Showing results for "Helen" in Drama & Plays

Bloomsbury presents Wigs, Hair and Make-up by Helen Casey, read by Paula Masterton Written by the former Deputy Head of Make-Up and Wigs at the National Theatre, this book opens up a process that very few people will otherwise be privy to, giving perspectives on the preparation before a...

Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Old California in the wake of the Mexican-American War, Ramona is two stories at once. It is the story of the love between a part-Native American orphan girl, Ramona, and Alessandro, a young Indian sheepherder. It is also the story of racial prejudice and the clash between cultures as California changes from a Spanish colony to an American territory. Ramona is the ward of Señora Gonzaga Moreno, who despises the girl for her race but honors the dying wish of the Señora's sister, Ramona's foster-mother, to raise her as her own. Señora Moreno embodies the...

This classic Victorian thriller was first produced in 1935. Jack Manningham is slowly, deliberately driving his wife, Bella, insane. He has almost succeeded when help arrives in the form of a former detective, Rough, who believes Manningham to be a thief and murderer. Aided by Bella, Rough...

What if reincarnation were true. Helen believes it is. She believes that if she lives her life correctly this time she can find a way to survive and keep the woman she so desperately loves safe. The problem is the person she believes she is and the life she has to redeem is that of Helen of Troy.

Can you ever truly escape your past?That's the question which haunts Connie, a journalist on a small fictional island in this 10-part audio drama series, 'Echoes of Shadows.'Connie was never popular in school. She had to lose herself in order to fit in. Now in her 30s, it doesn’t seem as though any jobs are a good fit for her: her degree in English Literature took her to journalism which she isn’t sure is actually what she wants to do. Her life just seems to be a never-ending rollercoaster of lows and more lows going off the rails every year. It might seem on the surface she’s got it all...

Often described as ‘the father of realism’, Henrik Ibsen was a pioneer of modernist drama. He influenced playwrights as diverse as George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, and is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare. Included in this collection are adaptations of his tragicomic masterpiece The Wild Duck, his complex and compelling play Rosmersholm, the epic drama Brand and the tragedy John Gabriel Borkman.

A modernized Jane Eyre must work through her harrowing past via phone calls to her best friend, detailing events in her life including budding feelings for her enigmatic employer and the haunting of a dark presence.

The official companion to ITV’s hotly anticipated new drama, The Victoria Letters delves into the private writings of the young Queen Victoria, painting a vivid picture of the personal life of one of England’s greatest monarchs. From the producers of Poldark and Endeavour, ITV’s Victoria...

"Evil killer art teacher poisons defenceless old woman!" That is how the tabloids portrayed Janet Macredie at her original trial, where she was accused of murdering her godmother. Now, 16 months later, her appeal is being heard at The Old Bailey. She is accompanied by Prison Officer, Margaret Hoist. Two women, two lives about to change.

Shakespeare's celebrated tragedy made accessible as drama for younger listeners whilst remaining true to the Bard's verse and vocabulary. What could be worse than falling in love with your enemy? Romeo Montague thinks he's in love until he meets Juliet Capulet. With her, he discovers what true love really feels like. But their two families are bitter rivals, and no one must know about their secret passion. When Romeo kills Juliet's cousin in a brawl, their hopes of happiness seem doomed.

An offbeat 21st Century urban love story starring Rosie Cavaliero and John Dougall, originally broadcast as BBC Radio 4's 'Afternoon Play' on 12 January 2011. It's a difficult time for Sue, her mother has just died and the kids have moved out. She has a vision of leaving their tough housing...

This epic of the booming 20's captures the relentless culture of American business. A classic novel about conformity in small town America - celebrated for its comic tone, statire, and vivid dialogue. L.A. Theatre Works, then a fledgling radio theatre company, completed Babbitt in 1989. This production was so well received that L.A. Theatre Works has since become the world's premiere radio theatre company.

Meet Anne Lister, the 18th-century landowner, industrialist, explorer, lesbian and feminist icon. This is her story.... Anne was different from society’s expectations of a woman at the time: she not only did not wish to marry, but she also did not want to conform. Anne was interested only in women and had ‘marriage’ ceremonies with Mariana Lawton and later Ann Walker. She spent a great deal of time studying, managed her own estates, sought business opportunities, travelled widely and climbed mountains.  

As hero after hero falls before the walls of Troy, Achaean and Trojan alike, two reluctant warriors--neither remembered as a hero--must sacrifice themselves for the sake of the people they love. Prince Paris has all the fame he ever wanted, anointed by the gods, honored as a youth for both his bravery and judgment, and gifted the most beautiful woman in the world by Aphrodite. If his theft of Helen results in a war, surely he is not meant to stop it. Let all the world burn to ash; so long as Paris has Helen, he is content to leave the destinies of kings and nations in the gods’ hands. But to...

In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed 'the peasant countess' by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of Belle's rapid ascent and the people who tried to tear her down. Reimagined by a novelist at the height of her powers, Belle is an unforgettable woman. Set against an absorbing portrait of Victorian London, hers is a timeless rags-to-riches story a la Becky Sharpe.

Palamon and Arcite, cousins and bosom friends, are taken prisoner by Duke Theseus of Athens. While in captivity, they spy the beautiful Emilia. Both fall instantly in love with her, and their attachment to each other turns to hate. This dark-edged tragicomedy is now widely regarded as having been written by Shakespeare in collaboration with John Fletcher. Composed sometime in 1613-14, The Two Noble Kinsmen is the final play in Shakespeare's dramatic career.

Scornful of men and the love they profess for her, Gwendolen Harleth is a beautiful but spoiled young woman, frustrated by her limited options in Victorian England. Daniel Deronda is an intelligent, handsome young man who has been raised by his guardian, Sir Hugo Mallinger, but knows nothing of his true origins. Deronda’s search leads him into the world of 19th-century Zionism, a discovery that will alter the course of his life.

It’s 1925. Hitler has published Mein Kampf and Mussolini has shut down the free press in Italy. Three friends meet on a Scottish estate for a weekend of salmon fishing and convivial conversation over brandy and cigars: Winston Churchill, future world leader; "Bendor", 2nd Duke of Westminster; and Coco Chanel, iconic fashion entrepreneur. The narrative develops into a visceral account interspersed with sharp and insightful humor, revealing two men whose deep friendship is divided by their profound political differences, as each of them tries to navigate an uncertain world.

Controversy and hidden pasts are suddenly and painfully exposed as wealthy widow Mrs Alving prepares to open a new orphanage in memory of her husband. Her treasured son Oswald’s return from Paris and her relationship with old friend Pastor Manders are no longer the source of joy they once were, as secrets are turned into a frightening and desperate reality.

A BBC Radio 3 full-cast dramatisation of Shakespeare’s classic ‘Pericles’, starring Tom Mannion. Originally broadcast in November 2005 and repeated as part of the ‘Drama on 3’ collection in November 2008. Shakespeare's romantic adventure full of tyrants, incest, murder, knights...