 2018 (q.v.). Philip Palmer also wrote 'The King's Coiner' (R4, Apr 2002) which covers similar ground. Cast: Newton: William Gaminara, Hopton Haynes: Gunnar Cauthery, Catherine Barton: Laura Christy, Charles Montague: Rick Warden, Elliot Miller: Sean Murray, Thomas Carey: Clive Hayward, Belle Russell: Melody Grove, Jamie Wilde: Will Kirk, Richard vernon: Neil McCaul. Producer: Bruce Young. 5 Jan: Fake Heiress, 1 By Chloe Moss; reporting by Vicky Baker.They look into the New York scandal, and mix drama with documentary to tell the story of Anna Delvey's rise and fall. Anna Delvey was due to come into a trust fund of $67m on her 26th birthday. She was on her way to establishing the Anna Delvey Foundation, a multi-million dollar visual-arts centre in New York. She filled her time with champagne brunches and stays in penthouse suites, as she wined and dined the New York elites to secure investment for her project. It all sounded wonderful, but none of it was true. This otherwise unremarkable un-moneyed young woman had reinvented herself as a multi-millionaire. How did she make anyone believe her story? How did she get people to trust her enough to give her their money? Anna played by Bella Dayne; other parts by Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Heather Craney, Will Kirk, Scarlett Courtney, Neil McCaul, Clive Hayward, Ian Conningham, Lucy Reynolds, Adam Courting, Greg Jones, Laura Christy, Jessica Turner, Ikky Elyas, Sinead MacInnes. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko. ["This will be available as a six-part podcast on BBC Sounds"]. 6 Jan: Vital Signs By Ben Musgrave. An original drama inspired by a true story. Ben suffers from a severe phobia of blood, the heart and medical intervention. In this story, he tries to make sense of the fact that, on a day in 2018, his greatest fear came true; his heart stopped. Ben..... Joel MacCormack, Ben's Partner..... Rhiannon Neads, The Consultant..... Neil McCaul, The Psychotherapist..... Christine Kavanagh, The Sonographer..... Jasmine Hyde, The Mother..... Grace Cooper Milton, Cath..... Eimear Fearon. With contributions from Dr Boon Lim, Consultant Cardiologist, Head of the Syncope unit at Hammersmith Hospital London, and founder of stopfainting.com. Producer: Anne Isger. Sound Design by Pete Ringrose. 7 Jan: Steelheads, 2: The Conversation By Brett Neichin and John Scott Dryden. 30m. When young British tennis pro, Joleen Kenzie (Jessica Barden), is diagnosed with a rare terminal illness, she has herself cryogenically frozen at an experimental lab in Seattle, in the hope that one day – perhaps hundreds of years into the future - there will be a cure and she can be revived. She wakes up to a world divided. This is a chilling new medical thriller, inspired by true events. Joleen – Jessica Barden, Remi – Khalid Laith, Kit – Symera Jackson, Luther – Bruce Lester Johnson, Izzy – Lizzie Stables, Lucinda / Esme – Annabelle Dowler, Wayne – Daniel Ryan, Padma – Jennifer Armour, Earl – Kerry Shale, Oscar/Jamar – Jason Forbes, Richard – Eric Meyers, Andrei – Andrew Byron, Summer – Gianna Kiehl, Dre – Earl R Perkins, Sue – Laurel Lefkow, Greg – Christopher Ragland, Stolya – Yanina Hope. Original Theme composed by Pascal Wyse. Script Editing by Mike Walker. Sound Design by Steve Bond. Sound Editor: Adam Woodhams. Assistant Producer: Eleanor Mein. Additional casting by Janet Foster. Trails by Jack Soper. Produced by Emma Hearn. Director and Executive Producer: John Dryden. Indie (Goldhawk). 8 Jan: Saturday Play: Heart of Darkness By Joseph Conrad, 85m. Rpt. from 24 Oct 2015. Unusual item; this is Orson Welles' unproduced screenplay of the Joseph Conrad novel. The story: It's the 1980s; a skipper is hired to take a steamship up the Congo river to find a missing company agent who trades in ivory. He encounters a terrifying evil. The script was written by Welles in 1939, but the script was not accepted, and Citizen Kane was filmed instead. The adaptation for radio is by Jamie Lloyd and Laurence Bowen. The story involves some of those frightening artefacts from the jungle which you can see in the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford. Shrunken heads, etc. Marlow: James McAvoy, Kurtz: Jonathan Slinger, Elsa: Phoebe Fox, Blauer: Jo Stone-Fewings, Eddie: Max Bennett, with John Heffernan, Elliott Levey, Gerald Kyd, Seun Shote and Jack Holden. Produced by Laurence Bowen and directed by Jamie Lloyd; music by Ben and Max Ringham. Indie (Feelgood Fiction). 9 Jan: 1445 slot (15m) The Seventh Test, 1- The Proposition By Vikas Swarup, dram. Ayeesha Menon and John Dryden, from the novel.Thriller set in India. Sapna Sinha works as a sales assistant in a TV showroom in New Delhi. She is the breadwinner in the family and works long hours to provide for her mother and sister. But then a man walks into her life with an extraordinary proposition: pass seven tests and he will make her the CEO of his global empire. Production: Sound Design - Steve Bond, Editing Assistant - Varun Bangera, Script Editor - Mike Walker, Assistant Producer - Toral Shah. Music - Sacha Putnam. Producer - Nadir Khan. Director - John Dryden. Indie (Goldhawk). 9 Jan: Classic Serial slot - Munchausen 60m drama by David Spicer, rpt. from 2016. Alistair McGowan stars as all 44 characters in this comic drama. Munchausen is the King of Liars; he has been arrested on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival for lunging at the French President. A detective spends a night trying to work out what is fact and what is fiction.Producer: Frank Stirling. 10 Jan: United Kingdoms More short dramas from exciting new writers reflecting life across the UK. (no other details at time of writing) 11 Jan: Isaac Newton: Nemesis, 2 By David Ashton, rpt. from Nov 2019. When a wagon of silver is stolen by the counterfeiters and his right-hand man at the Royal Mint is murdered Newton is convinced he’s been betrayed by a political insider. Cast: Newton: William Gaminara, Hopton Haynes: Gunnar Cauthery, Catherine Barton: Laura Christy, Charles Montague: Rick Warden, Thomas Carey: Clive Hayward, Belle Russell: Melody Grove, Jamie Wilde: Will Kirk, Silas: Neil McCaul, Gilchrist: Greg Jones. Producer: Bruce Young. 12 Jan: Fake Heiress, 2 Anna Delvey blazed a trail through New York City, posing as multi-millionaire heiress. She was well on her way to establishing the Anna Delvey Foundation, a multi-million dollar visual-arts centre in the heart of the city. She'd scouted a location, got an architect on-board and created a glossy brochure. All she needed now was an actual fortune. Rpt. from 17 Dec 2019. Production details: see above, 5 Jan. 13 Jan: Me & Robin Hood By Shon Dale-Jones. One man channels his childhood obsession with Robin Hood by making a stand against our stress-filled, unequal, consumer-driven society. What would it mean to be a modern day Robin Hood? How could you take the principles of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor and apply them to the complexities of our global economy? Me & Robin Hood began life as a one-man stage play, produced by Hoipolloi and the Royal Court. Shon …. Shon Dale-Jones, The Therapist…. Clare Cage, Produced by James Robinson. BBC Wales. 14 Jan: Steelheads, 3 - Shiny Happy People By Brett Neichin and John Scott Dryden. Having escaped captivity, Joleen arrives by sea in Seattle with her companions, Remi, an escaped convict and Luther, a blind captain. 30m. Joleen – Jessica Barden, Remi – Khalid Laith, Kit – Symera Jackson, Luther – Bruce Lester Johnson, Izzy – Lizzie Stables, Lucinda / Esme – Annabelle Dowler, Wayne – Daniel Ryan, Padma – Jennifer Armour, Earl – Kerry Shale, Oscar/Jamar – Jason Forbes, Richard – Eric Meyers, Andrei – Andrew Byron, Summer – Gianna Kiehl, Dre – Earl R Perkins, Sue – Laurel Lefkow, Greg – Christopher Ragland, Stolya – Yanina Hope. Original Theme composed by Pascal Wyse. Script Editing by Mike Walker. Sound Design by Steve Bond. Sound Editor: Adam Woodhams. Assistant Producer: Eleanor Mein. Additional casting by Janet Foster. Trails by Jack Soper. Produced by Emma Hearn. Director and Executive Producer: John Dryden. Indie (Goldhawk). 15 Jan: Saturday Play - The Dragon Man By Garry Disher, who I think is Australian. Murder story; rpt. There's a serial killer on the loose who leaves cryptic clues for the police, who can't find anything to connect the crimes with their only suspect.. Richard Dillane, Penny Downie, Mark Little, Jordan Whyte, Mali Harries, Dan Hunter, Mufrida Hayes, Sam James, Phil MzKenzie, Fiona Marr, Kerry Gooderson. Producer: Alison Hindell.BBC Wales. The Dragon Man is the first in Garry Disher's series of novels with detective duo Challis & Destry. 16 Jan: Classic Serial slot - No drama A feature about Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad 17 Jan: United Kingdoms, 3 - Raging More short dramas in the European style: Downhill A young woman traverses along the Northern Irish North Coast near its iconic Mussenden Temple. Women aren’t supposed to rage, but what happens when the tempest inside her no longer can be contained? Written by Shannon Yee Performed by Roísín Gallagher and Sabrina Wu Sound design by Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton Produced by Celia de Wolff. Treorchy Stephen wakes to the cold realisation that his girlfriend has left him. And that his life has spiralled out of control. Written and performed by Samuel Bees Sound design by Nigel Lewis Produced by Emma Harding. Slough Iravat wouldn't describe herself as a particularly angry person. That is, until he walks onto the bus. By Priyanka Jha, Performed by Preeya Kalidas, Sound design by Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton. Produced by Celia de Wolff. Avoch A woman remembers how a vicious attack drove her to make a realisation about her dad. By Luke Sutherland. Performed by Molly Innes, Sound design by Joanne Willott, Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. Burnley A woman, a Lancashire river and a rage that conquers everything. Written by Clare Shaw. Performed by Clare Shaw and Rachel Austin. Sound design by Jon Nicholls. Produced by Polly Thomas and Yusra Warsama. Music composed by Niroshini Thambar. Executive Producer: Eloise Whitmore. Curated by Polly Thomas and Yusra Warsama for Naked Productions, BBC Scotland, BBC Northern Ireland, Pier Productions, and BBC Wales. 18 Jan: Blood ep1/5 - Entitled By Becky Prestwich. New series. Miles, Constance's only son, has returned to the family home with a wife, Sarah, whom Constance adores. But all is not as it seems. Constance - Glenda Jackson, Miles - Robert Glenister, Sarah - Pippa Nixon, Gabriel - Joseph Ayre, Maria - Christine Bottomley. Sound by Steve Brooke. Produced by Pauline Harris. 19 Jan: Blood, Ep 2/5 - Between Two Worlds By Kathrine Smith. Constance is trying to find the murderer amongst her family. Could it be her twelve-year-old great-niece, Lily? A child capable of much destruction. Or Josie, a mystery figure whose presence causes ructions? Constance - Glenda Jackson, Lily - Poppy O'Brien, Josie - Joy Richardson, Miles - Robert Glenister, Maria - Christine Bottomley, Sound by Sharon Hughes, Produced by Pauline Harris. 20 Jan: Blood, Ep 3/5 -Deception By Fiona Evans. How has Sarah deceived Constance so completely? Constance discovers Sarah's illicit affair with Gabriel, and discovers darker secrets when Sarah is forced to return to her childhood home. Constance - Glenda Jackson, Sarah - Pippa Nixon, Gabriel - Joseph Ayre, Mam - Charlie Hardwick, Amanda - Angela Lonsdale. Sound by Steve Brooke & Sharon Hughes. Produced by Pauline Harris. 21 Jan: Steelheads, 4: Break Point Luther offers Joleen a chance of life, but in return she must agree to live in hiding and be companion to his grand-daughter, Kit. But Kit reveals that they are both in danger and must escape to find the resistance. 30m. Joleen – Jessica Barden, Kit – Symera Jackson, Luther – Bruce Lester Johnson, Remi – Khalid Laith, Hugo – Christopher Ragland, The Mod – Andrew Byron, Izzy – Lizzie Stables, Esmerelda – Annabelle Dowler. Other parts played by: Earl R Perkins, Kerry Shale, Gianna Kiehl, Jason Forbes and Laurel Lefkow. Original theme composed by Pascal Wyse. Written and created by Brett Neichin and John Dryden. Script Editing by Mike Walker. Sound Design by Steve Bond. Sound Editor: Adam Woodhams. Assistant Producer: Eleanor Mein. Additional casting by Janet Foster. Trails by Jack Soper. Produced by Emma Hearn. Director and Executive Producer: John Dryden. Indie (Goldhawk). 22 Jan: Saturday Play - The Beautiful and Damned, 1 By F Scott Fitzgerald; from the novel, adapted by Robin Brooks, rpt. from last Feb. It portrays New York cafe society during the Jazz Age, before and after WW1. Anthony Patch, presumptive heir to a vast fortune, marries renowned beauty, Gloria Gilbert. The couple spend their time partying, drinking and dreaming of the millions they will have to spend when Anthony finally inherits. 60m. Anthony Patch ..... Joel MacCormack, Gloria Gilbert ..... Jessica Hardwick, Fred Passmore ..... Rhashan Stone, Maury Noble ..... David Sturzaker, Joseph Bloeckman ..... Tom Mothersdale, Muriel Kane ..... Melody Grove, Adam Patch/Bounds ..... Ben Onwukwe. Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. 23 Jan: Classic Serial slot: Darkness By M.S.Roberts. The summer of 1816 was known as the ‘year without a summer’. There were meteorological conditions across Europe unknown in modern times; the eruption of Mount Tambora had created so much ash that the sun was blocked out, and abnormal conditions held Europe in terror throughout that summer. The drama is set in that summer in the Villa Diodati, on the shores of Lake Geneva. It interweaves Lord Byron’s poem 'Darkness' with the story of his own turbulent summer; exiled from England by a scandalous incestuous relationship with his half sister. Lord Byron.....Alfred Enoch, Agnes March.....Daisy Head, John Polidori.....Ashley Margolis. Sound Design by Steve Brooke. Produced by Nadia Molinari. BBC Drama North Production. 24 Jan: United Kingdoms, 4 - Flying More bite-sized dramas: BALLYNHINCH Secrets don't stay secret long in this small town as Grace soon learns. Written and performed by Charis McRoberts. Sound design by Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton. Produced by Celia de Wolff. DYFI VALLEY A love song to the beautiful, contested landscape of west Wales, with bilingual Welsh-English rap. Written by Izzy Rabey and performed by Izzy Rabey and Molly McBreen. Sound design by Nigel Lewis. Produced by Emma Harding. GOVANHILL Two strangers meet on a Glasgow street in the snow. Written by Maryam Hamidi. Performed by Barbara Rafferty and Marisa Coveci. Sound design by Kris McConachie, Fraser Jackson and Joanne Willott. Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. LEEDS A woman remembers her dreams of flying above the streets of Leeds; she sees family, Chapeltown Town Carnival, the People, Culture, Spirit and music. Written and performed by Khadijah Ibrahiim. Sound design by Jon Nicholls. Produced by Polly Thomas and Yusra Warsama. HEADINGTON A woman reflects on her memories of a park, questioning why it is that she’s constantly moving on. Written by Sofie Drew. Performed by Joe Bolland and Poppy Gilbert. Sound design by Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton. Produced by Celia de Wolff. Original music composed by Niroshini Thambar. Flying was curated by Gaynor Macfarlane for BBC Scotland. It is a co-production with Naked Productions, BBC Cymru Wales, Pier Productions and BBC Northern Ireland. 25 Jan: Blood, 4: Confessions By Michael Simmons Roberts. Constance is trying to find the murderer amongst her family. One possibiliity is Richard, Celeste's husband. Just before he left the priesthood, Constance underwent confession with him. He knows quite a lot about her; possibly the trigger for the murder. Constance.......Glenda Jackson, Richard.........Matthew Gravelle, Celeste.......Melody Grove, Producer....... Gary Brown. Sound Design...... Simon Highfield. 26 Jan: Blood, 5: Bad Blood By Eve Steele. Maria is Constance's niece, who has never really felt part of the family. Perhaps she is the key to the murder. Constance.......Glenda Jackson, Maria.........Christine Bottomley, Lily..........Poppy O’Brien, Miles.......Robert Glenister, Sarah..........Pippa Nixon, Adrian/Edward.....Jake Ferretti, Archie.......Dominic Lane, Producer ..... Gary Brown, Sound Designer....... Sharon Hughes. 27 Jan: Bangla Bantams By Kamal Kaan and Mary Cooper. The drama focuses on a fictional family, based on the true story of how a Bradford women's community group became part of the Bangla Bantams supporters group for Bradford City Football. When Nessa's son-in-law suggests that her Ladies group comes to watch live football matches, she thinks he's crazy. Not so Farida. Nessa - Sudha Bhuchar, Farida, her friend - Nina Wadia. Producer - Pauline Harris. 28 Jan: SteelHeads, 5 - Plan D By Brett Neichin and John Dryden. 30m. Joleen and Kit drive to Montana in the hope of joining the resistance. Joleen – Jessica Barden, Remi – Khalid Laith, Kit – Symera Jackson, Dre – Earl R Perkins, Jamar – Jason Forbes, Suzie – Laurel Lefkow. Other parts played by: Kerry Shale, Christopher Ragland, Eric Meyers, Andrew Byron, Annabelle Dowler, Daniel Ryan, Gianna Kiehl and Lizzie Stables. Original theme by Pascal Wyse. Script Editing by Mike Walker. Sound Design by Steve Bond. Sound Editor: Adam Woodhams. Assistant Producer: Eleanor Mein. Additional casting by Janet Foster. Trails by Jack Soper. Produced by Emma Hearn. Director and Executive Producer: John Scott Dryden. Indie (Goldhawk) 29 Jan: Saturday Play - The Beautiful and Damned, 2 By F.S.Fitzgerald, dram. Robin Brooks, rpt. from last Feb. Anthony Patch and his wife, Gloria Gilbert, are spoiled and selfish. That's never a good combination. Anthony Patch ..... Joel MacCormack, Gloria Gilbert ..... Jessica Hardwick, Fred Passmore ..... Rhashan Stone, Maury Noble ..... David Sturzaker, Joseph Bloeckman ..... Tom Mothersdale, Muriel Kane ..... Melody Grove, Adam Patch/Bounds ..... Ben Onwukwe, Haight/Percy ..... David Seddon. Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. 30 Jan: Classic Serial slot - Pale Fire By Vladimir Nabokov. This is from the novel, dram. Oliver Emanuel. The novel was presented as a poem about a poet, a commentator and a would-be assassin. It's re-told here as an audio documentary; Charles Kinbote is the poet. Charles: Grant O'Rourke, John: Michael Nardone, Gradus: Finn den Hertog, Odon: Robin Laing, Sybil: Renee Williams, Gordon: Thierry Mabonga. Producer: Kirsty Williams. 31 Jan: United Kingdoms, 5 - Rewinding More short dramas: CHORLTON CUM HARDY An interview with the actor and teacher from Manchester, Wyllie Longmore. ANGLESEY Audio poem about a landscape threatened by developers. By Ness Owen; performed by her, Sian Miriam and Owen Arwen. HOLYWOOD (sic) A young Indian girl's love of Top of the Pops affects the relationship with her mother. Written and performed by Lata Sharma. DUNFERMLINE By Jane Livingstone. A teenage tragedy casts a long shadow. Performed by Simon Donaldson and Robin Laing. CROMER By James McDermott. Comedy drama about gender identity, pop music and making mix tapes. Performed by Misha Butler. Producers: Polly Thomas, Yusra Warsama, Emma Harding, Celias de Wolff and Gaynot MacFarlane.Co-production with Naked Productions, BBC Cymru Wales, Pier Productions and BBC Northern Ireland. 1 Feb: Fake Psychic, 1 Written and reported by Vicky Baker; dramatised sections by Nick Perry. If you wanted to speak with the dead in 1960s America, there was one man who was ready to help. For ten years Lamar Keene was known as the Prince of Spiritualists. Then, quite suddenly, he gave it up. He published an expose in which he was a fraud who had manipulated people at their most vulnerable. He described the tricks he used to separate his followers from their money. Drama-doc, including extracts from the Keene's book Psychic Mafia Lamar . . . . . Edward Hogg, Raoul . . . . . Tom Mothersdale, Dorothy . . . . . Lorelei King, Andrija . . . . . Michael Begley, Tom . . . . . Neil McCaul, Lona . . . . . Jasmine Hyde, Ruthie . . . . . Tillie Murray, Lillian . . . . . Christine Kavanagh, Warden . . . . . Chris Jack. Sound: Peter Ringrose. Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko. 2 Feb: Fake Psychic, 2 Continued from yesterday; concluding episode. Slight changes to the cast: Lamar . . . . . Edward Hogg, Raoul . . . . . Tom Mothersdale, Mable . . . . . Susan Brown, Florence . . . . . Barbara Barnes, Joe . . . . . Nathan Osgood, Jeff . . . . . Shaun Mason, Don . . . . . Michael Begley, George . . . . . Neil McCaul, Lona . . . . . Jasmine Hyde, Ruthie . . . . . Tillie Murray, Betty . . . . . Christine Kavanagh. 3 Feb: This Changeling Self By Linda Marshall Griffiths. Magical story of love and loss recorded on location at the Edinburgh Festival, inspired by the Scottish myth 'Tamlin and the Fairy Queen.' BBC blurb: "The festival was always a place she liked to wonder. She could be there in full view and no-one thought she was more than a performer. She could catch people out; half-drunk, some of them would do anything, go anywhere. And she took them. She used it as a time to cross over, let them have some of the songs she kept, some of the stories she knew. But this man, this one she wanted to keep." She.....Christine Bottomley, He.....Sacha Dhawan, Brother.....Rupert Hill, Girl.....Kay McAllister. Produced by Nadia Molinari. 4 Feb: Twenty Odd By Philip Meeks. 30m. Samuel Fergus is 53 and the editor at a Newcastle publishing house. Their star author is Clara Dove who writes bodice rippers. When her 24 year old son Alfie, drops out of studying for his literature MA, she gets a job created for him at her publishers. Twenty Odd is the second of three LGBT dramas. The others are Whoopsie (by R. Beadle-Blair, 3 Dec 21) and The Road and the Miles to Dundee, by Val McDermid (25 Mar 22 - next month). Sam … ……Rajat M Bose, Alfie …….….Elijah Young, Clara ………. Denise Welch, Jon …..….. Donald McBride, Devon …… Philip Meeks. Produced by Turan Ali. Indie (Bona Broadcasting). 5 Feb: Saturday Play slot - Berlin Alexanderplatz, 1 First half of a four-hour special. By Alfred Döblin; dram. Simon Scardifield from theMichael Hofmann translation. It's set in Germany in 1929. Ex-convict, Franz Biberkopf, is back on the streets of Berlin determined to go straight. We hear historical trivia, adverts, sporting results, this is a world where buildings come alive and beer and Schnapps conduct conversations with us. Continues tomorrow. Narrator ..... Claes Bang, Franz ..... Lee Ross, Mack ..... Samuel James, Reinhold ..... David Hounslow, Eva ..... Clare Corbett, Herbert ..... Mark Edel-Hunt, Pums ..... Neil McCaul, Franzi ..... Ria Marshall, Lina ..... Jasmine Hyde, Otto ..... Michael Begley, Eliser ..... Justice Ritchie, Cilly ..... Grace Cooper Milton, Speaker ..... Chris Jack, Alice ..... Christine Kavanagh. Produced by Emma Harding an the late Marc Beeby. Directed by David Hunter and Gemma Jenkins. 6 Feb: Classic Serial slot - Berlin Alexanderplatz, 2 The second half of yesterday's drama; another 2-hour slot, beginning 1500 hrs. Bruised and battered by the Berlin underworld, Franz is offered another shot at redemption when he comes under the protective influence of two friends from his past. Narrator ..... Claes Bang, Franz ..... Lee Ross, Reinhold ..... David Hounslow, Eva ..... Clare Corbett, Herbert ..... Mark Edel-Hunt, Mitzi ..... Hannah Genesius, Pums ..... Neil McCaul, Oskar ..... Ryan Whittle, Mack ..... Samuel James, Beer ..... Michael Begley, Schnapps ..... Jasmine Hyde, Keyboard ..... Chris Jack, Detective ..... Justice Ritchie, Ida ..... Grace Cooper Milton Alice ..... Christine Kavanagh. Produced by Emma Harding and Marc Beeby. Directed by David Hunter and Gemma Jenkins. 7 Feb: Limelight: Siege, 1 By Katherine Jakeways, Eno Mfon and Darragh Mortell. 30m. Part 1 of 5. Everybody remembers the Siege, when for 24 hours the whole world was watching a small South London branch of a global supermarket chain. Now for the first time the hostages tell the story of what really happened. For 5 shoppers and a security guard, it’s just another day in the supermarket until a masked man walks in with a gun. Noami - Danielle Vitalis, ackson - Kwabena Ansah, Kemi - Layo-Christina Akinlude, Penny - Jasmine Hyde, Maggie - Stacey Abalogun. Sound Design - Catherine Robinson Director - John Norton Produced by John Norton and James Robinson. BBC Wales. 8 Feb: Siege, 2 By Katherine Jakeways, Eno Mfon and Darragh Mortell. 30m. The manager is badly wounded, the police have arrived, and the armed robbery has now become a siege. Naomi - Danielle Vitalis, Jackson - Kwabena Ansah, Penny - Jasmine Hyde, Maggie - Stacey Abalogun, Sound Design – Catherine Robinson, Produced by John Norton and James Robinson. BBC Wales. 9 Feb: Siege, 3 By Katherine Jakeways, Eno Mfon and Darragh Mortell. 30m. Night falls and Naomi is in danger. The police are on the roof and the gunman starts to get angry with the authorities. He decides to show them he means business. The world is watching. Naomi - Danielle Vitalis, Jackson - Kwabena Ansah, Kemi - Layo-Christina Akinlude, Penny - Jasmine Hyde, Maggie - Stacey Abalogun, Derek - Ewan Bailey. Sound Design – Catherine Robinson, Produced by John Norton and James Robinson. BBC Wales. 10 Feb: Siege, 4 By Katherine Jakeways, Eno Mfon and Darragh Mortell. 30m. After some terrible news, the gunman goes crazy. Jackson can no longer cope and Kemi tries to calm the group. Speculation continues online about accomplices, Penny opens up about her family and Maggie has a plan. The ransom money is on the way. Naomi - Danielle Vitalis, Jackson - Kwabena Ansah, Kemi - Layo-Christina Akinlude, Penny - Jasmine Hyde, Maggie - Stacey Abalogun, Derek - Ewan Bailey. News Reporter - Layo-Christina Akinlude. Other production details - as yesterday. BBC Wales. 11 Feb: Siege, 5 By Katherine Jakeways, Eno Mfon and Darragh Mortell. 30m. It’s almost dawn and it looks like the hostages are going to be released, but events are out of control and nobody is prepared for what happens next. Naomi - Danielle Vitalis, Jackson - Kwabena Ansah, Kemi - Layo-Christina Akinlude, Penny - Jasmine Hyde, Maggie - Stacey Abalogun, Derek - Ewan Bailey. Other production details - as yesterday. BBC Wales. 12 Feb: Saturday Play slot - An Artificially Intelligent Guide to Love By Hannah Silva. Experimental drama as the writer collaborates with a learning algorithm to create an audio guide to love. The algorithm produces poems and stories in response to the writer’s poems and stories. It answers the writer’s questions and it also asks questions. Hannah tells the algorithm that she wants to think about love because in the past she didn’t think about it, she just fell in it. The algorithm and the writer explore the theme of love in all its forms - parental love, romantic love, friendship and loss of love. The algorithm’s texts frame and comment on the writer’s personal story of love and loss. An Artificially Intelligent Guide to Love was developed through OKRE Experimental Stories. The consultant was Dr James Carney. The script was written using texts generated by the GPT- J algorithm, a language prediction model trained and maintained by EleutherAI, a collective of AI researchers. Algorithm .…. Fiona Shaw, Writer ….. Yusra Warsama, Woman ….. Jane Slavin, Man ….. Neil Bell. Executive Producer ….. Sara Davies. Production Manager ….. Anna de Wolff Evans. Sound Design ….. Adam Woodhams. Mix …… Steve Bond. Music …… Ioana Selaru. Producer ….. Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica). 13 Feb: Classic Serial slot - Mahabharata Now, 1 By Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle. A modern adaptation of the ancient Indian poem Mahabharata. Dramatised as a family epic set in 21st century Mumbai, this series is powered by the tensions and rivalries of a turbulent business empire. One of India’s biggest business empires is facing a crisis that threatens its existence. Fifty years ago, two brothers, Sanjay and Paras set up a small business that would eventually grow into Hasta Enterprises, a vast conglomerate encompassing everything from finance to hotels. When Paras died young from a heart attack, control of the empire passed to Sanjay, and for many years all was well. Recently however, Sanjay has started to show signs of ill health. Looking to the future, he prays to the Gods and decides to publish a will. That is when the chaos begins. Sanjay: Rajit Kapur, Dhruv: Neil Bhoopalam, Yash: Tavish Bhattacharyya, Kala: Anahita Uberoi, Gita: Shernaz Patel, Padma - Ira Dubey, Shaks: Vivek Madan, Karthik: Sukant Goel, Vihaan: Omkar Kulkarni, MC: Aseem Hattangady, Paramedic: Abir Abrar, Consultant: Shivani Tanksale, Gopi: Prerna Chawla. Other characters played by Shivani Tanksale; Abir Abrar; Omkar Kulkarni and Aseem Hattangady. Sound Supervisor (Mumbai): Ayush Ahuja. Sound Design and Post Production: Wilfredo Acosta. Original Music: Imran Ahmad. Producer (Mumbai): Nadir Khan. Producer: Helen Quigley and Andrew Mark Sewell. Executive Producer: Andrew Mark Sewell. Director: Jatinder Verma. Indie (B7 Media). 14 Feb: Patterdale By Paul Jones, a recent Alfred Bradley Award winner. As Tommy Whelan runs away from his foster family, through the streets of Liverpool, his mind is full of fractured moments, memories and fantasies. In a stream of consciousness we hear and see what he does, and get glimpses of his life and imagination and the people closest to him, and discover why he desperately needs to get back to his Nan. Tommy - Oscar Tyndall, Sophie - Gillian Kearney, Nan - Eithne Browne, Grandad - Neil Caple, David/Football commentator - Liam Tobin, Thomas/Judge - Paul Duckworth, Policewoman/Julie - Keddy Sutton, Emily - Nancie Thomas, Cully - Harley Harrison, Smigger - Sonny Lackey. Sound by Sharon Hughes. Produced by Pauline Harris. Drama North. 15 Feb: The Penny Dreadfuls - Hadrian’s Beard By David Reed. To defend the outer reaches of the Roman Empire and repel attacks from the Barbarians, Hadrian built a wall across Britain, sea to sea, just north of the great fort Vindolanda. It is still in visible between Northumberland and Cumbria. This comedy play looks under the skin of the Emperor who broke with various traditions, not least growing a beard where all Roman leaders were previously clean-shaven; and his deep love of all things Grecian. Emperor Hadrian ... Tony Gardner, Queen Bridget ... Mina Anwar, with The Penny Dreadfuls: Humphrey Ker, David Reed, Thom Tuck and Margaret Cabourn-Smith. Producer: Julia McKenzie. Rpt. from 2019. BBC production. 16 Feb: Wild Swimming By Marek Horn, from an idea by Marek and Julia Head. Nell (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) and Oscar (Joseph Tweedale) meet on a deserted beach in Dorset. It’s 1595. Or maybe it’s 1610. Oscar has returned from his first term at university and Nell is bored out her brains. They will meet here, on this same beach, again and again for the next 400 years. Stuff will change, as it does with time. They will try to keep up. Produced by Becky Ripley. Rpt. 17 Feb: The Jester of Astapovo By Rose Tremain, and dramitised by her for radio. Nothing happens in Astapovo, an isolated little place in the vast Russian countryside. Until the day a very unwell Count Leo Tolstoy arrives at the little railway station with the Countess - and the hungry Russian press pack - on his trail. Based on real events. Rpt. Ivan ..... John Lightbody, Anna ..... Maggie Service, Countess Tolstoya ..... Barbara Flynn, Chertkov ..... Ewan Bailey, Dushan ..... Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Count Leo Tolstoy/Dmitri ..... Roger Ringros,e Sound ..... Caleb Knightley. Directed by Marc Beeby. 18 Feb: Limelight - Who is Aldrich Kemp? Chapter 1: Clara Page By Julian Simpson. 30m. On a heightened and fun journey, which takes us to glamourous and sometimes improbable locations, we encounter Euro-villains and murderous housekeepers. In this first episode, the washed-up body of a man presumed dead 7 years earlier marks the beginning of Clara's mission to find the elusive Aldrich Kemp. Clara Page ..........Phoebe Fo,x Mister Bartholomew .........Tim McInnerny, Aldrich Kemp ........... Ferdinand Kingsley, Mrs Boone.............Nicola Walker, Sebastian Harcourt ............Kyle Soller, Nakesha Kemp ..........Karla Crome, Aunt Lily ............Susan Jameson, Secretary ...........Louise Brealey, Howlett .........Ben Crowe, Tom ...........James Joyce. Recorded on location in Hove, London and at The Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Music composed by Tim Elsenburg. Sound Design: David Thomas. Director: Julian Simpson. Producer: Sarah Tombling. Executive Producer: Karen Rose. Indie (Sweet Talk). 19 Feb: Saturday Play slot - Cardboard Citizens: every person wandering Written and performed by members of Cardboard Citizens, based on the research of Professor Nick Crowson of the University of Birmingham. Imagine your story told through all the worst moments in your life. Police records,court records and the like. Sometimes the only way of discovering the lives of people affected by poverty and homelessness is through the public records of the times they would rather forget.The programme (I hesitate to call it a drama) draws on historic documents, imagined lives, and personal experience of those who have struggled to find a home. the struggle for a place to call home. Hence the title. Stories are told by Sasha Winslow, Pixie Maddison and Libby Liburd, with additional material by Jonquil Panting. Writers' Circle leader: Lisa Ogun. The perfomers: Jo Galbraith, Terell Gayle, Jake Goode, Brendan Lyons, K.T. Marsh, David Olapoju, Adar Owuna, Brandon Richards, John Watts, Yvonne Wickham. The Beggar’s Ballad is written and performed by Errol McGlashan. Producers: Claire Gilbert and Clare Robertson. Joint CEOs: Lisa Briscoe and Chris Sonnex. Associate Director: Terry O'Leary. Participation Producer: Kiri Grant. Thanks to the Cardboard Citizens members who took part in development: Tim Bennett and Dionne Williams. Sound design by Jon Nicholls. Produced by Jonquil Panting, from an original concept by Adrian Jackson. Indie (Jonx). 