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

The third collection of classic sketches from a star of the golden age of radio comedy. With his well-known catchphrases 'Right Monkey' and 'You'll be lucky, I say, you'll be lucky', the immortal Al Read drew on a rich vein of Northern humour to bring us the Johnny know-all, the nagging wife in the kitchen and the horrible little boy in the Doctor's waiting room. A weekly audience of 35 million tuned in to catch the one-time sausage manufacturer from Salford turned household name.

This is the second collection of classic sketches from a star of the golden age of radio comedy. With his well-known catchphrases "Right Monkey" and "You'll be lucky, I say, you'll be lucky", the immortal Al Read drew on a rich vein of Northern humour to bring us the Johnny know-all, the nagging wife in the kitchen, and the horrible little boy in the Doctor's waiting room. A weekly audience of 35 million tuned in to catch the one-time sausage manufacturer from Salford turned household name. Enjoy those moments again!

The History Plays is a series of five two-hander plays by Vent author Nigel Smith, which are imagined conversations at key moments in recent history, moments that have permanently changed the British psyche. Starting with Mick Jagger's conviction for drug possession and the surprising pro-Jagger line taken in a Times editorial through the fragmented morality of John Stonehouse, the Indian summer of patriotism over the Falklands, the death of Diana, and the end of the Blair years, The History Plays are a satirical and thoughtful exploration of huge social forces.

Vatican City, December 1942. As war rages across the globe, Pope Pius XII prepares to deliver his annual Christmas message. It is perhaps the most important public address he will ever give. This BBC Radio 4 play explores the Pontiff's thoughts as he faces the starkest dilemma of his reign.

Clare Balding looks back at the time the Olympic Games came to London in 1948. Three years after the end of the Second World War, Britain was still gripped by austerity. Rationing was still in force, severe bomb damage was still much in evidence, and no new sports facilities could be built. Visiting athletes were put up in schools and RAF camps. Yet the Games were a resounding success and actually made a profit.

Philippa is a librarian from a long line of librarians. When her father dies and her mother loses her wits, Philippa tries the only language Vera understands, that of the Dewey cataloguing system, to guide her back to sanity. Starring Olivia Colman as Philippa, Sheila Reid as Vera, Caroline Guthrie as Sheila and Paul Rider as Alistair. Written by Sarah Naomi Lee. Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.

A morality tale from BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play slot, about a struggling chef in Salford. 'The Janitor' was originally broadcast on 6 May 2011. Kevin is struggling to keep his new restaurant afloat in posh Salford Quays. But then Jonno turns up. The boy he was a dad to for a couple of years when he was shacked up with his mother. He couldn't save the mother, can he now save the kid? All 15 stone of him.

This selection contains eight of Alistair Cooke's Christmas and New Year Letters from America, broadcast in December and January over the five decades of his career and covering a range of festive topics from the light-hearted to the sombre. Starting with his December 2001 letter - broadcast in the wake of 9/11 - he remembers introducing Leonard Bernstein to Handel's 'Messiah', muses on the creation of A Christmas Carol and shares his memories of two friends who died in 1977, Groucho Marx and Bing Crosby.

A BBC Radio 4 comedy drama written by the award-winning screen and stage dramatist Marcy Kahan, and starring Stephen Mangan as Ed, whose life is about to change forever when he accidentally puts National Treasure Penhaligon Rhinehart into a coma. First broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 14 January 2011. It's an important day for Ed Hanson. He has to do two things: present a 'vision statement' to keep hold of his job and propose marriage to his girlfriend, Lucinda.

Caroline is running Household Solutions on her own from the student rooms she is renting - just leaflets through doors, offering a family back-up service. Then she meets Sylvia, who is sure she could be helpful to the business. Caroline is sure she couldn't. But Sylvia persists and gradually, throughout this BBC Radio series, a mutual respect is formed and a strong business, MiraclesRus, is built up.

When a delirious Irishman arrives in a Cornish harbour, baker Mary Kneebone takes him in, and soon the sick and gullible are queuing at her door. A wry comedy about faith, love and redemption from outstanding Cornish playwright Annamaria Murphy.

A BBC Radio 3 full-cast drama by Stephen Wakelam on a period in the life of Shakespeare. Business is going well, but the playwright urgently needs a collaborator for his latest play. His daughter is getting married. His brother has a sick child and is in need of a job. It is 1607, and Shakespeare's life is at a turning point. Starring Antony Sher as William Shakespeare, Will Keen as Jack Robinson, and Stephen Critchlow as John Marston.

In this ground-breaking series, comedians from all around the globe perform from wherever they happen to be, and their set is streamed via high quality phone lines and internet video to an audience in the BBC Radio Theatre, London. Host Andrew Maxwell, a multiple Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and BBC Radio 4 regular, keeps the gags and chat flowing as we chuckle along to stand-up stars in Indonesia, Russia, Argentina, China, South Africa, Singapore, Serbia, Italy, Dubai—and more.

Were you terrified of the Daleks? Has the familiar Doctor Who theme tune ever sent a shiver down your spine? Did Saturday teatimes once mean gathering round the television to see where the TARDIS had landed each week? If so, Doctor Who at the BBC is for you. In this special release, Elisabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney take a journey through the archives and uncover the history of Doctor Who on BBC radio and television.

Bath-based BBC Audiobooks hosted a sell-out event for the Bath Literature Festival. Reading Between the Lines: From Page to Production featured Rula Lenska, Lynne Truss, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Lorelei King in an entertaining and lively discussion about the art of the audiobook. They were joined by Sunday Times audio critic Karen Robinson, BBC Audiobooks' Publishing Director Jan Paterson, and Senior Producer Kate Thomas.

The TARDIS lands in the Wild West in this classic BBC TV soundtrack starring William Hartnell, with linking narration by Peter Purves. It's 1881 and, in the Wild West settlement of Tombstone, there are three strangers in town: "Doctor Caligari", "Steven Regret", and "Miss Dodo Dupont". They've arrived in a 20th Century blue police box, and they're about to wander into a whole heap of trouble.

Series 1: Dan Antopolski, Nat Luurtsema, and Tom Craine piece together a selection of silly, clever, dark sketches. Produced by Colin Anderson.

Dr. Geoff Bunn presents a journey through 5,000 years of our understanding of the most complex thing in the known universe: the brain, in this major ten-part BBC Radio 4 series.Human beings have long been fascinated by the brain and how it fulfils its many functions. This groundbreaking cultural history explores the development of our ideas about the mind from Neolithic times to the present day.

Hosted by veteran humorist Barry Took, presenter of Points of View and former chair of The News Quiz, this entertaining guessing game sees a panel of intellectually acute guests attempting to determine a mystery object in 20 tries. Their only clue is the category it falls into: animal, vegetable, mineral, abstract, or a combination of all four. For most rounds, the studio audience know the answer and cheer on the contestants with promising guesses—but sometimes, both they and the listeners are kept in the dark, giving them an opportunity to play along too.

When disgraced City trader Tim Ng is offered immunity from prosecution by the FSA, he is alarmed to discover what it is they want in return. Although offered immunity from prosecution, he is by no means out of the woods, and he soon finds his life in danger....