Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Performing Arts

There can be only one parody musical master, and Mitch Benn thinks it’s him. Although Richard Stilgoe may have something to say about that. Laugh out loud as Mitch sets out on a musical journey through the showbiz glitz and backstage litter of pop music. Teaming up with Mitch is comedian Robin Ince, and between them they delve into the world of super fans, the glamorous trappings and excesses of pop-star life and its highs and lows.

A finely matured selection of episodes from the long-running topical Radio 4 panel show, chaired by Barry Norman, Barry Took, Simon Hoggart, Sandi Toksvig and Miles Jupp. These 14 archive editions, all published for the first time, span the decades from 1978 to 2017 and recall the headline-grabbing issues, incidents and individuals of yesteryear.

Few can forget where they were in September 1993 when they first heard Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation. The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. Since that fateful first series, the show has gone on to win Sony awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Included here are all 10 series of Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation.

Lucy Porter explores family life via songs, sketches and stand-up. Lucy Porter is well known for her cheery, feelgood comedy. She has toured both nationally and internationally with her one-woman shows, and her many TV and radio appearances include Live at the Apollo, QI, The Now Show and The News Quiz. In this trilogy of stand-up specials, she examines domestic life from the dramatic to the dreary, aided by comedian and impressionist Luke Kempner.

After winning the ARIA gold award former teacher and mother of three Laura Smyth returns with a hotly-anticipated stand-up series, Your Mum, where Laura and her guests share hilarious anecdotes, advice and sayings from the mouths of mothers and examine why maternal relationships can occasionally drive us up the wall.

Comedian Glenn Moore, renowned for his brilliant one-liners on Mock the Week, offers a unique and humorous perspective on world events in his BBC radio comedy series. Through his almanac, Glenn revisits significant historical events, intertwining them with amusing anecdotes from his own life. Each episode reveals what Glenn was doing at the time of these events and explores quirky connections to the day in question, creating a delightful blend of personal mishaps and historical commentary.

Hosted by the peerless Sandi Toksvig, these 25 episodes take us through the highlights and lowlights of 2008, a year dominated by the global financial crisis and the US presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain. Scrutinising stories both world-shaking and whimsical are an esteemed panel of comedians, journalists and commentators, among them Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Phill Jupitus, Francis Wheen, Kevin Day, Carrie Quinlan, Mark Steel, Hugo Rifkind, Justin Edwards, Sue Perkins and Robin Ince.

Taking over the News Quiz chair from Simon Hoggart, comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig steps up to the plate to lead the intrepid panellists in a round-up of the biggest (and smallest) news stories of 2006 and 2007. With the exception of one show, hosted by Clive Anderson when Sandi had the flu, she chairs each of these 33 episodes with her characteristic wit, charm and erudition.

Arthur Haynes was the most popular comedian in Britain from the late 1950s. His hit TV sketch show ran for 15 series, winning him the Variety Club Award as ITV Personality of 1961, and the following year it was adapted for BBC Radio. Included here are a collection of the best surviving radio episodes, featuring the classic comic battles between Haynes and his long-suffering straight man, Nicholas Parsons.

Newsreader and ‘Godfather of Radio 4’ Brian Perkins and Spitting Image impressionist Kate Robbins star in this Sony Award-winning satirical show, set on New Year’s Eve at the turn of the millennium. As the Nineties come to a close, they recall the tumultuous, earth-shattering events of the years 1994-1999.

First broadcast (with the aid of a crystal ball) in summer 1994, the Sony Award-winning show returns for a second series starring the ‘Godfather of Radio 4’, Brian Perkins, and Spitting Image impressionist Kate Robbins. This time, they turn their comic gaze on six roller-coaster years from the 21st Century: 2001, 2005, 2010, 2021, 2025 and 2099.

Ostensibly a quickfire quiz, The Guessing Game is really a show that pushes facts aside in favour of flights of fancy and rewards the funniest, luckiest and most bizarre guesses. The premise is simple: host Clive Anderson fires off a series of difficult and implausible questions, and awards points to the panellists for their outlandish answers. Included here are all 12 episodes of the witty, whimsical and wildly speculative show.

Originally broadcast on Radio 4 in 2003-4, We’ve Been Here Before is the topical, satirical, historical panel game that aims to show beyond all doubt that there’s nothing new in the news. Hosted by award-winning comedian, broadcaster and Whose Line Is It Anyway? star Clive Anderson, it takes a wry, witty look at long-gone days through a present-day lens, as the panellists battle it out to discover who’s got the best memory for detail when it comes to raking up the past.

Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!'. Milton Jones is a man who can help anyone, anywhere - whether they need it or not. Because, in his own words, there's ''no problem too problemy''. When you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push...

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).

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...

The Now Show returns with more stand-up, sketches and songs, as Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and special guests take aim at the latest headlines. Bringing their quips, quick wit and a quiver full of satirical arrows are comedians including Laura Lexx, Ian Smith, Sarah Keyworth, Olga Koch, Janine Harouni, Ahir Shah, Alex Kealy and Helen Bauer.

Since winning the Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1993, Dominic Holland has gone on to become one of the UK’s best loved comedians. He’s worked with Armando Iannucci, Rob Brydon and supported Eddie Izzard on tour. He is also the father of Tom Holland (best known for starring in the blockbuster Spider-man movies) and made the brilliant 2017 Dominic Holland Eclipsed Edinburgh Fringe show out of the experience of being a superhero’s dad.

In these three series, policeman turned stand-up Alfie Moore gives his audience of deputies the chance to find out, as he swears them in and presents them with some real-life scenarios to see how they’ll deal with the dilemmas he faced. Sharing hilarious anecdotes from his time on the front line and giving a helpful breakdown of the ins and outs of British law, he invites them to explain what decisions they would have made – and why...

Rediscovered and restored by radio enthusiasts, The Radio Circle, it was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on the 10th May 1955, just two days before Tony Hancock’s 31st birthday. Tony Hancock had taken an unscheduled trip to Italy, leaving Hancock Half Hour’s producer to ask Harry Secombe to step in to star for the first three episodes of the second series. The fourth episode saw Tony return, and begrudgingly make ‘A Visit To Swansea’, to thank Harry Secombe for stepping in.