Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Drama & Plays

Young, beautiful and courageous, Milady de Winter is a cunning spy, talented thief, and ruthless killer. She glides with ease through the streets and gilded halls of 17th-century France and England, turning heads or, with a click of her fingers, disappearing anonymously into a crowd. Driven by intellect and fierce desire, she is willing to go to any lengths to achieve her ambitions - and outwit the powerful men who try to crush her.

One of Britain's leading contemporary playwrights, Howard Brenton is well known for his controversial state-of-the-nation plays, dark comedies and powerful political satires. He has written over 50 works for the theatre and numerous screenplays, including 13 episodes of the hit TV series Spooks. Included here are some of his most acclaimed dramas, including the award-winning Pravda, co-written with David Hare.

Ronald Pickup, Angela Pleasance, and Maxine Audley star in this BBC Radio 4 1971 production of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy of the Prince of Denmark. Written over 400 years ago, Hamlet still remains one of the most powerful, influential, and thrilling tragedies in the English language.

Eve Best, Danny Sapani and Shaun Dooley star in this modern, riveting and magical production of The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare. The Winter's Tale treads new dramatic ground embracing tragedy, poetry, folklore, magic realism, music, comedy and the infamous stage direction 'exit pursued by a bear'. One of Shakespeare's mesmerising later productions, it is often considered a 'problem play' as it starts with a tragedy and ends in a romance.

F Scott Fitzgerald's last and unfinished novel, a gorgeous, excruciating, heady tale based on his painful experiences working as a Hollywood screenwriter. Haunted by the death of his wife, 1930s studio head Monroe Stahr works 18-hour days, crammed with meetings, set visits, script brainstorms and screenings. The "last of the princes", he's making the studio millions and seems bulletproof. Then one day, an earthquake breaks two water mains, sending a river of water through the studio.

This is a BBC Radio adaptation of J. M. Barrie's classic satire about the changing fortunes of Crichton, the perfect butler. Liberal aristocrat Lord Loam favours a return to nature, with masters and servants living together as equals, but Crichton is the perfect butler and the perfect snob who adores the intricacies of the class system. He cannot help but be horrified by his master's opinions, and it will take a sea change to alter them.

This diverse, eclectic collection of plays explores an array of social, political and historical events from a female point of view. In these captivating dramas, we see the world through their eyes, giving us a fresh perspective on a female history that is too often unrecorded, misrepresented or misunderstood.

A BBC Radio 4 play by Nigel Planer about some of the people involved in the decoration of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. ‘On the Ceiling’ was originally broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 7 February 2009 and repeated on 11 December 2010.High up on the wooden scaffolding tower of the Sistine Chapel, two fresco plasterers get on with the day’s work preparing the ceiling for their boss Michelangelo who has not bothered to turn up for work again.

Responding to an advert apparently worded for him alone, Captain Mike Yates (retired) is reunited with a ghost from the past. But why has the Doctor, that mysterious traveller in Time and Space, sent for his former UNIT acquaintance? Trapped by a horde of vicious creatures in an apparently innocuous English country cottage, the two old friends are on the brink of an enormous adventure.

In 1944, P.G. Wodehouse, the creator of 'Jeeves and Wooster', was questioned by MI5 after broadcasting to America from a German internment camp. One of the interrogators was an up-and-coming journalist called Malcolm Muggeridge. The other was Major E.J.P. Cussen, who later became a high court judge. The stakes were high: one of Britain's best loved authors was facing the possibility of the death penalty.

This BBC Radio production stars much-loved actor and comedian Lenny Henry, who won the Evening Standard’s Best Newcomer Award for his stunning performance as the tortured Moor. First performed at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, it subsequently toured the country before arriving in London’s West End where Henry received rave reviews.

Series of five comic tales by William Makepeace Thackeray, adapted by Stephen Wyatt, recounting the rise and fall of early-19th century footman Charles Yellowplush.

A Christmas Carol, but not as you've ever heard it before. A surprise all-star cast gather to bring Dickens' timeless classic to life. Introduced by Jonathan Dimbleby. Starring John Nicholson and Richard Katz, with Jane Horrocks, Dara O'Briain, Charlotte Green, Richard Madeley, Peter Purves, Gwyneth Williams and Chris Evans. Written by John Nicholson and Richard Katz. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

John Durbeyfield (Keith Barron) learns that he is descended from the aristocratic Norman family of d'Urbervilles. He encourages his daughter, Tess (Claire Rushbrook), to befriend the family of Stoke d'Urbervilles where she meets Alec d'Urberville (Adam Godley). Tess is ultimately seduced by Alec and the effects of their affair creates dramatic ripples in Tess's life. In an attempt to make a fresh start, Tess begins work in Wessex at the Talbothay's farm where she encounters Angel Clare (James D'Arcy), the younger son of a parson, who asks her to marry him.

Shakespeare's romantic adventure is full of tyrants, incest, murder, knights, teenagers, pirates, brothels, sublime poetry, young love, a great hero, and the goddess Diana. A multicultural cast, world music, and the poet Benjamin Zephaniah give this timeless tale a contemporary twist.

Here is a collection of Shakespeare's most inspiring speeches from the BBC Sound Archives. Hear timeless soliloquies from Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Henry V, King Lear, Macbeth, Richard III, and The Merchant of Venice, memorably delivered by some of the leading actors of the 20th century.

Lenny Henry used to hate Shakespeare. For over 35 years he avoided anything to do with the Bard – until, in 2006, he decided to find out just what the rest of the world saw in him. In this enthralling collection, we hear how Lenny’s late-flowering passion for the legendary playwright’s works set him on the path that led to his sell-out stage debut as Othello. Bringing together this behind-the-scenes journey with the final result, this collection culminates in Lenny’s standout performance in a dynamic full-cast radio production of Othello.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Edith Wharton’s 1913 satire of marriage and money in early-20th century American society. ‘The Custom of the Country’ was originally broadcast as the ‘Classic Serial’ from 3 - 17 January 2010. The play follows the beautiful Undine Spragg as she arrives in New York and sets her sights on Ralph Marvell, then travels to Paris where she meets a charming French aristocrat. Will Undine ever find real happiness?

Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 18 February 2009, and repeated on 1 April 2011, The Lottery Ticket was written by BAFTA winner Donna Franceschild, and stars Nitzan Sharron, John Kazek and Meg Fraser.

The TARDIS arrives on a vast spaceship in the distant future, and the Doctor, Steven, and Dodo meet the only survivors from the planet Earth. They are on a 700 year voyage to the planet Refusis II, in the company of their mute, one-eyed servants the Monoids. Dodo unwittingly spreads her cold amongst the Monoids, and it proves deadly to them. The Doctor provides a cure, and they leave, but the TARDIS jumps forward in time, taking its occupants to the Ark's future.