20 Feb: Classic Serial slot: Mahabharata Now, 2 By Ayeesha Menon. Adaptation of the ancient Indian poem Mahabharata. Dramatised as a family epic set in 21st century Mumbai. As one faction is revealed to have loaded the dice and cheated, the oligarch’s family is plunged into a fresh crisis. Dhruv makes a simple offer to Yash - double or quits. The entire business empire will be put on the table in a ‘winner takes all’ roll of the dice. But people are starting to question Dhruv’s fitness to run Hasta Enterprises. The different family factions pray to the Gods for guidance. The bankers, lawyers and accountants broker a more pragmatic solution - one final game must be played with a new set of perfect, neutral dice. The stakes couldn’t be simpler - and Winner Takes All. Sanjay: Rajit Kapur, Dhruv: Neil Bhoopalam, Yash: Tavish Bhattacharyya, Kala: Anahita Uberoi, Gita: Shernaz Patel, Padma: Ira Dubey, Shaks: Vivek Madan, Karthik: Sukant Goel, Vihaan: Omkar Kulkarni, Lawyer: Devika Shahani Punjabi, Gopi: Prerna Chawla. Other characters played by Shivani Tanksale, Abir Abrar, Omkar Kulkarni and Aseem Hattangady. Sound Supervisor (Mumbai): Ayush Ahuja, Sound Design and Post Production: Wilfredo Acosta, Original Music: Imran Ahmad. Producer (Mumbai): Nadir Khan. Producers (UK): Helen Quigley and Andrew Mark Sewell. Executive Producer: Andrew Mark Sewell. Director: Jatinder Verma. Indie (B7 Productions). 21 Feb: Trip The Light Fantastic By Miriam Battye. Jack (Paul Copley) and Freddie (Lorn MacDonald) meet every Tuesday evening to dance, or at least to try to dance. Seventy and twenty-one, they are men from different worlds, brought together by a love of dance and searching for happiness. Producer: Becky Ripley. Rpt. 22 Feb: Broken Colours, 1 By Matthew Broughton. Jess meets Daniel and falls in love. It changes both of their lives. A new thriller of conflicting perception. New series of 5 episodes. Jess.....Holli Dempsey, Dan.....Josef Altin, Johnny.....Tom Byrne, Melissa.....Alexandria Riley, Petal.....Rina Mahoney, Daisy.....Grace Cooper Milton. Sound design by Catherine Robinson and Nigel Lewis. Producers John Norton and Emma Harding; BBC Wales. 23 Feb: A Border Fantasy By Hugh Costello, in the Dangerous Visions series. An imagined, irreverent look at one possible Brexit outcome in Ireland. When Tania, boss of a global tech giant, flies to the company’s Dublin HQ on the eve on Theresa May’s crucial vote on Brexit, the under-achieving Fintan Cooke is delegated to show her the invisible border at the heart of the controversial Backstop issue. Rpt. Fintan ……Colin Morgan, Sinead………. Simone Kirby, Tania…… Jeany Spark, Douglas……. Frank Laverty, Ross/Receptionist....….Fergal McElherron. Producer: Eoin O'Callaghan Indie (Big Fish). 24 Feb: Faith, Hope and Glory, series 3 By Roy Williams. New series. Episode title: Hope and Jim. Hope runs out of patience with Jim’s philandering and wants a divorce. Jim tries to prove he can change, but perhaps it's too late. Hope ..... Danielle Vitalis, Jim ..... Martins Imhangbe, Abeo ..... Valentine Olukoga, Rodney ..... Richie Campbell, Teddy Boy 1 ..... Lee Hunter, Teddy Boy 2 .... Michael Begley, Joan ..... Jasmine Hyde, Howard ..... Neil McCaul, Nurse Clare ..... Rebecca Crankshaw, Nurse Jenny ..... Christine Kavanagh, Nurse Riley ..... Alexandra Hannant, Sheila ..... Eden Forde. Directed by Anastasia Osei-Kuffour. Produced by Pat Cumper. 25 Feb: Who is Aldrich Kemp? - Chapter Two: Themis House By Julian Simpson, in the 'Limelight' series. 30m. Clara finds herself in a village where the shopkeepers all look remarkably similar. Clara Page ............Phoebe Fox, Mister Bartholomew .........Tim McInnerny, Aldrich Kemp ......... Ferdinand Kingsley, Mrs Boone..............Nicola Walker, Sebastian Harcourt ............Kyle Soller, Nakesha Kemp ...........Karla Crome, Aunt Lily .............Susan Jameson, The Underwood Sisters ....Jana Carpenter, Cylist ............Louise Brealey. Recorded on location in Hove, London and at The Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Music composed by Tim Elsenburg. Sound Design: David Thomas. Director: Julian Simpson. Producer: Sarah Tombling Executive Producer: Karen Rose. Indie (SweetTalk). 26 Feb: Saturday Play - A Leap In The Dark By Ron Hutchinson, to celebrate the approaching centenary of the UK’s first ever radio play. In 1922, when producer Cedric Maud and his assistant Grace first proposed the idea of a play to be performed on the newly available wireless sets, the idea was initially regarded as impracticable and perhaps impossible to execute. How would listeners know what was going on if they couldn't see the stage? A young writer, Richard Hughes, was commissioned to write a piece which would exploit the potential of the new medium. This play takes a humorous look at the way the first drama producers faced the challenge and invented a new art form which was destined to become very popular - radio drama. Nigel Playfair, stage actor - Alex Jennings, May Playfair - Jane Slavin, Cedric Maud - Rufus Wright, Grace Wise - Elinor Coleman, Hattersly - Clive Hayward, Billingsby - David Acton, Hughes - Jos Vantyler. Director: Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish). 60m. 27 Feb: Classic Serial slot: White Debt, 1 Drama-doc by Thomas Harding and presented by him; dram. Patricia Cumper, based on the book of the same title. The story of the Demerara Uprising in 1823. Drama-doc. This piece of history is brought to life with dramatised sections alongside factual material. For Thomas, this is more than a question of national history. He has written books about his father’s German-Jewish family, which explored how his family fled the Nazis to Britain, how he lost family members in the Holocaust and how he personally received reparations from the German government. Then he discovered that his family, on his mother’s side, made money from slavery. They ran a large business in the 19th century selling tobacco from plantations in Virginia and Cuba. The slaves didn't get any reparations. Thomas begins the programme by travelling to Guyana (formerly Demerara) and then back to the UK, where he talks with leading thinkers about personal and national responsibility. Jack . . . . . Martins Imhangbe, Quamina . . . . . Cyril Nri, John . . . . . Mark Edel-Hunt, Jane . . . . . Grace Cooper Milton, Gracy . . . . . Kemi Durosinmi, Daniel . . . . . Justice Ritchie, Seaton . . . . . Chris Jack, Governor . . . . . Sam Dale, Stewart . . . . . Michael Begley, Captain . . . . . Joseph Ayre, M’Turk . . . . . Ben Crowe. Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko. 28 Feb: The Breach By Owen Whitelaw. Thriller is set on a remote Scottish island spanning two time zones 4000 years apart. In the present day the discovery of several bodies in a peat bog is connected to a calamitous event causing the destruction of an ancient religion in 2000BC. Two archaeologists try to unravel the mystery of the bodies preserved in the bog, but in the 21st century the island is threatened by rising sea levels. Gwen/Rachel ..... Hannah Donaldson, Mara/ Ellen ..... Isabelle Joss, Peter/Mike ..... Robert Jack, Caden ..... Owen Whitelaw, Onora ..... Anne Lacey, Adriana ..... Louise Ludgate. Producer/director: Bruce Young. 1 Mar: Broken Colours, 2 By Matthew Broughton. An aspiring artist is injured during an environmental protest. She is taken to hospital by a kind stranger, who becomes her boyfriend. Then he disappears. Jess.....Holli Dempsey, Dan.....Josef Altin, Melissa.....Alexandria Riley, Clem......Francois Pandolfo, Desk Sergeant.....Chris Jack, Security Guard.....Jasmine Hyde, Mark.....Neil McCaul, Daisy.....Grace Cooper Milton. Sound design by Catherine Robinson and Nigel Lewis. BBC Wales. Produced by John Norton and Emma Harding. 2 Mar: Twelve Weeks By Viv Groskop, rpt. A weekend away for college friends turns goes wrong. Jen, Caroline and Sorcha are in their early 40s and have been friends since University, 25 years ago. Jen has had a successful but hard-fought career as an architect, married with two children. Caroline is a finance director who has not had the personal life she would have wanted and has a history of expensive failed IVF, while Sorcha is a stay at home mother of three who has not had the career she wanted. Jen recently had a secret termination. Caroline wasn't told. Jen........................Flora Montgomery, Caroline..............Jane Slavin, Sorcha.................Nimmy March, Anne....................Barbara Flynn, Alex......................Oliver Le Sueur, Doctor.................Viv Groskop. Produced by Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish). 3 Mar: Faith, Hope and Glory By Rex Obano; series 3. Episode title: Gloria and Clement. Gloria tells Clement that he find work or leave their home. Then their daughter Joy runs away. Clement must choose between his activism and repairing the family. Gloria ..... Pippa Bennett-Warner, Clement ..... Stefan Adegbola, Ida ..... Emma Handy, Caleb ..... Don Gilet, Mabel ..... Dorothea Myer-Bennett, Man 3 ..... Chris Jack, Guard ..... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Benny ..... Neil McCaul. Directed by Pat Cumper. 4 Mar: Who Is Aldrich Kemp? Chapter Three: The Black Windmill By Julian Simpson. Clara and Kennedy find some parallels in their quests and a new name crops up - Conrad Spijker. But whose side is he on? Clara Page ..........Phoebe Fox, Mister Bartholomew ...........Tim McInnerny, Aldrich Kemp ........ Ferdinand Kingsley, Mrs Boone/Eleanor Peck....Nicola Walker, Sebastian Harcourt ......Kyle Soller, Nakesha Kemp ........Karla Crome, Aunt Lily ......Susan Jameson, Kennedy Fisher........Jana Carpenter, Conrad Spijker........Steven Mackintosh. Recorded on location in Hove, London and at The Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Music composed by Tim Elsenbur. Sound Design: David Thomas. Director: Julian Simpson. Producer: Sarah Tombling. Executive Producer: Karen Rose. Indie (Sweet Talk) 5 Mar: Saturday Play: Bed for the Night By David Pownall. The aftermath of Britain’s colonial past and the contentious issue of illegal immigration. The action takes place in a house located in Brighton in 2022. One evening, Daniel, now in his 80s, answers his front door and is confronted by Amos who asks him for a bed for the night. When Amos tells him that he is the grandson of someone Daniel employed when he worked in Rhodesia, Daniel invites him in. He feels deeply obligated to Amos and to the promises he made all those years ago to his grandfather. But Amos is in the country illegally. The play follows Amos' attempts to stay in the country It's produced by Martin Jenkins, who has directed over 30 plays by David Pownall. Daniel .......... Nigel Anthony, Amos .......... Stefan Adegbola, Flora .......... Sarah Badel. Other roles played by Jenny Funnell, Alan Leith and Jane Whittenshaw. Sound Design by David Thomas. Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Tombling. Indie (Pier). 6 Mar: Classic Serial slot - White Debt, 2 Written and presented by Thomas Harding; dram. Patricia Cumper. Based on the book White Debt by Thomas Harding. In 1823 Demerara was the most profitable of Britain’s West Indian colonies. But the enslaved outnumbered the colonists thirty to one. The uprising led by Jack Gladstone and his father Quamina was to be, up to that point, the largest in British history. Drama-doc. Jack . . . . . Martins Imhangbe, Quamina . . . . . Cyril Nri, John . . . . . Mark Edel-Hunt, Jane . . . . . Grace Cooper Milton, Primo . . . . . Justice Ritchie, Seaton . . . . . Chris Jack, Sandy . . . . . Kemi Durosinmi, Stewart . . . . . Michael Begley, Hamilton . . . . . Sam Dale, M’Turk . . . . . Ben Crowe, Leahy . . . . . Joseph Ayre. Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko. 6 Mar: The Seventh Test, 9 - The Proposition By Vikas Swarup, dram. Ayeesha Menon and John Dryden, from the novel. 1445 hrs. Thriller set in India. Note that this has been continuing weekly in 15m episodes since 9 Jan 22. 7 Mar: Talking About a Revolution By Sarah Daniels. When Maya unearths new information about her Aunt’s death, and the curious circumstances behind a car crash happening over 40 years ago, she’s determined to find out the truth. She opens up a murky world of radicalisation and revenge. Maya ….. Saffron Coomber, Diane ….. Clare Perkins, Louise ….. Christine Kavanagh, Jude ….. Rebecca Crankshaw, Ava ….. Amy Golden, Young Diane ….. Elexi Walker, Young Nina ….. Alexandra Hannant, The Police Officer ….. Neil McCaul. Produced by Anne Isger. 8 Mar: Broken Colours, 3 Thriller by Matthew Broughton and Faebian Averies. (RT made an error and called this a repeat). Jess discovers more about the shadowy world Dan moves in, but there are benefits. She's moved into the dockside studio owned by Dan's employers - the gangster-run Tactical Security. Dan himself remains something of a mystery, butthe studio is starting to inspire Jess’s art. Jess.....Holli Dempsey, Dan.....Josef Altin, Clem…..Francois Pandolfo, Melissa.....Alexandria Riley, Ryan.....Justice Ritchie, Petal.....Rina Mahoney, Ronnie.....Alun Raglan, Security Guard.....Chris Jack. Sound design by Catherine Robinson and Nigel Lewis. BBC Wales; produced by John Norton and Emma Harding. 9 Mar: From Fact to Fiction - A Fair Shot By Viv Groskop, rpt.. Millionaire business-woman Maria Wild launches a new brand of centrist politics promising a fairer shot for voters and minority parties and is met with a curiously mixed response. Maria is a celebrity entrepreneur, television personality and UN Goodwill Ambassador. Tamara is Maria’s new speechwriter. She believes it's her life’s work to make Maria Wild into a figure who can galvanise the political system and re-invigorate the centre. But she thinks Maria is too right-wing. Two women essentially working together but in conflict. Maria ……. Barbara Flynn, Tamara …… Viv Groskop, Nicola ….. Jane Slavin, James ….. Gerrard McArthur. Produced by Eoin O'Callaghan Indie (Big Fish) 10 Mar: Faith, Hope and Glory, Series 3 - Faith and Trevor By Carol Russell. An unexpected pregnancy shakes Faith’s lif. She realises that she must tell Jim tthe truth truth and find the friend she has betrayed. Faith ..... Shiloh Coke, Trevor ..... Gary Beadle, Hope ..... Danielle Vitalis, Bootsy ..... Ricky Fearon, Merlene ..... Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Doctor/Rev Vincent ..... Neil McCaul, Receptionist ..... Saffron Coomber, News reporter ..... Matthew Durkan, Woman on bus ..... Rebecca Crankshaw, Man 2 ..... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Man 1 ..... Michael Begley, Nurse Brown ..... Jasmine Hyde. Produced by Pat Cumper. 11 Mar: Limelight - Who Is Aldrich Kemp? - Chapter Four: The Spirit of the Age By Julian Simpson. 30m. As Clara and her mission are in increasing peril, questions are asked across London and Europe. Clara Page .............Phoebe Fox, Mister Bartholomew ..........Tim McInnerny, Aldrich Kemp ...........Ferdinand Kingsley, Mrs Boone...........Nicola Walker, Sebastian Harcourt .........Kyle Soller, Nakesha Kemp ........Karla Crome, Aunt Lily ..........Susan Jameson, Underwood Sisters .......Jana Carpenter, Conrad Spijker ........Steven Mackintosh, Margot ........Louise Brealey, Uncle Dave..........Ben Crowe, McGarry.........James Joyce. Recorded on location in Hove, London and at The Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Music composed by Tim Elsenburg. Sound Design: David Thomas. Director: Julian Simpson. Producer: Sarah Tombling. Executive Producer: Karen Rose. Indie (Sweet Talk). 12 Mar: Saturday Play - The War After The War By Paul Coates. Layla’s night terrors are the first indication that Bernard’s granddaughter needs more help than the advice his own father used to give him, whihch was “Chin up, lad, and crack on.” Layla came back to the UK three months ago, minus a leg, her army career seemingly over, and her young life in tatters. Layla still needs physiotherapy and support, so she can’t travel to India to be with her parents. Instead, she's come to stay with Bernard, behind his bookshop. Bernard didn’t help much in raising his three kids. He was working long shifts. The last time he saw Layla was at his wife Elsie’s funeral, four years ago. Layla was 15 and he barely knew her. Now he’s out of his depth. Cast, In order of appearance: Ziggy – Joe Gaffney. Layla – Natalie Davies. Bernard – Sir David Jason. Natalie – Sian Gibson. Gruff – Johnny Vegas. Tommo and Barry - Joe Ransom. District Nurse & Cally – Jennifer Saayeng. Ida – Eileen O’Brien. Additional voices by Andrew Lynch, Paul Coates, Gerry O’Riorden, Beverley Dixon. Produced by Sally Harrison. Sound Engineer: Gerry O’Riorden. Sound Design: Alisdair McGregor. Directed by Johnny Vegas. Indie (Woolyback). 13 Mar: Classic Serial slot: Michael Palin - The Weekend By Michael Palin, rpt. from 2017, from his only stage play. In his diaries for 1988-98, Palin wrote about the out-of-town previews for the stage show and records the press saying it was "A good play. Funny and moving...the audiences laughed and laughed," and he had to remind himself, "it is a comedy. It's a comedy about someone who has made a mess of his life." He also noted how much he enjoyed creating so much amusement for so many people. Stephen Febble ...... Michael Palin, Virginia Febble ...... Penelope Wilton, Diana ...... Sophie Thompson, Alan ...... Hugh Dennis, Charlotte ...... Bryony Hannah, Duff Gardner ...... Bill Paterson, Bridget Gardner ...... Cathy Sara, Hugh Bedales ...... Patrick Barlow. Director: Marilyn Imrie. Indie (Big Fish) 14 Mar: From Fact to Fiction - Jabber Jabber By Mark Lawson; topical new drama. It's a useful tool, but is endless jabbing the only way to save the NHS? Mark Lawson says that he has had two jabs, a booster, and Covid-19 (of a mild kind). But aftfer seeing news reports that 90% of British adult population had received the first jab, he was fascinated by the 10% (about five million) who had refused it. And even more so that around a tenth of the NHS workforce (100,000) - had also refused it, even under the threat of dismissal. Why did they refuse? Mark continues: "Being the audience for a play is like taking a lateral flow test. At the end, you’ll have a positive or negative response. But, in this case, please try to withhold your verdict until - to extend the metaphor - the final line appears". Dr Kat Stock – Nimmy March, Dr Tom Stock - Nicholas Murchie, Dr James Billing - Julian Rhind-Tutt, Jenny Wheater - Jane Slavin, Peter Horster, MP - Clive Hayward, Nat Jenkins – Tom Glenister. Producer: Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish) 15 Mar: Broken Colours, 4 (m00159zm) By Matthew Broughton. Jess has left Dan, the dockside studio and the grimy, violent world of Ronnie Vaz behind. But something is pulling her back. Jess.....Holli Dempsey, Dan.....Josef Altin, Henry.....Brendan Charleson, Janey.....Jasmine Hyde, Ronnie.....Alun Raglan, Petal.....Rina Mahoney, News Reader.....Chris Jack. Sound design by Catherine Robinson and Nigel Lewis. Producers: John Norton and Emma Harding. 16 Mar: Personal Shopper By Hugh Costello, rpt. A topical drama about how living in enforced isolation can lead to the forging of new relationships, and to the revitalisation of old ones. It starts with a skinny slip of paper posted through Nina’s letter box: "Dear Neighbour. My name is Max. I am almost 15 years old and I live at number 76 of this road. My school has been shut and I am free to do shopping for anyone who needs it. Just ring me on the number below." Nina’s first instinct is to bin the note. But life is tricky in isolation. Her husband Frank is ill.So Nina gives Max a call. Nina .......... Monica Dolan, Frank ........ Phil Davis, Max .......... Tom Glenister, Sarah ....... Jane Slavin. Producer: Eoin O'Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish) 17 Mar: Our Friends in the North, 1: 1964 By Peter Flannery, who has rewritten his television series as a radio drama. The drama follows the lives of four friends over three decades beginning in the 1960s. The series tackles corporate, political and police corruption in the 1960s, the rise and fall of the Soho porn empires in the 1970s, the nouveau riche and the Miners’ Strike of the 1980s and the rise of New Labour in the 1990s. Some of the stories are directly based on the real-life controversies. The adapted series will conclude with a new tenth episode by writer Adam Usden, bringing the story to the present day. This first episode opens in 1964, with 20-year old Nicky meeting his girlfriend Mary on the beach. Harold Wilson is PM. Mary: Norah Lopez Holden, Nicky: James Baxter, Geordie: Luke MacGregor, Tosker: Philip Correia, Felix: Trevor Fox, Florrie: Tracey Wilkinson, Austin Donohue: Tom Goodman-Hill, Eddie Wells: James Gaddas, Bede Connor: Tony Hirst. Studio Engineer: Paul Clark. Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore. Producer: Melanie Harris. Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Sparklab). 18 Mar: Who is Aldrich Kemp? - Chapter Five: Kholat Syakhl By Julian Simpson. 30m. As the water rises, Clara is under more pressure and learns some surprising family history. Clara Page .............Phoebe Fox, Mister Bartholomew ...........Tim McInnerny, Aldrich Kemp ...........Ferdinand Kingsley, Mrs Boone............Nicola Walker, Sebastian Harcourt .........Kyle Soller, Nakesha Kemp ........Karla Crome, Aunt Lily ........Susan Jameson, The Underwood Sisters ........Jana Carpenter, Conrad Spijker .......Steven Mackintosh, Hazlitt......Ben Crowe, Nurse.. .....Louise Brealey. Recorded on location in Hove, London and at The Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Music composed by Tim Elsenburg. Sound Design: David Thomas. Director: Julian Simpson. Producer: Sarah Tombling. Executive Producer: Karen Rose. Indie (Sweet Talk) 19 Mar: Saturday Play - I Must Have Loved You By Michael Chaplin, with songs by 'Sting'. Jess Doyle, the lead singer with the '80s band Heaton Park gets a record deal and a run of chart busting songs which launches her career in 'pop'. But she will have to leave Newcastle, dump her manager Tommy and leave behind her friend Malcolm, who co-founded the band. She moves to America and works on her second album, which proves to be more difficult than her first. 90m. Vince ..... Sting, Jess ..... Frances McNamee, Tommy Brass..... Stephen Tompkinson, Malcolm ..... Deka Walmsley, Stella ..... Charlie Hardwick, Clodagh ..... Phillippa Wilson, Bonny ..... Bridget Marumo, Sing (sic) ..... Farshid Rokey. Produced by Eoin O'Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish) 20 Mar:Classic Serial slot - Some Kind of Black, 1 By Diran Adebayo, from the novel. Black British classic about a young man navigating his way through love, politics and violence in 90s Britain. When Dele graduates from Oxford, the real world hits him harder than expected. Now his sister is comatose in hospital. He needs to work out how it happened and what to do about it. Dele .... Kenneth Omole, Dapo .... Danielle Vitalis, Concrete .... Stephen Odubola, Helena .... Laura Christy, Tamsin .... Georgie Lomax Ford, Jonathan .... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Gabriel .... Kwabena Ansah, Lermontov .... Matthew Durkan, Andria .... Thea Gajic, Cheryl .... Elexi Walker, Mother .... Yetunde Oduwole, Father .... Cyril Nri, Celia .... Nneka Okoye, Dawn .... Kemi Durosinmi, PC Mills .... Matthew Durkan, PC Daniels .... Michael Begley, Duty Sergeant .... Neil McCaul, Gerry ... Neil McCaul, Sol .... Zackary Momoh, Fitzroy .... Chris Jack. Technical Producers: .... Caleb Knightley, Jenni Burnett, Martha Littlehailes, Keith Graham. Production Co-ordinator .... Ben Hollands, Director .... Femi Elufowoju jr., Producer .... Abigail le Fleming. BBC production. 21 Mar: Song of the Reed, 4 - Bittern By Steve Waters. Conclusion of the seasonal drama following life on a wetlands nature reserve in Norfolk over a year. Ian returns to Fleggwick for the first time since his injuries caused during the winter flood. The reserve is still under threat. Final episode of an innovative drama, with instalments recorded on location at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen in Norfolk every three months. This episode features the Bittern as its special guest. Liv - Sophie Okonedo, Ian - Mark Rylance, Tam - Ella Dorman Gajic, Kay - Molly Naylor, Theo - Tom Goodman-Hill, Nikki - Karen Hill, Sadegh - Zaydun Khalaf, Voice of the Reed - Christine Kavanagh. Other parts played by staff and volunteers at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen. Music by Michael Somerset Ward, with Rebecca Hearne. Sound design by Alisdair McGregor. Produced and Directed by Boz Temple-Morris. Indie (Holy Mountain). 22 Mar: Broken Colours, 5 By Matthew Broughton. Jess now knows the truth about Ronnie Vaz's relationship to Dan. But she's sucked deeper into the violent world of his drug gang. Jess.....Holli Dempsey, Dan.....Josef Altin, Melissa......Alexandria Riley, Petal.....Rina Mahoney, Mother.....Christine Kavanagh, Ronnie.....Alun Raglan, Gallery Director....Jasmine Hyde, Magner.....Neil McCaul. Sound design by Catherine Robinson and Nigel Lewis. Producers John Norton and Emma Harding. BBC Wales. 23 Mar: Norman Bows Out By Helen Kluger. Story about a fading pantomime star nearing the final curtain. Norman is a legendary comedian and panto star, most famous for his ventriloquist act. Aware that he is about to embark on what will be his final tour, Norman decides to give his dummy, Willy, a final outing. Norman Monk .......... Jim Broadbent, Lyle Toastman .......... Michael Simkins, Betty Conway .......... Christine Kavanagh, Kenny .......... Tom Glenister. Producer: Celia de Wolff. Indie (Pier) 24 Mar: Our Friends in the North, 2 - 1966 By Peter Flannery. This episode opens in 1966, with Mary and Tosker married and bringing up their baby in a brand new high-rise council flat. Both the flat and the marriage are showing cracks. Geordie’s in London, soon working for porn baron Benny. In Newcastle, Nicky and Mary miss seeing each other, but she’s pregnant again and determined to make her marriage work. Nicky is increasingly disillusioned with Austin and his connections with developer John Edwards. Austin Donohue / Charlie: Tom Goodman-Hill, John Edwards: Maanuv Thiara, Nicky: James Baxter, Geordie: Luke MacGregor, Mary / Julia: Norah Lopez-Holden, D.S. Conrad: Andrew Byron, Benny Barratt: Tony Hirst, Tosker / D.I Salway: Philip Correia, Ernie: Des Yankson, Arthur Watson: James Gaddas. Studio Engineer: Paul Clark. Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore. Producer: Melanie Harris. Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Sparklab). 25 Mar: The Road and the Miles to Dundee By Scottish crime writer Val McDermid.30m. Semi-autobiographical. Famous writer Stella has always been haunted by the song her dad used to sing at family gatherings, The Road and the Miles to Dundee. Coming out of a bad break up, and in tears from hearing that song again, Stella meets Jen, a new writer, headed for the same literary festival. Stella …………Louise Oliver, Jen .……. Susannah Laing, Aunt Jean/Betty …….. Barbara Dickson, Dad… …. John Kazek, Andy …..… Michael Monroe, Tenor …… Cameron Goodall. Produced by Turan Ali. Indie (Bona Broadcasting). This is the third of three LGBTQ short dramas commissioned for this Friday half hour slot from Bona Broadcasting. The other two are by Rikki Beadle-Blair (Whoopsie, 3rd December 2021) and Philip Meeks, (Twenty Odd, 4th February 2022) - both on BBC Sounds. 26 Mar: Saturday Play: Between Two Places 1500hrs. By Yolanda Mercy, set in London in the near future. Angela is struggling to survive. She does not have all the papers the government says she should. She suffers from not being able to get medical treatment, not being able to protest, not being able to hold her employer to account; not trusting people; not finding love and working long hours to send money home to her family in another country. Now the government is placing a Documentation App on everyone’s phone, so her life is about to get even more difficult. Angela: Deborah Bahi, Monica: Michelle Greenidge, Fox: Cash Holland, Jamal: Patrick Elue, Ian: Clarence Smith, Doctor: Nadine Gray, Phone: Esme Scarborough. Other parts played by members of the cast. Directed by Yolanda Mercy. Produced by Caroline Raphael. Sound by Wilfredo Acosta at The Soundhouse. With thanks to Zoe Gardner at The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants. Indie (A Dora production). 26 Mar: Saturday Play II - [Kiev] Kiev Is Bombed By Jonathan Myerson; quick-response drama to the situation in Ukraine. Some of the police officers in Kyivare dealing with the shocking events currently taking place. Like many in Ukraine they must consider how to fight for their country and what it is to be Ukrainian. This is a fictional story informed by real events, written and recorded as the invasion has been taking place. 45m. 2100hrs. Oleksiy Gordon Peaston, Polina Pearl Appleby, Super Sandy Grierson, Marichka Alyth Ross, Holub Nabil Eluahabi, Denysenko Noof Ousellam, Runner Charlie Archer, Titles Inna Bagoli Goncharenko. Other parts played by members of the company. Sound design by Alisdair McGregor. Produced and Directed by Boz Temple-Morris. Indie (Holy Mountain). 27 Mar: Classic Serial slot: Some Kind of Black, 2 By Diran Adebayo, cont. Dele launches a campaign to raise awareness about the police brutality that has left his sister comatose in hospital. But when a march for her goes tragically wrong, Dele starts to wonder who he can trust. Dele....Kenneth Omole, Sol....Zackary Momoh, Gabriel....Kwabena Ansah, Andria....Thea Gajic, Celia....Nneka Okoye, Genevieve....Nneka Okoye, Mother....Yetunde Oduwole, Father....Cyril Nri, Dapo....Danielle Vitalis, Concrete....Stephen Odubola, Lee....Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Michael....Chris Jack, Other parts played by Alexandra Hannant, Matthew Durkan and other members of the cast. Technical Producers....Caleb Knightley, Jenni Burnett, Martha Littlehailes, Keith Graham. Production Co-ordinator....Ben Hollands. Director....by Femi Elufowoju jr., Producer....Abigail le Fleming. BBC production. 28 Mar: Contender By Melanie Spencer. A drama about swimming, ruthless ambition and abuse of power. Aspiring Olympian Hannah is excited by the arrival of her new coach from the States. But their relationship becomes unsettling. A first play for radio by this writer. Hannah ..... Hannah Tointon, Ben ..... Elliot Cowan, Luke ..... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Andrea ..... Jasmine Hyde. Sound by Cal Knightley, Mike Etherton and Pete Ringrose. With thanks to Caitlin McClatchey. Produced by Ciaran Bermingha. 29 Mar: Waterloo Station By Katie Hims. Two strangers look back on an incident that happened a couple of years ago, just before their world turned upside down. It also reflects on our experience of the Covid pandemic. Ray ..... Ralph Ineson, Christa. ..... Christine Bottomley. Produced by Mary Peate. 30 Mar: Bombing Ukraine Rpt. of play by Jonathan Myerson, broadcast on Sat 25 Mar, 9pm. In Jonathan Myerson’s quick-response drama we meet some of the police officers in Kyiv who are dealing with the shocking events currently taking place. Like so many in Ukraine they must consider how to fight for their country and what it is to be Ukrainian. This is a fiction, informed by real events, written and recorded as the invasion has been taking place. Oleksiy Gordon Peaston, Polina Pearl Appleby, Super Sandy Grierson, Marichka Alyth Ross, Holub Nabil Eluahabi, Denysenko Noof Ousellam, Runner Charlie Archer, Titles Inna Bagoli Goncharenko. Other parts played by members of the company. Sound design by Alisdair McGregor. Produced and Directed by Boz Temple-Morris. Indie (Holy Mountain). 31 Mar: Our Friends in the North, 3 - 1967 By Peter Flannery. Nicky has turned his back on the Labour Party and is now looking to the anarchists for solutions. Mary and Tosker’s new high-rise flat in Newcastle is almost uninhabitable and in London, Geordie has fallen in love with his boss’s mistress Jool; a dangerous game. The government are desperate to clean up Soho; Scotland Yard’s Dirty Squad, together with porn baron Benny Barratt, suggest a solution. Geordie: Luke MacGregor. DI Salway / Tosker: Philip Correia. DS Conrad: Andrew Byron. Julia / Mary: Norah Lopez-Holden. Benny Barratt / Eddie Wells: Tony Hirst. Commander Harold Chapple: James Gaddas Austin Donohue / Claud Seabrook: Tom Goodman-Hill. John Edwards: Maanuv Thiara. Sandra: Tracey Wilkinson. Helen: Eve Shotton. Studio Engineer: Paul Clark. Sound Design: Jon Nicholls. Producer: Melanie Harris. Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Sparklab). 