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

A BBC Radio 4 tragic-comedy drama depicting the principal events of Shirley Porter's time as leader of Westminster city council in the 1980s. Originally broadcast as the 'Friday Play' on 27 November 2009, and starring Tracy-Ann Oberman as Shirley Porter. Also featured amongst the cast are Maggie Steed, Joseph Cohen-Cole, Piers Wehner, Stephen Hogan, Sagar Arya, Bruce Alexander, Ewan Hooper, Philip Fox, John Biggins and Tessa Nicholson. Directed by Marc Beeby.

Tasty, piquant and distinctly different, The Curried Goat Show is a comedic happening brought to you by the warped minds of writer/performers Dan Gaster (The Thick of It) Will Ing (Insert Name Here) and Ben Silburn (Week Ending).

Catherine McCormack, Joseph Fiennes, and Harriet Walter star in this BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's last and most remarkable novel. Passion and perception run through this fascinating study of loneliness, love, and ultimate triumph over adversity.

In the fashionable spa town of Bath, one man is the arbiter of taste and the epitome of elegance: the self-proclaimed ‘King of Bath’, Beau Nash. In his capacity as Master of Ceremonies, he presides over the city’s social life, arranging balls and concerts for the ‘ton’, keeping a discreet eye on distinguished visitors and smoothing over any quarrels or disagreements. In these six episodes, he has his work cut out for him...

Here’s a cornucopia of clever comedy, featuring sketches, monologues, poems, and songs in this ‘sequential entertainment for radio’. Among the sketches, Mr Serpent, a sales rep in the Garden of Eden, tries to flog a knowledge course to Eve (‘one bite and you’re a PhD’). A doctor has to give some bad news, but gets more emotional than the patient, and there’s love among the road reports. There’s an exclusive interview with ‘Charlie Chaplin’, some lavatory humour....

When Ram Mohammad Thomas, an orphaned, uneducated street kid from Mumbai, wins a billion rupees on a live TV quiz show, he finds himself beaten up and thrown in jail by the programme's producers. During his interrogation he explains, through a series of flashbacks, how he knew the answers to all the show's questions. What he describes about his life is jaw-dropping: "You learn a lot about the world by living in it." he says.

Here are selected items from the Morecambe & Wise television show. Bringing us sunshine on this recording are "Ern’s magnificent body", "A visit from the police" and Ernie’s going to be "Bob Hope’s chief scriptwriter". Other highlights from Eric and Ern’s TV show from 1971 include "The diamond ring in the window", and "Carry on Ern". So, what do you think of it so far...? Vintage Beeb: classic albums first available as BBC LPs, now available to download for the first time ever.

When the Cowley sisters employ a carer to look after the ailing Carmela, Morag appears to suit their needs perfectly. But after a spectacular jewel theft on the night of the Hunt Ball, it appears that the perfect carer might be implicated.

Frances Fyfield and Clemency Burton Hill explore the tales and tribulations revealed in the hand-written music of artists including Bach, Vivaldi, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, Stravinsky, Schubert, Rachmaninov and Chopin. Joined by world-leading musicians and musical experts, they investigate the stories behind the manuscripts for famous songs like 'On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring', and some of the best known operas and shows of all time including The Barber of Seville, The Pirates of Penzance and Madame Butterfly.

A fast-paced psychological thriller from BBC Radio 4's 'Saturday Play' slot, originally broadcast 26 March 2011. A city banker is found dead in an opulent apartment. At the funeral, his former girlfriend Helen is unexpectedly questioned about when she last saw him. Did he mention computer files, or give her anything as a keepsake? Helen's suspicions mount as she retraces his last movements. Her discoveries put her in the firing line.

Toby Stephens stars in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Raymond Chandler’s second Philip Marlowe mystery.Fast-talking, trouble-seeking private eye Philip Marlowe is a different kind of detective: a moral man in an amoral world. California in the ’40s and ’50s is as beautiful as a ripe fruit and rotten to the core, and Marlowe must struggle to retain his integrity amidst the corruption he encounters daily.In ‘Farewell My Lovely’, Marlowe has a chance encounter with a not-so-gentle giant outside Florian’s nightclub.

This selection of BBC archive interviews with celebrated footballer George Best begins in the 1970s, when Best is enjoying success at a young age. It continues into the 1980s, by which time he has become a husband and father and has also had to come to terms with his alcoholism. Career and personal highs and lows are discussed, along with recollections of his upbringing and reflections on relationships, drinking and his deep passion for football. Final comments are heard in an interview with Nicky Campbell from 2000.

Jimmy Spud is Newcastle's only trainee angel, determined to solve cosmic mysteries and save his father from the grip of lung cancer. By the author of Billy Elliott. Written by Lee Hall. Lee Hall has asserted his moral rights (including the right to be identified as the author) in the Work. All rights reserved.

John Lennon was a world famous and influential singer/songwriter and former member of the Beatles. Here he discusses his life and achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive.

This compilation of Mark Tully's acclaimed reports from India includes his specially recorded observations. Sir Mark Tully was the BBC's Foreign Correspondent in India from 1972 to 1994. He has become familiar to listeners around the world for his incisive and thought-provoking reports. On this special recording, he looks back at his career, which coincided with a remarkable period in Indian history.

No script, no props and living by their wit—in this side-splitting series, two of the funniest stars of The Comedy Store Players and Whose Line Is It Anyway? join together to create sketches from ideas shouted out by a live studio audience. Making it up as they go along, Josie Lawrence and Jim Sweeney riff on topics ranging from a room full of kittens to something you might find beneath the sofa; from an unexpected moon expedition to a mishap involving a Portaloo; and from an unusual gathering with the neighbours to a meet-cute involving electrolysis.

When young Matthew starts talking to himself, and introduces his invisible friend, Chocky, to the family, his parents decide it's just a phase he is going through. But when Matthew starts explaining binary maths and anti-gravity propulsion, they begin to worry. Is Chocky really just the product of an over-inactive imagination, or something more?

A hilarious collection of BBC broadcasting blunders presented by John Inverdale. There are no gaffes like sporting gaffes. In the excitement of the moment, and live on air, commentators and sports personalities can say the most amazing and silliest things. This complication includes slips-of-the-tongue and scrambling of words which produce gales of laughter from the commentary box - and those listening in.

Dramatization by Robin Brooks of James Boswell's biography of Samuel Johnson, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Johnson's birth. Episode 1: Young Boswell comes to London to seek out his hero. He wants to write a biography of the great man 'in scenes', with Johnson's conversation cast as dialogue. Nothing quite like this has ever been attempted before

Comedian, actor and bestselling author Ellie Taylor welcomes us to her 'safe space', a place where anyone can air their views, gripes and dislikes without fear of persecution. Assisting her on her confessional journey are sidekick Robin Morgan and members of the audience, who share their own dark and disturbing beliefs at the beginning of each show. Having heard from them, Ellie goes on to get her own opinions off her chest. Through stand-up and sketches, she gives us her hot take on topics such as masculinity, the environment, parties, the news, the Internet and billionaires.