Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Arts & Entertainment

When Radio One chief Matthew Bannister popped into 'A Lite Bite' in Altrincham for his favourite gherkin roll, little did he expect to find the two northern chancers who would bring so much sophistication to his beloved station. For there in the corner, playing a DLT Give Us A Break trivia game, stood Mark Radcliffe and his mate, known not particularly affectionately as Lard. Soon millions would be tuning in to hear the witty banter and roughhouse sketches of the men once described as 'that fat git and the other one'.

Elver season on the River Severn - a time of mystery and danger. The wrong time and place for a young man to be searching for his place in the world.

Kirsty is having an affair with a married man, Adrian. When his wife, Lucy, returns unexpectedly from a business conference, Kirsty hides in the attic. In a panic, she falls down the back of the attic into the cavity wall. A story then unfolds which combines the domestically mundane with the utterly bizarre.

The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe become victims of piracy when they materialise on a space beacon, minutes before it is literally blown to pieces. So begins their quest to be reunited with the TARDIS, whilst treading perilously across the paths of the Interstella Space Corps and a gang of murderous bandits.

Presented by Michael Parkinson, this highly entertaining collection of interviews is taken from Spike Milligan's numerous appearances on Parkinson between 1972 and 1982. The subjects Spike covers include his early years, his poetry and books, The Goons, and his relationship with the BBC.

In this BBC full-cast production of Romeo and Juliet, the two star-crossed lovers fight for each other until their dying breath. Can their two feuding families reconcile? With the intimacy of radio, the full beauty and meaning of some of the most lyrical lines ever written can be truly heard: tenderness and passion, betrayal and bigotry are brilliantly evoked as the tale comes to its tragic conclusion. Douglas Henshall stars as Romeo, with Sophie Dahl as Juliet and Susannah York as Lady Capulet in Shakespeare's passionate story of doomed love.

The listener response to this play when it was first broadcast as part of the God’s Country series was overwhelming, and it has gone on to become an audio best seller. Performed by Becky Simpson, Spoonface Steinberg is about a young autistic Jewish girl who, learning that she is terminally ill, contemplates the meaning of life and death in a dramatic monologue interwoven with operatic extracts from the magical voice of Maria Callas.

The UK and Africa have had a long and complicated past. These two series look at the history of this relationship, with Daliso as our relationship guidance counsellor, helping us navigate the rocky historical waters between the two places. A Malawian comedian who grew up all over the world, Daliso straddles cultural divides. He will help us all better understand how to sort out our differences. Or not....

Just a Minute is the classic game hosted by Sue Perkins where hesitation, deviation and repetition are the enemy. This bundle collection presents both series from 2025 alongside special episodes recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.

The TARDIS makes a hazardous return to contemporary Earth, materialising at Gatwick Airport in the path of an oncoming aeroplane! The travellers split up in order to evade airport security, but in doing so they become embroiled in a plot to steal the personalities of young human beings.

Anton and Liam are the Eric and Ernie of the fish world. Liam is a slippers-and-cardigan, Friday-night-in-with-a-Dick Francis-and-a-box-of-Terry’s-All-Gold kind of goldfish; whereas Anton is erudite, philosophical, sophisticated and fluent in several languages. Thrown together by fate, their only company in their bowl is some gravel and a little plastic castle as they closely observe the tumultuous relationship between their owners, Martin and Susan. In these two series, Liam and Anton contemplate the meaning of their existence, ponder the concept of time, and learn about sex.

Oozing with satire and sass, these fun-size yet deliciously satisfying musical comedies do for your ears what chocolate does for your taste buds. Based on the lives and careers of well-known public figures, each one takes a politician or VIP who has hit the headlines, and gives them a West End make-over. Their fabricated stories are told in an original, never-heard-before, musical that will have your toes tapping to the rhythm and shoulders shaking to the laughs.

In this BBC full-cast production, Julius Caesar is triumphant after his victory over the sons of Pompey. But as bad omens and weather plague Rome, even his most loyal friends are starting to see the signs.... Political intrigue and fierce battle rage in this tense and dynamic production in which a country is torn apart under the legacy of Julius Caesar, 'the colossus'. Gerard Murphy, Stella Gonet, Samantha Bond and Nicholas Farrell star in Shakespeare's turbulent Roman history.

What if you couldn't remember a single minute of the ten years you'd spent with the love of your life? Joe can remember everything about Ally; Ally remembers nothing about Joe.

The fashion for keeping chickens in your back garden shows no sign of waning, but Natalie Haynes has heard some dark rumours about the true habits of the hen. Can they be true? Natalie's own chicken knowledge being limited entirely to their lives in Ancient Rome, she hears from chicken breeders and keepers; but perhaps the most keen insight is from ornithologist Mark Cocker, who explains how things look from the chickens' own perspective.

Ten short BBC Radio 4 plays from an eclectic mix of writers, including Josie Long, Nick Warburton and Tim Key, exploring one of the most important human emotions. This accumulation of mini-plays encompasses romance, heartbreak and some adult themes; each play offering a very different perspective on love.

Antony and Cleopatra is an intense love story, exploring the constant conflict between duty and emotion with characters so charismatic they continue to fascinate after 2,000 years. Shakespeare achieved some of his most beautiful poetry in this play, and the richness of the language makes it perfect for audio. Frances Barber stars as Cleopatra and David Harewood as Antony in this towering tale of great love, political intrigue and tragedy.

A tender and sad BBC Radio 4 comedy drama about losing your past, starring Richard Briers. The Moment You Feel It was originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 18 May 2009. Alf's memories come in flashes with great blank holes, along with a running commentary from the voices of his past. So how does finding a strange coat in his kitchen remind Alf why he doesn't want a bath today?

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins offer you more than your fair share of laughs, songs, and silliness in their imaginatively titled BBC Radio 4 series. Mel and Sue are extremely well established performers on the comedy circuit. They are also familiar as the hosts of Channel 4's Late Lunch and as the stars of a number of TV commercials. Sue Perkins was a member of the Celebrity Big Brother household in 2002.

In interviews ranging from 1972 to 1989, Roald Dahl talks about writing for children, his medical inventions to aid his ailing son and wife (the actress Patricia Neal) when they were seriously ill and writing his short stories. He also covers his school days, military service, writing for films (including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and the link between cruelty and laughter.