1 Apr: Dead Hand – Episode 1: Number Stations By Stuart Drennan; modern thriller set in Northern Ireland. Greg is the host of a true crime podcast dedicated to uncovering the identity of a serial killer from over twenty years ago. He was known only as Dead Hand. The name came from a radio transmission which has been broadcasting an indecipherable code in the years since Dead Hand vanished. A code told in the voices of Dead Hand’s victims. But when a new voice is added to the code, Greg realises that tthe killer is active again. Greg ... Paul Mallon, DS Murray … Michelle Fairley, Kate … Roísín Gallagher, Lucy … Hannah Eggleton, Stacey … Eimear Fearon, Daniel … Desmond Eastwood, Assistant Jo … Nicky Harley, Operator … Louise Parker, All other roles played by members of the cast. Script Editor … Philip Palmer. Producer … Michael Shannon. Executive Editor … Andy Martin. BBC Northern Ireland. 2 Apr: Saturday Play slot: Jabber Jabber Rpt. from last month. 1445; 45m. By Mark Lawson; topical new drama. It's a useful tool, but is endless jabbing the only way to save the NHS? Mark Lawson says that he has had two jabs, a booster, and Covid-19 (of a mild kind). But aftfer seeing news reports that 90% of British adult population had received the first jab, he was fascinated by the 10% (about five million) who had refused it. And even more so that around a tenth of the NHS workforce (100,000) - had also refused it, even under the threat of dismissal. Why did they refuse? Dr Kat Stock – Nimmy March, Dr Tom Stock - Nicholas Murchie, Dr James Billing - Julian Rhind-Tutt, Jenny Wheater - Jane Slavin, Peter Horster, MP - Clive Hayward, Nat Jenkins – Tom Glenister. Producer: Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish) 3 Apr: Classic Serial slot: Rossum's Universal Robots (RUR), 1 Musical version of the sci-fi classic by Karel Capek. Music and Lyrics by Susannah Pearse; book by Robert Hudson. In Capek's world, machines do all the work and their monopolistic makers care only about enriching themselves. Robots make huge volumes of goods very cheaply, but there are limited resources to make these goods from and humans don't care so long as life keeps getting lazier. The movie star Lady Helen is on a personal crusade. She visits the robot factory with the intention of freeing the robots. But falls in love with Chairman Domin, the capitalist boss of R.U.R, who says that robots have no emotion or free will. Lady Helen persuades a scientist to grow a small batch of new robots robots with these exact qualities. Domin . . . . . Paul Chahidi, Lady Helen . . . . . Jasmine Hyde, Radius . . . . . Paul Hilton, Helen 2 . . . . . Clare Foster, Alpha . . . . . Anneika Rose, Brown Owl . . . . . Neil McCaul, Alquist . . . . . Matthew Durkan, Sulla . . . . . Alexandra Hannant, Fabry . . . . . Michael Begley, Busman . . . . . Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Logicbot . . . . . Chris Jack. Arrangements and Musical Direction: Harry Sever. Production co-ordinator: Luke MacGregor. Sound: Peter Ringrose. Director: Sasha Yevtushenko. 4 Apr: The Painted Hall By Ian Kelly. The Painted Hall, one of the most spectacular baroque interiors in Europe and one of the largest ‘paintings' in the world, was conceived and created by the artist James Thornhill between 1707 and 1726. Over twenty years, he adapted his evolving design to reflect changes in royal succession, science and navigation. He was later asked to write a guide to explain what it all meant. His daughter fell in love with a paint-mixer: William Hogarth. James Thornhill ..... Hugh Bonneville, Dame Dolly Broadbent ..... Jane Asher, Jane Hogarth ..... Genevieve Gaunt, William Hogarth ..... Ryan Early, Obadiah Neptune ..... Ben Onwukwe, John Worley ..... Trevor Fox, Housekeeper ..... Sarah Ridgeway. Produced by Clive Brill. Indie (Brill Productions). 5 Apr: The Shell Seven By Margaret Heffernan. Environmental activism play. In April 2019, a group of environmental activistsbroke into Shell's headquarters on the South Bank, painted the building with graffiti and hung a banner charging the oil company with ecocide. Seven activists were arrested and charged with criminal damage. Two years later, they had their day in Southwark Crown Court. The drama is built from dramatised court transcripts, actuality and interviews. Interviewees include Jane Augsburger, Simon Bramwell, Raj Chada, Senan Clifford, David Lambert, Leonora Nicholson and Sid Saunders. Jane Augsburger...Pippa Hayward, Senan Clifford...Adrian Rawlins, Heath Garwood/Court Usher...Chris Jack, Judge Gregory Perrins...Neil McCaul, David Lambert...Michael Begley, Sid Saunders...Paul Chahidi, Diana Wilson...Rebecca Crankshaw, Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery. 6 Apr: Blame By Mark Lawson, rpt. Lady Radebe, a retired member of the Supreme Court, is appointed by HM Government to head a public inquiry. She plans to operate the “phased” approach employed by the late Lord Justice Taylor’s 1989 first inquiry into football stadium safety after the Hillsborough disaster earlier that year. Taylor insisted on a rapid “interim report”, making recommendations for stadium safety. These were made and implemented within six months of the deaths, with the inquiry then moving on to address culpability. Yet this model has never been applied to any subsequent inquiry. Lady Grace Radebe ..... Cecilia Noble, Clerk to the Inquiry ..... Nickolas Grace, Witness 1 ..... Haydn Gwynne, Witness 2 ..... Tom Glenister, Witness 3 ..... Jane Slavin, Witness 4 ..... Philip Jackson. Producer/Director: Eoin O'Callaghan. Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Tombling. Sound Engineer: Wilfredo Acosta. Sound Editor: Joe Bedell-Brill. Indie (Big Fish) 7 Apr: Our Friends in the North, 4: 1970 By Peter Flannery. Nicky and his anarchist friends are intent on bringing down Edward Heath’s government by force, Geordie is still working for Benny Barratt in Soho, and Mary and Tosker continue to grow apart. Chief Constable Roy Johnson is brought in as an outsider to investigate corruption in the London Metropolitan Police force. He faces an uphill struggle. Felix: Trevor Fox, Helen: Eve Shotton, Nicky: James Baxter, Geordie: Luke MacGregor, Commander Harold Chapple: James Gaddas, DI Salway / Tosker: Philip Correia, Austin Donohue / Claud Seabrook / D.I. Cockburn: Tom Goodman-Hill, Sir Colin Blamire: Des Yankson, DS Conrad: Andrew Byron, Benny Barratt / Chief Constable Roy Johnson: Tony Hirst, Mary: Norah Lopez Holden, Florrie: Tracey Wilkinson. Studio Engineer: Paul Clark, Sound Design: Paul Cargill, Producer: Melanie Harris, Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Sparklab) 8 Apr: Dead Hand, 2 - Zero Sum By Stuart Drennan. 30m. With time running out, can Greg crack the code and catch the killer? Greg ... Paul Mallon, DS Murray … Michelle Fairley, Kate … Roísín Gallagher, Lucy … Hannah Eggleton, Stacey … Eimear Fearon, May … Julia Dearden, Thomas … Patrick Fitzsymons, Daniel … Desmond Eastwood, Assistant Jo … Nicky Harley, Control … Louise Parker, Police Officer … Andrew McCracken, TSG lead … Patrick Buchanan, All other roles played by members of the cast. Script Editor … Philip Palmer, Producer … Michael Shannon. Executive Editor … Andy Martin. BBC Northern Ireland. 9 Apr - Saturday Play - Bach: The Great Passion 1445, 90m. By James Runcie, rpt. How the St Mathew Passion was written, composed, rehearsed and performed in the build-up to its first performance in Leipzig on Good Friday 1727. Entering the final weeks of rehearsals, Bach struggles to complete his Great Passion while he also runs a boarding school of fifty-five pupils (some of whom are hopeless at music) and supports a continuously pregnant wife. Arriving in Leipzig in 1727, Bach, the newly appointed Kapellmeister, sets out his plan for the staging of the Passion and the story of the persecuted Christ. He intends that it will be directly personal music, written in German rather than Latin. Music and choral rehearsals recorded in Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirk, with the choir and musicians of the Dunedin Consort dir. John Butt, and with the choristers St Mary's Music School and choirmaster Duncan Ferguson. Soloists: Jacob Slater - Boy Soloist, Joanne Lunn - Soprano, Robert Davies - Bass. Chorus: Joanne Lunn, Emily Mitchell, Esther Brazil, Rory McLeery, Kenny Reid, David Horton, Robert Davies, Jerome Knox. Children of St Mary's Music School Choir: Taylor Torkington, Madeleine Gill, Mattea Sacco, Carlo Massimo. Choir Master: Duncan Ferguson. Huw Daniel - Violin, Katy Bircher - Flute, William Hunt - Violone. Produced by Marilyn Imrie. Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish) 10 Apr: Classic Serial slot: Rossum's Universal Robots (R.U.R), 2 By Robert Hudson. Music and Lyrics by Susannah Pearse. In Capek's world, robots did all the work and their human overseers cared only about enriching themselves and little about the costs to the planet. But now a new breed of robots has been grown and everything has changed. The new robots, with emotion and free will, reasoned that the planet was being destroyed by intelligent life so they intervened by saving the world. The final part of their plan was to destroy themselves thus nullifying the damage they might cause to the planet. But it doesn't quite work out like that. Alpha . . . . . Anneika Rose, Radius . . . . . Paul Hilton, Helen 2 . . . . . Clare Foster, Brown Owl . . . . . Neil McCaul, Alquist . . . . . Matthew Durkan, Benoit . . . . . Chris Jack. Arrangements and Musical Direction: Harry Sever, Production co-ordinator: Luke MacGregor, Sound: Peter Ringrose, Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko. 11 Apr: Smoking Guns By David Morley. highlighting the difficulty of integrating the complex issue of climate science with easy-to-understand public statements and political manoeuvering. Based on original IPCC documentation and testimony, featuring Dr Santer as himself. He was the Lead Author of Chapter 8 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1996. David Morley has written a number of plays on contemporary stories, often based on primary research. Dr Tom Wigley: Nicholas Boulton, Sir John Houghton: Philip Franks, Donald Pearlman: William Hope, Jennifer Santer: Laurel Lefkow, Young Ben Santer: James Morley, Al-Saban: Nayef Rashad, Ned Crabbe and the German Delegate: Wilf Scolding, Fred Singer: Kerry Shale, The Kenyan Delegate: Nathaniel Christian. Producer: David Morley, Sound Design: Tom Maggs, Original Music: Chris O'Shaughnessy.Indie (Perfectly Normal productions). 12 Apr: The Blackrock Girl, 1 By Lucy Gannon, rpt. Theresa Finn arrives in the small rural village of Bridesway to start a new life. She befriends the whole village. She forges a friendship with Charles, a wealthy pensioner, and appears to be doing him the world of good. Only the retired policeman Martin is suspicious. She arranges a tea party to celebrate her old and new friends… Finn ....Fenella Woolgar, Ellen ….. Marion O’Dwyer, Evie ….. Pauline McLynn, Martin ….. Des McAleer Charles ….. Jonathan Coy, Dave ….. Jamie Beamish. Produced by Celia De Wolff; BBC Northern Ireland. 13 Apr: Our Truth, Their Lives By Hugh Costello, rpt. A drama about the growing influence of conspiracy theories. Organised child sex abuse is coordinated by a cabal of global elites; vaccines are a form of disguised government control. So there you go. The story backtracks through 2020 as it follows Jen’s journey into the online conspiracy theory universe. A family is thrown into crisis as Michael and Louise try to make sense of Jen’s transformation. Jen: Monica Dolan, Michael: Nicholas Murchie, Louise: Macy Nyman, Luka: Matthew Aubrey, Newcaster/Bot: Jane Slavin Producer: Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish). 14 Apr:Our Friends in the North, 5 By Peter Flannery. It’s 1974, the start of the 3-day week introduced by Edward Heath’s government to conserve electricity. Nicky is back in Newcastle offering to campaign for the Labour Party, Geordie is determined to exact revenge on Benny Barratt, Mary is a local councillor and Tosker’s business interests continue to grow. Under the new leadership of Commissioner Jellicoe, the Met are finally beginning to crack down on the Soho porn industry, as well as their own internal corruption. Nicky: James Baxter, Felix: Trevor Fox, Florrie: Tracey Wilkinson, Austin Donohue / Claud Seabrook: Tom Goodman-Hill, D.I. Conrad: Andrew Byron, Commissioner Jellicoe: Darren Kuppan, Commander Fieldson: Des Yankson, Tosker / DI John Salway: Philip Correia, Harold Chapple / Eddie Wells: James Gaddas, Geordie / Ray: Luke MacGregor, Paula / Lucille: Eve Shotton, Mary: Norah Lopez Holden, Benny Barratt: Tony Hirst, John Edwards: Maanuv Thiara. Studio Engineer: Paul Clark, Sound Design: Paul Cargill, Producer: Melanie Harris, Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Sparklab) 15 Apr: Dead Hand, 3 By Stuart Drennan. Continued from last week. 30m. Greg ... Paul Mallon, DS Murray … Michelle Fairley, Kate … Roísín Gallagher, Lucy … Hannah Eggleton, Stacey … Eimear Fearon, May … Julia Dearden, Freya … Carol Moore, Daniel … Desmond Eastwood, All other roles played by members of the cast. Script Editor … Philip Palmer. Producer … Michael Shannon. Executive Editor … Andy Martin. BBC Northern Ireland. 16 Apr: Saturday Play slot - The Garrick Year By Margaret Drabble, ad. by Robin Brooks, rpt. Set in the sixties. Emma Evans is forced to sacrifice a job in television when her actor husband, David takes his family off for a season at a new theatre in the provinces. Emma with a baby and a toddler observes the goings-on backstage with a detached amusement. Then she meets Wyndham, a charismatic director. : Emma Evans ….. Melody Grove, David Evans….. Trystan Gravelle, Wyndham Farrar….. Tom Burke, Sophy Brent ….. Georgina Strawson, Michael Fenwick….. Mark Spalding, Mary Summers..... Phoebe Fildes, Pascal / Young Woman ….. Rose Reade, Jimmy / Henry ..... Karan Gill, Flora ….. Rose Shepherd Lewis, Joseph ….. Louis Mason Dedieu. Additional White Devil Actors ..... Richard Bates and Simon Maier. Director / Producer : Fiona McAlpine. Sound Design : Alisdair McGregor. Broadcast Assistant : Sarah Tombling. Indie (Allegra) 17 Apr: Classic Serial slot - The Le Fanu Ballads By Neil Brand. Neil has written a play based on four of Sheridan Le Fanu's ghost stories. It begins in a basement nightclub in Dublin called Sheridan's. For four of the people who come to it, this visit will change their lives. The four stories are: The Sailor (based on The Watcher) A young naval officer is convinced he is being followed and is forced to rereconsider his punishment of a young rating who is seeking revenge. The Au Pair (based on Madame Crowle's Ghost) Laura gets a job as an Au Pair in an old house in the country, where the elderly Grandmother of her charge remains unseen, secluded in her room. But all is not right in the room upstairs. The Artist (based on Schalken the Painter) A young painter, Gordon Starkey, is in love with the niece of his friend Gerald, but is disturbed to find she has been lured into a clinic . The Judge (based on Lord Justice Harbottle) A female judge, renowned for handing down rough sentences on the flimsiest of evidence, sees her own fate planned out for her by the ghost of one of her victims. The MC.....Paul Chahidi, Lady Justice Horobin/Madam Crowl.....Haydn Gwynne, Lewis/Gordon Starkey.....Jonathan Forbes, Nuala/Laura.....Ruth Everett, James Barton/McCrone.....Matthew Durkan, Pamela/Jeanette/Rosie.....Alexandra Hannant, Grace/Meg Wyvern.....Rebecca Crankshaw, Yelland.....Chris Jack, Gerald Dow /Court Clerk.....Michael Begley, Vanderhausen/Workman/Captain Jenner.....Neil McCaul. Sheridan Le Fanu's ghost stories adapted by Neil Brand. Music composed and played by Neil Brand, with Nuala's Ballad sung by Ruth Everett. Produced by Tracey Neale. 18 Apr: The Tenderness of Boys By Oliver Emanuel, rpt. It’s a Monday morning. A writer walks into a supermarket and sees his mother. It’s an entirely ordinary scene. Except his mother’s been dead for 15 years. Writer … Robert Jack, his mother … Shauna Macdonald, Boy … Daniel Smith. Producer: Kirsty Williams. 19 Apr: The Blackrock Girl, 1 By Lucy Gannon, rpt. from Mar 2020. Theresa Finn arrives in the small rural village of Bridesway to start a new life. She befriends the whole village. She forges a friendship with Charles, a wealthy pensioner, and appears to be doing him the world of good. Only the retired policeman Martin is suspicious. She arranges a tea party to celebrate her old and new friends… Finn ....Fenella Woolgar, Ellen ….. Marion O’Dwyer, Evie ….. Pauline McLynn, Martin ….. Des McAleer Charles ….. Jonathan Coy, Dave ….. Jamie Beamish. Produced by Celia De Wolff; BBC Northern Ireland. 20 Apr:Luxembourg Gardens By Katie Hims, rpt. from Aug 2020. For the last five years of her short life, Katherine Mansfield struggled to find a cure for her pulmonary tuberculosis. Very ill, and sometimes hallucinatory, she spends her last day in Paris before resolving to stop writing while she finds a cure. Hattie Morahan ..... Katherine Mansfield, Clare Corbett ..... Ida, Olivia Ross ..... Waitress, Charlotte East ..... Laura, Luke Nunn ..... Bill, Carl Prekopp ..... Lawrence, Ian Dunnett Jr ..... Gardener, Sue Rivers ..... Grandmother, Eliza Pearce ..... Girl, Orla Pearce ..... Boy. Sound by Peter Ringrose. Produced by Jessica Dromgoole. 21 Apr: McLevy in the New World,1 By David Ashton. Episode title: Shake Hands With The Devil. McLevy and Jean Brash return in a new two-part adventure. At the end of the last series, Jean and the Inspector fled from Leith on a steamer bound for San Francisco. McLevy was accused of killing two suspects, assaulting his chief constable, and indirectly causing the death of Lieutenant Roach. Faced with career-ending disgrace he opts to scarper – and Jean, gallantly but perhaps rashly, decides to go with him. They arrive in San Francisco at the height of the Gold Rush in 1849. McLevy ..... Brian Cox Jean Brash ..... Siobhan Redmond Forbes ..... Matthew Marsh Templeton ..... .Joseph Balderrama Brennan ..... Des McAleer George Taylor ..... Gunnar Cauthery Flaxman .....Jason Barnett Cathleen/ Maria ..... Ellie Mejia Other parts played by the cast. Producer: Bruce Young. 22 Apr: Greg ... Dead Hand, 4 By Stuart Drennan; 30m. Continued from last weelk. Greg....Paul Mallon, DS Murray … Michelle Fairley, Kate … Roísín Gallagher, Lucy … Hannah Eggleton, Stacey … Eimear Fearon, Thomas … Patrick Fitzsymons, Assistant Jo … Nicky Harley, Other roles played by members of the cast. Script Editor … Philip Palmer. Producer … Michael Shannon. Executive Editor … Andy Martin. BBC Northern Ireland. 23 Apr: Saturday Play slot - Macbeth, 1 2023 will be the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare's First Folio which contained 36 of his plays. Macbeth is thought to have been written in 1603. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders the reigning King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. This first episode is 55m. Macbeth: David Tennant, Lady Macbeth: Daniela Nardini, Banquo/Caithness: Stuart McQuarrie, Macduff: Alec Newman, Lady Macduff/3rd Witch/Apparition: Naana Agyei Ampadu, Malcolm/3rd murderer: Owen Whitelaw, Ross: Stuart Bowman, Lennox: John Hollingworth, Duncan/Old Man/2nd Murderer: Ron Donachie, Porter/Angus: Forbes Masson, Captain/1st Murderer/Siward: Fergal Mcelherron, Doctor: Richard Wilson, Menteith/Seyton/Donalbain: Jos Vantyler, Young Siward: Ty Tennant, 1stWitch/Apparition/Gentlewoman: Genevieve Gaunt, 2nd Witch/Apparition/Servant: Ayesha Antoine, Young Macduff: Alexander Ryan. Music by 0171. Sound design by Joe Bedell-Brill. Produced by Clive Brill.Indie (Brill Productions). 24 Apr: Classic Serial slot - Macbeth, 2 Conclusion of yesterday's drama. Cast and production team - the same. 55m. 25 Apr: Pretty Vacant By Hugh Costello; new play. When a major financial donor approaches a Manchester housing charity for the homeless offering them a block of new apartments for the use of those most in need, the organisers think there is a god after all. Using the charity’s fast-track access to planning permissions, money is used to refurbish a raft of apartments. Then a local journalist asks where the benefactor’s money is coming from. Nora: Jane Slavin, Frankie: Tim McInnerny, Leyla: Genevieve Gaunt, Phil: John Hopkins, Yolanda: Alex Constantinidi, Kev: Will Howard. Producer: Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish) 26 Apr: Brave Old World By Mike Harris. Rpt. from Mar 2020. After an eco-holocaust, the remaining population of the world has gone completely green. Economic growth is banned, invention is a crime, and everyone lives in small, self-sufficient villages rigorously controlled by Facilitators. But all revolutions tend to go wrong. Miranda, disaffected with the new old ways and bored by her ideologically perfect partner, decides to see what the bad old world had to offer. Miranda ..... Eleanor Jackson, Peter ..... Tom York, The Facilitator ..... Geraldine Alexander, Wendy ..... Kellie Shirley, The Inventor/Boss ..... Christian Rodska, The Prophet ..... Paul Joseph. Producer: Clive Brill. Indie (Brill Productions). 27 Apr: The Pivot By Hugh Costello, rpt. from 12 Aug 21. It's four years into the future. Loraine, a junior minister concerned with business expansion is negotiating a trade deal with the ASEAN bloc of South-East Asia, whihch would be great for Britain, but there is fierce competition for the business from other countries. Then the country is hit by a new Covid variant. There's conflict about whether to close the borders. What has the country learned from the previous pandemic? Loraine Wilson - Monica Dolan, James Wilson - Owen Findlay, Melanie - Jane Slavin, Kim - Macy Nyman, The Newscaster - Paul Panting, Written by Hugh Costello Produced by Eoin O'Callaghan. Indie production (Big Fish). 28 Apr: McLevy in the New World, 2 By David Ashton. Episode title: Part 2: A Stirring in the Blood. Adrift in San Francisco, Jean and McLevy are thrown closer together – an intimacy which doesn’t always suit either of them! In this wild lawless West they are soon investigating crooked gambling rings and dodgy land deals – but when a poker player is found murdered the local Mayor decides McLevy is the chief suspect. The resourceful (former) Inspector has to take to the streets disguised as a tramp. McLevy ..... Brian Cox, Jean Brash ..... Siobhan Redmond, Mayor Brennan ..... Des McAleer, George Taylor ..... Gunnar Cauthery, Cathleen/ Maria ..... Ellie Mejia, Eduardo Diaz ..... Joseph Balderrama, Flaxman ..... Jason Barnett, Other parts played by the cast. Producer: Bruce Young. 29 Apr: Dead Hand, 5 - Ceasefire Babies By Stuart Drennan. Modern thriller, last episode. 30m. Greg … Paul Mallon, DS Murray … Michelle Fairley, Kate … Roísín Gallagher, Lucy … Hannah Eggleton, Stacey … Eimear Fearon, May … Julia Dearden, Control … Louise Parker, Police Officer … Andrew McCracken, TSG lead … Patrick Buchanan, Marc Sheene … Conleth Hill, All other roles played by members of the cast. Script Editor … Philip Palmer. Producer … Michael Shannon. Executive Editor … Andy Martin. BBC Northern Ireland. 30 Apr: Saturday Play slot - No drama. Zadie Smith and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Rpt. of concert of 22 Apr. 1 May: Classic Serial slot: Grain of Truth, 1 - The Blood Painting By Zygmunt Miloszewski, trans. Antonia Lloyd Jones; dram. Mark Lawson. Crime thriller. Set in Communist Poland; from the novel. State Prosecutor Szacki who finds himself trapped in a land of half-truths and secrets.He finds small-town Poland a little dull but an unusual murder case gets him back into action. The crime scene is littered with grotesque clues. Szacki: Bryan Dick, with Rachel Austin, David Fleeshman, Claire Benedict, David Crellin, Ursula Holden Gill and Dan Carey. Warsaw backgrounds - Zofia Morus; Polish language adviser - Antonia Lloyd Jones. Producer....Polly Thomas, Sound design..... Eloise Whitmore, Production coordinator.......Sarah Kenny, Executive producer.......John Dryden. Indie (Naked Productions). Rpt. 2 May: Belgrano, 1 By Richard Monks, in two parts (second part tomorrow). Forty years after the Falklands War we revisit the story of Clive Ponting, a civil servant who leaked documents about the sinking of the Argentinian Cruiser, General Belgrano. Ponting was put on trial for his breach of the Official Secrets Act; the judge directed the jury to convict him.] The drama looks at what drove Ponting to turn his back on Whitehall. The writer used Government Papers, newspaper reports, interviews and court transcripts and Ponting’s own account when writing the drama. There are some imagined scenes and characters. Clive Ponting ..... John Heffernan, Sally Ponting .... Ruth Everett, Richard Mottram ..... Geoffrey Streatfield, Ffion ..... Dorothea Myer-Bennett, Tam Dayell/Michael Heseltine/Inspector Hughes ..... Ewan Bailey, Peter Blaker/Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse ..... Neil McCaul, Wreford-Brown/John Stanley ..... Michael Begley, John Nott/Inspector Broome ..... Matthew Durkan, Jerry Wiggin/Second Officer ..... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Cleaner/P.A. ..... Rebecca Crankshaw. Producer: Sally Avens. 3 May: Belgrano, 2 Continued from yesterday. Now Ponting is put on trial and we are kept in suspense until we hear the verdict. The trial ultimately led to changes in the Official Secrets Act. Clive Ponting ..... John Heffernan, Sally Ponting .... Ruth Everett, Brian Raymond ..... Sam Troughton, David Leigh ..... Joseph Kloska, Richard Mottram ..... Geoffrey Streatfeild, Bruce Laughland ..... Neil McCaul, Mr Amlot ..... Michael Begley, Mr Justice McCowan ..... Matthew Durkan, Clerk ..... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Bow Street Judge ..... Chris Jack, Librarian/Hotel Manager. ..... Rebecca Crankshaw. Producer: Sally Avens. 4 May: The Infinity Pool By Nalini Chetty. Treat your loved ones to the perfect spa retreat. Afternoon tea, fizz, a treatment of your choice, and full use of the facilities. Optional extras include - sibling rivalry, unspoken grief, and the sort of love that can only accompany the impending death of a loved one. Rpt. Maggie…........Anne Kidd, Greer..........Jessica Hardwick, Isla......... Samara MacLaren, Waitress/Manager/ Therapist……. LouiseMcCarthy. Producer: Bruce Young. BBC Scotland. 5 May: The Kubrick Test Kerry Shale's first radio play, based on a script by Jeremiah Quinn. He was interviewed about it about a fortnight earlier by John Wilson on Front Row. It's about Kerry's encounter with Kubrick, one of the greatest film makers. He has produced, for example, A Clockwork Orange, 2001 A Space Odyssey, D.r Strangelove and The Shining. Rpt. from 2020. For many years, the great director’s methods were unknown. So when, in 1987, a young actor gets an invitation to enter Kubrick’s hidden world, he leaps at it. Kerry plays himself. Kerry: Kerry Shale, Leon: Robert Emms, Kubrick: Henry Goodman, Sound Design by Alisdair McGregor, Produced and Directed by Boz Temple-Morris. Indie (Holy Mountain). 6 May: Lusus,1: Doppelgänger Noa, a young Generation Z Urbanite, suffers from fear of missing out. There is always someone somewhere doing something better than her. She tries to keep a birthday arrangement with her mum and sister and also to attend a night out with friends at the same time. It leads to problems. Noa - Patsy Ferran, Jen - Susannah Fielding, Mindfulness Narrator - Caroline Faber, Ash - Lainey Lipson, Evie - Karima McAdams, Club Hostess - Nantaara Jafri, Smoker - Jacob Jackson, Mum - Sara Jackson, Taxi Driver - Avril Poole, Bus Driver/Drunk - Paul Fulberg, Kevin - Henry Newton. Crew: Co-Creator/Writer - Samantha Newton, Co-Creator/Director - Rachel Zisser, Executive Producers - Sara Johnson & Daniel M Jackson, Producer - Hannah Charman, Sister Music. Casting Director - Sophie Kingston-Smith, Casting Assistant - Lainey Lipson, Composer - Na’ama Zisser, Vocalists - Tomer Damsky, Aya Gavriel, Ron Sheskin, Quantum Choir, SMs: - Laura Blake, Charlie Braham, Gareth Wood. Recording - The Sound Company. Vocalist Recording - Marco Milevski, Mazkeka Studio. Sound Design - King Lear Music & Sound. Lead Sound Designer - Dugal Macdiarmid. Asst Sound Designers - Ned Sisson & Lauren Cooper. Indie ( Clarence Beeks). 30m. 7 May: Saturday Play - Pride and Protest By Kaite O'Reilly. Seren has been feeling livid just recently. Is this the change, or some righteous anger resurfacing? Her daughter Efa refuses to call herself disabled. She rekindles an old friendship on a lockdown zoom and remembers when she was a disability rights activist. Seren – Sara Beer, Efa – Mared Jarman, Jacq – Julie McNamara, Deryn – Charlotte Arrowsmith, Sit Down Comedian – Nick Phillips, Stranger – Karina Jones, Enforcement Officer – Matthew Durkan, Sound design - Nigel Lewis, Shadow director - Karina Jones, Director - John Norton. BBC Wales. 8 May: Classic Serial slot - Grain of Truth, 2 - The Body Is Lying Crime thriller by Zygmunt Miloszewski, dram. Mark Lawson. State Prosecutor Szacki investigates a series of murders, all of which seem to point crudely towards an alleged Jewish ritual killing. But his girlfriend Klara and a cliched daytime soap give come clues. Rpt. Trans. Antonia Lloyd Jones, Warsaw backgrounds - Zofia Morus, Producer..........Polly Thomas, Sound design...... Eloise Whitmore, Production coordinator.....Sarah Kenny, Executive producer......John Dryden. Indie (Naked productions) 9 May: Politics, Philosophy and Economics By Mark Lawson. A playabout the China-virus (Covid) lockdown. It's February 2020 and a new sales drive is being planned at Union Jax, a souvenir and confectionery company run by young entrepreneurs Stuart and Jacqueline. They are doing well but they are concerned about the possible lockdown. Then they are contacted by a guy from the government. Can they provide PPE? Do they even know what it means? It's not it their skill set, but the government official says that this government is aware of that. They think outside the box. Rpt. Eugene ..... Alex Jennings, Jaqueline ..... Macy Nyman, Stuart.... Tom Glenister, Hannah..... Jane Slavin, Producer: Eoin O’Callaghan, Indie (Big Fish Radio). 10 May: Brief Lives, ser. 12, 1 Series 12; final series of 2 programmes (2007-2022); signing off with a 2-parter after 58 episodes. Sarah and Frank are finally going to do the grown up thing and get married. But things get complicated when Sarah loses a work file and Frank has a visitor from his past. Frank........David Schofield, Sarah..........Kathryn Hunt, Fat Doug.......Eric Potts, Johnnie..........Greg Wood, Jade.................Erin Shanagher, Michael..........Tachia Newell, Producer: Gary Brown. 11 May: Brief Lives 12-2 Continued from yesterday. Frank's visitor has landed them in trouble. You do not mess with Manchester's most violent crime family. Can Frank and Sarah smooth things over? Frank..........David Schofield, Sarah..........Kathryn Hunt, Fat Doug.......Eric Potts, Johnnie..........Greg Wood, Jade.................Erin Shanagher, Michael..........Tachia Newell, Baz.................Lloyd Peters. Producer: Gary Brown. 12 May: Our Friends in the North, 6: 1979 By Peter Flannery. "A posh soap opera with something to say," adapted for radio, in 10 parts. In this episode, it’s 1979. Mary and Tosker are barely holding it together for the kids, their son Anthony is going off the rails thanks to Geordie’s influence, and Nicky is trying to get selected as a candidate for the Labour Party. But the Tories are breaching the red wall. Mary: Norah Lopez Holden, Tosker: Philip Correia, Geordie: Luke MacGregor, Nicky / young Anthony: James Baxter, Alison / Elaine: Eve Shotton, Commissioner Jellicoe: Darren Kuppan, Florrie / Claudia Seabrook: Tracey Wilkinson, Felix: Trevor Fox, Roy Johnson / Benny Barratt : Tony Hirst, Eddie Wells: James Gaddas, Assistant Commissioner Fieldson: Des Yankson, Colin Butler: Tom Goodman-Hill. Studio Engineer: Paul Clark, Sound Design: Tony Churnside and Eloise Whitmore, Producer: Melanie Harris, Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Sparklab). 13 May: Lusus, 1: Kappa 30m. By Samantha Newton. Tanya is at home looking after her baby daughter while her partner Kate works overseas. Their plans to try for more children adds to Tanya’s anxieties about the plastic crisis. As her panic about their impact on the planet grows larger, so does the fatberg beneath their flat. 30m. Tanya - Ella Bruccoleri, Katie - Karima McAdams, Mindfulness Narrator - Caroline Faber, Police Officer/Newsreader - Annabel Miller, Noa - Patsy Ferran, Kevin - Henry Newton. Indie (Clarence Beeks). Co-creator and Director - Rachel Zisser, Executive Producers - Sara Johnson and Daniel M Jackson, Producer - Hannah Charman, Sister Music, Casting Director - Sophie Kingston-Smith, Casting Assistant - Lainey Lipson, Composer - Na’ama Zisser, Vocalists - Tomer Damsky, Aya Gavriel, Ron Sheskin, Quantum Choir, SMs - Laura Blake, Charlie Braham and Gareth Wood; Sound Recording - The Sound Company. Vocalist Recording - Marco Milevski, Mazkeka Studio. Sound Design - King Lear Music & Sound. Lead Sound Designer - Dugal Macdiarmid. Asst Sound Designers - Ned Sisson and Lauren Cooper. 