Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Family Life

Not long after their mother's death, sisters Maureen and Lesley are packing up their family home. It's a painful duty, with Maureen trying to control the worst of Lesley's projectile lamenting. Then a strange man knocks at the door and introduces himself as David Johnson, a friend of Maureen's neighbour. He'd like to view the house if they are thinking of selling - which Maureen definitely is.

Get ready to be dragged kicking and screaming into the world of family life, Stockport-style, as 15-year-old Jason introduces us to the Conroy clan. There's dad Eddie, cabby and wannabe champion organist, mum Maureen, who's easygoing but wasn't born yesterday, older brother Michael, lead singer of The Sweater Girls, and sisters Colette (married to uptight bank clerk Dave) and Karen (newly returned from uni with a Sloane Ranger boyfriend).

John Moffatt and Rosemary Leach star in this BBC Radio 4 production of Noël Coward’s patriotic play about the ups and downs of a working-class family between 1919 and 1939. This Happy Breed opens in 1919, when the Gibbons family have just moved to their smart new home in the suburbs of South London. Against a background of social change and national upheaval spanning twenty years, the family celebrate their own triumphs and deal with their personal traumas.

Roger is a writer of children's books, and all he wants is a quiet life. But when his wife, Julia, has to stay in hospital, Roger has to deal with his own complications: his difficult mother-in-law, her companion, Otto, and pressures from the publisher about the work he may or may not be about to hand in. It should be easy enough for a grown man to cope at home alone, but no one wants to make it simple for him, whether it's battles to get into Julia's visiting hours or temptations Roger never expected to face at his age.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring John Moffatt as the great Belgian detective. Hercule Poirot and his good friend Captain Hastings are enjoying a well-deserved break on the Cornish Riviera, in the idyllic village of St Loo. Wandering along the terrace of the Hotel Majestic on the first morning of their stay, Poirot literally falls at the feet of a pretty, dark-haired girl and, much to Hastings’ delight, insists that she join them for a cocktail.

Ex-con Bob has done his time. After five years at Her Majesty's pleasure, he's been released on licence with an ankle tag registered to his estranged son's address. Uptight Gruff isn't too happy about it - he's just become a father himself and the last thing he needs is his delinquent dad back in his life. But Bob turns on the charm, persuading sympathetic daughter-in-law Alice that his heart's in the right place and manages to inveigle his way into moving in.

All 16 episodes of the BBC radio comedy about the dysfunctional Burbage siblings: Brothers Nigel and Michael share everything - home, work and acute neuroses. Several years ago, they gave up respectable careers to set up a website design company in Nigel's living room. That was their first mistake....

Brothers Jack and Lesley Burrows are as different from each other as they can possibly be. After their mum passes away, there's a surprise at the reading of her will. An unexpected windfall has been left to them, but there's one very big catch: the brothers must commit to living together for three months. As far as Jack and Lesley are concerned, this is a total disaster. They will do everything they can to avert the crisis and get their hands on their cash legacy.

Eugene O'Neill’s revolutionary 20th century dramas changed the direction of American theatre, introducing European realism and experimental techniques to the US stage. He wrote more than 50 plays, portraying characters on the margins of society and tackling controversial issues, winning a Nobel Prize, and four Pulitzer Prizes.

When two people have history, how can they ever be history? That's the question facing Molly and Doug, who are separating after 16 years of marriage. He's moving out (albeit a mere three streets away), and she's moving on (just as soon as she can get her wedding ring off)—only somehow, they can't seem to stay away from one another.

A brand-new BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel, known to be a favourite among her own works.When Doctor Calgary visits the Argyle family, he believes he brings good news. He is there to clear the name of Jacko, who was convicted of the murder of his own mother, Rachel. But the doctor’s news is not greeted with the enthusiasm he expects, and the family seem intent on resisting both his help and the investigations of Inspector Huish.

Tennessee Williams' iconic play tells the story of a catastrophic confrontation between fantasy and reality, embodied in the characters of Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski. Blanche DuBois arrives unexpectedly on the doorstep of her sister, Stella, and her explosive brother-in-law, Stanley. Over the course of one hot and steamy New Orleans summer, Blanche's fragile façade slowly crumbles, wreaking havoc on Stella and Stanley's already turbulent relationship....

Nothing escaped the eye of the satirical eye of Britain's phenomenally successful all-Asian sketch show that was Goodness Gracious Me. The complete BBC Radio series 1-3 fore-ran the award-winning BBC TV series that ran in the late 1990s, and features the same cast. Prepare for your heart to pound in the Indian recreation of Brief Encounter, sing along to the profound words of wisdom with Fifty Ways to Leave your Mother, and enjoy pop classics such as Hindi People and Punjabi Girl.

Glenda Jackson stars in this compelling drama series inspired by Émile Zola's Rougon-Macquart series, highlighting different aspects of contemporary Britain. In 2015, double Oscar winner Glenda Jackson made a triumphant return to acting in Radio 4's Blood, Sex and Money, a radical reimagining of Émile Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle. Now, she reprises her role as matriarch/narrator in this eclectic mix of dramas inspired by Zola's novels, but set in modern Britain.

Award-winning actress and comedian Maureen Lipman has been entertaining audiences for over half a century. Her career has encompassed film, theatre, TV and radio; she has written several bestselling autobiographies; and in 2020 she was made a Dame in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. In this sparkling collection, the irrepressible 'Queen of Coronation Street' takes to the airwaves with her hilarious monologues, diverting duologues and amusing anecdotes - all recorded in front of a live audience. Also included are four comedy dramas showcasing her manifold talents.

One of the best-selling and most famous sagas of the last four decades, The Shell Seekers is an enduring classic which has touched the hearts of millions worldwide. Set in Gloucestershire, London, Cornwall and Ibiza, and shifting between 1939 and 1985, this poignant drama explores themes of memory, fate, trauma and connection.

This new comedy show, written by Jeremy Front (writer of the Charles Paris mysteries for Radio 4) and starring Jeremy Front and Rebecca Front as Jack & Millie Lemman - an older couple who are fully engaged with contemporary life whilst being at war with the absurdities of the modern world.... The show also features Millie’s frenemy Shirley, played by Tracy-Ann Oberman; Jack’s all-too-easygoing friend Harry (Nigel Lindsay); their high-pressure son Melvin (Harry Peacock); and their high-maintenance (and Catholic) (and French) daughter-in-law Delphine (Jenny Bede).

Christmas is the season of good cheer and harmony among men, but things are not working out quite that way in the Bunker household. As a motley collection of friends and relatives fill the house with their own wishes, dreams and attitudes, the stage is set for seasonal disharmony and romantic intrigue. It’s Christmas Eve and while Belinda is rushing around decorating the tree and seeing to all the guests and their needs, Eddie and Pattie are having a serious bust-up.

1730. Driven by a wild romantic impulse, Francis Herries uproots his family from Doncaster to the lakeland valley of Borrowdale. Accompanied by his housekeeper/mistress, Alice, they settle in his tumbledown ancestral home, Herries, in the shadow of the Cumberland fells. Proud, stubborn and temperamental, Francis cuts himself off from his brother, spurns his long-suffering wife and becomes embroiled in drink and debauchery. When he sells Alice at Keswick Fair, his reputation is ruined, and the locals dub him 'Rogue' Herries.

Michael (Marcus Brigstocke) and Maxine (Kerry Godliman) Wilson and their teenage daughters, Lola and Cat, (plus their bearded dragon Chomsky, and about 150,000 bees) have resolved to live a cleaner, greener, serener life. They are attempting to live ethically...whatever that means.