Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in All Categories

The complete collected series 1-5 of the gloriously daft Victorian romp Bleak Expectations. Gasp at the evil Mr Gently Benevolent, played by Mr Anthony Head! Weep at the trials of our young hero, Pip Bin, played by Master Tom Allen! Be moved to joy and sorrow by the remarkable narration of Mr Richard Johnson! Swoon at the fragile beauty of Pip's poor mama, played by Miss Celia Imrie! Wonder at the thespian prowess of Mr Geoffrey Whitehead as six different siblings!

Visionary author and journalist George Orwell was the man behind two of the best-loved and most influential novels of the 20th century: Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. This collection celebrating his life and work features dramatisations of both these classic books, with stellar casts including Christopher Eccleston, Pippa Nixon, Tim Pigott-Smith, Tamsin Greig and Nicky Henson. 

A new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization of Neil Gaiman's best-selling 2006 novel about Fat Charlie Nancy and his spider God father and brother taking over his life, and generally doing a better job of it than him. But will Charlie be able to get his life back without entering a whole new world of pain? Charlie Nancy first appeared in Neil Gaiman's American Gods, now a hit TV series.

Inspector Alia Khan is a tough, determined female cop struggling to make her mark in a male-dominated world. As she fights to uncover crime and corruption, she must also battle the endemic sexism of the police force and the patronising, chauvinist attitudes of her boss and colleagues - as well as dealing with her own personal demons.

The story of Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis and their life in the country has never been out of print since it was first published in 1906. Charming, sentimental, and unforgettable, the novel's enduring appeal lives on in this BBC radio full-cast dramatisation starring Timothy Bateson as the Old Gentleman.

Sixteen TV soundtracks from the award-winning TV show collected together for the first time, starring David Jason as ambitious market trader Del Boy Trotter and Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger brother, Rodney Trotter. For 15 years the brothers of Trotters Independent Traders PLC have entertained us both with Del's extreme optimism and scams and, quite simply, Rodney's reactions upon hearing those scams.

Freema Agyeman, Reggie Yates, Adjoah Andoh and Will Thorp are the readers of these eight original stories featuring the 10th Doctor and Martha, as played on TV by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman. The titles are; Sting of the Zygons by Stephen Cole, The Last Dodo by Jacqueline Rayner, Wooden Heart by Martin Day, Forever Autumn by Mark Morris, Wetworld by Mark Michalowski, Sick Building by Paul Magrs, The Pirate Loop by Simon Guerrier, and Peacemaker by James Swallow.

Inspired by Henry Cecil's 1955 comic novel of the same name, Brothers in Law first appeared on BBC One in 1962, providing Richard Briers with his first starring role on television as idealistic young barrister Roger Thursby. Adapted by Richard Waring from TV scripts by Frank Muir and Denis Norden, it took to the airwaves in 1970, running for three years until 1972. As the series opens, the rookie lawyer is in his first year at chambers, and struggling to learn the ropes. 

George Bernard Shaw - or Bernard Shaw, as he preferred to be known - was one of Ireland's foremost dramatists and thinkers. His plays range from contemporary satires to historical allegories, and are infused with ideas, insight, wit and wisdom. Included here are some of his best works, adapted for radio and brought together in reverse chronological order in one statement collection.

Nothing escaped the eye of the satirical eye of Britain's phenomenally successful all-Asian sketch show that was Goodness Gracious Me. The complete BBC Radio series 1-3 fore-ran the award-winning BBC TV series that ran in the late 1990s, and features the same cast. Prepare for your heart to pound in the Indian recreation of Brief Encounter, sing along to the profound words of wisdom with Fifty Ways to Leave your Mother, and enjoy pop classics such as Hindi People and Punjabi Girl.

Graham Greene was the 20th century’s master of plot, an expert chronicler of Catholic guilt, Cold War intrigue, conflict and crime. A prolific polymath, his work incorporated serious novels, thrillers, short stories, screenplays, stage plays and more. This wide-ranging box set includes the finest examples of his early work, written between 1932 and 1948, and contains over 15 hours of unmissable drama. 

The definitive collection of full-cast BBC radio dramatisations of Henry James’ classic novels - plus a bonus documentary about his life and work. One of the greatest and most influential American novelists, Henry James is loved for his compelling storytelling, vividly realised characters and perceptive exploration of the shifting relationships between Europeans and Americans. But he also possessed extraordinary insights into the secrets of the human heart, as shown in the 10 dramas in this collection.

Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!' So he's set out on a mission to help anyone, anywhere—whether they need it or not. Armed with a new motto, 'No problem too problemy', and accompanied by his faithful assistant Anton and landlady Pauline, he sets out to assist people in any way he can.

Bill Bryson is the world's funniest travel writer, and a master of comic observation. His hugely popular books, spanning topics from linguistics to Shakespeare to the human body, have sold over 16 million copies and been translated into 30 languages, and his 2003 science book A Short History of Nearly Everything won the prestigious Aventis and Descartes prizes.

Author and adventurer Bruce Chatwin was one of the 20th Century’s most charismatic writers. His first book, In Patagonia, changed the face of travel writing and made him a literary sensation. Collected here are dramatisations and readings of some of his best-known work, as well as a bonus programme shedding light on his relationships and writing.

Written in 1985, this groundbreaking play premiered at Contact Theatre, Manchester, in 1987. It subsequently won the Royal Court/George Devine Award and the Manchester Evening News Best New Play Award, and in 2000, the National Theatre included it in their list of the 100 ‘Significant Plays of the 20th Century’. Translated into 33 languages, it has been performed worldwide and is acknowledged as a contemporary classic.

Jack Higgins (the pen name of Henry Patterson) was the internationally bestselling author of 85 novels. He shot to fame with The Eagle Has Landed, which sold 50 million copies worldwide and became a hit film. Adapted for radio, it is included here, together with its gripping sequel The Eagle Has Flown and the sensational Falklands War thriller Exocet.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a colossus of German literature and a true Renaissance man. A novelist, dramatist, poet, humanist, scientist and philosopher, he wrote the first international bestseller, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and his epic masterpiece Faust is one of the most famous and celebrated dramas of all time.

Welcome to Hell—where nobody can ever quite catch the barman's eye. In this collection, which contains all seven series of Old Harry's Game, get ready for some wicked one-liners and scorching satire. Satan is fed up after a millennia in charge of Hell, especially given the prospect of an eternity still running the damned place. Although he does enjoy playing pranks on the world of the living and devising wry torments for the souls in his keeping, he often wistfully recalls his past as an archangel.

David Edgar is among the UK’s leading contemporary dramatists, well known for his powerful plays chronicling Britain's changing political landscape over the past 50 years. More than 60 of his original plays, adaptations and translations have been performed around the world, and in 2023 he was honoured with a Writers’ Guild Outstanding Contribution award for his service to British playwriting. This radio anthology contains some of his most notable work.