14 May: Saturday Play - The Reckoning, 1: What Feeds Me Destroys Me By Mike Walker, ad. from Charles Nicholl's book of the same name. It's London, 1593. Christopher Marlowe, a young writer, is fatally stabbed in a Deptford lodging house because of a disagreement over the bill. There's an investigation, the witnesses are interrogated, and the suspect walks free. The authorities find that Marlowe was the aggressor and was killed in self-defence. History says it was just a drunken quarrel. But Charles Nicholl thinks it was murder. In this series, Nicholl traces Marlowe's political and intelligence dealings, explores the shadowy underworld of Elizabethan crime and espionage, and penetrates a complex and chilling story of entrapment and betrayal. Marlowe was a playwright and in 1593 his star was at its height. More than any, he was the writer who influenced Shakespeare and had he lived he may have become equally well-known. But he died at the age of 29. This is a true story. The people in it are real people, the events are documented, the words were spoken, though we have invented some of them, and set them in a modern idiom for the sake of clarity. But this true story is also a mystery, a jigsaw with many pieces missing, and the spaces have to be filled. We show what might have happened – what could have happened – perhaps what did happen. Christopher Marlowe . . . . . Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Robert Poley . . . . . Burn Gorman, Ingram Frizer . . . . . Carl Prekopp, Nicholas Skeres . . . . . Matthew Durkan, Thomas Heneage . . . . . Neil McCaul, Coroner Danby . . . . . Michael Begley, Drew Woodleff . . . . . Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Mrs Bull . . . . . Ruth Everett, Maid . . . . . Alexandra Hannant. Sound by Peter Ringrose. Producer Sasha Yevtushenko. 15 May: Classic Serial slot: The Reckoning, 2 - Secret Servants Continued from yesterday. In this episode, the writer explores the shadow world of the Elizabethan Secret Service - its masters, servants and victims - in his search to discover what happened in that little room in Deptford.. Christopher Marlowe . . . . . Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Robert Poley . . . . . Burn Gorman, Thomas Phelippes . . . . . Carl Prekopp, Francis Walsingham . . . . . Emilio Doorgasingh, Robert Cecil . . . . . John Heffernan, Thomas Watson . . . . . Matthew Durkan, Anthony Babington . . . . . Gavi Singh Chera, Thomas Hariot . . . . . Neil McCaul, Richard Topcliffe . . . . . Michael Begley, William Bradley . . . . . Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Mary Queen of Scots . . . . . Ruth Everett, Maid . . . . . Alexandra Hannant. Dramatised by Mike Walker, sound by Peter Ringrose. produced by Sasha Yevtushenko. 16 May: The Reckoning, 3 - The Price of Silence Contimued from yesterday. Now we enter the last few weeks of Marlowe's life. Christopher Marlowe . . . . . Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Robert Poley . . . . . Burn Gorman, Robert Cecil . . . . . John Heffernan, Thomas Phelippes . . . . . Carl Prekopp, Richard Baines . . . . . Michael Begley, Thomas Kyd . . . . . Matthew Durkan, John Puckering . . . . . Neil McCaul, Official . . . . . Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Mrs Bull . . . . . Ruth Everett, dramatised by Mike Walker, sound by Peter Ringrose. produced by Sasha Yevtushenko. 17 May: An Accident that Wasn't Your Fault By Margaret Perry. A chance encounter from a random phonecall. Good fortune or bad luck? A play about taking control of destiny. Rpt. Lydia ..... Charlotte O'Leary, Jess ..... Vanessa Schofield, Gary ..... John Dougall, Jess' Mum ..... Maggie Service, Sharon ..... Elizabeth Counsell, Catherine ..... Bettrys Jones, Nate ..... Hasan Dixon. Producer - Jessica Dromgoole. 18 May: Red Lines Political play by Craig Oliver and Anthony Seldon. A behind-the-scenes drama about Prime Minister Cameron and President Obama failing to enforce the "red line" against chemical weapons used by Syria's President Assad, who was aided by Russia's Vladimir Putin. Craig was Cameron's former Head of Communications; the play is co-written with the historian Sir Anthony Seldon, revealing how Cameron and Obama were outmanoeuvred by Putin and Assad. Following this, Cameron failed to get support from Parliament to punish Assad's use of Sarin gas on his own people. Assad was assisted by Putin, and writers Oliver and Seldon believe these events in 2013 were a step on the road to the invasion of Ukraine. After the UK voted to take no military action, Obama decided against action as well. Instead, Putin brokered a deal with Assad to remove Syria's declared chemical weapons, but in the subsequent months many more attacks were carried out using hidden stockpiles. Cameron, PM: - Toby Stephens, Putin - Nicholas Boulton, Samantha Cameron - Sarah Lawrie, Ed Miliband - Jon Culshaw, William Hague - Jon Culshaw, Narrator - Veronica Roberts, Obama - Wil Johnson, George Osborne - Jon Culshaw Craig Oliver - Jon Culshaw, Nick Clegg - Nicholas Boulton, Theresa Villiers - Sarah Lawrie, Ed Llewellyn, George Young and Hilary Benn - Wilf Scolding, Douglas Alexander - Nicholas Boulton. Other parts played by members of the cast. Producer - Richard Clemmow, Director - David Morley. Indie (Perfectly Normal productions) 19 May: Our Friends in the North, 7 - 1984 By Peter Flannery. The miners’ strike dominates political life throughout the country. Mary is leader of Newcastle City Council and supports the miners. Her son Roy is a young police constable, with divided loyalties. Nicky’s career as a photographer is taking off and Tosker, with his new wife Elaine, is becoming a wealthy businessman. No one knows where Geordie is. Felix: Trevor Fox, Florrie / Claudia Seabrook: Tracey Wilkinson, Mary: Norah Lopez Holden, Nicky / Christopher Collins: James Baxter, Anthony: Luke MacGregor, Eddie Wells: James Gaddas, Tosker / Toby Roddy: Philip Correia, Alan Roe / The Close Encounterer / Tony Hirst, Superintendent: Darren Kuppan, Studio Engineer: Paul Clark, Sound Design: Steve Brooke, Producer: Melanie Harri, Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Sparklab productions) 20 May: Lusus, 3 - Rituals By Samantha Newton. 30m. Magnus (Alistair Petrie) is a surgeon who secretly believes that if he doesn’t do his daily rituals, his patients will die. We follow Magnus through the habitual voicemail messages he leaves for his ex-girlfriend Julia, but with each day she doesn’t answer, his rituals are further interrupted. His mindfulness podcast isn’t helping and might be making things worse. Magnus - Alistair Petrie, Julia - Ella Bruccoleri, Mindfulness Narrator - Caroline Faber, Old Lady - Tamar Baruch, Voicemail/Lift - Stevie Ward, Doctor - Annabel Miller, Man - John Newton, Kevin - Henry Newton. Indie (Clarence Beeks) Co-Creator/Director - Rachel Zisser, Executive Producer - Sara Johnson, Executive Producer - Daniel M Jackson, Producer - Hannah Charman, Sister Music, Casting Director - Sophie Kingston-Smith, Casting Assistant - Lainey Lipson, Composer - Na’ama Zisser, Vocalists - Tomer Damsky, Aya Gavriel, Ron Sheskin, Quantum Choir, SMs - Laura Blake, Charlie Braham, Gareth Wood, Sound Recording - The Sound Company, Vocalist Recording - Marco Milevski, Mazkeka Studio, Sound Design - King Lear Music & Sound, Lead Sound Designer - Dugal Macdiarmid, Asst Sound Designers - Ned Sisson and Lauren Cooper. 21 May: Cocktail Sticks Gordon House's adaptation of the National Theatre's production of Alan Bennett's short autobiographical play "Cocktail Sticks", originally directed by Nicholas Hytner. Rpt. Alan looks back on his early life with affection and sadness, revisiting some of the themes and conversations of his memoir "A Life Like other People's". Both he and – to a certain extent - his mother think that other people's lives are much richer and more fulfilling than their own. But, in adulthood, Alan came to realise the value of a happy family upbringing, and the particular strengths and virtues of his parents. Alan is played by Alex Jennings and Alan Bennett, supported by the original National Theatre cast of Gabrielle Lloyd, Jeff Rawle, Sue Wallace and Derek Hutchinson. Alan Bennett ..... Alan Bennett and Alex Jennings, Mam ..... Gabrielle Lloyd, Dad/Nevill Coghill ..... Jeff Rawle, Other Parts ..... Sue Wallace and Derek Hutchinson, Music composed by ..... George Fenton, Music played by ..... Chris Fish and Rachel Elliot, National Theatre Director ..... Nicholas Hytner, Radio Abridgement and Production ..... Gordon House. 22 May: Classic Serial slot: In Diamond Square By Mercè Rodoreda, ad. Hattie Naylor. Barcelona, 1930s: Natalia, a pretty, naïve shop girl from the working-class quarter of Gracia, is hesitant when a stranger asks her to dance at the fiesta in Diamond Square. But Quimet is charming and forceful and she takes his hand. Set against the backdrop of the turbulent years of the Spanish Republic and Civil War, Natalia experiences the conflict from a city in turmoil as she fights for her and her children’s survival. Natalia (Colometa) ….. Maxine Peake, Quimet ….. Will Howard, Mateu ….. Luke Jerdy, Cintet ….. Liam Garrigan, Mrs Enriqueta ….. Jane Slavin, Julieta ….. Faye Marsay. Other voices played by the cast. Adapted from the translation by Peter Bush. Sound Design ….. Adam Woodhams. Mix ….. Steve Bond. Executive Producer ….. Sara Davies. Directed and produced by Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica). 23 May: Jason's Mates By Peter Strickland. Jason is the Mayor of the prestigious and picturesque town of Ramsonlea. An election is coming up and an opposition candidate is promising to drain the swamp of corruption.if he gets in, Jason's friends will lose out. Jason……Richard Bremmer, Wilf………Hugh Dennis, Portie Winterworth……Toby Jones, Lance Winterworth……..Leo Bill, Ernest Montague….Paul Ready, Professor Pontifex…. Fatma Mohamed, Narrator…….. Stephanie Racine, Original music…….Jon Fletcher, Lyrics……Peter Strickland, Sound Design……Eloise Whitmore, Producer: Peter Strickland, Executive Producer: Polly Thomas, Indie (Naked Productions). 24 May: Moving the Goalposts By Juliet Ace. 80-year-old Mattie is given 18 months to live which allows her the opportunity to plan her ‘future’. There’s a will to make, a funeral to organise and possessions to give away. It’s an empowering experience. But then she doesn’t die. Four years later she's left with limited mobility and exhaustion – a condition she shares with many cancer patients who are supposedly cured of the disease. But Mattie is irrepressible and refuses to submit. Rpt. from 2020. (Excellent play - Ed. ) Mattie ...... Pam Ferris. Written by Juliet Ace. Directed by Tracey Neale. 25 May: The Disappearance of Mr Chan By Simon Wu. Hong Kong writer Mr Chan fails to arrive at Heathrow. His daughter Poppy sets out to find him. But her mother begs her to come home and keep her company. She’s scared. Poppy enlists the help of ex-boyfriend Jason, who’s an online journalist. They fly out to Hong Kong determined to research and write a story that will help get her father released, but Poppy’s mother Ada is certain the best way to help is to comply with the authorities by staying silent. Rpt. from 2020. Poppy – Jennifer Leong, Jason – Jeremy Ang Jones, Mr Chan and Uncle – Jamie Zubairi, Mrs Chan and Auntie – Liz Sutherland-Lim, Vicky and Security Officer – Michelle Yim. Director: David Tse, Producer: Melanie Harris, Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer, Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore. Indie (Sparklab). 26 May: Our Friends in the North, 8 - 1987 By Peter Flannery. It is now the year of The Great Storm. Nicky, a well-known photographer, has been married to Mary for two years, Tosker and Mary are now grandparents, and Geordie is still missing. Florrie / Psychiatrist: Tracey Wilkinson, Felix: Trevor Fox, Nicky / Christopher Collins: James Baxter, Tosker: Philip Correia, Elaine / Alice: Eve Shotton, Mary / Francine: Norah Lopez Holden, Geordie: Luke MacGregor, Eddie Wells: James Gaddas, Colin Butler: Tom Goodman-Hill. Studio Engineer: Paul Clark, Sound Design: Steve Brooke. Trainee Production Co-ordinator: Emma O'Mahoney. Producer: Melanie Harris. Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Sparklab) 27 May: Lusus, 6 - Boonies By Samantha Newton. Ben and his wife Cammie are hardly hard-up, but Ben is worried that he'll miss his bonus this month. When he decides to short-change all the service workers and staff who help maintain his comfortable lifestyle, his kids are the ones who suffer. 30m. Ben - David Mumeni, Cammie - Susannah Fielding, Sophia - Laila Newton, Kevin - Henry Newton, Anisa - Roni Zisser, Mindfulness Narrator - Caroline Faber, Teacher - Annabel Miller, Teaching Asst - Avril Poole, Dad at pickup - Dugal Macdiarmid, Mum at pickup - Louise Heard, Delivery Guy - Jacob Jackson, Answer Bot - Susannah Fielding, Old lady - Tamar Baruch. Crew: Production Company - Clarence Beeks (Indie), Co-Creator/Director - Rachel Zisser, Executive Producer - Sara Johnson, Executive Producer - Daniel M Jackson, Producer - Hannah Charman, Sister Music, Casting Director - Sophie Kingston-Smith, Casting Assistant - Lainey Lipson, Composer - Na’ama Zisser, Vocalists - Tomer Damsky, Aya Gavriel, Ron Sheskin, Quantum Choir, Sound engineers - Laura Blake Sound engineer - Charlie Braham, Gareth Wood; Sound Recording - The Sound Company, Vocalist Recording - Marco Milevski, Mazkeka Studio, Sound Design - King Lear Music & Sound, Lead Sound Designer - Dugal Macdiarmid, Asst Sound Designers - Ned Sisson & Lauren Cooper. 28 May: Saturday Play slot: Pretty Vacant By Hugh Costello. When a major financial donor approaches a Manchester housing charity for the homeless offering them a block of new apartments, the organisers are excited. But when a local journalist asks where the money is coming from, alarm bells ring. 45m. Nora: Jane Slavin, Frankie: Tim McInnerny, Leyla: Genevieve Gaunt, Phil: John Hopkins, Yolanda: Alex Constantinidi, Kev: Will Howard, Producer: Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish) 29 May: Classic Serial slot: Agatha Christie’s Giant’s Bread By Agatha Christie, using the name Mary Westmacott. This is a story quite unlike her detective novels. It follows the life of Vernon, a musician. He cannot afford to live in the house where he grew up and he’s in love with Nell, a girl who wants security. It looks at unrequited love, relationship mistakes, the influence of parents, lovers and enemies and the outside influences (around and after WW1) which shape them. Carl Bowerman/ George Chetwynd ... Tim McMullan, Sebastian Levinne ... Philip Arditti, Vernon Deyre ... Tom Glenister, Josephine Waite ... Lucy Trodd, Nell Vereker ... Hannah Boyde, Jane Harding .. Janis Kelly. Adapted by Malcolm McKay. Music by Nick Bicât. Sound Designer: Leon Chambers. Directed by Annabel Arden. Indie (Catherine Bailey). 30 May: Barbeque 67 - The Original Summer of Love By Andy Barrett. A story about the first UK rock festival. With accounts from those who took part, including Geno Washington, Zoot Money and Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason. It's set near Spalding, Lincolnshire in 1967.The area is now home to labourers from Eastern Europe. A retired tulip farmer, Doug, who went to that amazing festival, meets a young Rumanian woman, who shares his enthusiam for Jimi Hendrix. On 29th May 1967 thousands of people descended on a giant agricultural shed, the Tulip Bulb Auction Hall. They heard Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Geno Washington, Pink Floyd, The Move, Zoot Money and local band Sound Force Five. Doug - Robert Glenister, Tereza - Anamaria Marinca, John - Gerard McDermott, Young Doug - Tom Glenister, Young John - Joe Parker, Jimi Hendrix - Shaq B. Grant, Stefan - Timotei Cobeanu, Mr Carlton - Roger Alborough. Additional real-life contributors: Jane Cooper, Lynton Guest, Doug Kendall, Christopher Longstaff, Rob Mardle, Vic Martin, Nick Mason, Zoot Money, Rob Offer, Mick Peacey, Alastair Stewart, Colin Ward, Geno Washington. Sound Design: David Thomas, Director: Andy Jordan, Producer: Jonathan Banatvala, Executive Producer: Melanie Nock. Indie (An International Arts Partnership production - the group which organises the annual UK International Radio Drama Festival in Canterbury.) 31 May: Richard III Rebothered By David Reed. Penny Dreadfuls production. Rpt. Rather than a conniving and treacherous hunchback, Richard was an honest and loyal warrior with only a slight spinal kink, nothing you'd notice if you weren't looking for it. This is the story of how, through the invention of the printing press, a good man became the first victim of fake news and how The Tudor dynasty was built on a foundation of lies by the world's first spin-doctor, Henry Tudor. Written by David Reed. Performed by David Reed, Thom Tuck, Humphrey Ker, Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Celeste Dring. Producer...Julia McKenzie. BBC Production. 1 Jun: Fledgling By Sami Ibrahim; his first radio play. . Lockdown explored from an unexpected angle; acoming-of-age drama. A figure stands on a deserted beach in a deserted seaside town waiting for her father to return. Fledgling ….. Ruby Bentall, Thick-head ….. John Lightbody, Twitcher ….. Carl Prekopp, Pigeon ….. Clare Corbett. Producer.... Gemma Jenkins. 2 Jun: Our Friends in the North, 9: 1995 By Peter Flannery. It's now 1995. Nicky has returned from Italy to Newcastle, Mary is now a Labour MP, and Tosker and Elaine are about to launch their new business - a floating nightclub on the Tyne. Florrie / Mrs Wilkinson: Tracey Wilkinson, Priest: Andrew Byron, Nicky: James Baxter, Sean Collins: Alfie Williams, Geordie / Anthony: Luke MacGregor, Tosker: Philip Correia, Elaine: Eve Shotton, Felix: Trevor Fox, Mary: Norah Lopez Holden, Christopher Collins: Tom Goodman-Hill. Studio Engineer: Paul Clark, Sound Design: Jon Nicholls, Trainee Production Co-ordinator: Emma O'Mahoney, Producer: Melanie Harris, Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Sparklab). 3 Jun: A Faraway Back of Beyond Place By Michael Chaplin. A musical drama about a young musician’s quest to find the truth about her family. 30m. Tommy ..... Bill Paterson, Lucy ..... Karine Polwart, Scottish folk singer and spoken-word performer. Produced by the late Marilyn Imrie. Indie (Catherine Bailey). 4 Jun: Saturday Play slot - The Royal Visit By Ayeesha Menon. The inhabitants of Kalina, a Mumbai suburb, are told that a royal couple will be paying a visit. Jackie, from the Parish Committee, is given the job of planning a big welcome. Shailesh sets up the snack table, but can he do it right? History professor Colin, who is teaching students about British colonialism, is appointed to find a suitable student to present a mango to the Royals. An apt time (Platinum Jubilee weekend) for a play about royals. Jackie Fernandes… Shernaz Patel, Shailesh Joshi… Tavish Bhattacharyya, Colin Sequeira… Vivek Madan, Robert Wilson… Akash Khurana, Principal Dias… Darius Shroff, Anju… Nitya Mathur, Petula… Kokila Mohini Beri, Kala… Shivani Tanksale, ACP Colaco… Danesh Irani, Maria… Radhika Mital, Tulip… Suchitra Pillai, Peter… Farid Currim. Other parts played by: Zervaan Bunshah, Prerna Chawla, Vivek Madan, Shivani Tanksale, Nadir Khan. Directed by Ayeesha Menon, Sound design by Andreina Gomez, Sound Recording by Ashyar Bulsara and Ayush Ahuja, Assistant Producer, Toral Shah, Produced by Nadir Khan. Indie (Goldhawk). 5 Jun: Classic Serial slot: The Limits to Growth By Sarah Woods. Drama inspired by Donella Meadows' work. Donella wrote a report in 1972 about the Earth's capacity to support human population growth. Donella (Dana) - Samantha Dakin, Dennis Meadows.....Ben Cura, Jorgen Randers/ Jay.....David Menkin, Bill.....Robin Liew Harper, Carol/Susi.....Ashleigh Haddad, Aurelio Peccei....Vincenso Nicoli. Production co-ordinator....Eleri McAuliffe, Sound design....Catherine Robinson. Producer - Emma Harding. 6 Jun: The Return of Rowena the Wonderful By Helen Cross, rpt. Rowena is getting ready to launch herself into adult life, approaching the age when she must leave her special school in Birmingham. Seventeen-year-old Rowena still works as a magician’s assistant, Rowena the Wonderful, in her Dad’s magic show, and she’s approaching the end of her school life. Her twin, Alex, has formed his own jazz band, and will soon be off to London to study music. For Rowena the future is more uncertain; she was born with severe disabilities and cannot speak. But her joyful and responsive personality means she is great company. Could she live independently? Raymond wants Rowena to be able to be independent. Helen Cross imagines Rowena's journey as she takes on a mission to find a new way to live. With music by Tom Constantine. Rowena's voice...Dominique Moore, Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery. 7 Jun: Pica By Emilie Robson. There's something odd about Kae, as if she's done a few laps of this world already. Now she has vanished. Mother, Liv and neighbour Peggy search for her. This play received a special commendation in the Alfred Bradley Awards 2022. Kae.....Sarah Balfour, Liv.....Laura Elfinstone, Peggy.....Charlie Hardwick. Sound Design by Sharon Hughes. Produced by Nadia Molinari. BBC Drama North. 8 Jun: The UN. Episode 1 By Guy Hibbert. Fictional drama set in a world undergoing upheaval and contagion. Richard is head of the Oversight Committee, given the job of uncovering corruption in the UN. One day a Pakistani named Fazal tells him that Pakistan has secretly moved three nuclear warheads into Saudi territory. Richard considers how he might respond... Richard …..Jason Isaacs, Carol … Madeleine Potter, Claire …… Mabel Partridge, Sana …… Ayesha Dharker, Donald…Kerry Shale, Martha.....Laurel Lefkow, Elizabeth .. Jane Slavin, Fazal…Farshid Rokey, Haifa….… Aiysha Hart, Niko…… Ewan Bailey, Mrs. Odele ... Nimmy March. Adapted and directed by Eoin O’Callaghan. Sound design by Wilfredo Acosta. Indie (Big Fish) 9 Jun: Our Friends in the North, 10: 2021 By Adam Usdenm who brings the story to the present day. He has picked up several characters from 26 years ago - Roy Cox (Tosker’s grandson) and Christopher Collins (tearaway Sean Collins’ dad) and placed them in the same city, where they deal with old and new. These include housing, young people’s engagement with politics and father-son relationships. It’s 2021, Roy’s business is taking a hit, Amy is juggling nursing shifts and childcare and their cladded high-rise flat is a fire risk. Amy: Bryony Corrigan, Roy: David Leon, Kira: Lucy Aiston, Wazza: Noel Walton, Christopher: Tom Goodman-Hill, Mike: Tom Machell. Studio Engineer: Paul Clark. Sound Design: Steve Brooke. Trainee Production Co-ordinator: Emma O'Mahoney. Producer: Melanie Harris. Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Sparklab). 10 Jun: The System 2-1: Wilderness Survival for Beginners By Ben Lewis. Five of the UK’s richest men have been kidnapped by a group of extremists. Sister and brother Maya and Jake have been framed for a murder they did not commit. The two events are connected. Jake … Alex Austin, Maya… Siena Kelly, Jess … Chloe Pirrie, Richard…Pips Torrens. Original music and sound design by Danny Krass. Produced by Kirsty Williams. BBC Scotland 11 Jun: Saturday Play slot - The Price of Oil, 1- Stand Firm, You Cads! By Jonathan Myerson. Factual dramas exploring the history of oil. This is the tale of how British Oil was thrown out of post-war Iran. Anglo-Persian Oil (later BP) was specially formed to exploit the 60-year oil concession to drill for oil, which was signed in 1901 by the Shah of Persia. Prompted by Winston Churchill, the British Government bought 51% of the company's shares. Persian oil soon became Britain's "single largest overseas asset". Fifty year later, newly-elected Prime Minister Mossadegh said that the concession was 'immoral', cancelled it, and on 1st May passed a law which nationalised the oil company. This series of plays will take us from 1951 to 2045, and to various parts of the world. Series devised by Nicolas Kent, with Jack Bradley & Jonathan Myerson. Producer Jonquil Panting, for the BBC. Janet ..... Anna Maxwell-Martin, Rashid ..... Danny Rahim, Widman ..... Luke Treadaway, Prime Minister Mossadegh ..... Raad Rawi, Averell Harriman ..... Paul Chahidi, Eric ..... David Hounslow, Fitzy ..... Stephen Critchlow, Vera ..... Jessica Turner, Sir Richard Stokes ..... Sam Dale, Sir Francis Shepherd ..... David Acton, Sarah ..... Rhiannon Neads, Bryan ..... Finn Monteath, Pianist ..... Laurie O’Brien. Director: Nicolas Kent. 12 Jun: Classic Serial slot: The Trial of The Well of Loneliness By Shelley Silas. Radclyffe Hall's pioneering novel about love between women becomes the centre of a 1928 obscenity trial. It remains an iconic portrayal of lesbian relationships and contains the passionate plea: "Give us also the right to our existence." Radclyffe Hall ..... Kate Fleetwood, Una, Lady Troubridge ..... Anastasia Hille, Stephen Gordon ..... Laura Christy, Gilchrist Thompson ..... Will Kirk, Sir Chartres Biron ..... Neil McCaul, Eustace Fulton ..... Clive Hayward, Norman Birkett ..... Rick Warden, James Melville ..... Tony Turner, Desmond McCarthy ..... Greg Jones, Court Clerk ..... Adam Courting, Court Actress ..... Scarlett Courtenay, Puddle ..... Jessica Turner. Produced by Emma Harding. Additional research documents courtesy of Morris Ernst Papers, Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin. 13 Jun: The Price of Oil, 2: Looking for Billy By Nigel Williams. A gumshoe road movie, set in the Alaskan Oil Fields. We travel up Alaska’s Haul Road, all the way to the Arctic. Every day alongside the road, above the tundra, billions of barrels of oil are being piped south from the wells discovered in the 1960’s, on the North Slope. A private detective sets out with his mysterious client to investigate protests against the pipeline. We learn about the oil industry's effect on the indigenous Inupiat people of Alaska. Charlie ..... Nicholas le Prevost, Susannah ..... Jemma Redgrave, Jez ..... Sam Dale, Jenny ..... Amelia Lowdell, Billy ..... Mark Edel-Hunt, Mack ..... David Hounslow, Hitch-hiker ..... Chris Pavlo. Inupiat translations provided by Chelsey Zibell. Produced by Jonquil Panting. Directed by Nicolas Kent. 14 Jun: The Price of Oil, 3 -The Weapon By Jonathan Myerson; thriller. After the Oct 1973 Arab-Israeli War, OPEC used an oil embargo to punish the US and Europe for its support for Israel. By early 1974, the embargo had plunged the world into an economic crisis. Then on 21st Dec 1975, Marxist Carlos the Jackal stormed the OPEC HQ in Vienna. He took 96 hostages, including 11 oil ministers from OPEC countries. This is the story of the siege. Carlos Martinez 'the Jackal' ..... Joseph Balderrama, Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani ..... Zubin Varla, "Nada" ..... Kristin Atherton, "Angie" ..... Mark Edel-Hunt, Jamshid Amouzegar ..... Bijan Daneshmand, Riad Al-Azzawi ..... Amir El-Masry, Chief Feyide ..... Alex Lanipekun, Grizelda Carey ..... Rhiannon Neads, Eddie Hinterecker ..... Sam Dale, Pilot ..... Stephen Critchlow. Directed by Jonquil Panting. 15 Jun: The UN, episode 2 By Guy Hibbert. Description - see entry for 8 Jun. Richard …..Jason Isaacs, Carol … Madeleine Potter, Claire …… Mabel Partridge, Sana …… Ayesha Dharker, Donald…Kerry Shale, Martha.....Laurel Lefkow, Elizabeth .. Jane Slavin, Fazal…Farshid Rokey, Haifa….… Aiysha Hart, Niko…… Ewan Bailey, Mrs. Odele ... Nimmy March. Adapted and directed by Eoin O’Callaghan. Sound design by Wilfredo Acosta. Indie (Big Fish) 16 Jun: Life Rights By Nicholas Meiklejohn. A play about the reunion of two estranged friends in their early forties. One’s been stuck in the small Scottish town where they grew up, having grudgingly taken over his family’s moribund business. The other found modest and fleeting success as an indie film-maker. When the film-maker shows up with an unusual request, it sparks contradictory memories of the past. Jack ..... Robert Jack, Danny ..... Sandy Grierson. Director Gaynor Macfarlane. 17 Jun: The System: 2-2 - Building Heroes By Ben Lewis. Five super-rich men have been kidnapped. The authorities have no clue where the men are being held and the clock is ticking. As the only two people with insider knowledge of the terrorists, Jake and Maya are about to be pulled back into the murky world of ‘The System’. 30m. Jake … Alex Austin, Maya… Siena Kelly, Jess … Chloe Pirrie, Liv … Jemima Rooper, Richard…Pips Torrens, Angel Investor … Rhashan Stone. Music and sound design by Danny Krass. Producer Kirsty Williams. BBC Scotland. 18 Jun: Saturday Play slot - A Room of One's Own By Virginia Woolf, dramatised for radio by Linda Marshall Griffiths. Part of 'Electric Decade': classic titles that influenced the 1920's. It is 1928 and a woman is asked to talk about women and writing. In the university town of 'Oxbridge' she is refused entry to the gardens and library and discovers the poverty of the one female college there. She searches the British Museum library for proof that women even existed in history. She imagines what would have happened if Shakespeare had had a sister and imagines conversations with the great British female novelists. She reflects on the difficulties that face the female writer and proposes a different kind of life. The play was recorded during lockdown with actors and production team all in rooms of their own. Woman.....Indira Varma, Mary Seton and Charlotte Bronte.....Jenny Platt, Judith Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Mary Carmichael....Anjli Mohindra, William Shakespeare and Nick Green.....Sacha Dhawan, Trevelyan and Shakespeare's father:...Colin Tierney, Produced by Nadia Molinari. BBC Radio Drama North. 19 Jun: Classic Serial slot - The Machine Stops By Morgan Forster, ad. Philip Franks. A vision of a world population living in isolated underground rooms, utterly dependent on technology. Philip Franks adapts this 1909 story into an eerie 'steampunk' journey through a world of fractured people, reliant on The Machine. Vashti, a lecturer in the history of music, specialising in the Late Australian Period (Forster had a sense of humour). Her world is turned on its head by her son Kuno when he says he has visited the surface and met people living up there. Tamsin Greig (Vashti), Tok Stephen (Kuno), with Sarah Lawrie, Alana Ramsey, Veronica Roberts, Wilf Scolding, John Wark. Directed by Philip Franks. Produced by David Morley. Indie (Perfectly Normal) 20 Jun: The Price of Oil, 4 - Baby Oil By Jonathan Myerson. An imagined political drama, based on real events in the propaganda campaign at the outbreak of the First Gulf War in 1991. As the first bombs fall on Baghdad, a young man walks into the Marines Recruiting Office and demands to join up... because the war is his fault. The play follows a young staffer’s last weeks in the White House, as George Bush Snr’s administration struggles to sell to the American people the unpalatable idea of committing US troops to defend an oil-rich monarchy like Kuwait. Recruiting Sergeant/Admiral ..... Daniel Betts, Forbes McEwen III ..... James McArdle, George H W Bush ..... Michael J Shannon, Dick Cheney ..... Sam Dale, UK Military Attache ..... Chris Pavlo, Drake ..... Stephen Critchlow, Diana ..... Jessica Turner, Cashier ..... Alex Tregear, Nayirah ..... Rhiannon Neads. Producer - Nicolas Kent. 21 Jun: The Price of Oil, 5 - Someone's Making a Killing in Nigeria By Rex Obano, set in Rivers State, Nigeria, in 1994. The Ogoni people’s campaign against the environmental degradation of their land by the oil industry has crystallised into a mass movement. Under General Abacha’s military regime, the dispute between the people led by Ken Saro-Wiwa on the one hand, and big oil on the other, is reaching its height – when one local businesswoman finds herself caught up in its notoriously violent consequences. This drama uses fictional characters to reflect on real events, about which responsibilities are still disputed, and many details have never fully come to light. Sira Banatu ..... Nadine Marshall, Monday Banatu ..... Obi Abili, Felix ..... David Ajala, Donald Chesworth ..... Jude Akuwudike, Joseph Idigbe ..... Landry Adelard, Barinem ..... Zackary Momoh, The Buyer ..... Jessica Turner, The Protester ..... Rhiannon Neads, Schoolboy ..... Michael Ogunseye, Schoolboy ..... James Okulaja. The poem 'Ogoni! Ogoni!' quoted in the drama was written by Ken Saro-Wiwa. Producer: Jonquil Panting. 22 Jun: The Price of Oil, 6 - No Two Days By Joy Wilkinson. On 20th April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon rig explodes, spilling millions of gallons of oil into the Mexican Gulf. An ambitious young journalist is determined to investigate. It leads her to a massive old oil rig off the coast of Aberdeen. It leads to a series of stories about the risks, rewards and realities of deep-sea drilling. Izzy ..... Faye Marsay, Richard ..... Paul Higgins, Marco ..... Sam Dale, Samantha ..... Amelia Lowdell, Shahana ..... Jessica Turner, Dudley ..... David Hounslow, Steve ..... Mark Edel-Hunt. Producer - Jonquil Panting; directed by Nicolas Kent. 23 Jun: The Making of a Monster By Connor Allen. Autobiographical drama. Connor is a bright, mixed race Newport teenager, but his life is in danger of spiralling out of control, fuelled by his confusion and despair over who he is and why his father is largely absent from his life. Connor is the Welsh Children's Laureate. Adult Connor.....Connor Allen, Little Man.....Jace Henry, Teenage Connor.....Jailen O'Daim, Mum.....Siwan Morris, Jonny/ Operator.....Gabin Kongola, Dad.....Kev McCurdy, Form Teacher/ Trolley Lady.....Claire Cage, Police Officer/ Judge.....Dick Bradnum. Production co-ordinator......Eleri McAuliffe. Sound design.....Nigel Lewis. Produced by Emma Harding. BBC Wales. 24 Jun: The System, 2-3: The Art of the Steal By Ben Lewis. The System is still holding five of the UK’s richest men. Jake and Maya are running out of time to find them, and Jess’s plan is about to take an unexpected turn. Jake … Alex Austin, Maya… Siena Kelly, Coyote … Divian Ladwa, Jess … Chloe Pirrie Richard…Pips Torrens. Original music and sound design by Danny Krass. Includes tracks from Equiknoxx music collective. Producer: Kirsty Williams. BBC Scotland. 