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

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.

Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam play a married couple who met in the Summer of Love and have stayed together ever since. Children of the '60s, they are still free spirits, drawn together by their love for music and one another. We follow their conversations from the café to the kitchen table, taking in everyday chores, dealing with problems with long-held friendships and tackling their frustrations with each other.

The master turns sleuth and spy in this quintet of radio dramas. Actor, playwright, songwriter, director, author and star - as far as we know, Noël Coward never added ‘detective’ or ‘undercover agent’ to his astonishing achievements. But could the intriguing gaps in his memoirs be hiding a thrilling secret life? 

It's January 1969, the winter after the summer of love, and Jill and David's fledgling relationship is about to be put to test by the outbreak of Hong Kong flu. As they huddle under blankets together, full of flu, neither of them is aware of how this moment will impact them in both the near and distant future.

In these 10 entertaining documentaries, he explores why some books, games and binge-watched box sets are, as they say, 'literally unputdownable'; peers into Plotto, an ingenious manual of story devices, to discover whether it really can make writing easy; takes a sideways look at some familiar characters from literature, including James Bond, Dracula, Fu Manchu and Carruthers; delves into the intricacies of the locked-room murder; and revisits his old prep school to find out whether a book of stirring 19th-century verse can work its magic on today’s young people. 

In 'Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth' the TARDIS lands in the 21st century to find a ravaged London at the mercy of familiar foes. In 'Doctor Who: Daleks - Mission to the Unknown' and 'Doctor Who: Daleks - The Mutation of Time' conquest of the universe seems assured for Mavic Chen and his allies, the Daleks. In 'Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks' the Doctor and Sarah are drawn to the planet Exillon, shortly before the Daleks arrive. 

Pretty Edith Ottley is married to pompous Bruce and has a son, Archie. She seems content with her life in Knightsbridge until she meets the charming and handsome Aylmer Ross. The physical attraction between the two is electric, and they could make the perfect couple. However, there is more to husband Bruce than meets the eye, and when Edith discovers this fact, will that help to change her mind?  

London,1953. Josephine Daunt and Susan Dervish both worked for the Ministry of Defence during the Second World War, doing top-secret, highly dangerous espionage work. But in peacetime, they find themselves without a job and feeling useless. Determined to put their talents to good use, they decide to set up a detective agency, with the help of former private eye Bill Mackie. From their Covent Garden office, they handle a steady flow of business.

John Singer is a lonely deaf-mute who comes to stay as a lodger in Mick's house. No-one knows where he's from. A disparate group of people who live in the town are drawn towards Singer's kind, sympathetic nature: the owner of the café where Singer eats every day, an angry socialist drunkard, a frustrated Black doctor. Each pours their heart out to Singer, their silent confidant. And he in turn changes their disenchanted lives in ways the could never imagine.

Aspiring actor Robert is always on the look out for work, and isn’t too fussy about what he takes. Chauffeur, prison performer, children’s TV, part-time teacher - he’ll take it all, and one day he’ll be famous. Maybe the next job will be his big breaK. From the writer behind The Vicar of Dibley, this lively comedy stars John Gordon Sinclair, Caroline Quentin, Gary Waldhorn and Gina McKee.

Based entirely on audience suggestions, this hysterically funny historical drama tells the thrilling extended story of an aristocratic family at war with itself. From ancient Rome to 1920s Hollywood, we follow the Mastersons’ turbulent history across the centuries as their fortunes wax and wane and their fates hang on objects as diverse and unlikely as a tumble dryer, a rabbit’s foot and a pair of Siamese twins. 

Alexander of Macedon was one of history’s greatest ever military commanders. By the time of his death, aged just 32, he had conquered the entire Persian Empire and was ruler of a vast territory stretching from Greece to the borders of India. These six episodes tell his extraordinary life story, as reimagined by acclaimed dramatist David Wade.

Something ghastly is afoot in Victorian Yorkshire. Something that kills. Bodies are washing up in the canal, their skin a waxy, glowing red...but just what is this crimson horror? Madam Vastra, Jenny and Strax are despatched to investigate the mystery. Strangely reluctant to assist their enquiries is Mrs Winifred Gillyflower, matriarch of ‘Sweetville’, a seemingly Utopian workers’ community. Why do all roads lead to the team's old friends Clara and the Doctor? Who is Mrs Gillyflower's mysterious silent partner Mr Sweet?  

Kate and George Starling are just beginning their lives as young newlyweds and are already experiencing the frustrations, as well as the joys, of marriage. But although they have their ups and downs, their mutual love and mistrust gets them through.

Welcome to Washington, DC's favourite political phone-in show, as multi award-winning comedian (and American citizen) Rich Hall and a selection of comedians from both sides of the Atlantic reflect on the latest political events in the United States. Using a combination of stand-up, sketch and interview, Rich Hall’s (US) Breakdown broadcasts live from the fictional IBBC network in Washington to the whole of America, as Rich and his producer Nick Doody take calls from every corner of the country to hear the concerns of voters.

In series 1, Rhys examines his privileged status, chats to his mum and dad, and reluctantly speaks to a girl he had a crush on in school. He also explores the topic of wisdom in his own unique way, by reading a letter he wrote to his future self at 10 years old. In Series 2, Rhys attempts to become more politically engaged by one week trying out one set of opinions, the next week, another. He asks questions such as why we are not doing more to save the planet, whether Facebook is actually spying on us and whether gender-neutral toilets are really worth it.

All three series of the BBC Radio 4 comedy drama about the collision between the old and the new in the Jewish community of Hillfield. Abraham Fine lives a settled, comfortable life as Rabbi of Hillfield’s Orthodox synagogue. But his world is turned upside down when a new Reform synagogue opens, led by a female Rabbi, Su Jacobs. Young, single, trendy and full of new ideas, she soon sets about modernisation - much to Rabbi Fine’s consternation.

Enter a surreal universe where David Dickinson goes looking for weapons of mass destruction in 'Weapons Hunt', the Queen sells off the royal jewels on the QVC shopping channel and Delia Smith turns homicidal and starts cooking up the competition. Elsewhere, Anne Robinson votes off The Weakest Disciple, and Simon Schama and David Starkey battle it out - literally - in order to become television's leading historian.

A sweeping radio saga of political intrigue, love affairs, financial wrangles and murder, based on the books by Anthony Trollope, creator of The Barchester Chronicles. This brand new full-cast BBC Radio dramatisation follows several generations of the Palliser dynasty as they navigate the twists and turns of political and high society in Victorian England.

Rod Millet has always dreamed of working at the Maltby Collection, but on being appointed Deputy Curator of Painting and Sculpture, it quickly becomes clear that the son of a self-made biscuit mogul isn't going to fit into the musty, insular world of London antiquities. But when, on his first day, Rod learns that the museum has been earmarked for closure, he starts a campaign to save it (threatening his boss Walter Brindle’s plans for a cushy early retirement). With the collection’s future secured, the staff turn their energies towards romance.