Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Literature & Fiction

Jack and Karen are an ordinary, happily married couple. They've been together for years and are convinced every problem can be worked through. Until Karen finds an odd text on Jack's phone, and her confrontation leads to a shock revelation: Jack is gay, and he wants a male lover. Seeking stability for themselves and security for their teenage children, they settle on a 'closed loop' arrangement, whereby they stay together and Jack has a boyfriend. So begins a new type of marriage, where small deceptions and unspoken fantasies are replaced with radical honesty.

Patrick Hamilton is renowned for his gritty, slice-of-life tales chronicling the hopes, dreams and obsessions of London's working class in the inter-war years. This collection brings together his key pieces, together with some lesser-known classics and a bonus 2004 documentary exploring his achievements and legacy.

Best known for her posthumously published novel Suite française, Irène Némirovsky was born in Kiev in 1903. Her family fled the Russian Revolution for Paris, where she found fame as a novelist. But when the Nazis occupied France, she was arrested as a Jew and sent to Auschwitz, where she died aged just 39. This collection includes four of her best works, dramatised for radio with a full cast.

J.B. Morton took over the 'By The Way' column in the Daily Express in 1924 - succeeding his friend D.B. Wyndham-Lewis as Beachcomber - and continued writing it for over 50 years. Anarchic, absurdist and profoundly influential, it had a huge cult following, and paved the way for a great deal of modern humour.

Thirteen plays about human connection, from some of BBC Radio's best writers exploring love, family, romances and life's ups and downs. This diverse collection of stories centres around family dynamics, relationships both romantic and platonic, and the diverse ways ordinary people navigate the vicissitudes of everyday life. Ranging from modern fairy tales to coming-of-age dramas, they feature a wide variety of styles, and are scripted by an array of writers from award-winning dramatists to first-time authors.

Christopher Marlowe turns government spy in these four comedy crime dramas. Murder and intrigue are all in a day's work for Kit Marlowe, England's leading playwright and undercover agent in Her Majesty's Secret Service. Amid the squalor and splendour of Elizabethan London, he probes a series of baffling mysteries, aided by his trusty underworld accomplice Bartholomew Ratsbane.

A collection of dramatisations and original radio plays by the award-winning playwright - plus bonus documentary. Caryl Churchill is one of Britain's most innovative and influential dramatists. Versatile and prolific, she has written over 50 plays for stage and screen and is renowned for her revolutionary theatrical techniques and themes of feminism, social politics and the abuse of power.

Ever since that first primordial fireball exploded in the void countless aeons ago, people have been doing comic sketches on the radio. And this is no exception. These two mouth-watering series feature a whole host of tasty takeaway skits and shenanigans, from 'The Man At Parties No-One Wants To Talk To' and 'Britain's Stupidest Postman' to sauna novices, the perfect Proms punter and Batman in his dotage. Other highlights include regular characters Mr Makesalotofmistakes, who can't seem to get anything right, and smug yuppies Richard and Dulcie ('Rich and Dull') Perrier.

An all-star cast attend a mysterious private club in this hilarious parody of classic horror tales. Membership of the exclusive Mausoleum Club isn't for the faint of heart. The Honorable Clarence Green wants in, but to join he must first hear the spine-chilling stories of the existing members, before enthralling them with one of his own. But are their stories fact or fiction? And will Green still want to join after hearing the horrors they have to tell?

In Jim the Great, Jimmy Edwards stars as the titular medieval chieftain who has more on his plate than whatever the huntsman's brought in. From using the Venerable Bede to research the King's (perhaps questionable) ancestry and attempting to build himself an empire as cheaply as possible, to settling a debt with a Viking by way of a duel and accidentally losing his Kingdom before becoming a grumpy galley slave rowing to Rome, King Jim's adventures are history as you've never heard it before.

When newly widowed Jessica decides to rent a room to recently divorced Rex, she's a little apprehensive. She's never had a lodger before, and he's not used to being a tenant. Neither are quite sure how their relationship works—and to make things trickier, they're wildly different people. But unbeknownst to either of them, they share a secret—they both keep a diary. Taking turns to read from their respective journals, they relate their thoughts, hopes, dreams and first impressions of each other, which are somewhat less than flattering. 

Forerunner to the renowned operas, The Figaro Plays by Pierre Augustin Caron De Beaumarchais are a celebration of how intelligence and wit can bring any servant level with their aristocratic masters. Considered scandalous in their time, the plays went on to be adapted by Rossini (The Barber of Seville) and Mozart (The Marriage of Figaro) to become some of the most popular and acclaimed operas of all time. These original plays show us the stories behind these popular operas.

Based on the real-life memoirs of the 19th Century investigator who inspired Sherlock Holmes, Inspector James McLevy, this atmospheric mystery series features the fictional casebook of Edinburgh's finest thief-taker. Accompanied by his loyal partner, Constable Mulholland, McLevy prowls the murky streets of 1840s Leith bringing criminals to justice—assisted by the madam of Edinburgh's finest bawdy-house, the deliciously immoral Jean Brash.

Renowned novelist and poet Thomas Hardy is best known for his fatalistic, often tragic novels set in the 'realistic dream-country' of Wessex, in south and south-west England. Drawing on his own life, he created some of the most memorable characters and stories in Victorian literature—many of which are included here. In five dramas taken from Radio 4's 'Hardy's Women' season, we meet a few of Thomas Hardy's most compelling female protagonists.

From acclaimed director and scriptwriter Jenny Stephens, here are a trio of sensational science fiction serials: supernatural espionage thriller Project Raphael, its sequel Project Archangel, and the dark, dystopian Jefferson 37. All feature a full cast of veteran actors including Dan Hagley, Emily Chennery, Sunny Ormonde, John Flitcroft, Oliver Hembrough and Dharmesh Patel.

Well-meaning do-gooder Clare Barker is back, and dealing with more office politics, troublesome clients and domestic dramas. Secretly regarding herself as a cross between Mother Theresa and Wonder Woman, she's got all the right jargon for every problem, but never any practical solutions. However, in today's 'Big Society' there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker (or even Clare). These six series find her struggling once again to control both her professional and private life. 

Hidden in the midst of a remote Surrey village (at the top of the hill, opposite Budgens) is top-secret scientific research institute Clayton Grange. There, a team of bumbling boffins, led by the keen but hopeless Professor Linden Saunders, try to fulfil their government brief to solve the global fuel crisis, cheer people up and make war just a bit more gentle. Sadly, they're as rubbish at science as they are at life—but they're not going to let mere incompetence stop them from pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.

Anthony Trollope's series of witty, gently satirical stories of provincial life are set in the fictional town of Barchester and the surrounding county of Barsetshire. With a focus on the lives, loves and tribulations of the local clergy and rural gentry, the canvas is broad and colourful, with a set of iconic characters in whose lives we become intimately involved as they grow up, grow old, and fall in or out of love and friendship across the years.

Best-selling author Joanna Trollope has been described as one of the most insightful chroniclers and social commenters writing fiction today. Her books have been translated into over 25 languages, and several have been adapted for television. This collection comprises the BBC Radio dramatisations of her historical novel Parson Harding's Daughter (written under the nom de plume Caroline Harvey) and two of her most popular contemporary novels, A Spanish Lover and Second Honeymoon, as well as an edition of the literary chat show The Book Café.

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).