25 Jun: Saturday Play: The Price of Oil, 7 - Blood from Stone By Tamsin Oglesby. Oil comedy set in 2045. A father and son energy company are struggling with the new economics of the oil market. With their wells running dry in Turkmenistan, and having to fight Chinese companies for the right to frack under Lytham St Annes, Ralph wants to get out of oil. Charlie ..... Alun Armstrong, Ralph ..... Paul Ritter, The Therapist ..... Jessica Turner, The Buyers ..... Stephen Critchlow and Amelia Lowdell, Claudia .... Lucy Hutchinson, Gemma ..... Helen Longworth, Duncan ..... David Hounslow, Jock ..... David Tse, Engineers ..... Chan Kwan Ting, Chin Hoi Tung, Wong Wai Yan and Oscar Kwan. Produced by Jonquil Panting. Director Nicolas Kent. 26 Jun: Classic Serial slot: Someone at a Distance (1/2) By Dorothy Whipple (novel), dram. Shelagh Stephenson. The story focuses on the North family. Avery commutes from their village to his London office at a small publishing house, while Ellen devotes every moment of her life to making a happy home. But a stranger arrives: Louise, who is attractive and provocative and a potential source of trouble. Ellen North.........Nancy Carroll, Avery North.........Julian Wadham, Louise Lanier.........Olivia Ross, John Bennett / Monsieur Lanier…… Ron Cook, Mrs. Daley / Madame Lanier………....Kate Duchene, Anne North /Germaine Devoisey…Macy Nyman, Hugh North /Paul Devoisey….Tom Glenister, Mrs. North / Mrs Beard........Pamela Miles, Produced by Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish). 27 Jun: Life Lines Series 6: part 1 By Al Smith, set in an ambulance call centre. Carrie is a call handler for the ambulance service, cool and collected when dealing with the emergencies that each call brings. But pressure is mounting on the staff to reach targets and Carrie's daughter has a problem. Carrie ..... Sarah Ridgeway, Will ..... Rick Warden, Ian ..... Michael Jibson, Chloe ..... Mabel Cresswell, Ray ..... Ian Conningham, Scott ..... Tom Cawte, Patrick ..... Colin Ryan, Lucy ..... Rebecca Crankshaw, Geoff ..... Lloyd Thomas, Ivan ..... Jonathan Forbes, Beth ..... Ruth Everett, Sean ..... Matthew Durkan. Produced by Sally Avens. 28 Jun: Life Lines Series 6: part 2 Continued from yesterday. More pressure in the call centre as an accident on the motorway needs all the available ambulances and Carrie is faced with being unable to help a caller who is in urgent need of assistance. Carrie ..... Sarah Ridgeway, Will ..... Rick Warden, Ian ..... Michael Jibson, Chloe ..... Mabel Cresswell, Faye ..... Jaimi Barbakoff, Paramedic ..... Jonathan Forbes, Ryan ..... Matthew Durkan, Leah ..... Katie Redford, Dan ..... Lloyd Thomas, Technician ..... Alexandra Hannant, Paul ..... Colin Ryan, Suz ..... Tracy Wiles, Produced by Sally Avens. 29 Jun: Lanny By Max Porter, adapted by Oliver Emanuel from the novel. Ten year old boy, Lanny, and his mum and dad have recently moved to a village outside London. They are not fully accepted and the locals are suspicious of outsiders. The village is also the realm of Dead Papa Toothwort, a local mythical figure, who listens to the sounds and talk of the village, and to Lanny in particular. Then one day Lanny disappears. Dead Papa Toothwort .... Ron Cook, Lanny ..... Jason Sparrow, Jolie ..... Lucianne McEvoy, Robert / Detective .... Robin Laing, Pete ..... Michael Nardone, Villager /Laura. ..... Cecilia Appiah, Villager / Detective ..... Charlotte East, Villager 3/ Hack ..... Roger Ringrose, Villager /Mrs. Larton .....Jane Whittenshaw, Villager / Publisher ..... Stefan Adegbola, Sound design and music by Jon Nicholls. BBC Scotland; produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. 30 Jun: Bad Ark By Matt Hartley; comedy. Billionaire businessman Mr Green has taken his guests to the North Pole on his new superyacht, The Final Frontier. That's the moment when the last of the ice shelves calve, the wave hits and the great flood happens. With most of the passengers overboard and most of the world underwater, four clueless survivors try to work out what to do next. Manny - Juan Wilken, Gary - Steffan Rhodri, Jasmine - Freya Mavor, Kika -Joanna Simpkins, Stevie G - Sion Pritchard, The Man - David Menkin. Tagalog translation: Sam Dapanas. Sound by Nigel Lewis. Produced by John Norton. BBC Wales. 1 Jul: The System: 2-4 - Light the Blue Touch Paper and Run Like Hell Why are so many people siding with the kidnappers? And what is the true intent of The System? 30m. Jake … Alex Austin, Maya… Siena Kelly, Coyote … Divian Ladwa, Jess … Chloe Pirrie, Liv … Jemima Rooper, Richard…Pips Torrens, Matt … Rhashan Stone. Original music and sound design by Danny Krass. BBC Scotland; producer Kirsty Williams. 2 Jul: Saturday Play - End of Transmission Today is Jude’s 50th birthday. She has lived with HIV for over 20 years and has unresolved questions. Only the virus knows the answers. The virus takes her on a transmission journey skipping across continents, centuries, decades and diverse hosts to meet the person who gave her HIV. The play includes Positive Voices speakers from the Terence Higgins Trust. Niamh, Stephen, Allan, Tim, Roland, Ese, Jess and Mary are people living with HIV who share their stories to help end stigma and HIV transmission. Playwright Anita Sullivan has been living well with HIV since 2000. 'On effective medication; we can’t pass it on'. The Virus.......David Haig, Jude.......Louise Brealey, Kenny......David Carlyle, Vince.......Don Gilet, Marcel/Jojo......Peter Bankole, Ruth.......Madeleine Potter, Elliot.........Richard Laing, Jim/Mark/William....Joel MacCormack, Devina.........Martina Laird. Sound.........David Thomas, Production Coordinators....Jacob Tombling and Sarah Tombling, Producer............Karen Rose Exec Producer.........Rosalynd Ward. Indie (Sweet Talk) 3 Jul: Classic Serial slot - Someone at a Distance (2/2) By Dorothy Whipple. The pleasant existence enjoyed by Avery and Ellen gives way as he falls for the provocative young French woman, Louise. Dramatised by Shelagh Stephenson from the novel. Ellen North..........Nancy Carroll, Avery North...........Julian Wadham, Louise Lanier...........Olivia Ross, John Bennett and Monsieur Lanier…… Ron Cook, Mrs. Daley and Madame Lanier……....Kate Duchene, Anne North /Germaine Devoisey…………Macy Nyman, Hugh North/Paul Devoisey…….Tom Glenister, Mrs. North/Mrs Beard........Pamela Miles. Produced by Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish) 4 Jul: Severus By Paterson Joseph and David Reed. Comedy drama from the time when England was under the control of Libyan-born emperor Severus. With his Syrian wife Julia and their two sons Antoninus and Geta, they were the model royal family and a symbol of the civility and harmony of Rome. When they came to York in 209AD, many were amazed that the most powerful man in the world had chosen to call these shores "home". Britannia was just a troublesome backwater, so why were they here? The story is told through the recollections of Severus to his Christian physician, Sammonicus , as the emperor ails in bed with a bad foot. Paterson Joseph... Septimius Severus, Adjoa Andoh...Julia, David Mitchell...Sammonicus, Cyril Nri...Gaius, John Macmillan...Antoninus, Ben Scheck...Geta, Alix Dunmore..Silver Leg, David Reed...Governor Senecio, Producer...Julia McKenzie. Production Coordinators...Beverly Tagg and Katie Baum. 5 Jul: The Will By Polly Thomas and Anders Lundorph; dedicated to the memory of Anders Lundorph, who died earlier this year. Thriller. Birgitte is a young successful Danish woman. Angie, in her 40s, has a string of failed business and is currently on bail for tax evasion. When Birgitte turns up out of the blue, begging her to fulfil their dying father’s last wish to meet Angie, there is little time to waste - they have to get to Copenhagen as soon as possible. Recorded on location in Manchester. Rpt. Birgitte………Charlotte Munck, Angie……..Danielle Henry, Chris…… Steph Lacey, Writers and Co-Producers…………….Polly Thomas and Anders Lundorph Script Editor…………………..John Dryden Executive Producer……………Eloise Whitmore. Indie (Naked Productions). 6 Jul: Deacon - Gabriel’s Feast By Edson Burton. Deacon is called back to our world to help a lost soul, but despite his years and wisdom, he is struggling to read the signs. Grace fled her war-torn homeland and has taken refuge in a strange community on the fringes of Bristol. But what is it that drives their leader Gabriel? This third episode of Deacon unfolds in the spaces between inner city Bristol and the nether world. Rpt. Deacon - Don Warrington, Grace - Diana Yekinni, Gabriel – Richard Pepple, Khan - Ikky Elyas, Max/ Legba – Marc Danbury. Directed by John Norton. BBC Wales. 7 Jul: Stealing Shelley’s Heart By Hattie Naylor; new drama marking the bicentenary of Shelley's death in July 1822. The poet Percy Shelley has sailed a ship into a storm off the Italian coast. His wife, Mary, and lover, Jane, wait anxiously for news. Mary Shelley.....Olivia Vinall, Jane Williams.....Kerry Gooderson, Florenza.....Flaminia Cinque, Lorenzo.....Luca Malacrino, Trelawny/ Italian fisherman.....Massimiliano Acerbi. Production co-ordinator.....Lindsay Rees. Sound design.....Nigel Lewis. Director.....Emma Harding. BBC Wales. 8 Jul: The System: 2-5 Let the Golden Age Commence Can the extremists change the world? And if they can, what will it look like? Finale of Ben Lewis’s award-winning thriller. Jake … Alex Austin, Maya… Siena Kelly, Coyote … Divian Ladwa, Jess … Chloe Pirrie, Liv … Jemima Rooper, Richard…Pips Torrens, Matt … Rhashan Stone. Original music and sound design by Danny Krass. With tracks from Equiknoxx music collective. BBC Scotland; produced by Kirsty Williams. 9 Jul: Saturday Play - The Rainbow / Women in Love By Lawrence, dramatised by Linda Marshall Griffiths. A pairing of two novels 'The Rainbow' and 'Women in Love' linked by Ursula Brangwen. Seen through the eyes of Ursula, ‘The Rainbow’ spans three generations of the Brangwen family from 1840s to 1905 exploring the complexity of desire, sexuality and liberty. Rpt. Ursula ..... Cassie Bradley, Tom ..... Karl Collins, Lydia ..... Aneta Piotrowska, Young Ursula ..... Florence Hunt, Anna ..... Rosalie Craig, Young Anna ..... Lauren Tanner, Will ..... Lee Ingleby. Producer - Nadia Molinari. With thanks to the Estate of Frieda Lawrence Ravagli. 10 Jul: Classic Serial - Mansfield Park, 1 By Jane Austen; adapted by Clara Glynn. New version of JA's novel. This is the only Austen book that tells the story of its protagonist from childhood. We meet Fanny Price when she is nine years old and see how she’s shaped by family and adversity. In this episode, Fanny Price is sent to live with her rich relatives at Mansfield Park. Fanny Price - Lydia Wilson, Edmund Bertram - Bryan Dick, Mary Crawford - Tala Gouveia, Henry Crawford - Tom Mothersdale, Mrs Norris/Mrs Grant - Janice Acquah, Lady Bertram - Madeleine Worrall, Tom Bertram/William Price - Joshua Riley, Sir Thomas - John Hollingworth, Mr Rushworth- Samuel Valentine, Maria Bertram - Faith Alabi, Julia Bertram - Hollie Burgess. Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. 11 Jul: Takeover, series 2 ep.1 By Ayeesha Menon and Matthew Solon. High-stake deals and sibling rivalry in the world of the super wealthy. The Majumdars are a family at war with itself. Business mogul Ravi Majumdar will do whatever it takes to claw back control of his global empire. In this episode, a plan is hatched. Ravi Majumdar......Rajit Kapur, Ash......Abhin Galeya, Maya......Amrita Acharia, Zara......Ramanique Ahluwalia, Shaan......Danny Ashok, Ian......Finbar Lynch, Venetia......Laurel Lefkow, Jai......Vincent Ebrahim, Seraphina......Jennifer Armour, Guy......Matthew Marsh, Tom...... George Georgiou, Arabella...... Taullah Bond, Bethan......Claire Cage, Perrin......Robert Gwilym. Other parts: David Holt, Vivek Madan, Mike Sengelow, David Menkin, Nadir Khan & Ayeesha Menon. Sound Design, Eloise Whitmore, Original music, Sacha Puttnam, Sound recording, Paul Clark, Ashyar Bulsara & Ayush Ahuja, Sound Editor, Andreina Gomez, Script Editor, Mike Walker, Assistant Producer, Eleanor Mein. Producers, Emma Hearn & Nadir Khan. Director and Executive Producer, John Scott Dryden. Indie (Goldhawk) 12 Jul: Takeover, 2-2 Production team: as above. In this episode - a Parliamentary Inquiry. Indie (Goldhawk). 13 Jul: Takeover, 2-3 Production team: as above. Unexpected developments. Indie (Goldhawk). 14 Jul: Takeover, 2-4 Production team: as above. A big wedding. Indie (Goldhawk). 15 Jul: English Rose, 1: The Call of the Wild By Helen Cross. 30m. Eighteen-year-old Rose travels from Whitby to New York to work as nanny to a wealthy family. It’s a culture shock and Rose seems unprepared for the mainly male attention she elicits. But she is not as harmless as she appears. 'Fantasy horror' according to BBC info. Rose...Alexandra Mardell, Maya...Miranda Braun, Austin...Demetri Goritsas, Siobhan...Deirdre Mullins, Delphine...Yasemin Özdemir, Randy...Michael Begley, Art Guy...Mathew Durkan, Beatrice...Alexandra Hannant, Newsreader...Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Jason...Joseph Tweedale, Mam...Jane Thornton. with the voices of Jo Makel, Paul Murphy, James Hoggarth, Freya Pollaidh, Augusta Chapman, Becky Ripley and Ben Casswell. Original music written and performed by Dana Margolin and Sam Yardley of Porridge Radio, and produced, mixed and engineered by Sam Yardley. Sound design by Ilse Lademann. Producer Mary Ward-Lowery. BBC. 16 Jul: Saturday Play - The Rainbow, 2 By David Lawrenc, ad. Linda Marshall Griffiths. It is the dawn of female suffrage and Ursula, now a young woman, strives for independence. Ursula refuses to be tied down by the confines of her gender and the expectations of her family as she searches for fulfilment outside her small town. Rpt. Ursula ..... Cassie Bradley, Anton ..... Nico Mirallegro, Anna ..... Rosalie Craig, Will ..... Lee Ingleby, Winifred ..... Tala Gouveia, Harby ..... Graeme Hawley, Young Ursula ..... Florence Hunt. Produced by Nadia Molinari. BBC Audio Drama North. With thanks to the Estate of Frieda Lawrence Ravagli. 17 Jul: ClassicSerial: Mansfield Park, 2 Jane Austen, ad. Clara Glynn. Fanny Price's strength of character is revealed. Fanny Price - Lydia Wilson, Edmund Bertram - Bryan Dick, Mary Crawford - Tala Gouveia, Henry Crawford - Tom Mothersdale, Mrs Norris/Mrs Grant - Janice Acquah, Lady Bertram - Madeleine Worrall, Tom Bertram/William Price - Joshua Riley, Sir Thomas - John Hollingworth, Maria Bertram - Faith Alabi. Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. 18 Jul: The Apple, The Tree By Ali Taylor; family drama. Beth’s about to be visited by her daughter for the first time since beginning her prison sentence. But she doesn’t want to see her daughter ever again. Rpt. Beth …Victoria Liddelle, Megan … Anna Russell-Martin, Kat …Hannah Donaldson, David ... Robert Jack. Produced by Kirsty Williams. 19 Jul: Perfidy and Perfection By the late Yuri Rosovsky. A beautifully constructed comic duet told entirely via the couple’s letters. Starring two American actors, directed by Martin Jarvis. This romance is set in 1912 Boston, then Paris, Rome and beyond. A penniless young fortune hunter James, having borrowed money, is setting out to court homely charitable-worker Julia, daughter of a rich Bostonian. She falls under James’ spell. But father objects. (...Specially composed music by A-Mnemonic.) James… Simon Helberg, Julia… Jocelyn Towne. Producer: Rosalind Ayres. Director: Martin Jarvis. Indie (Jarvis and Ayres) 20 Jul: Bird in the Sky By Emma Jane Kirby, who investigates the extraordinary mystery of 23-year-old Sergeant Paul Meyer, a mechanic in the US Air Force who stole a plane in 1969 from his base in East Anglia and disappeared mid-flight. Rpt. Paul . . . . . Adam Gillen, Jane . . . . . Julianna Jennings, Colonel Kingery . . . . . Elliot Cowan, Sergeant Alexander . . . . . Ewan Bailey, Sergeant Johnson . . . . . Joseph Ayre, Sergeant Vince . . . . . Joe Jameson. Director . . . . . Sasha Yevtushenko. 21 Jul: Emergency By poet Jacob Polley. Part of "Contains Strong Language", the BBC's Poetry and Spoken Word Festival. In a play where voices are called up from the near past and from ancient history, Jacob explores the experience of a couple in Carlisle during the big Cumbrian flood of 2005. Cumbria was flooded again in 2015 and again in 2020. The possible causes are many and varied - including lack of dredging, changes in weather patterns, cuts in the flood defence budget and building houses on flood plains. But no matter what the cause, we have to make sure we are ready and prepared for the next one. BBC blurb: "Through a 1200-year-old Old English riddle, which draws on texts from the even more ancient classical world, Polley gives voice to Storm itself, dramatizing the shock, awe and conflicting witnessings that have been fundamental to the human experience of catastrophe. ‘Emergency’ is a giddy, poetic and symphonic exploration of a specific event and place, and of the elemental powers of the natural world, conjured in a unique soundscape composed by the Dutch musicians, Strijbos and van Rijswijk." Rpt. Storm .........Joe Dixon, Him..........James Cooney, Her ........Jeanette Percival, Pliny/Landlord.....Simeon Truby, Report/Resident ......Emily Pithon, Produced by Susan Roberts. BBC Audio Drama. 22 Jul: English Rose, 2 - Hunted By Helen Cross. 30m. Continued from last Friday, 15 Jul 22. Rose ... Alexandra Mardell, Maya ... Miranda Braun, Austin ... Demetri Goritsas, Siobhan ... Deirdre Mullins, Delphine ... Yasemin Özdemir, Randy ... Michael Begley, Art Guy ... Mathew Durkan, Beatrice ... Alexandra Hannant, Newsreader ... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Jason ... Joseph Tweedale, Mam ... Jane Thornton, with the voices of Jo Makel, Paul Murphy, James Hoggarth, Freya Pollaidh, Augusta Chapman, Becky Ripley and Ben Casswell. Music written and performed by Dana Margolin and Sam Yardley of Porridge Radio, and produced, mixed and engineered by Sam Yardley. Sound design by Ilse Lademann. Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery. 23 Jul: Saturday Play slot: Women in Love By David Lawrence. Dramatised by Ian Kershaw. The Brangwen sisters are looking for love in the Midlands mining town of Beldover. Ursula is a teacher and Gudrun an artist. They meet two friends who live nearby, school inspector Rupert Birkin and Gerald Crich, heir to a coal-mine. Rpt. Ursula ..... Cassie Bradley, Gudrun ..... Katie Redford, Rupert ..... Alexander Arnold, Gerald ..... James Cooney, Hermione ..... Emily Pithon, Diana/Pussum ..... Verity Henry, Julius ..... Rupert Hill. Director/Producer Gary Brown. With thanks to the Estate of Frieda Lawrence Ravagli. 24 Jul: Separate Tables - Table By The Window By Terence Rattigan. Separate Tables is a portrait of post-war Britain. Set in a small, shabby hotel in Bournemouth.Separate Tables comprises two linked one-act plays: Table By The Window and Table Number Seven. In this play, Anne arrives from London, and she and her ex-husband John have to confront their painful past. John Malcolm ..... Shaun Dooley, Anne Shankland ..... Naomi Frederick, Miss Cooper ..... Nathalie Armin, Mrs Railton-Bell ..... Susan Brown, Lady Matheson ..... Ruth Everett, Mabel ..... Alexandra Hannant, Charles ..... Matthew Durkan, Jean ..... Marilyn Nnadebe, Miss Meacham ..... Rebecca Crankshaw, Mr Fowler ..... Neil McCaul. Produced by Anne Isger. 25 Jul: Trust, 1 - W.A.L.T. By Jonathan Hall. Rpt. Yvette Miller is the acting head of an inner-city school in Salford; a new member of Quays Academy Trust, a group of academy schools headed by the charismatic Sir Ken. He is a keen advocate of freedom from the shackles of the Local Education Authority. Yvette is a reluctant convert. Yvette ..... Julie Hesmondhalgh, Sir Ken ..... Jonathan Keeble, Andy ..... Rupert Hill, Tim ..... Ashley Margolis, Joy/ Tannoy ..... Susan Twist, Sidrah ..... Purvi Parmar, Emily ..... Molly Ehrenberg-Peters. Producer - Gary Brown. 26 Jul: Trust, 2: Purple Enough By Jonathan Hall. Rpt. The school is having budget difficulties and the financial manager is advocating massive cuts including East Salford's beloved brass band. The Deputy Head is going forward with the rebranding including Byzantium purple hoodies. But then an unfortunate incident occurs in a local nightclub. Yvette ..... Julie Hesmondhalgh, Sir Ken ..... .Jonathan Keeble, Tim ..... Ashley Margolis, Dhruti ..... Mina Anwar Joy/ Tannoy ..... Susan Twist. Producer - Gary Brown. 27 Jul: Trust, 3: A Surgical Head By Jonathan Hall. Rpt. The biggest success in Quays Academy Trust is Lodestone Academy. This formerly failing school has been spectacularly turned around by Kayleigh Britton. But when East Salford's financial manager is loaned out to help with the books she uncovers some interesting details. Yvette ..... Julie Hesmondhalgh, Tim ..... Ashley Margolis, Dhruti ..... Mina Anwar, Sir Ken ..... .Jonathan Keeble, Terry ..... Sushil Chudasama, Tannoy ..... Susan Twist. Producer - Gary Brown. 28 Jul: Little Miss Burden By Matilda Feyisayo Ibini. Stage play adapted for radio. 90s pop, video games and the joy of having sisters. A play about a girl with a physical disability which Little Miss is determined to overcome. The writer has has Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy and is a wheelchair user. Her work often centres women, disabled people, homosexuals and Black British. Little Miss…… Saida Ahmed, Lil Sis…….Ani Nelson, Big Sis………Ewa Dina, Mum……….Diana Yekinni, Co-Directors ……..Polly Thomas and Debbie Hannan, Sound Recordist……John Merriman, Crown Lane Studios, Sound Designer……..Alisdair McGregor. Thanks to Jules Howarth for iinvaluable assistance. Executive Producer…….Eloise Whitmore. Indie (Naked productions) 29 Jul: English Rose, 3: Tending the Wounds By Helen Cross. 30m. The body count is rising and Rose still has to work out where the dangers lie. Also she needs something expensive to wear to Maya's launch. Time to go shopping with the platinum credit card. Rose ... Alexandra Mardell, Maya ... Miranda Braun, Austin ... Demetri Goritsas, Siobhan ... Deirdre Mullins, Delphine ... Yasemin Özdemir, Randy ... Michael Begley, Art Guy ... Mathew Durkan, Beatrice ... Alexandra Hannant, Newsreader ... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Jason ... Joseph Tweedale, Mam ... Jane Thornton, with the voices of Jo Makel, Paul Murphy, James Hoggarth, Freya Pollaidh, Augusta Chapman, Becky Ripley and Ben Casswell. Original music written and performed by Dana Margolin and Sam Yardley of Porridge Radio, and produced, mixed and engineered by Sam Yardley. Sound design by Ilse Lademann. Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery. 30 Jul:Women in Love By David Lawrence. Dramatised by Ian Kershaw. Gerald is reeling from the death of his sister Diana. Rupert and Gudrun try to comfort him but Gerald finds it hard to express his emotions. As Ursula and Rupert grow closer can Gerald untangle his feelings for Rupert? Rpt. Gudrun ..... Katie Redford, Ursula ..... Cassie Bradley, Rupert ..... Alexander Arnold, Gerald ..... James Cooney, Diana ..... Verity Henry, Hermione ..... Emily Pithon, Loerke ..... Ashley Margolis. Producer - Gary Brown. Thanks to the Estate of Frieda Lawrence Ravagli. 31 Jul: Separate Tables - Table Number Seven By Terence Rattigan. In this play, a newspaper reveals Major Pollock’s long-held secret. There is a chance that the other residents will chuck him out. This production uses the alternative version of Rattigan's text, only discovered after Rattigan’s death. In this version, the Major’s ‘crime’ is one of homosexuality, whereas in the original version it was assaulting women. The alteration (not mentioning homosexuality) is probably due to censorship by the Lord Chamberlain. Major Pollock ..... Adrian Scarborough, Sibyl Railton-Bell ..... Chloe Pirrie, Mrs Railton-Bell ..... Susan Brown, Miss Cooper ..... Nathalie Armin, Lady Matheson ..... Ruth Everett, Mabel ..... Alexandra Hannant, Charles ..... Matthew Durkan, Jean ..... Marilyn Nnadebe, Miss Meacham ..... Rebecca Crankshaw, Mr Fowler ..... Neil McCaul. Produced by Anne Isger. Sound by Keith Graham, Mike Etherden, Ali Craig, Anne Bunting. Production Co-ordination by Gaelan Connolly and Clare Ewing. BBC. 1 Aug: Trust - A Social Distance, 1 - A Social Distance By Jonathan Hall. Rpt. Second series of a comedy drama about an inner city academy school in Salford and how it coped with the pandemic in 2020. It is mid March 2020 and the schools have closed due to the virus from China. East Salford Academy tries to cope with the conflicting information from the government whilst dealing with confused parents. Who is meant to be in school? What exactly is a key worker? The school principal Yvette Miller does her best to keep the nervous staff happy and the school functioning normally. Yvette ..... .Julie Hesmondhalgh, Sir Ken ..... Jonathan Keeble, Tim ..... Ashley Margolis, Marigold/Candice ..... Verity Henry, Joy/Carol ..... Susan Twist, Moey/Mr Ayhan ..... Abdullah Afzal. Producer: Gary Brown. Thanks to those who helped with the research - Tom Barradas Lingard, John Winkley, Isobel Ashmead, Pippa Davies, Pat Thomson. 2 Aug: Trust, 2: A New Normal By Jonathan Hall. September 2020. After the chaos of the A Level results, East Salford Academy welcomes the students back. There is going to be a "new normal", apparently. Rigorous Covid protocols have to be followed. How will they cope with social distancing, classroom bubbles and bottles of cheap hand sanitiser? And that's just the staff. Rpt. Yvette ..... Julie Hesmondhalgh, Sir Ken ..... Jonathan Keeble, Tim ..... Ashley Margolis, Joy/Carol ..... Susan Twist, Dhruti ..... Mina Anwar, Chris ..... Jake Ferretti, Candice/Wendy ..... Verity Henry. Producer: Gary Brown. Thanks to researchers Tom Barradas Lingard, John Winkley, Isobel Ashmead, Pippa Davies and Pat Thomson. 3 Aug: Graveyards in My Closet By Daf James. When Daf was 11 he made a discovery about his grandparents. In 1931 Daf’s Nan was five years old; her father took her to her grandparents’ house in the mountains of North Wales and told her that her mother was dead. He then left her there and never came back. This event sparked a lifetime of secrets that reverberated for nearly a hundred years. Armed with a cast of actors, and the help of his dad, Daf sets out to explore the skeletons in his family’s closet. [....Excellent play - Ed] Narrator …. Daf James, Little Daf …. Fflyn Edwards, Mam Aberteifi …. Siw Hughes, Hanna …. Carys Eleri, Grandad …. Ifan Huw Dafydd, Douglas …. Himself, Nigel Owens.... Himself. Directed by James Robinson. BBC Wales. Rpt. 4 Aug: Agatha Christie’s Absent in the Spring By Agatha Christie, using the name Mary Westmacott. It is set in 1934, and is the story of a woman who unexpectedly becomes stranded in a Mesopotamian way station when returning from a visit to her daughter in Baghdad. The RT blurb was rather long and contained spoilers... Rpt. Joan Scudamore ... Harriet Walter, Barbara Wray/ Myrna Randolph ... Amy Morgan, Ali/ William Wray ... Nabil Elouahabi, Blanche Haggard ... Geraldine Alexander, Rodney Scudamore/Col. Sherston ... James Fleet, Lesley Sherston/ Miss Gilbey ... Hilary Maclean. Adapted by Malcolm McKay. Composer: Nick Bicat Sound Designer: Leon Chambers. Producer: Catherine Bailey. Indie (Catherine Bailey Productions) 5 Aug: English Rose, 4: Life Support By Helen Cross. 30m. Gulliver is in the hospital and Rose wants to know why. There is danger everywhere and she must protect him. Rose ... Alexandra Mardell, Maya ... Miranda Braun, Austin ... Demetri Goritsas, Siobhan ... Deirdre Mullins, Delphine ... Yasemin Özdemir, Randy ... Michael Begley, Art Guy ... Mathew Durkan, Beatrice ... Alexandra Hannant, Newsreader ...Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Jason ... Joseph Tweedale, Mam ... Jane Thornton. With the voices of Jo Makel, Paul Murphy, James Hoggarth, Freya Pollaidh, Augusta Chapman, Becky Ripley and Ben Casswell. Original music written and performed by Dana Margolin and Sam Yardley of Porridge Radio, and produced, mixed and engineered by Sam Yardley. Sound design by Ilse Lademann. Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery. 6 Aug: Saturday Play: A Close Approximation of You By Oliver Emanuel. When Kay first meets Michael he’s singing into a mirror to himself. But his love of mirrors isn’t narcissism. He is a theoretical physicist and his job is to explore the possibility that there is a mirror version of our world somewhere. What happens when theory becomes practice? 55m. Kay … Anneika Rose, Michael … Sandy Grierson, Detective…Itxaso Moreno, John and Security Guard…Richard Conlon, Jess and the Agent…Gabriel Quigley. Sound recording: Andy Hay and Kris McConnachie. Sound design: Fraser Jackson. Directed by Kirsty Williams. 7 Aug: Classic Serial slot - Brick Lane By Monica Ali, dram. from the novel by Tanika Gupta. A teenage Nazneen arrives in London. The hectic streets and cramped high-rises of the East End are a world away from her life in Bangladesh. As her sister’s situation back in Dhaka worsens, and with a baby on the way, life only gets more complicated. Nazneen .... Anneika Rose, Chanu ..... Zubin Varla, Razia ..... Chetna Pandya, Hasina ..... Hiftu Quasem, Mrs Islam ..... Nina Wadia, Dr Azad ..... Neil D’Souza. Directed by Anne Isger. Sound by Caleb Knightley, Ali Craig and Pete Ringrose. Production Co-ordination by Luke MacGregor. Production Assistance by Hannah O'Reilly. BBC. 8 Aug: Trust 3-2 By Jonathan Hall. Return of the comedy drama series (after a break of less than a week) about an inner city school. RT said it was series 3. Or is it really part of series 2? Anyway, it is September 2021 and the country is emerging from lockdown. So it's hectic for East Salford academy as they try to deal with time lost due to the pandemic, the Trust's 'level playing fields initiative' and a roll-out of injections for students. What they do not need is a student who is constantly challenging them. Yvette...........Julie Hesmondhalgh, Sir Ken/Eugene...........Jonathan Keeble, Tim..................Ashley Margolis, Carol...............Susan Twist, Nicki.................Erin Shanagher, Ryan............... Daniel Luke Jeffrey, Dave................Lloyd Peters, Students.........Thomas Roberts, Royia Tierney, Iestyn Sofield, Rheanon Shaw, Lauren Taylor. Producer - Gary Brown. 9 Aug: Trust, 3-2 By Jonathan Hall. Sir Ken is trying to force through a restructure which means that some staff will be relocated to more challenging schools. The staff are naturally unhappy, so the unions get involved, but the rep is someone Yvette does not want to deal with. Yvette.......Julie Hesmondhalgh, Sir Ken..........Jonathan Keeble, Tim...............Ashley Margolis, Dhrutti............Mina Anwar, Carol/Joy.........Susan Twist, Billy...............Jason Done. Producer..... Gary Brown. 10 Aug: Trust, 3-3 By Jonathan Hall. The Academy has just had a biomass boiler fitted. Yvette discovers it is costly and unreliable. And with the vaccination roll-out for the kids in progress, a dodgy boiler is the last thing she needs. Yvette..........Julie Hesmondhalgh, Sir Ken........Jonathan Keeble, Tim............Ashley Margolis, Dhrutti..........Mina Anwar, Carol/Joy...........Susan Twist, Billy..........Jason Done, Gunner.........James Quinn, Producer....... Gary Brown. 11 Aug: The Rose and the Yew Tree By Agatha Christie, writing as Mary Westmacott. The story is set in a Cornish seaside town, during the 1945 election, when it was assumed Churchill would be re-elected as Prime Minister. It’s the story of an enigmatic young woman, Isabella, who everyone expects will marry her cousin Rupert, returning from the war. But she becomes interested in someone else. Hugh Norreys ... Richard McCabe, Teresa Norreys/Milly Burt ... Selina Cadell, Capt. Carslake ... Jonathan Cullen, Lady St. Loo ... Avril Clark, John Gabriel ... Toby Jones, Isabella Charteris ... Ioanna Kimbook, Rupert St. Loo/ James Burt ... Stephen Critchlow. Adapted by Malcolm McKay. Sound Designer: Leon Chambers. Directed by Catherine Bailey. Indie (Catherine Bailey Productions). 12 Aug: English Rose, 5: Daddy Issues By Helen Cross. Maya is excited by her new life and potential, but she has a lot to learn. Restraint, for one thing. Rose is worried that Gulliver's family will want to steal him and The Others will try to kill him. Delphine isn't returning her calls. And then there's Austin, who knows her secret. 30m. Rose ... Alexandra Mardell, Maya ... Miranda Braun, Austin ... Demetri Goritsas, Siobhan ... Deirdre Mullins, Delphine ... Yasemin Ozdemir, Randy ... Michael Begley, Art Guy ... Mathew Durkan, Beatrice ... Alexandra Hannant, Newsreader ... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Jason ... Joseph Tweedale, Mam ... Jane Thornton. With the voices of Jo Makel, Paul Murphy, James Hoggarth, Freya Pollaidh, Augusta Chapman, Becky Ripley and Ben Casswell. Original music written and performed by Dana Margolin and Sam Yardley of Porridge Radio, and produced, mixed and engineered by Sam Yardley. Sound design by Ilse Lademann. Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery. 13 Aug: Saturday Play: Three Sisters Rewired, 1 By Anton Ckekhov, reworked by Jenny Sealey and Polly Thomas. Rpt. On an isolated farm in 21st century Yorkshire, three sisters struggle to survive on a financially draining farm, with intermittent internet, and a pervading sense of dislocation from the real world. The sisters are played by three deaf actors, reimagining the story through the prism of deafness, exploring isolation and stagnation in the modern world. The cast is a mix of Deaf, disabled and non-disabled performers. The flute is played by deaf flautist, Ruth Montgomery, who taught herself to play through the vibrations of the instrument. In episode 1 we meet Olivia, Maisie and Iris on Iris’ 20th birthday. Olivia, the eldest, is single and a teacher in an all-girls school. Maisie runs the farm, and is married to a local teacher.; Iris is a vlogger who wants to go to London. Olivia………Genevieve Barr, Maisie ………..Lara Steward, Iris………Alexandra James, Angus……….Jonathan Keeble, Natalie……Steph Lacey, Anna………Kay Purcell, Victoria………Alexandra Mathie, Tyrone……….Tachia Newall, Sean……Chris Jack. Original music by Alice Trueman. Flute played by Ruth Montgomery. Written and produced by Polly Thomas and Jenny Sealey, inspired by Anton Chekhov’s 'Three Sisters'. Sound design and produced by Eloise Whitmore. Sign Language Interpreters – Jude Mahon, Beverly Roberts, Kate Labno, Jan Guest. Executive Producer - Jeremy Mortimer.Indie ( Graeae Theatre and Naked Productions). 14 Aug: Classic Serial slot - Brick Lane, 2 By Monica Ali, dram. Tanika Gupta. It’s 2001 and Nazneen has been living in London for nearly 20 years. Her daughters Shahana and Bibi are growing up, and life hasn’t turned out as expected for Chanu. As tensions rise on the estate, Nazneen meets Karim. Their connection deepens, but Chanu is laying plans for the family to return to Bangladesh. Will Nazneen decide to take charge of her life? Nazneen ..... Anneika Rose, Chanu ..... Zubin Varla, Razia ..... Chetna Pandya, Hasina ..... Hiftu Quasem, Karim ..... Nikesh Patel, Mrs Islam ..... Nina Wadia, Tariq ..... Ragevan Vasan, Shahana ..... Rameet Rauli, Bibi ..... Riti Suthar, Secretary ..... Gavi Singh Chera. Produced by Anne Isger. Sound by Caleb Knightley, Ali Craig and Pete Ringrose. Production Co-ordination by Luke MacGregor. Production Assistance by Hannah O'Reilly. 15 Aug: Bones By Zosia Wand, rpt.. An intimate drama set in real time on the sands of Morecambe Bay. A Polish mother and her teenage daughter fight over a shameful family secret. Can they confront the truth before the tide cuts them off? The play explores how it feels to be a migrant and the emotional impact on the generations which follow. Marie.....Daniela Denby-Ashe, Katherine.....Miranda Dobson. Produced by Nadia Molinari. BBC (Drama North). 16 Aug: Sunrise By Amit Gupta, rpt. from 2020. A play about India's proposed nuclear energy programme. Early one morning, Prakash is showing his research to Professor Akram, senior research scientist in India’s atomic energy programme. It’s brilliant, possibly ground-breaking, but Professor Akram is distracted. He is worried about a meeting taking place with a Government Minister about the direction of the atomic programme and which is causing him to doubt the work he has been pursuing; work which will be taken over by Prakash. Fifty years later, Prakash remembers the events of that momentous day. Professor Akram - Vincent Ebrahim, Prakash - Nikesh Patel, The Government Minister - Neil d'Souza, Dr Divya Mishra - Ayesha Dharker, Sheena, daughter of Prakash - Sheena Bhattessa, Studio Manager and Editor: Mark Smith, Director: Nicolas Kent, Producer Nicholas Newton. Indie (Promenade). 17 Aug: Franklin By Simon Bovey, rpt. from Oct 2020. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Harriet Glickman, a high school teacher in California, wrote to Charles M Schultz, creator of the USA's most widely published comic strip, 'Peanuts', about the possible inclusion of a 'Negro character' in the strip. ' What she suggested appealed to Schultz, but he also found it morally troubling. Based on a true story. Charles Schultz ('Sparky') ..... Trevor White, Joyce Schultz ..... Clare Corbett, Morrie Turner/Ken ..... Danny Sapani, Alan Saunders/Larry ..... Roger Ringrose, Harriet Glickman ...... Charlotte East, Teacher ..... Ian Dunnett Jr., Radio ..... Luke Nunn. Produced by Marc Beeby. 18 Aug: Knock of the Ban-Sithe By Kenny Boyle. A contemporary ghost story based on Gaelic folklore. Three siblings return to the family croft on the Isle of Lewis to visit their dying mother – but their childhood home is haunted by unsettling memories and fears as they wait through the night for the arrival of the dreaded Ban-Sithe; a 'fairy woman' with menacing physical attributes. . Kirstin………..Helen Mackay, Mairi………….Sophia Mclean, Calum……….Kenny Boyle, Peggi………..Mairi Morrison, Titan…………Aora. Producer: Bruce Young. 19 Aug: Exemplar, 1 By Ben and Max Ringham, with Dan Rebellato. Modern-day thriller set in the north east of England. Jess is a scientist whose passion for sound makes her the UK’s leading audio forensic examiner. Assisted by her new trainee, Maya, she undertakes a different sound challenge in every episode. In this episode, Jess attends the scene of a young woman’s apparently accidental death to create an audio recording to match that from a voice activated speaker. 30m. Jess ..... Gina McKee, Maya ..... Shvorne Marks, Aoife ..... Fenella Woolgar, Judith ..... Barbara Marten, Nathalie ..... Chetna Pandya, Dylan ..... Don Gilet. Showrunner: Dan Rebellato. Audio forensic consultant: James Zjalic. Sound recordist: Alisdair McGregor. Studio assistant: Oyin Fowowe. Production coordinator: Darren Spruce. Sound design: Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton. Original music/Sound consultants: Ben and Max Ringham. Directors: Polly Thomas and Jade Lewis. Executive producer: Joby Waldman. Indie (Reduced Listening). 20 Aug: Saturday Play slot - Three Sisters, 2 By Anton Checkhov, reworked and updated by Jenny Sealey and Polly Thomas. Another year has passed, it is New Year’s Eve. There has been a flood in the town, and the sisters are offering shelter to those flooded out. Angus has gambled more than ever. Natalie is ruling the house and angling to get rid of loyal servant Anna, who knows too much. Tensions in the house are higher than ever. Six months later, things start to change. Rpt. Olivia……Genevieve Barr, Maisie …..Lara Steward, Iris……Alexandra James, Angus…….Jonathan Keeble, Natalie……Steph Lacey, Anna……Kay Purcell, Victoria……Alexandra Mathie, Tyrone…….Tachia Newall, Sean……Chris Jack. Original music by Alice Trueman. Flute played by Ruth Montgomery. Sign Language Interpreters: Jude Mahon, Beverly Roberts, Kate Labno, Jan Guest. The drama was inspired by Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, written by PT and JS. Produced by Eloise Whitmore Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Naked Productions and Graeae Theatre). 21 Aug: Classic Serial slot - Ringolevio, 1 By Emmett Grogan, ad. Jonathan Myerson. Story about the American hippie movement. Emmett co-founded The Diggers, an anarchist group opposing the commercialisation of the hippie movement. The play is based on Grogan’s autobiography. The story contains 114 speaking parts across two episodes. The production also features an interesting soundtrack by Mzylkypop, performed on vintage instruments including the Gibson G101 organ, Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, and RMI Electra-piano, and with Maestro analogue effects. Grogan - Riley Neldam, Dorothy - Nancy Crane, Charles - Kerry Shale, The Hun - Robert Gilbert, Coyote - Danny Mahoney, Billy - Nathan Wiley, Natural Suzanne - Lanna Joffrey, Hip Leader - Nigel Whitmey, Brautigan - Josh Cowdery. Other parts played by members of the company. Music by Mzylkypop: Keyboards, winds, composer Mick Somerset Electric bass Philippe Clegg, Drums Jarrod Gosling, Treatments Dean Honer. Sound design by Alisdair McGregor. Produced by Boz Temple-Morris. Indie (Holy Mountain) . 22 Aug: No drama slot I hope this is a temporary state of affairs....-Ed. 23 Aug: No Place But the Water - The Library of Everything, 1 By Linda M Griffiths. Final series set in a flooded future world. Laurie has been taken and Gil, struggling with the pain of his broken arm, tries to hold the family together. But Jessie and Cal are determined to leave the hotel to go in search of Laurie and bring her back and Birdie has a plan to find the Library. Jessie ..... Sade Malone, Caleb ..... Cel Spellman, Gil ..... Rupert Hill, Maurice ..... Pearce Quigley, Birdie ..... Poppy O’Brien, Alex…..William Ash. Produced by Nadia Molinari. Sound Design by Sharon Hughes. Programme consultants: James M. Lea; Ian Dawson; Andrew F. Field. BBC Drama North. Recorded with spatial audio - try listening on headphones. 24 Aug: The Library of Everything, 2 By L.M.Griffiths. Birdie is having strange visions and Gil's arm is not healing - Birdie needs to find help before it's too late. Meanwhile across the water, Caleb’s reunion with his dad has left him feeling uneasy and Jess is restless to find her mum - can they really stay in the Floating City much longer? Birdie ..... Poppy O’Brien Jessie ..... Sade Malone Caleb ..... Cel Spellman Gil ..... Rupert Hill Alex…..William Ash Leo...Hamish Rush Laurie.....Jenny Platt The Angel.....Remmie Milner. Rest of production team - as yesterday (Tuesday). 25 Aug: The Library of Everything, 3 By L.M.Griffiths. Following a reunion with her mum, Jessie goes in search of her dad and Birdie. In the Floating City, Cal finds himself in imminent danger. Meanwhile, with The Angel's help, Birdie gets closer to finding the Library of Everything - but will she be able to open it? Production team & cast - as yesterday. 26 Aug: Exemplar, 2 Continued from last Friday. By Dan Rebellato, with Ben and Max Ringham. The audio forensic examiner; thriller series. A voice note takes Jess on a hunt to find an old friend. 30m. Jess ..... Gina McKee, Maya ..... Shvorne Marks, Aoife ..... Fenella Woolgar, Judith ..... Barbara Marten, Neil ..... Don Gilet, Ellie ..... Charlie Hardwick. Showrunner: Dan Rebellato. Audio forensic consultant: James Zjalic. Sound recordist: Alisdair McGregor. Studio assistant: Oyin Fowowe. Production coordinator: Darren Spruce. Sound design: Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton. Original music/Sound consultants: Ben and Max Ringham. Directors: Polly Thomas and Jade Lewis. Executive producer: Joby Waldman. Indie (Reduced Listening) 27 Aug: Saturday Play slot - A Punk’s Progress By Roland Gift. 55m. At the end of June 1978, Roland and some fellow punk-rocker friends went on a coach from Hull to Leeds Queens Hall to see their favourite band, The Clash. Two days earlier, Roland’s mother had told him he would had to leave the family home. She said having him in the house as a 17-year-old would affect her benefits, and he had to go. Anyway, they arrived at Leeds Queens Hall and the opening act for the tour were the Coventry Automatics, later known as The Specials. Chelsea were the second act and, as they finished, the friends made their way to the front of the stage in readiness for The Clash. Partway into their set, the lead singer's trousers began to split, and he asked the crowd if anyone had a safety pin? Roland obliged. "When Joe Strummer took my pin, he gave me fraternity,” Roland Gift says. After the show, they decided to follow the band.... Roland (Narrator)……….Roland Gift, Roland (Young).…...Aron Julius, Steve ....…Perry Jaques, Dick …………Louie Threlfall, Lynne …………Jessica Clark, Johnny Green……..Ben Crowe, Pauline.….Hazel Ellerby, Michelle….Laura Elsworthy, Maxine…...Katja Quist, Joe Strummer..........Finlay Paul, Coach Driver….....Richard Tate, Young Punks ......played by the year 12 drama students, at Wyke Sixth form College, Hull. Sound Design by David Chilton. Directed by Celia de Wolff. Indie (Pier Productions). 28 Aug: Classic Serial slot - Ringolevio, 2 By Emmett Grogan, dram. Jonathan Myerson. Continued from 21 Aug. After the Haight-Ashbury Independent proprietors have held their ‘human be-in’ and caused a huge influx of young runaways to San Francisco, Emmett and the Diggers seek to make a quick response. Production team - exactly the same as for 21 Aug; Indie (Holy Mountain). 29 Aug: No drama slot. I hope this is a temporary state of affairs....-Ed. 30 Aug: For Love Nor Money By Viv Groskop. Fiona is a retired head teacher in rural Cambridgeshire keen to “adopt” a Ukrainian. She signed up for the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme but is mortified annoyed to find that Stan, a builder who lives in her village, has secured an entire family of Ukrainians via his informal networks. But it's not that simple. When we hear from Stan and the Ukrainians, the true picture slowly appears. Fiona ..... Susan Jameson, Donna ..... Jane Slavin, Stan ..... Chris Simmons, Oksana ..... Viv Groskop, Sarah ..... Melody Grove. Produced by Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish). 31 Aug: Quartet for the End of Time By Emma Hooper, rpt. from Oct 2020, with original music by Red Carousel. At 10am on a Wednesday morning, the Stellae String Quartet meets for rehearsal. Each of them has met at this time on this day for the last twelve years, but today is different. Today something extraordinary happens. They discover that together they can stop time. Shocked, excited, amazed, each player takes a turn to use this newfound power to change something in their lives. Anika (First Violin): Mandeep Dhillon, Peter (Viola): Simon-Anthony Rhoden, Emily (Cello): Anna Doolan, Felix (Second Violin): Ed Browning. Casting by Alison Crawford, Ali Serle, Victoria Cansfield and Toby Field. Studio Manager: Nick Ford. Produced by Toby Field for BBC Audio in Bristol. 1 Sep: Wasteland By Ed Harris. Comedy set in the world of Brighton seafront's refuse collection service, from the writer of "Dot". Blake is an idealist; determined to clean up the sea front. Are his methods too revolutionary? Or is he, as his team say, a twonk? Blake ..... Matt King, Cromwell ..... Michael Bertenshaw, Diana ..... Cecilia Appiah, Wilf ..... Simon Scardifield, Long Pete ..... Hasan Dixon, Jaws ..... Jane Whittenshaw, Agent ..... Charlotte East, Frankenstein ..... Ian Dunnett Jr. Produced by Jessica Dromgoole. 2 Sep: Exemplar, 3 By Ben Ringham, Max Ringham and Dan Rebellato. Another audio forensic puzzle. Jess and Maya reluctantly agree to assist a public figure to verify a piece of incriminating audio. An audio recording made by a forensic analyst to recreate the precise audio conditions of a piece of evidence in a criminal or civil case. Jess ..... Gina McKee, Maya ..... Shvorne Marks, Aoife ..... Fenella Woolgar, Judith ..... Barbara Marten, Rose ..... Juliet Stevenson, Lawrence ..... Asif Khan. Showrunner: Dan Rebellato, Audio forensic consultant: James Zjalic, Sound recordist: Alisdair McGregor, Studio assistant: Oyin Fowowe, Production coordinator: Darren Spruce, Sound design: Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton, Original music/Sound consultants: Ben and Max Ringham, Directors: Polly Thomas and Jade Lewis, Executive producer: Joby Waldman. Indie (Reduced Listening). 3 Sep: Saturday Play - For Love Nor Money 45m drama by Viv Groskop. Fiona is a well-to-do, retired head teacher who is keen to take a Ukrainian into her home. She has signed up for the government scheme but has been frustrated by the lack of assistance in finding someone to match with. She is disappointed to learn that Stan, a builder who lives in her village, has secured an entire family of Ukrainians via his informal networks. She can't understand how Stan passed any of the “suitable accommodation” checks whilst she seems to have got nowhere. Fiona ..... Susan Jameson, Donna ..... Jane Slavin, Stan ..... Chris Simmons, Oksana ..... Viv Groskop, Sarah ..... Melody Grove. Produced by Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish). 4 Sep: Classic Serial slot: North and South, 1 By Elizabeth Gaskell, dramatised by Lin Coghlan. Margaret Hale and her family are forced to move north to the industrial mill town of Milton. When a strike threatens the town, Margaret finds herself pitted against the local mill owner John Thornton, one of her family's few acquaintances in their new home. Margaret ..... Patsy Ferran, Mr Hale ..... Paul Chahidi, Mrs Hale ..... Ruth Everett, Dixon ..... Felicity Montagu, John Thornton ..... James Cartwright, Mrs Thornton ..... Pooky Quesnel, Higgins ..... Sean Gilder, Bessy ..... Olivia Barrowclough, Aunt Shaw ..... Joanna Monro, Henry Lennox ..... Jonathan Forbes, Henderson ..... David Hounslow, Boucher ..... Lloyd Thomas, Youth ..... Colin Ryan, Cabbie ..... Roger Ringrose. Produced by Sally Avens. Sound by Peter Ringrose and Keith Graham. 5 Sep: This Cultural Life (no drama) 6 Sep: Faith, Hope and Glory - Hope By Roy Williams. Three families are bound together by the fate of one baby lost and found at Tilbury Docks in 1946. And now a new generation of our characters begin to take their place in the rapidly changing Britain of the 1960s. Faith (formerly Eunice) has for 17 years been wracked by the guilt of 'losing' Baby Eunice. Knowing that the baby, now a young adult, must be alive, she is determined to find her and right the wrongs of the past. Her partner, Cardiff dockworker Trevor, has been increasingly getting involved in union politics.......................Hope Kiffin, Eunice Lamming and Gloria de Soto came to the UK in 1946. It's now 1963 and Britain is in the middle of the Big Freeze. Family life gets more complicated for Hope when ex-husband Jim arrives back from Hollywood. For the first time, she faces her own role in her baby’s disappearance. Will that truth destroy the life she has worked so hard to build? Hope ….. Danielle Vitalis, Jim ….. Martins Imhangbe, Rodney ….. Richie Campbell, Maggie ….. Maeve O’Mahony, Sheila ….. Keziah Joseph, Connor ….. Laurie Kynaston, Baby Eunice ….. Olantra Worrell. Produced by Pat Cumper. 7 Sep: Faith, Hope and Glory - Gloria By Rex Obano. We were following Hope Kiffin, Eunice Lamming and Gloria de Soto. It's now March 1963 and as Britain is emerging from the Big Freeze, Joy is discovering both the joys and the challenges of adulthood, something Gloria is painfully aware of. Gloria ….. Pippa Bennett-Warner, Mabel ….. Dorothea Myer-Bennett, Joy ….. Sapphire Joy, Benny Junior ….. Joel MacCormack, Ida ….. Emma Handy, Benjamin ….. David Hounslow, Football Manager .…. Roger Ringrose, Patron/Waitress ….. Ruth Everett. Produced by Pat Cumper. Directed by Anastasia Osei-Kuffour. 8 Sep: Faith, Hope and Glory - Faith By Carol Russell. It is now August 1963. Faith and Trevor are finding family life a challenge as their attentions are pulled in very different directions. Faith’s efforts to find the missing Baby Eunice lead to an exciting breakthrough and a trip to London. Meanwhile the drama imagines Trevor becoming absorbed in the fight to overcome the unofficial ban on the employment of black drivers and conductors by the state-owned Bristol Omnibus Company. Faith ..… Shiloh Coke, Trevor ..… Gary Beadle, Merlene ….. Sharon Duncan Brewster, Paul Stephenson ….. Solomon Israel, Vincent ….. Leemore Marrett Jr., Hyacinth St. Claire ….. Ayesha Antoine, Matron .…. Ruth Everett, Joy ….. Sapphire Joy, Stanley Bale ….. Joe Sims, Ron Nethercott ….. Colin Ryan, Reporter ….. Lloyd Thomas, Radio Announcer ….. Roger Ringrose. Produced by Pat Cumper. Directed by Anastasia Osei-Kuffour. >>>Error here? ...9 Sep: Marian and George (info from BBC Listings, summarised by ND.) By Anna Linstrum. Marian Evans (aka George Eliot) has to make an impossible choice – between the brother she loves and the love of her life, between respectability and social scandal, between duty and the freedom to write. Marian.....Lia Williams, George Henry Lewes.....Tom Goodman-Hill, Isaac.....John Lightbody, Young Mary Anne.....Maddie Evans, Young Isaac....Aaron Gelkoff, Chapman.....Sargon Yelda, Elisabeth/ Mrs Evans.....Maggie Service, Susannah.....Bettrys Jones, Printer/ Porter.....Hasan Dixon, Produced by Emma Harding. 9 Sep: Exemplar, 4 (info from RT - I think this is correct; I recorded it off-air, but wonder when the above play was broadcast. Originally broadcast April 2020) By Dan Rebellato and Ben & Max Ringham. Jess and Maya examine forensic evidence from a nightclub shooting. Gina McKee, Shivrone Marks, with Asif Khan and Fenella Woolgar. Producers: Polly Thomas and Jade Lewis. 10 Sep: Saturday Play - A Fortunate Man By John Berger, ad. Matthew Broughton. John Berger's account of a true-life GP and the rural community he served. In 1966, John Berger and Swiss photographer Jean Mohr spent several months shadowing a GP in The Forest Of Dean. The resulting book was A Fortunate Man - a truly moving meditation on society, the doctor-patient relationship and how we value life. It has been described as the most important book about general practice ever written. 60m. The Writer – Peter Marinker, The Doctor – Adrian Scarborough, Miriam – Barbara Flynn, Harry - Joe Sims, Timid Woman - Carys Eleri, Black Haired Woman - Scarlett Courtney, with the voices of Dorothy Burley, Kevin and Karen Wellham, Anne Childs and Robin Harris, recorded by the Reading the Forest project. Directed by John Norton. BBC Wales. 11 Sep: Classic Serial slot: North and South, 2 By Elizabeth Gaskell, dram. Lin Coghlan. The Hale family has moved North to Milton, an industrial mill town. Margaret's friendship with Bessy, a young mill girl who died, has brought her into close contact with the suffering of the workers. Now Bessy's father, a union leader, has called a strike. Margaret ..... Patsy Ferran, Mr Hale ..... Paul Chahidi, John Thornton ..... James Cartwright, Mrs Thornton ..... Pooky Quesnel, Mrs Hale ..... Ruth Everett, Frederick ..... Colin Ryan, Dixon ..... Felicity Montagu, Higgins ..... Sean Gilder, Boucher ..... Lloyd Thomas, Mrs Boucher ..... Evie Killip, Leonards ..... Luke Nunn, Inspector ..... Jonathan Forbes, Old Man ..... Roger Ringrose, Old Woman ..... Joanna Monro. Produced by Sally Avens. 12 Sep: No drama. 13 Sep: Love Across the Ages By Shahid Iqbal Khan. As part of Naked Productions' initiative to introduce more diverse audio drama directors to BBC audio drama, Nickie Miles-Wildin makes her debut as director. Nickie is a freelance director, specializing in theatre. As for the drama, it’s 2022 and Danyaal and Saif meet in a bookshop in Bradford. They are both drawn to the poetry book of Abu Nuwas, but with only one copy left who will become its owner? Abu Nuwas plays Cupid with his words, with the enchanting powers of his poetry as we are transported to different eras, different countries, each with different views on gay relationships. Danyaal ..... Esh Alladi, Saif ..... Darren Kuppan, Abu Nuwas ..... Raad Rawi, Shop assistant / Shazia ..... Nadia Emam. The quotations from poems by Abu Nuwas were translated by James Montgomery, Jim Colville and Philip Kennedy. Production team: Director, Nickie Miles-Wildin, Sound Recordist, Greg Veryard, Sound Designer, Steve Brooke, Composer, Sarah Sayeed, Production Manager, Darren Spruce, Producer, Polly Thomas, Executive Producer, Eloise Whitmore. Indie (Naked Productions). 14 Sep: WED 13:45 Procession to the Lying-in-State of Queen Elizabeth II The ceremonial procession to transport the coffin of Her Majesty the Queen from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament, where the lying-in-state will begin. 14:20 Procession [Buckingham Palace - Westminster Hall] (includes 15:00 Service in Westminster Hall and 16:00 (approx.) Lying-in-State begins at Westminster Hall). Editor: Karen Dalziel, Producer: Graham McMillan. The funeral is on Monday 19th. 15 Sep: Murmuration By Christine Entwisle. A man learning to live with himself and with his voices. Barnaby's a voice hearer. When he meets a friendly neighbour they begin to bond over the birds that visit their block of flats.Charmed by their burgeoning friendship, Barnaby hits crisis point with his voices who want to keep him in all to themselves. [A diagnosis of voice hearing has long been stigmatised in western culture, but in recent years there’s been a new approach that helps hearers to understand who their voices are and where they come from. Murmuration is about a man who has struggled to live a happy life because of his diagnosis]. Barnaby… Christopher Eccleston Nellie … Christine Entwisle Scotty… Joseph Arkley Child…Debbie Korley Ringmaster … Dennis Herdman. Directed by Kirsty Williams. 16 Sep: Exemplar, 5 By Dan Rebellato with Ben and Max Ringham. More audio forensics: Gina McKee as an audio forensic analyst with a troubled past. Jess races to find her mother, Judith. When the mystery of her father’s departure is solved, Jess is forced to reevaluate her childhood memories. 30m. Jess ..... Gina McKee, Maya ..... Shvorne Marks, Sophie ..... Fenella Woolgar, Judith ..... Barbara Marten, Ajay ..... Asif Khan. Writers: Showrunner: Dan Rebellato, Audio forensic consultant: James Zjalic, Sound recordist: Alisdair McGregor, Studio assistant: Oyin Fowowe, Production coordinator: Darren Spruce, Sound design: Lucinda Mason Brown and David Chilton, Original music/Sound consultants: Ben and Max Ringham, Directors: Polly Thomas and Jade Lewis, Executive producer: Joby Waldman. Indie (Reduced Listening). [....These programmes have been fascinating - Ed.] 17 Sep: Saturday Play slot - Censoring an Iranian Love Story, 1 By Shahriar Mandanipour, trans. Sara Khalili, dram. Hattoe Naylor; contemporary drama from Iran. A writer must cheat the censor to publish his love story. In order for his book to receive a publishing permit, the writer must convince Mr Petrovich, the all-powerful censor at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, that it will not provoke sin in the mind of the reader. His characters, Sara and Dara, meet at a riot and are obliged to hide their encounters from their families and also the regime's Campaign Against Social Corruption, the feared citizen-guardians of Islamic morality. Gender separation is rigorously enforced and illicit passion punished so the lovers exercise their creativity to meet in secret amid the bustling streets of Tehran, in an empty cinema and a hospital A&E unit. Discovery would mean imprisonment, or even death. 55m. Petrovich ...... Philip Arditti, Sara ...... Isabella Nefar, Dara ...... Amir El-Masry, Jafar ...... Raad Rawi, Golshiri ...... Raad Rawi, Stepmother ...... Mia Soteriou, Librarian ...... Mia Soteriou, Young Dara ...... Beatrice Butler. Executive Producer: Sara Davies. Sound Design by James Morgan and Steve Bond. Music by Gorkem Sen. Director: Nicolas Jackson. Indie, Afonica production, rpt from 2018. 18 Sep: Classic Serial slot - North and South, 3 by Elizabeth Gaskell, dramatised by Lin Coghlan. Following the death of a man at the railway station Margaret's reputation is compromised once more. Only John Thornton stands between her and the police. Margaret ..... Patsy Ferran, John Thornton ..... James Cartwright, Mr Hale ..... Paul Chahidi, Mr Bell ..... Roger Ringrose, Mrs Thornton ..... Pooky Quesnel, Higgins ..... Sean Gilder, Dixon ..... Felicity Montagu, Henry Lennox ..... Jonathan Forbes, Aunt Shaw ..... Joanna Monro, Henderson ..... David Hounslow. Produced by Sally Avens. 19 Sep: MON 1415 - THE FUNERAL OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II Live coverage of the procession and Service from St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Presenter - Martha Kearney, Sound Engineer - Bob Nettles, Engineering manager - Jon Wilson, Planning editor - James Whitbourn, Producer - Graham McMillan, Editor - Karen Dalziel. 20 Sep: Calls From Far Away By Katherine Soper. Science fiction drama delving into humanity’s capacity to come together after a moment of great change. An unexpected discovery on Pluto promises to have profound ramifications back down on Earth. Freelance journalist Jodie finds herself in the right place at the right time when the discovery is made - her life is set to be turned upside down. This is Katherine's first radio play. Jodie ….. Maimie McCoy, Leo ….. Tom Glenister, Young Leo ….. Bertie Cresswell, Ted ….. Jonathan Forbes, Elliott ….. Chloë Sommer, Lorelei ….. Joanna Monro, News presenter ….. Tom Kiteley, Scientists ….. Ruth Everett and Roger Ringrose. Sound design by Alison Craig. Produced by Gemma Jenkins. 21 Sep: Someone Dangerous, 1 By Andy Mulligan. Mystery thriller. Recently-married Jed and Ira have just bought a house. Then discover the previous occupant killed herself in the bath. When Ira finds the young woman's diary under the floor boards, she begins to wonder whether it really was suicide.. Jed...............Rob Jarvis, Ira...............Lizzie Aaryn-Stanton, Mr Turner...............Harry Myers, D.I McCabe...............Keir Charles, Yola...............Emma Carter, Estate Agent...............Ewan Bailey, Henna...............Ayeesha Menon, Plumber...............Jonathan Abbott, Saboni...............Lydia Daniston, Young Woman's voice...............Jade Matthew. Original Music by Jon Ouin. Sound Design by Laurence Farr. Produced by Emma Hearn. .Executive Producer & Director: John Scott Dryden Indie (Goldhawk). 22 Sep: I’ve Been So Touched By Leila Navabi. Zarah has been sexually assaulted at work. Her two best friends Aisha and Ceri are on hand with love, jokes, kids' drinks and a lift home to Wales. A comedy drama about the healing power of real friends; it starts with an assault and ends with a hug. Zarah - Zadeiah Campbell-Davies, Aisha - Ashna Rabheru, Ceri - Georgia Henshaw, Hamish - Simon Armstrong. Sound by Nigel Lewis. Produced by John Norton. BBC Wales. 23 Sep: One Five Seven Years (157 Years), 1 - Anya By Marietta Kirkbride. Imagine you could live for two lifetimes. Would you want to? How would it change you and those you love? What would you do with all those extra years? What second chances might you get? Would it be a blessing or a curse? Anya works in an ELS diagnostics laboratory. When she and boyfriend Luke disagree about testing to see if they have the 'double-life' gene, their world is turned inside out. 30m.: Anya ….. Rose Wardlaw, Luke ….. Ragevan Vasan, Esther ….. Jessica Murrain, Tarik ….. Asif Khan, Lucy ….. Clare Corbett, Pete …. Jacob Tombling, Caller ..... Pamela Miles, Selwyn ….. Anton Lesser. Sound Design ….. Adam Woodhams and Steve Bond, Theme Music ….. Ioana Selaru and Axel Kacoutie. Academic Consultants ….. Tamas David-Barrett & James Fasham. Executive Producer ….. Sara Davies. Series created by Marietta Kirkbride Directed and Produced by Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica). 24 Sep: Saturday Play - Censoring an Iranian Love Story, 2 By Shahriar Mandanipour. An Iranian writer must cheat the censor to publish his love story, rpt. from 2018. Petrovich ….. Philip Arditti, Sara ….. Isabella Nefar, Dara ….. Amir El-Masry, Mother Sara ….. Nathalie Armin, Father Sara ….. Nabil Elouahabi, Mr Sinbad & Brother Atta …..Pezh Mann, Jafar and Father Dara ….. Raad Rawi, Mother Dara ….. Mia Soteriou. Other roles played by the cast. Dramatised by Hattie Naylor from the translation by Sara Khalili. Executive Producer: Sara Davies. Sound Design by James Morgan and Steve Bond. Music by Gorkem Sen. Director: Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica) 25 Sep: Classic Serial slot - Eleanor Rising, 1 Series 3. By Shaun Mckenna; historical drama about the young Eleanor of Aquitaine - wife and mother to Kings, crusader, prisoner and political operator. An ill-fated crusade to the Holy Land has ended in disaster for Eleanor and her husband, King Louis of France. The journey home is to prove no less hazardous when a storm leaves Eleanor and a small band of survivors shipwrecked behind enemy lines. Eleanor ….. Bettrys Jones, Louis ….. Joel MacCormack, Petronilla ….. Ruth Everett, Bakr Al Omar ….. Ammar Haj Ahmad, Lady Alyson ….. Grace Cooper Milton, Father Anselm ….. Jonathan Forbes, Pope Eugenius ….. Roger Ringrose. Sound design by Caleb Knightley. Directed by Gemma Jenkins. 26 Sep: No Drama 27 Sep: Short Cuts Series 32 (sic) - Competition - A bike race in memory of a Hastings fisherman, the football match that will never happen again, and the highs and lows of a dance competition through the eyes of a child. Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures on the journey to first place. The Cha-cha Champion Featuring Emily, Marlene and Tomasz Produced by Sam Stone When Goss was God Written and read by Juliet Jacques The Ascent Featuring Gary Reid and Paul Joy Produced by Jodie Taylor and Will Davies Producer: Andrea Rangecroft Curated by Eleanor McDowall and Andrea Rangecroft Indie (Falling Tree Productions) 28 Sep: Someone Dangerous, 2 The lives of recently-married Jed and Ira change when they discover the previous occupant of the house they have just bought killed herself in the bath. When Ira finds the young woman's diary under the floor boards, she suspects murder. Jed...............Rob Jarvis, Ira...............Lizzie Aaryn-Stanton, Mr Turner...............Harry Myers, D.I McCabe...............Keir Charles, Yola...............Emma Carter, Coroner..............Ewan Bailey, Henna...............Ayeesha Menon, Saboni...............Lydia Daniston, Voice of Young Woman...............Jade Matthew, Sally...............Natasha North. Original Music by Jon Ouin, Sound Design by Laurence Farr, Produced by Emma Hearn, Written by Andy Mulligan, Executive Producer / Director: John Dryden. Indie (Goldhawk) 29 Sep: Shearwaters By Alison White. Psychological thriller set over twenty four hours on a remote island wildlife reserve. The drama features field recordings made on Skomer Island, including the night-time arrival of Manx shearwaters, and uses 3D binaural audio. Ruth.....Rosalie Craig, Wilf.....William Ash, Seth.....Rupert Hill, Lily.....Lily Mitic. Sound design by Steve Brooke. Producer: Nadia Molinari. BBC Drama North, with thanks to the wardens of Skomer Island and the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. 30 Sep: One Five Seven Years, 2: Uche Eno Mfon and Marietta Kirkbride. As Extended Life Syndrome testing spreads across the globe, a small village in eastern Nigeria rejects the science in favour of “traditional” methods of detection leaving 16-year-old Uche in fear for her life. Uche ….. Faith Omole, Halima ….. Emmanuella Cole, Nkechi ….. Juliet Agnes, Big Sister ….. Jolade Obasola, Gloria ….. Yetunde Oduwole, Mother ….. Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Henry ….. Valentine Olukoga. Other voices played by the cast. Sound Design ….. Adam Woodhams and Steve Bond. Theme Music ….. Ioana Selaru and Axel Kacoutie. Academic Consultants ….. Tamas David-Barrett & James Fasham. Executive Producer ….. Sara Davies. Produced by Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica) 1 Oct: Saturday Play - Spice By Helen Monks and Matt Woodhead. In recent years, laboratory-made synthetic cannabinoids have hit the UK's streets and prisons with serious consequences. The writers gathered evidence from affected people affected to create this drama. 55m. Sharon ..... Ruth Everett, Nick ..... Edward Hogg, The Lab Worker ..... Laura Dos Santos, The Vicar ..... David Hounslow, The Housing Support Worker ..... Danielle Phillips, The Man on the Bench ..... Enzo Squillino Jr. Sound design by Peter Ringrose. Directed by Toby Swift. 2 Oct: Classic Serial slot: Eleanor Rising, 3-2 By Shaun McKenna. Historical drama about the young Eleanor of Aquitaine. Despite her efforts to extricate herself, Eleanor is still trapped in an unhappy marriage to King Louis of France. Her dreams of romance and freedom to rule her own lands are no closer to being realised. A new arrival at court at least promises a momentary diversion. Eleanor ….. Bettrys Jones, Louis ….. Joel MacCormack, Henry ….. Max Bennett, Petronilla ….. Ruth Everett, Lady Alyson ….. Grace Cooper Milton, Abbot Suger ….. David Hounslow, Bishop Laroux ….. Roger Ringrose, Bernard de Ventadour ….. Colin Ryan, Father Anselm ….. Jonathan Forbes. Sound design by Caleb Knightley. Directed by Gemma Jenkins. 3 Oct: No drama, again. 4 Oct: About a Dog By Huw Brentnall; his first radio play. This is a comedy set in rural Suffolk in the early noughties. Danny Mouser is always looking out for his wayward cousin, Lee. But one day when he hits a pheasant with his van he sets off a chain of unfortunate events. This is the first of two dramas featuring new voices from East Anglia, and was recorded on location in Suffolk. Danny Mouser ..... Felix Uff, Tracey Mouser.... Henri Merriam, PC Scrivwn ..... Rosie Walker, Lee Fisk ..... Huw Brentnall, Karen..... Sally-Ann Burnett, Pauline Alsop ..... Charlotte Parry, Gerry Alsop ..... Robin Brooks, Councillor ..... David Redgrave, Policeman ..... Ben Elder, Sergeant ..... Dean Parkin, Jade Mouser ..... Francesca Parry. Sound Design by Matthew Valentine and Alisdair McGregor. Produced by Fiona McAlpine. Indie (Allegra). 5 Oct: Heartstrings By Imogen Lea; her first radio play. Recorded on location in Norfolk. Kate and her ex-boyfriend James arrive at her family’s empty Norfolk bungalow where she hopes to find the peace, as well as the inspiration, to finish her first novel. The cottage backs onto a cliff top, with nothing but sea, sky and wind turbines. Reality and fiction become blurred. Kate ..... Rosalind Burt, James ..... Charlie Layburn, Beryl ..... Judith Street, Carol ..... Gilian Cally, Garage Attendent..... Greg Powles, Song composed and performed by Jessica Temple, Sound Design by Jon Nicholls, Produced by Fiona McAlpine. Indie (Allegra Productions) 6 Oct: In Moderation By Katie Bonna. Esther's sister has taken her own life after watching self harm videos online, so Esther is on a mission to clean up the internet. Esther ..... Aisling Loftus, Connor ..... Jonathan Forbes, Issam ..... David Mumeni, Alison ..... Dorothy Atkinson, Nick ..... Hughie O'Donnell, Pamela ..... Ruth Everett, Voice of the Internet ..... Tom Kiteley, Co-Worker ..... Chloë Sommer. Produced by Sally Avens. 7 Oct: One Five Seven Years, 3: Jacob By Marietta Kirkbride. Jacob has ELS (extended life syndrome) and is serving life for a murder he committed when he was nineteen. But how many years is a life sentence when you live to 150? 30m. Jacob ….. Robert Emms, Miles ….. Ben Crowe, Mum …..Sirine Saba, Psychiatrist ….. Asif Khan, Lawyer ….. Jessica Murrain, Inmate ….. Simon Darwen, Other voices played by the cast. Sound Design ….. Adam Woodhams and Steve Bond. Theme Music ….. Ioana Selaru and Axel Kacoutie. Academic Consultants ….. Tamas David-Barrett & James Fasham. Executive Producer ….. Sara Davies. Produced by Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica). 8 Oct: Saturday Play - The Downing Street Doppelganger By Jim Poyser. It is 1922. The Prime Minister Henry Bonar-Baldwin is gravely ill. The people around him don't want the news to get out as it may precipitate a crisis. How can they give the impression that all is well? Someone has heard there is a music-hall comedian who does an uncanny impersonation of thte P.M. Danny/PM.........................................John Thomson, Wilcox.................................................Jonathan Keeble, Tewkes/Boris....................................Malcolm Raeburn, Ruthy/Mrs Bonar-Baldwin..........Emily Pithon, Carla....................................................Verity Henry, Chisholm/Livingstone.....................James Quinn, Ridley Scott/Rosen........................Hamilton Berstock. Sound - Sharon Hughes. Production Co-ordinator - Vicky Moseley. Director/Producer - Gary Brown. 9 Oct: Classic Serial - The Odd Women: Part 1 By George Gissing, ad. from the novel by Christopher Douglas. Set in 1888. A technological and commercial revolution has created a surge in opportunities for women workers. Cablegrams flash under the Atlantic and across the Empire at speeds of up to 30 words per minute, and a new army of secretaries, stenographers and telephonists is being recruited and trained to facilitate the trade boom. The story follows the fates of two principals of a London secretarial school. Narrator……Robert Powell, Rhoda Nunn…..Emma Cunniffe, Mary Barfoot…..Geraldine Alexander, Everard Barfoot…..Tom Goodman-Hill, Monica Madden……Ayla Wheatley, Virginia Madden……Bryony Hannah, Alice Madden……Karen Archer, Edmund Widdowson……John McAndrew, Newdick……Freddy Carter. Pianist: Pamela White. Produced by Jane Morgan. Indie (7digital). 10 Oct: No drama 11 Oct: War of Words, 1: Indira's Story By Neil Brand. In London, Indira, a young medical school graduate, receives news of the death of her parents and travels home to India to investigate. Their deaths are suspicious and none of it makes sense. Indira is determined to get some answers to her questions. At a New York conference Sophie, a brilliant young graduate, is accused of plagiarising a senior academic and finds herself caught up in a dangerous conspiracy. In Kiev, Ukrainian intelligence is using every A.I. weapon at its disposal to pinpoint a major source of Russian disinformation. One name is behind all three stories, a person who seems to exist only in the world of disinformation Indira ..... Hannah Khalique-Brown, Inesh ..... Assad Zaman, Alecs ..... Peter Sullivan, Viraj ..... Raj Ghatak, Shyanya ..... Chetna Pandya, Goswami/Rudra Devi ..... Shubham Saraf, Nowak/DC Barras ..... Jonathan Forbes. Sound by Keith Graham and Caleb Knightley. Producer: Tracey Neale. 12 Oct: War of Words, 2: Sophie's Story By Neil Brand's new espionage drama, continued from yesterday. Sophie ..... Julianna Jennings, Alecs ..... Peter Sullivan, Sian Frideman ..... Ruth Everett, Steve Hoffman ..... Jonathan Forbes, Thomas/Frank ..... Ian Conningham, Annie ..... Joanna Monro, Joe Slater ..... David Hounslow, Terry ..... Hughie O'Donnell, Rachel ..... Chloe Sommer, Sidney/Yuri ..... Roger Ringrose. 13 Oct: War of Words, 3: Alecs's Story By Neil Brand, continued. Indira ..... Hannah Khalique-Brown, Sophie ..... Julianna Jennings, Alecs ..... Peter Sullivan, Inesh/Qasim ..... Assad Zaman, Viraj/DI Fitzroy ..... Raj Ghatak, Steve/DC Barras ..... Jonathan Forbes, Sian/Polina ..... Ruth Everett, Olivia ..... Chloe Sommer, Captain Shevchuk ..... David Hounslow, Dimitri ..... Tom Kiteley, Mykola/Mr Wainwright ..... Roger Ringrose, Airport Agent ..... Joanna Monro. Directed by Tracey Neale. 14 Oct: One Five Seven Years, 4: Saul By Vanessa Montfort. Retired couple Elia and Mark are celebrating their pearl wedding anniversary when they discover one of them has ELS. The bond between them is tested as they deal with the fallout and face up to a momentous decision. 30m. Elia ….. Raquel Cassidy, Mark ….. James Wilby, Simon ….. Ben Crowe, Anne ….. Clare Corbett, Keith ….. Jonathan McGuinness, Carol ….. Rosie Cavaliero, Saul ….. Joel MacCormack. Other voices played by the cast. Sound Design ….. Adam Woodhams and Steve Bond. Theme Music ….. Ioana Selaru and Axel Kacoutie. Academic Consultants ….. Tamas David-Barrett & James Fasham. Executive Producer ….. Sara Davies. Series created by Marietta Kirkbride. Directed and Produced by Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica). 15 Oct: Saturday Play: Unmade Movies - Dracula The full title is "Hammer Horror's The Unquenchable Thirst of Dracula". Broadcast at 2.45pm; 90m. Dracula travels to 1930s India in this unproduced Hammer Horror feature film script. It's 1932 and Penny, a young British woman travels across India in search of her sister who has recently disappeared. She meets Prem and Lakshmi on the train. They are performers hired by a Maharajah. Babu, also in the carriage, is horrified to learn that Penny is unaccompanied and insists that she stays with him and his wife. Prem and Lakshmi are taken by chauffeur to the Maharajah's house and and asked to perform that night. The performance is not for the Maharajah but his new guest, Count Dracula. Rpt. from 2021. Narrator: Michael Sheen, Penny : Anna Madeley, Prem : Nikesh Patel, Lakshmi : Ayesha Dharker, Babu : Kulvinder Ghir, Rani : Meera Syal, Count Dracula : Lewis Macleod, Maharajah: Raj Ghatak, Inspector: Raj Ghatak, Lucy: Natalie Kimmerling, Rani: Sagar IM Arya, Director : Mark Gatiss, Producers: Laurence Bowen & Peter Ettedgui. Indie (Dancing Ledge Productions). 16 Oct: Classic Serial: The Odd Women, 2 By George Gissing, ad. Christopher Douglas. 'It's better to be a woman, in our day,' says head teacher Mary. 'With us is all the joy of advance, the glory of conquering. Men have only material progress to think about.' Mary and Rhoda's stories are interwoven with those of their pupil Monica and her controlling husband Edmund. Narrator……Robert Powell, Rhoda Nunn…..Emma Cunniffe, Mary Barfoot…..Geraldine Alexander, Everard Barfoot…..Tom Goodman-Hill, Monica Madden……Ayla Wheatley, Virginia Madden……Bryony Hannah, Alice Madden……Karen Archer, Edmund Widdowson……John McAndrew, Bevis……Freddy Carter. Pianist Pamela White. Produced by Jane Morgan. Indie (7digital). 17 Oct: No drama 18 Oct: The Life Cycle of Ospreys By Jane Wainwright. It's 400 years since ospreys have bred in the Peak District, and David takes his voluntary job of guarding the eggs very seriously. But, he's none too happy about the arrival of Louise, his clueless new volunteer, who's only there under dures David - Henry Goodman, Louise - Sally Messham, Produced by Pauline Harris. 19 Oct: Susan and Sam By Faebian Averies. Comedy-drama. Susan’s dad died on the day she was born and all her life she’s felt his absence. But then she meets an elderly man called Sam, who seems to think that Susan is his daughter. Susan…..Faebian Averies, Sam…..David Hargreaves, Liz…..Gaby French, Martin…..Keiron Self, All other parts…..Laura Dalgleish and Richard Sumitro. Production co-ordinator…..Lindsay Rees. Sound design…..Nigel Lewis. Produced by Emma Harding; BBC Audio, Wales. 20 Oct: Talking to Chickens By Christine Entwisle. Toots is an octogenarian living unhappily in a care home. She wants more outdoor days, she wants her allotment back and she wants to see her chickens. A doctor is sent to assess her, but she's struggling with a variety of unhelpful menopausal symptoms. And when the doctor forces open her window to relieve a hot flush and forgets to shut it, Toots legs it. Toots… Susan Jameson, The Doctor… Rosie Cavaliero, The Policeman… Dennis Herdman, Trevor…Danny Hughes. Sound Design by Craig Dormer. Producer: Kirsty Williams. 21 Oct: One Five Seven Years, 5: Selwyn By Marietta Kirkbride. "A time-travelling, tragic exploration of memory and loss, and of a new and incomprehensible form of human isolation" (RT). Selwyn ….. Anton Lesser, Anya ….. Rose Wardlaw, Younger Helen ….. Jessica Murrain, Older Helen ….. Pamela Miles, Mary ….. Raquel Cassidy, Chris ….. Jonathan McGuinness, Duncan ….. Asif Khan, Other voices played by the cast. Sound Design ….. Adam Woodhams and Steve Bond. Theme Music ….. Ioana Selaru and Axel Kacoutie. Academic Consultants ….. Tamas David-Barrett & James Fasham. Executive Producer ….. Sara Davies. Produced by Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica). 22 Oct: Saturday Play slot - The Tomb, 1 By Sebastian Backiewicz. After decades of searching the Valley of the Kings, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his newly appointed Egyptian assistant Shafiq Tadros uncover a step leading to the tomb of Tutankhamun. Funder Lord Carnarvon and his daughter Lady Evelyn arrive and an unauthorised inspection of the tomb takes place. Decades later a chance meeting on the streets of Paris with an Egyptian student causes Shafiq to excavate his own story. In November 1922 the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb became the biggest news story in the world. Virtually untouched for over three thousand years, the tomb contained priceless artefacts including a solid gold coffin, thrones, archery bows, trumpets and fresh linen underwear. Egypt, newly liberated from British rule, hailed the discovery of Tutankhamun as a symbol of its glorious rebirth as an independent nation. But who should control the terms of the dig, and who should keep the treasure? Original drama based on true events. Shafiq ….. Noof Ousellam, Howard Carter ..... Neil Stuke, Fahima ….. Sarah Agha, Mounira ….. Helene Maksoud, Ahmed ….. Rami Nasr, Abdullah ...... Liran Nathan, Telegraph Clerk ….. Ajjaz Awad, Evelyn ..… Isabella Inchbald, George Carnarvon .…. Tim McMullan, Boy / Saleh ….. Ali Khan. Producer: Joby Waldman. Director: Steve Bond and Joby Waldman. Music and Sound design: Sami El-Enany. Sound Recording: Steve Bond. Script Advisor: Monica Hanna. Language Consultant: Kareem Elshehawy. Production Assistant: Louis Blatherwick. Production Coordinator: Darren Spruce. Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer. Indie (Reduced Listening) 23 Oct: Classic Serial: Miss Nobody, 1 By Ethel Carnie, dram. Mary Cooper. A musical adaptation following the lives of two working women in Lancashire in 1911. Author and activist, Ethel Carnie narrates; she wants to teach the women to strive for more in their working lives. She creates Carrie - a shop worker, and her friend Rachel - a mill worker, and over two episodes we journey with them as they both search for something better. Ethel Carnie - Jenny Platt, Carrie - Evie Hargreaves, Rachel - Helen O'Hara, Robert - Conrad Nelson, Sarah/Gran - Alexandra Mathie, Mrs. Martin/Jane - Fionnuala Dorrity, Charlie/Socialist - Chris Hannon, Jenny - Poppy O'Brien, Singers: Janet Swan, Rosie Swan, Jules Gibb, Katherine Watson, Grainne Gordon, Victoria Knott, Mark Mukerji and Huw Johnson and all members of the cast. Accordion - Hannah James. Music composed, arranged and played by Rowan Rheingans, Production co-ordinators Pippa Day and Vicky Moseley. Sound by Simon Highfield, and Sharon Hughes. Produced by Pauline Harris. 24 Oct: No drama (and The Archers broadcast at 1415 instead of 1402) 25 Oct: Hot Drafts By MArk Lawson. Pip is excited to be starting a new job at the heart of government, but she's late. There are traffic jams everywhere. Nobody knows why. At the Cabinet Office, Pip is directed to the Speechwriters’ Room. Other members of the team arrive - the Head of the Unit supervises the creation of a number of “hot drafts” - speeches for The Boss on imminent events, factory openings, the death of a public figure, etc - and “cold drafts” - lines for potential emergencies. Members of the team improvise and critique a series of speeches for these occasions, arguing over what can and can’t be said. Alex.......Alex Jennings, Pip.........Macy Nyman, Dr Jason.......Jane Slavin, Snick....Tom Glenister, Deep......Avita Jay. Directed by Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish) 26 Oct: Welcome to MedPatch By Kevin Core. In the Dangerous Visions series, set in the near future. The NHS has disappeared and the Artificial Intelligent health app Medpatch has ushered in a new era of diagnosis and treatment. Ex-health workers adjust to a vanished career. Jenna, a former doctor, finds herself employed on a new frontier of public health. This is a thriller about the direction which which healthcare might go. Rpt. from 2021. Jenna..........Ophelia Lovibond, Medpatch/Lauren.....Meera Syal, Luke.............Joe Bannister, Dean..........James Cooney, Sash............Verity Henry, Jake............Kenny Blyth, Producer: Gary Brown. 27 Oct: Pilgrim - The Timbermoor Imp, 1 By Sebastian Baczkiewicz, rpt. A Hallowe'en adventure for the immortal mediator. Pilgrim donates an impossibly valuable artwork to Timbermoor museum, to keep it open and maintaining a particular shabby exhibit. William Palmer ..... Paul Hilton, John Wayne ..... Stefan Adegbola, Rabbit Owens ..... Louis Jay Jordan, Amy Lister ..... Charlotte East, Piper Lawrence ..... Katie Redford, Vaughan Richards ..... Luke Nunn, Eddie/Mr Buttoner ..... Roger Ringrose, Sally Mop ..... Jane Whittenshaw, Janice Wayne ..... Ellie Piercy, Ginger Richards ..... Emma Handy. Producers: Marc Beeby and Jessica Dromgoole. 28 Oct: Harland - Series 2, - Monandaeg By Lucy Catherine; supernatural thriller, returning to the new town of Harland. 16 months have passed and no trace has been found of Detective Inspector Sarah Ward. She was last seen disappearing into the brooding sinkhole that swallowed a housing estate. Tyger Drew Honey stars as Dan, the lowly CCTV operative determined to solve the mystery. 30m. [I suspect the title means 'Monday' - Ed] Dan ..... Tyger Drew-Honey, Lindsay ..... Jasmine Hyde, Morris ..... Rupert Holliday Evans, Serena ..... Chloë Sommer, Bob ..... David Hounslow, Sarah ..... Ayesha Antoine, Janice ..... Fiona Skinner, Other parts played by Joanna Monro, Jonathan Forbes and Tom Kiteley. Sound Design by Caleb Knightley. Directed by Toby Swift. 29 Oct: Saturday Play slot - The Tomb, 2 By Sebastian Baczkiewicz. After the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, pressure builds for lead archaeologist Howard Carter and his assistant Shafiq. Lord Carnarvon’s deal with The Times of London for exclusive media coverage causes resentment among other news organisations. The British team controlling the excavation comes under pressure from the Department of Antiquities, and when Lord Carnarvon contracts a mysterious illness, rumours of a curse start to circulate. Shafiq ….. Noof Ousellam, Howard Carter ..... Neil Stuke, Fahima ….. Sarah Agha, Pierre Lacau ….. Philip Arditti, Mounira ….. Helene Maksoud, Ahmed ….. Rami Nasr, Policeman ...... Liran Nathan, Doria ….. Ajjaz Awad, Evelyn ..… Isabella Inchbald, George Carnarvon .…. Tim McMullan, Boy ….. Ali Khan. Producer: Joby Waldman. Director: Steve Bond and Joby Waldman. Music and Sound Design: Sami El-Enany. Sound Recording: Steve Bond. Script Advisor: Monica Hanna. Language Consultant: Kareem Elshehawy. Production Assistant: Louis Blatherwick. Production Coordinator: Darren Spruce. Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer.Indie (Reduced Listening) 30 Oct: Classic Serial: Miss Nobody, 2 By Ethel Carnie, dramatised by Mary Cooper. Musical adaptation following the lives of two working women in Lancashire before WW1. Now Carrie has returned from the countryside and joins Rachel to work in the mill. Rachel rallies the workers to join the union and strike. Tensions rise as mill workers are brought in from the Midlands to replace the strikers. Ethel Carnie - Jenny Platt, Carrie - Evie Hargreaves, Rachel - Helen O'Hara, Robert/Dawson/Jones - Conrad Nelson, Sarah/Gran - Alexandra Mathie, Mrs. Martin/Jane - Fionnuala Dorrity, Jack/Blackleg/Barstock- Chris Hannon, Nancy - Poppy O'Brien, Singers: Janet Swan, Rosie Swan, Jules Gibb, Katherine Watson, Grainne Gordon, Victoria Knott, Mark Mukerji and Huw Johnson and all members of the cast. Accordion - Hannah James, Music composed, arranged and played by Rowan Rheingans, Production co-ordinators Pippa Day and Vicky Moseley, Sound by Simon Highfield, and Sharon Hughes. Produced and directed by Pauline Harris. 31 Oct: No drama. 1 Nov: The Owl and the Nightingale By Simon Armitage. New translation of the lively medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale. Simon communicates a 'Twitter' spat with all the energy, humour and theatricality of the original. A narrator overhears a firey verbal contest between the two birds which moves from the philosophical to the ridiculous. They argue about everything. Narrator - Simon Armitage, Owl - Maxine Peake, Nightingale - Rachael Stirling. 2 Nov: Talk To Me: Ayn Rand By Sara Davies and Abigail Youngman. Rpt. from 2020. 1974. Ayn Rand, darling of the Alt-Right, and allegedly President Trump's favourite writer, has secrets she will never reveal. But her husband Frank just might. And now - after nearly forty years without contact, her sister Nora is coming to visit from the Soviet Union. Ayn Rand is the inspiration behind the slogan 'Greed is Good'. She believed that 'rational self interest' should guide an individual's actions; that 'society' and altruism are evil, and that the State should not exist. For Rand, love consists of the 'selfish pleasure' of two individuals acting on reason. She chose her husband, Frank O'Connor, for his film-star looks and heroic aspect, but it's hard to live up to that image in real life. We meet members of Rand's household: husband Frank, her sister Nora, housekeeper Eloise and Rand herself, to to see if her ideas hold water. Includes an interview with writer and entrepreneur Margaret Heffernan. Ayn Rand...Diana Quick, Nora Drobysheva...Tracy-Ann Oberman, Frank O'Connor...Rupert Wickham, Eloise Huggins...Kerri McLean. Music by Tom Constantine. Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery. 3 Nov: Pilgrim: The Timbermoor Imp, 2 By Sebastian Baczkiewicz. Concluding episode; rpt. from Oct 2020. It is Halloween, the night of the Timbermoor Dance, when the townsfolk bring offerings to the Sun Stone and dance. They are unaware that beneath and around them, the recent dead dance to freedom. But the Timbermoor Imp is out and about, disrupting the traditions of the town. William Palmer ..... Paul Hilton, Rabbit Owens ..... Louis Jay Jordan, John Wayne ..... Stefan Adegbola, Janice Wayne ..... Ellie Piercy, Amy Lister ..... Charlotte East, Piper Lawrence ..... Katie Redford, Ginger Richards ..... Emma Handy, Vaughan Richards ..... Luke Nunn, Eddie/Mr Buttoner ..... Roger Ringrose, Sally Mop ..... Jane Whittenshaw. Producers: Marc Beeby and Jessica Dromgoole. 4 Nov: Harland - 2. Tiwesaeg By Lucy Catherine. 30m. More from Harland New Town in this supernatural thriller. Security guard Dan and former vicar Lindsay have joined forces in the search for missing police officer Sarah Ward. Dan ..... Tyger Drew-Honey, Lindsay ..... Jasmine Hyde, Sadie ..... Melissa Advani, Morris ..... Rupert Holliday Evans, Fordingbridge ..... Sean Baker, Serena ..... Chloë Sommer, Bob ..... David Hounslow, Sarah ..... Ayesha Antoine, Leeta ..... Joanna Monro. Sound Design by Caleb Knightley. Directed by Toby Swift. 5 Nov: Saturday Play - Exit Game By Nick Perry (script) and Alex Millar. Drama-documentary exploring the world of men’s professional football youth system. At football clubs across the country, floodlights illuminate the latest superstar youngsters. But away from the lights are thousands of boys rejected; the ones who weren't selected. Alex Millar, a journalist who has spent a lot of the last 20 years writing and broadcasting about lesser-known stories from within football takes us on a journey through the system. Interwoven with Alex's journey is a fictional drama based on his research, explores the stories of two boys navigating their way through it. 55m. Jack . . . . . Tim Preston, Young Jack . . . . . Harvey Chapman, Nathan . . . . . Olatunji Ayofe, Young Nathan . . . . . Cannon Hay, Simon . . . . . Jonathan Forbes, Cath . . . . . Fiona Skinner, Grace . . . . . Chloë Sommer, Head Coach . . . . . David Hounslow, Dave . . . . . Roger Ringrose, Coach . . . . . Tom Kiteley, Ash . . . . . Hughie O’Donnell, Liam . . . . . Aaron Gelkoff. Sound design by Peter Ringrose. Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko. [Note - On 13 Nov, 'Feedback' listeners Eirene Houston and Lesley Atkins were invited to listen to the Radio 4 drama documentary 'Exit Game' exploring the professional men’s football youth system - Ed. Presented by Andrea Catherwood. Produced by Gill Davies.] 6 Nov: Classic Serial slot - Working Oral history by 'Studs' Terkel, adapted by Sarah Wooley. Louis Terkel was an American historian and broadcaster. For his book, 'Working', he travelled around America in the early 70s with a tape recorder talking to ordinary Americans about their jobs: steelworkers, sex workers, waitresses, janitors. In this adaptation we travel with him as he meets some of his interviewees and hears their stories. Studs....Nathan Osgood, Carl....Roger Ringrose, Roberto....Joseph Balderrama, Grace....Fiona Skinner, Louis....Cyril Nri, Barbara....Kelly Burke, Tim.... Jonathan Forbes, Nora....Miranda Braun, Roberta.....Julianna Jennings, Terry....Samantha Dakin, Dolores....Laurel Lefkow, Lovin’ Al....Cyril Nri, Babe....Kelly Burke, Mike....Carl Prekopp, Tom....Jonathan Forbes, Elmer....Joseph Balderrama. Production Co-ordinator....Jenny Mendez, Production Co-ordinator....Sara Benaim, Technical Producers....Alison Craig, Keith Graham and Peter Ringrose; Producer....Abigail le Fleming. Made by permission of Studs Terkel's estate. 7 Nov: No Drama 8 Nov: Losing Paradise By Stephanie Dale. The UK’s first ‘environmental refugees’ are due to be displaced in the next 20 years. This is the story of Fairbourne, in North Wales. Fairbourne’s council has decided to stop funding its coastal defences. The result is that in a few years some residents will be forced to leave their homes. Fairbourne’s story begins in the 19th Century, when mill owner Arthur McDougall created a holiday paradise there. But his head builder, George Stevens, is plagued by dreams about what is to come. George…. Kieran Knowles, McDougall…. John Dougall, Seithenyn…. Sion Pritchard, The Narrator…. Eiry Thomas, The Earth…. Lisa Jen Brown. Produced by James Robinson. BBC Wales. 9 Nov: Monday By Debbie Tucker Green. One Monday, four lives cross. From the protagonists we get four different accounts of what happened. Mum ..... Cherrelle Skeete, Dad ..... Don Gilet, Son ..... Hayden McLean, Woman/Barista ..... Maddy Hill, Piercer/Ms Nexton ..... Manjinder Virk, Mr James ..... Jonathan Forbes. Produced by Toby Swift; directed by Debbie. 10 Nov: Fare By Tony Schumacher, a TV writer; this is his first radio play. It's just a normal night for a taxi driver; he hopes that the next fare will be easy and hassle free. But then a dodgy geezer and his girlfriend climb in. They pay him big money to drive around. And it turns out not to be a normal night after all. The Driver..... Mark Womack, Mikey.............. Mike Noble, Leanne......... Sade Malone, The Kid........ Sacha Parkinson, Producer/Director Gary Brown. 11 Nov: Harland - 3, Wodnesdaeg By Lucy Catherine. Another visit to the troubled new town of Harland. The mysterious stranger known as Hare Mask has reappeared. Dan and Lindsay continue their quest to unlock the secrets of the Hare Witches. Supernatural thriller. Dan ..... Tyger Drew-Honey, Lindsay ..... Jasmine Hyde, Sadie ..... Melissa Advani, Serena ..... Chloë Sommer, Janice ..... Fiona Skinner, Bob ..... David Hounslow, The Fish ..... Joanna Monro, Other parts played by Jonathan Forbes and Tom Kiteley. Sound Design by Caleb Knightley. Produced by Toby Swift. 12 Nov: Saturday Play slot: Home Front - A Fragile Peace By Katie Hims. A special edition of Home Front, Radio 4's epic drama series marking the centenaries of the First World War. It’s 10 November, 1919, a year and a day after the last episode, and Folkestone is preparing for the first Remembrance Day, contemplating a new post-war world. Broadcast 1445-1600 hrs. 75m. Florrie Wilson ..... Claire Rushbrook, Albert Wilson ..... Jamie Foreman, Kitty Lumley ..... Ami Metcalf, Victor Lumley ..... Joel MacCormack, Adam Wilson ..... Billy Kennedy, Jessie Moore ..... Lucy Hutchinson, Alice Macknade ..... Claire Louise Cordwell, Esme Macknade ..... Katie Angelou, Gabriel Graham ..... Michael Bertenshaw, Isabel Summer ..... Keely Beresford, Charles Summer ..... Rufus Wright, Ralph Winwood ..... Nick Murchie, Mrs Edkins ..... Rachel Davies, Bill Macknade ..... Ben Crowe, Norman Harris ..... Sean Baker, Marion Wardle ..... Laura Elphinstone, Edie Chadwick ..... Kathryn Beaumont, Other roles ..... Bea White, Rex Wood, Jonah Collingwood Harrold, Isobel Barry, Olivia Wales, Emma Handy, John Lightbody, Sean Murray, Ryan Whittle and Lewis Bray. Directed by Jessica Dromgoole. Producer: Ciaran Bermingham. Assistant Producer: Hannah Ratcliffe. Production Coordinator: Sarah Morrison. Production Management Assistanst: Leanne Allen & Graham Eveleigh. Sound: Martha Littlehailes. Composer: Matthew Strachan. 13 Nov: Classic Serial slot - The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, 1 By David Nobbs, dram. Jon Canter. Reggie Perrin, the executive who has had enough of working for his bullying boss at Sunshine Desserts, and the trains not running on time, and his life being of no importance. His behaviour becomes increasingly eccentric until he makes a life changing decision. Part 1 is entitled - The Fall. Reggie ..... David Haig, CJ ..... Pip Torrens, Elizabeth ..... Selina Griffiths, Joan ..... Amelia Bullmore, Linda ..... Celeste Dring, Jimmy ..... Thomas Arnold, Henry/Train Announcer ..... Dan Starkey, Tom ..... Joseph Ayre, Esther ..... Chloe Sommer, Tony ..... Jonathan Forbes, Mark ..... Tom Kiteley, Mrs CJ ..... Joanna Monro, Doc .....Roger Ringrose, Adam ..... Aiden Davison, Jocasta ..... Elise Davison. Produced by Sally Avens. 14 Nov: The 5000 - Bread, Fish and Dancing A welcome return of drama to the Monday afternoon slot. By Sebastian Baczkiewicz; biblical story. Three plays about the feeding of the five thousand and the personal and political fallout from this extraordinary event. In Herod’s palace, suspicion is rife, young people have gone missing and Salome is in meltdown following an extraordinary murder. Gaius ….. Robin Laing, Matt/Zachary ….. Stuart McQuarrie, Dan ….. Andy Clark, Sarah ….. Maggie Service, Herod ….. Robert Jack, Asher ….. Michael Moreland, Salome ….. Hiftu Quasem, Herodius ….. Nicole Cooper, Joe-Joe ….. Kyle Gardner. Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. 15 Nov: The 5000 - An Orange with a Worm in It By Sebastian Baczkiewicz. Five thousand people have danced down the mountain and into Tiberius City. It didn’t appear to be a riot. But there’s tension in Herod’s Palace, good people have been imprisoned and Salome is still missing. And trouble is not far from the door of Centurion Gaius. Gaius ….. Robin Laing, Harvey ….. Benjamin Osugo, Asher ….. Michael Moreland, Quintus ….. Michael Nardone, Herod ….. Robert Jack, Sarah ….. Maggie Service, Dan ….. Andy Clark, Naomi ….. Jessica Hardwick, Salome ….. Hiftu Quasem, Joe-Joe ….. Kyle Gardner, Herodius ….. Nicole Cooper. Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane. 16 Nov: The 5000 - A Shining City on the Hill By Sebastian Baczkiewicz. The arrival of an unexpected visitor is about to surprise everyone in Tiberius City and Dan and Gaius have been sent on a mission to the Sea of Galilee. Shimon/Quintus ….. Michael Nardone, Gaius ….. Robin Laing, Herod ….. Robert Jack, Herodius ….. Nicole Cooper, Asher ….. Michael Moreland, Naomi ….. Jessica Hardwick, Dan ….. Andy Clark, Caesar ….. Michael Guest, Harvey ….. Benjamin Osugo, Sarah ….. Maggie Service, Salome ….. Hiftu Quasem. Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane. 17 Nov: Dear Harry Kane By James Fritz. Story of a young Sri Lankan who travels to Qatar to work on building the World Cup Stadiums. Nisal is a Tottenham Hotspur fan. When reaches Qatar he is elated to be building the stadium in which his hero, Harry Kane, will play one day. But nothing can prepare him for the working conditions he must face. Nisal ..... Hiran Abeysekera, Nadeesha ..... Shalini Peiris, Joseph ..... Jyuddah Jaymes, Supervisor ..... Neil D'Souza, Father ..... Amesh Edireweera, Football commentary ..... David Hounslow. Directed by Sally Avens. 18 Nov: Harland - 4. Punresdaeg By Lucy Catherine. Dan finds himself an ally in his search for missing police detective Sarah Ward and the secret of the Hare Witches. Lucy Catherine's supernatural thriller set in the drought-blighted new town of Harland. 30m. Dan ..... Tyger Drew-Honey, Lindsay ..... Jasmine Hyde, Sarah ..... Ayesha Antoine, Sadie ..... Melissa Advani, Serena ..... Chloë Sommer, Morris ..... Rupert Holliday Evans, Bob ..... David Hounslow, Other parts played by Jonathan Forbes and Tom Kiteley. Sound Design by Caleb Knightley. Produced by Toby Swift. 19 Nov: Saturday Play slot - Hot Drafts By Mark Lawson. Highly excited to be starting a new job at the heart of government, young Pip is late; the trains, buses and roads are all cancelled or jammed. Nobody knows why. At the Cabinet Office, Pip is sent to the Speechwriters’ Room. Other members of the team arrive. Alex,, Head of the Unit, supervises the creation of a number of “hot drafts” - speeches for The Boss on imminent events, factory openings, the death of a public figure etc - and “cold drafts” - lines for potential eventualities such as a terrorist atrocity, a natural climate disaster, the threat of a nuclear attack and so on. The team improvise a series of speeches for these occasions, arguing over what can and can’t be said. Alex......................Alex Jennings, Pip.........................Macy Nyman, Dr Jason...............Jane Slavin, Snick......................Tom Glenister, Deep......................Avita Jay. Producer: Eoin O’Callaghan. Indie (Big Fish). 20 Nov: The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, 2 By David Nobbs, dram. Jon Canter. It's 1975 and Reggie has reached the bottom: his farcical non-affair, his rage at the 8.16 from Surbiton always being 11 minutes late, his impotence, his need to keep saying 'parsnip'; they have all led to his drunken speech at the fruit growers' association conference from which there is no going back. But Reggie has a plan. I won't give a spoiler by saying what it is. This episode is entitled The Rise. Reggie ..... David Haig, Elizabeth ..... Selina Griffiths, CJ ..... Pip Torrens, Linda ..... Celeste Dring, Jimmy/Man In Car ..... Thomas Arnold, Henry/Inspector Gate .... Dan Starkey, Tom ..... Joseph Ayre, Esther ..... Chloe Sommer, Tony ..... Jonathan Forbes, Mark / Barker/Reverend ..... Tom Kiteley, Mrs CJ/Woman In Car ..... Joanna Monro, Doc/Bill The Nightwatchman .....Roger Ringrose. Piano & Organ Played By Peter Ringrose. Produced by Sally Avens. 21 Nov: The Lights By Eoin McNamee; a thriller about the exploitation and trafficking of foreign migrants in Northern Ireland. Claire, retired early from the Police Force following a diagnosis of MS, goes to the Irish coast to clear out her dead mother's house and come to terms with her diagnosis. Whilst here she finds herself in the midst of a migrant trafficking ring. Ruth Adamson ..... Emma Canning, Clare ..... Denise Gough, Pastor Adamson ..... Lloyd Hutchinson, Marka ..... Aneta Piotrowska, Maciek ..... Adam Wittek, Sam Owens ..... Tom Glenister, Jim Martin ..... Vinne Shiels. Produced by Celia de Wolff. 22 Nov: Whipped By Becky Prestwich. This drama looks at the rarely-seen and seldom-heard detail of the life of a newly-elected MP, Meg. Her party is in opposition but it’s on the way up, and she is ambitious. She begins her working life in Westminster with an office perched between a sink and a clothes rail in the ladies cloakroom. Newbies have to beg, borrow or steal an office. Meg - Molly Windsor, Amina/mum - Nina Wadia, Davey - Reuben Johnson, Noah - Jake Ferretti, Naomi - Verity Henry, Dad/Speaker/PM - Russell Richardson, Rory - Stanley Jude Kinsey, Production Co-ordinator -Pippa Day, Sound - Simon Highfield, Political advisor - Louise Thompson, Politics lecturer. Produced and directed by Pauline Harris. 23 Nov: When Fanny Met Germaine By Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre; her first radio play. This is a romp through the real-life friendship of two unusual women: Fanny Burney: England’s famous female author, and Germaine de Stael, writer, political theorist and daughter of a well-off banker. It’s 1793 when Germaine and Fanny meet. All seems set for a literary friendship. Little is known of what actually took place, but Germaine’s real-life African servant Louise-Marie was there. Here is her version of what happened. Louise-Marie ..... Lorna Gayle, Fanny Burney ..... Heather Craney, Germaine de Stael ..... Fiona Button, General D’Arblay ..... Alexander Devrient, Count Narbonne-Lara ..... Philip Desmeules, Susannah ..... Jessica Turner, Voices ..... Will Kirk, Clive Hayward and Lucy Reynolds. Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting. 24 Nov: Rise By Lorna French. The play is about Aimee, a British black woman, who finds inner strength from looking at and learning from her past, including an unexpected link to some of the pioneers of gospel music. She slowly untangles her own web of identity and realises that she, too, has a rich, deep history. Recorded on location in Bolton. Aimee............Olivia Triste, Rose...........Laurietta Essien, Dani...........Rosa Brooks, Mrs Taylor / Grandmother......Andrea Crewe, Isaac William Cisco......Femi Nylander, Sound Recordist……Louis Blatherwick, Sound Designer…….Sami El Enany, Illustration………Tessie Orange-Turner, Production Manager……..Darren Spruce, Producer………..Polly Thomas, Executive Producer………Eloise Whitmore, Director …..Dermot Daly. Indie (Naked productions). 25 Nov: Harland - 5. Frigedaeg By Lucy Catherine. 30m. All is not well in Harland. Powerful industrialist Darius Fordingbridge has to rely on his hapless CCTV operative Dan to make the perilous journey into the Zone in the hope of protecting the youngest of the Hare Witches from the murderous demon known as Hare Mask. Dan ..... Tyger Drew-Honey, Lindsay ..... Jasmine Hyde, Sarah ..... Ayesha Antoine, Fordingbridge ..... Sean Baker, Serena ..... Chloë Sommer, Morris ..... Rupert Holliday Evans, Mum ..... Fiona Skinner Firefighter ..... David Hounslow. Sound Design by Caleb Knightley. Producer.... Toby Swift. BBC. 26 Nov: Lagos to London, 1 By Charles Dickens / Ayeesha Menon, in three episodes, rpt. Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist is a powerful indictment of child poverty and exploitation. This is an imaginative updating of the story for today, beginning in modern-day Nigeria. A young orphan’s search for family and home. Ten year old Oli plays with best friend Mene but the next day, the oil company will come to take their land. When the villagers fight back many of them are killed, leaving Oli and Mene as orphans. They have to find work to survive. Oli - Jordan Nash, Young Mene - Maryam Drammeh, Agnes - Bisola Elizabeth Alabi, Saro - Charles Venn, Tinubu - Danny Sapani, Pastor Solomon - Cyril Nri, Mene - Tamara Lawrance, Miss Saffron Hill - Jocelyn Jee Esien, Jann - Alexander Campbell, Kwame - Alfie Nash, Mrs Solomon -Jumoke Fashola, Noah - Samuel Adebayo, Dodger - Nifemi Bankole, Bet - Nina Cassells. The children in the mine are played by Ethan Langley, Isiah Adeyeye, Marvellous Aigbedion and Saria Joye. Produced by Gill Parry. Directed by Michael Buffong. Music by Tunde Jegede. Sound design by David Thomas and Steve Bond. Photography by The Masons. Development concept written by Silas Parry. Sound Interns: Makee Ogbon and Kairon Edwards. Production Interns: Samantha Mandaza and Jayesh Fernando. Production Manager: Sarah Tombling. Executive Producer: John Scott Dryden. Indie (CONNECTfilm Productions, Scotland) 27 Nov: Microserfs, 1 By Douglas Coupland, dram. Theo Toksvig-Stewart. Dan is a Microsoft employee whose world can be summed up as 'eat, sleep, code, repeat'. When he gets the chance for him and his friends to leave Microsoft to form a Silicon Valley start-up, will they take the risk? This is a new take on Douglas Coupland’s novel, which takes a microscope to working culture in the early days of Silicon Valley. Dan ….. Will Merrick, Karla ….. Samantha Dakin, Bug ….. Matthew Needham, Michael ….. Freddie Meredith, Todd ….. Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Susan ….. Chloë Sommer, Abe ….. Hughie O’Donnell, Ethan ….. Tom Kiteley, Dan’s Mum ….. Joanna Monro, Dan’s Dad ….. Roger Ringrose. Directed by Anne Isger. Sound by Cal Knightley, Pete Ringrose, David Gregory and Billy Godfrey. Production Co-ordination by Luke MacGregor. 28 Nov: The Other Tchaikovsky The story of self-confessed outlaw and villain, activist, fraudster, lesbian club owner and visionary, Chris Tchaikovsky. A collaboration between writer Harriet Madeley and the Prison Radio Association, the charity that invented and runs the world's first national radio station for people in prison, National Prison Radio. Chris Tchaikovsky's life impacted countless people and sent shock waves through the Ministry of Justice, but her story is little known to the public. Here, it is told using the words of people who knew her, voiced by actors.The play takes us from the 1950s to the 90s, from Dartmoor and Plymouth to gangland Soho, Holloway prison to Lombok. We hear about Chris’s creation of fraudster gang The Happy Firm in the 60s, the iconic Women’s City Disco in the 80s, and finally, Women in Prison, the charity that remains at the forefront of campaigning for penal reform for women. In prison herself, Chris met women locked in a cycle of incarceration, an overwhelming number of them victims of abuse. The system couldn't deal with the needs of the women in its care. During her final sentence at Holloway, a woman burned to death in her cell. It was said the alarm bell had been cut so that staff could sleep. Rpt. from 28 Aug 2020. Cast: Sheila Atim, Harriet Madeley, Jenna Russell, John Madeley, Victoria Ebun. Script: Harriet Madeley, Sound Design: Tom Foskett-Barnes, Director: Jessica Edwards, Producer: Andrew Wilkie. Includes excerpts from 'Criminal Women' (Tchaikovsky, O'Dwyer et al), published by Polity Books. Used with permission. Indie. Prison Radio Association production. 29 Nov: Blue Thunder By Padraic Walsh. A family drama about lives spinning out of control. In small-town Ireland, a father and his two adult sons are holed up in a minibus for the night. There’s no escape when the home truths start flying. Rpt. from Nov 2020. Brian ….. Gary Lilburn, Dara ….. Stephen Jones, Ray ….. Paul Reid. Produced by Gemma Jenkins. 30 Nov: Good Enough By Georgia Fitch. Christine’s always been great at keeping everyone else happy. But caring for her two elderly parents isn’t easy, especially as one of them thinks the world revolves around him. She’s got a lot on her plate. This is a play about caring for the elderly in the wake of a global pandemic. Christine ….. Monica Dolan, Charlie ….. Michael Bertenshaw, Shaun ….. David Hounslow, Kobi ….. Kwabena Ansah, Lucy ….. Ella Harding, Linda ….. Chloë Sommer, Therapist ….. Joanna Monro, Paramedic ….. Jonathan Forbes. Produced by Anne Isger. Sound by Pete Ringrose and Ali Craig. Production Co-ordination by Maggie Olgiati. 1 Dec: Because I’m a Mother By Caroline Bird. Play about dual motherhood, making art, and having babies when both parents are women. Marcie, an artist, takes a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a show in New York about motherhood, but must leave her baby son behind in the UK for ten weeks to do so. Her partner Dawn has to look after the child. The couple's relationship comes under severe strain. Rpt. Marcie - Jessica Hynes, Dawn - Sinead Matthews, Evalyn - Tracy Wiles, Lucy - Haley McGee, Podcaster - Kerry Shale. Other roles voiced by members of the cast. Studio Production by Michael Harrison. Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio in Bristol. 2 Dec:Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, 1: Firewall By James Swallow, dram. Sebastian Baczkiewicz. Agent Sam Fisher has a new mission recruiting and training the next generation of Splinter Cell operatives for the National Security Agency's covert action division. But when an assassin from Fisher's past returns with intent to murder, he is thrust into a race against time as a threat to global security is revealed. Sam Fisher ..... Andonis Anthony, Sarah Fisher ..... Daisy Head, Anna Grimsdottir ..... Rosalie Craig, Charlie Cole ..... Sacha Dhawan, Brody Teague ..... Will Poulter, Samir Patel ..... Nikesh Patel, Stone ..... Mihai Arsene, Eighteen ..... Olga Fedori, Jan Freling/Kathy ..... Rina Mahoney, Buzzard ..... Tijan Sarr, Gator/Gary Borden ..... Tom Kiteley. Sound design by Sharon Hughes. Directed by Nadia Molinari. Series Co-Produced by Lorna Newman, Jessica Mitic, Nadia Molinari. BBC Audio Drama North. 3 Dec: Saturday Play - Oliver: Lagos to London, 2 Continued from last Saturday. In Lagos, Oli is now fifteen and a key member of an exuberant gang of Area Boys who sell drugs for notorious underworld figure Miss Saffron Hill. High-octane capers through the backstreets of Lagos, a world of new tricks and double-edged jokes - but Oli never stops looking for his best friend Mene. Rpt. Oli - Idris Debrand, Babatunde - Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje , Nancy - Tamara Lawrance, Bill - Fehinte Balogun, Dodger - Sylvester Akinrolabu, Miss Saffron Hill - Jocelyn Jee Esien, Grimwig - Charles Venn, Inspector Ndbuisi - Kalungi Ssebandeke , Charlie - Samuel Adebayo , Auntie Bello - Jumoke Fashola , Blessing - Marlene Madenge, Zaki - Ali Zayn, Hotel guest - Ayeesha Menon, Hotel Receptionist - Samantha Mandaza. Rest of the production crew - see notes from last Saturday.(26 Oct) 4 Dec: Classic Serial slot - Microserfs, 2 By Douglas Coupland, dram. Theo Toksvig-Stewart. Dan and his friends have left Microsoft for tech start-up OOP! and their risk seems to be paying off, even if they are still working out of his mom and dad’s place. But something's still not right with Dan. Can the boom times really last? Dan ….. Will Merrick, Karla ….. Samantha Dakin, Bug ….. Matthew Needham, Michael ….. Freddie Meredith, Todd ….. Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Ethan ….. Tom Kiteley, Susan ….. Chloë Sommer, Abe ….. Hughie O’Donnell, Dan’s Mum ….. Joanna Monro, Dan’s Dad ….. Roger Ringrose, Dusty …. Fiona Skinner, Amy ….. Grace Saif. Producer: Anne Isger. Sound by Cal Knightley, Pete Ringrose, David Gregory, Billy Godfrey. Production co-ordination by Luke MacGregor. 5 Dec: Death Knock By Martin Edwards, former newspaper journalist. When a young black teenager is found stabbed to death in a reservoir, local newspaper reporter Nathan can no longer ignore the realities of his past. He is middle-class and black and feels dislocated from his origins. Nathan.....Stefan Adegbola, Emma.....Clare Corbett, Janice.....Ayesha Antoine, Brooky/ Ali.....Peter Polycarpou, Sam/ Ms Stone.....Charlotte East, DCI Jones/ Alice.....Cecilia Appiah, Alec.....Ian Dunnett Jnr, Produced by Emma Harding. 6 Dec: Sidelined By Kirsty Smith. This is her first radio play. Alice, an up-and-coming scriptwriter, has written a TV film she's proud of and it's being directed by big-shot director Carl Bunton. It's a huge deal for her. Then on a work night out, a colleague finds herself alone with Carl. Things go on from there. Alice.....Kate Coogan, Carl.....Jason Done, Sita.....Saira Choudhry, Kamran.....Darren Kuppan, Shan…..Angela Lonsdale, Esme.....Lauren Patel. Sound design-John Benton. Technical production-Simon Highfield. Production co-ordinator-Lorna Newman. Producer - Jessica Mitic. BBC Drama North. 7 Dec: My Little Eye: Brought to Book By Richard Stoneman. Bob Trench is charged by the Prime Minister to track down and confront a former soldier who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Now she will stop at nothing to publish the truth as she recalls it. This is highly topical given the government's unwillingness to protect soldiers from possibly-inaccurate accusations of misconduct half a lifetime ago. Bob Trench ... Pip Torrens, Julia Hapsgood/Karen Price ... Monica Dolan, Prime Minister ... Siobhán Redmond, Dave Sefton ... Samuel Anderson, Tony Havers ... Jonathan Cullen. Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan. Produced by Marilyn Imrie. Indie (Catherine Bailey) 8 Dec: Patterdale By Paul Jones. New drama from the winner of the Alfred Bradley Bursary Award 2020-21. As Tommy Whelan runs away from his foster family, through the streets of Liverpool, his mind is full of fractured moments, memories and fantasies. We hear and see what he does, get glimpses of his life and the people closest to him, and discover why he needs to get back to his Nan. Tommy - Oscar Tyndall, Sophie - Gillian Kearney, Nan - Eithne Browne, Grandad - Neil Caple, David/Football commentator - Liam Tobin, Thomas/Judge - Paul Duckworth, Policewoman/Julie - Keddy Sutton, Emily - Nancie Thomas, Cully - Harley Harrison, Smigger - Sonny Lackey. Sound by Sharon Hughes. Produced by Pauline Harris. 9 Dec: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Firewall, 2 By James Swallow (novel), dram. Sebastian Baczkiewicz. Agent Sam Fisher has a new mission, recruiting and training the next generation of Splinter Cell operatives. They, including his daughter, will work for the National Security Agency's covert action division. And now, former Fourth Echelon agent, Charlie Cole needs their help. Sam Fisher ..... Andonis Anthony, Sarah Fisher ..... Daisy Head, Anna Grímsdóttir ..... Rosalie Craig, Charlie Cole ..... Sacha Dhawan, Brody Teague ..... Will Poulter, Samir Patel ..... Nikesh Patel, Stone ..... Mihai Arsene, Eighteen ..... Olga Fedori, Jan Freling/Kathy ..... Rina Mahoney, Train Guard/Operator/Policeman ..... Joe Belham. Sound design by Sharon Hughes. Directed by Jessica Mitic. Series co-produced by Nadia Molinari, Lorna Newman, Jessica Mitic. BBC Drama North. 30m. 10 Dec: Saturday Play: Oliver - Lagos to London, 3 Dickens, ad. Ayeesha Menon, set in modern Nigeria and the refugee journey to Britain. Rpt. Continued from last Saturday. Olly has become a hardened 20-year-old and has forgotten his best friend Mene. Saffron Hill is grooming Olly as the gang’s new leader, and persuades Bill to include him in a plan that will earn them a small fortune. But... Oli - Idris Debrand, Babatunde - Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Nancy - Tamara Lawrance, Bill - Fehinte Balogun, Dodger - Sylvester Akinrolabu, Miss Saffron Hill - Jocelyn Jee Esien, Blessing - Marlene Madenge, Inspector Ndbuisi - Kalungi Ssebandeke , Charlie - Samuel Adebayo , Auntie Rosie - Bisola Elizabeth Alabi , Waitress - Fatima Adoum, Young Agi - Sariah Joye, Other parts played by Ali Zayn, Fabio Goutet, Ewens Abid, Makee Ogbon, Samantha Mandaza, Jayesh Fernando and Kairon Edwards. Produced by Gill Parry; directed by Michael Buffong. Music by Tunde Jegede, Sound design by David Thomas and Steve Bond, Photography by The Masons. Development concept written by Silas Parry. Cultural Advisor: Onassis Andem. Sound Interns: Makee Ogbon and Kairon Edwards. Production Interns: Samantha Mandaza and Jayesh Fernando. Production Manager: Sarah Tombling. Executive Producer: John Dryden. Indie (CONNECTfilm production). 11 Dec: Classic Serial slot - Convenience Store Woman By Sayaka Murata, ad. April De Angelis from the translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori. Keiko is 36; never had a boyfriend and has worked in the same Tokyo convenience store for 18 years. Her family wishes she’d get a proper job, and her friends wonder why she doesn't marry, but Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she won’t let anyone come between her and her work. Keiko ….. Yuriri Naka, Shiraha …..Will Howard, Manager ….. Luke Jerdy, Mrs Izumi ….. Clare Corbett, Sister ….. Lara Sawalha, Miho ….. Jeany Spark. Other voices played by the cast. Sound Design ….. Adam Woodhams & Steve Bond, Producer ….. Sarah Tombling, Executive Producer ….. Sara Davies. Directed by Nicolas Jackson. Indie (Afonica). 12 Dec: Broken Colours, 1 By Matthew Broughton; series 2; thriller. At the end of Series 1, Jess, a young artist, rescued her boyfriend Dan from gang leader Joe Magner. But in the process, she accidentally shot and killed Magner. Dan wants to make a new start and Jess is trying to be supportive, but she keeps being tempted back to the criminal world. Jess has synaesthesia; she sees sound as colour and pattern, and there’s a widening perception gap between her and her boyfriend. Jess…..Holli Dempsey, Dan…..Josef Altin, Molly…..Molly Pepper Tuer Man…..Dean Rehman, Melissa…..Alexandria Riley. Directed by Emma Harding. Production co-ordinators Eleri McAuliffe and Lindsay Rees. Sound design by Catherine Robinson and Nigel Lewis. Produced by John Norton, Philippa Swallow and Emma Harding. BBC Wales. 13 Dec: Broken Colours, 2 Jess and Dan try to piece together what happened at the supermarket shooting. Cracks appear in the relationship and they don't see eye to eye. When an injured man appears at her door, Jess lets in more than she expected. Jess…..Holli Dempsey, Dan…..Josef Altin, Gina.....Suzanne Packer, Anthony Wheeler.....Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Directed by John Norton. Rest of production crew - see 12 Dec. 14 Dec: Broken Colours, 3 Dan has disappeared in mysterious circumstances and Jess is contending with the gallery opening for her new artwork. With Dan gone, she doesn't know who she can trust. Jess…..Holli Dempsey, Dan…..Josef Altin, Melissa…Alexandria Riley, Vic…David Sterne, Ronnie Vaz….Alun Raglan, Anthony Wheeler.....Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Maggie – Ashleigh Haddad, Molly – Molly Pepper Tuer. Directed by Phillipa Swallow. Production co-ordinators Eleri McAuliffe and Lindsay Rees. Sound design by Catherine Robinson and Nigel Lewis. Produced by John Norton, Philippa Swallow and Emma Harding. 15 Dec: Broken Colours, 4 Jess and Dan work out what really happened on the night of the attack by Magner's gang. Jess finally meets the Blue Rider, and Dan has to make a life changing decision. Jess…..Holli Dempsey, Dan…..Josef Altin, Melissa….Alexandria Riley, Gina.....Suzanne Packer, Anthony Wheeler.....Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong, Blue Rider….Olivia Vinall, Ronnie Vaz….Alun Raglan. Directed by John Norton. Rest of production crew - see 12 Dec. BBC Wales. 16 Dec: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Firewall, 3 Based on the novel by James Swallow; dram. Paul Cornell. Agent Sam Fisher, and his daughter Sarah are set a simple extraction mission. Can they secure the asset in one piece? 30m. Sam Fisher ..... Andonis Anthony, Sarah Fisher ..... Daisy Head, Anna Grímsdóttir ..... Rosalie Craig, Charlie Cole ..... Sacha Dhawan, Andriy Kobin ..... Riad Richie, Nabil ..... Ali Gadema, Delim ..... Lloyd Thomas. Sound design by Steve Brooke. Directed by Jessica Mitic. Series Co-Produced by Jessica Mitic, Nadia Molinari, Lorna Newman. BBC Drama North. 17 Dec: Saturday Play slot - The Willows By Algernon Blackwood, ad. Stef Penney. 55m. Two old friends take a midsummer canoe trip down the Danube. Since they last met they've been through a war and 'flu has swept the country, but now life is opening up again. Before long, they are in a dreamy, shifting landscape of sandbanks and half-submerged forests of willows. They camp for the night on an island in the middle of the marshes but strange things begin to happen. Gus . . . Bill Pullman, Michael . . . Julian Sands, Mother . . . Vesna Stanojevic, Innkeeper . . . Velibor Topic. Music composed by John Biddle. Sound Design by Iain Hunter. Produced by Kate McAll. Indie (Rhiannon Media) 18 Dec: Classic Serial slot - Star Child By Patrick Barlow. A brand new nativity story. This comedy drama tells the nativity story in a different way. A magic star appears in the sky. A lonely village seamstress meets an anxious angel and a kindly donkey. Two shepherds go on a dangerous mission. Three bickering wise women bring news to a paranoid, psychotic king. And a bolshie girl gives birth to a baby. Based on an original play by Patrick Barlow, adapted by him with Clemmie Reynolds. God & Herod – Jim Broadbent, Gabriel, Innkeeper & Shem – John Ramm, Sara, Lilith & Angel – Maggie Steed, Mary & Shabnan – Nell Barlow, Joseph, Steward & Ham – Rob Lennon, Parsley, Sushila & Babbling Brook – Sophie Thompson, Children – Louie, Bonnie, Sonny, Noah & Beatrix Barlow. Director: Patrick Barlow. Producer: Liz Anstee. Indie (CPL) 19 Dec: That Dinner of '67 By Tracy-Ann Oberman, with David Spicer. In 1967, as race riots swept the streets of America and the Supreme Court considered a landmark case about interracial marriage, Hollywood director Stanley Kramer started filming Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. This was about a pair of young lovers - one black, one white - seeking the blessing of their parents before getting married. The cast would be Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy and Kate Hepburn, and Hepburn’s niece Katharine Houghton making her film debut. Spencer was dying but determined that his final film with his beloved wife Kate would be a success. Spencer Tracy - Kenneth Branagh, Sidney Poitier - Adrian Lester, Stanley Kramer - David Morrissey, Katharine Houghton - Daisy Ridley, Kate Hepburn - Tracy-Ann Oberman, Ray - Matt Addis. Producer: Liz Anstee. Indie (another CPL production). 20 Dec: A Time to Dance By Lucy Gannon. A retelling of the Christmas tale, a story which surprised Lucy in the writing. She was expecting the story we all know but created something quite different. This is the nativity story, from Joseph's point of view. Isaac ….. Karl Johnson, Joseph ….. Nikesh Patel, Mary….. Scarlett Courtney, The Narrator - Jessica Turner, Heli ….. Clive Hayward, Ben ….. Will Kirk, Sam….. Greg Jones, Angel….. Shaun Mason, Innkeeper’s wife ….. Lucy Reynolds. Sound design ….. David Chilton. Produced and directed by Allegra McIlroy. BBC Northern Ireland. 21 Dec: Love Pants: Ian Dury & Jane Horrocks From the diaries of JH and letters of ID. In 1987 the singer - songwriter Ian Dury and actor Jane Horrocks began a relationship while working together on the Jim Cartwright play 'Road'. This is the story of their love affair, with specially commissioned music by Micky Gallagher. The programme also features some of Dury's songs. There's also a live recording of Spasticus Autisticus which was performed by Orbital/Graeae Theatre Company at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympics. Ian Dury's letters are read by Jud Charlton. Jane Horrocks reflects on bringing her memories, the letters and her diaries together after 35 years. Produced by Peter Curran, Sound Mix: David Thomas. Indie (Foghorn Company) 22 Dec: Christmas Wings By Katie Redford. Joe and Fran, two primary school teachers, watch the nativity play from the wings. The kiss they shared at the Christmas party the night before is all they can think about. But between the nativity and the ever over-enthusiastic Miss Pear, any more moments alone will be gold dust. Joe ..... Nikesh Patel, Fran ..... Fiona Button, Miss Pear ..... Joanna Monro. Producer: Tracey Neale. Production Coordinator: Ben Holland. SMs Cal Knightley, Peter Ringrose and Jenni Burnett. 23 Dec: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Firewall, 4 By James Swallow, dram. Paul Cornell. Agent Sam Fisher and his daughter Sarah attempt to infiltrate Brody Teague's T-Tech building in Lisbon. Will they be fast enough to disrupt his destructive global plans? Recorded in 3D binaural audio; use headphones for the full experience. 30m. Sam Fisher ..... Andonis Anthony, Sarah Fisher ..... Daisy Head, Anna Grímsdóttir ..... Rosalie Craig, Charlie Cole ..... Sacha Dhawan, Brody Teague ..... Will Poulter, Samir Patel ..... Nikesh Patel, Stone ..... Mihai Arsene, Eighteen ..... Olga Fedori, First Pilot /Guard.....David Hounslow, Second Pilot /Guard ..... Roger Ringrose. Sound design by Sharon Hughes. Directed by Nadia Molinari. Series Co-Produced by Nadia Molinari, Lorna Newman, Jessica Mitic. 24 Dec: Saturday Play - The Sleeper and the Spindle By Neil Gaiman, ad. Katie Hims. Rpt. from Boxing Day 2020. A tale drawing on traditional folk stories, interweaving Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. In her mountain kingdom, a soldier-Queen prepares for her wedding day. But three dwarves, guardians from her childhood, arrive briging news of a sleeping sickness speading over the land. As a girl she survived her own long, magical sleep, so she puts on her armour and rides to the heart of this new plague to find its source and save her people. 55m. Dame Penelope Wilton ….. The Narrator/The Old Woman, Gwendoline Christie ….. The Queen, Neil Gaiman ….. The Home Secretary, Ralph Ineson ….. The First Dwarf, Stefan Adegbola ….. The Second Dwarf, Ian Dunnett Jnr ….. The Third Dwarf/The Prince/ The Tinker/The Woodcutter, Cecilia Appiah ….. The Pot Girl/ The Young Girl/ The Mother, Emma Handy ….. The Maid/The Other Woman/ The Stepmother, Roger Ringrose ….. The Father/The Innkeeper/ The Bandit, Milton Dighton ….. The Child, Directed and produced by Allegra McIlroy. Recorded remotely by Sharon Hughes and John Benton. Sound Design by Sharon Hughes. BBC Audio Drama North. 25 Dec: Broadcast at 3.15pm: The Signalman Dickens, ad. Jonathan Holloway from the short story; reimagined for 2022. The Visitor is on a walking holiday in Sussex countryside and finds a lone signalman in a railway cutting where the sun never shines. , and unexpectedly finds himself part of spooky tale of spectral, supernatural occurrences. The original story followed Dickens' experience of being involved in a train crash when he was travelling with his mistress Ellen Ternan and her mother. He helped rescue fellow passengers and was deeply affected by the experience. This a creepy tale of the supernatural. Anyway - no more spoilers. The Signalman – Samuel West, The Visitor – James Purefoy, Mrs Carter – Sally Orrock, Train Driver – Nicholas Murchie. Music specially composed by Sarah Llewellyn. Strings, musical saw and waterphone performed by Francesca Simmons. Sound Design: David Thomas. Production Co-ordinators: Sarah Tombling and Sarah Wright. Producer: Andy Jordan. Indie (Pier productions). 26 Dec: The Dark Is Rising, 1 By Susan Cooper, ad. Robert Macfarlane and Simon McBurney in four parts, from the World Service broadcast some years ago (odd - I can't find it in my WS listings - Ed.) RT says: "This four-part version.....written and recorded to take place across the Christmas holidays". Ep. 1: The Sign-Seeker. A boy’s 11th birthday and an unusual gift mark the beginning of a great test of character, as young Will Stanton is drawn into an ancient struggle between Light and Dark.His task is to find the six Signs of the Light before the Dark destroys them. Will learns he has supernatural powers and that his duty is to fight the rising strength of the Dark across the centuries. Will Stanton ... Noah Alexander, John Smith/ Paul Stanton ... Thomas Arnold, Jamaican Old One/ James Stanton ... Danny Bailey, Stephen Stanton ... Simon Bubb, Mrs Stanton ... Amanda Hadingue, The Walker (Hawkin) ... Toby Jones, Narrator ... Simon McBurney, The Rider/Mr Stanton/Farmer Dawson ... Tim McMullen, Merriman ... Paul Rhys Maggie Barnes/Mary Stanton ... Natasha Stone, The Lady/Miss Greythorne ... Harriet Walter. Soundscape designed by Gareth Fry. Original songs are by Johnny Flynn, Luisa Gerstein and Heloise Tunstall-Behrens. Music by Josh Sneesby. Director: Simon McBurney. Producers: Catherine Bailey and Tim Bell. Indie (Complicité and Catherine Bailey Production for WS). 27 Dec: The Dark Is Rising, 2 Continued from yesterday...Ep 2: The Book of Gramarye. Will tries out his new powers for the first time, but the Dark appears, and strikes back. When Will travels with Merriman to a different time, 1875, he begins to understand how much is at stake in his quest for the Six Signs. Nowhere is safe, and his family is now in danger. Cast and production team - as yesterday. Indie. 28 Dec: The Dark Is Rising, 3 Continued from yesterday...Ep.3: The Coming of the Cold. The Dark grips the country in an unnatural frost, as deepening snow traps people indoors. To break the spell, Will needs to fight back and find the Sign of Fire but the Dark lies in wait. The Rider is abroad.Cast and production team - as Monday. Indie. 29 Dec: The Dark Is Rising, 4 Continued from yesterday...Ep.4: The Wild Hunt. Will is pursued by the tornado of the Dark and prepares for the final battle. Herne the Hunter, who rides for the first time in a thousand years, summons his ghostly hounds. The Old Ones gather from across the centuries as the ancient conflict between Light and Dark reaches its climax. Cast and production team - as Monday. Indie. 30 Dec: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, 5: Firewall By James Swallow, dram. Sebastian Baczkiewicz. Agent Sam Fisher and his daughter Sarah, are in a race against time to stop Brody Teague from bringing down two passenger planes. Sam Fisher ..... Andonis Anthony, Sarah Fisher ..... Daisy Head, Anna Grímsdóttir ..... Rosalie Craig, Charlie Cole ..... Sacha Dhawan, Brody Teague ..... Will Poulter, Samir Patel ..... Nikesh Patel, Stone ..... Mihai Arsene, Eighteen ..... Olga Fedori, Portuguese announcer ..... Charis Jardim-Hinds, Reporter ..... Roger Ringrose. Sound design by Sharon Hughes. Directed by Lorna Newman. Series Co-Produced by Jessica Mitic, Nadia Molinari, Lorna Newman. BBC Audio Drama North. 31 Dec: Bedroom Farce (Part 1) By Alan Ayckbourn. A hectic night in the lives of four couples. Trevor and Susannah's marriage is rocky; they inflict their miseries on their closest friends. Comedy. Trevor ….. Stephen Mangan, Susannah ..… Susannah Fielding, Malcolm ..… George Blagden, Kate ..… Laura Pitt-Pulford, Jan ..… Lisa Dillon, Nick ..… Edward Bennett, Ernest ..… Martin Jarvis, Delia ..… Rosalind Ayres. Specially composed music: A-Mnemonic. SMs: Charles Carroll, Marc McCouig, Tom Bullen. Produced by Martin Jarvis. Indie (Jarvis & Ayres) Compiled by Nigel Deacon / Diversity website Back to top
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