Showing results by narrator "Martin Jarvis" in All Categories

Eccentric, absent-minded inventor Professor Branestawm, with three or four glasses stacked up over his bald head (and he still can’t find them) embarks on a series of adventures with his friend Colonel Dedshott. Various machines are invented: a time travel machine, a device to capture and tie up burglars, and a spring cleaning machine. Inevitably, something goes wrong and Professor Branestawm is again in a pickle, exasperating his housekeeper Mrs Flittersnoop and delighting us.

Shakespeare's classic play explores the eternal themes of love and hate, mercy and justice, with parallel stories centred on the moneylender, Shylock, and the lovers, Portia and Bassanio. Shylock's angry insistence on the repayment of his debt from Bassanio ends in the Venetian courts, where he demands his pound of flesh. Portia meanwhile, a wealthy young Venetian woman, must marry one of her many suitors. Her late father's will has set the challenge by means of three caskets: one gold, one silver and one lead. 

Black Beauty is a handsome, sweet-tempered colt with a strong spirit. As a young colt he is free to gallop in the fresh green meadows with his beloved mother, Duchess, and their kind master. But when his owners are forced to sell him, Black Beauty goes from a life of comfort and kindness to one of hard labour and cruelty.

The night before the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket sees the great and the good of the horse-racing community gathered for a prestigious black-tie gala dinner. It is a fitting testament to the glamour of the occasion that celebrity chef and restaurateur Max Moreton is cooking the evening's meal. But the last thing he needs is to hear that his food is suspected of putting 24 of the guests in hospital.

Things are hotting up in this latest thriller from best-selling author Felix Francis, in his fifth solo novel Front Runner. Jefferson Hinkley is back. In his role as an undercover investigator for the British Horseracing Authority, Jeff is approached by the multi-time champion jockey, Dave Swinton, to discuss the delicate matter of losing races on purpose. Little does Jeff realise that the call would result in an attempt on his life, locked in a sauna with the temperature well above boiling point.

The intense relationships between Robert Schumann, his wife Clara, and Johannes Brahms are brought to vivid life through music and excerpts from their passionate writings. With the arrival of the young, dynamic Brahms into their household, the Schumanns’ fragile marriage is threatened by the deepening bond between Clara and their gifted guest.

Four clergymen seek to make sense of their mission while being torn in all directions by the Church of England. After a critically-lauded debut in 1990 at London’s National Theatre, Racing Demon went on to earn universal acclaim. More than 20 years later, David Hare’s bold and moving revelations on gay ordination and the doctrine of the priesthood ring more resoundingly than ever.

Fielding's rollicking comic masterpiece sparkles with life in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization. Abandoned child Tom is raised by the rich and benevolent squire Mr. Allworthy, much to the chagrin of Allworthy's mean-natured nephew Blifil, and develops into a good-natured rake. But Tom's inability to resist a pretty face lands him in hot water when he impregnates Blifil's betrothed. When the lovely Sophia runs away to London, Tom pursues, embarking upon a series of riotous and amorous adventures.

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English author and poet born in Bombay, India. Educated in Britain, he later returned to Lahore, India, to work as a journalist. Kipling travelled widely and also lived in Vermont, having married Carrie Balestier, an American.Throughout his life, Kipling never stopped writing. He was greatly revered during his lifetime and received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature. Kidnapped examines Kipling's attitudes towards race, and inter-racial marriage in particular, with the amused observations of societal quirks characteristic of his writing.

The price of accidental fame is hashed out in this comedy about a famous bank robber and the clerk who foiled his biggest heist. Ayckbourn’s 1988 play anticipates the popularity - and absurdity - of reality TV. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring: Rosalind Ayres as Jill Rillington; Jane Carr as Trudy Parks; Kenneth Danziger as Douglas Beechey; Martin Jarvis as Vic Parks; Ian Oglivy as Kenny Collins; and Yeardley Smith as Sharon Giffin. Directed by Robert Robinson. Recorded before a live audience in Santa Monica, California in February 1994.

The dreary aspects of Soviet housing and one family’s attempt to “exchange” its tiny Moscow apartment for a larger one. Adapted from a novella by the respected Russian writer Yuri Trifanov, as translated by playwright Michael Frayn. Translated and adapted by Michael Frayn. Directed by Robert Robinson. Recorded before a live audience in Santa Monica, CA in April, 1992.

From the author of Copenhagen and Noises Off. A comedy-drama about a door manufacturing company and a fateful convention in Frankfurt. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Rosalind Ayres, Allan Corduner, David Ellenstein, Julian Holloway, Peter A. Jacobs, Martin Jarvis, Robin Goodrin Nordli, James Warwick and Michael York.

A tender love story, a serpentine villainess, a glittering setting in London society, and a showering of Wildean witticism are only a few of the reasons why this play has enjoyed hugely successful revivals in London, in New York, and on the silver screen. This 1895 drama is eerily prescient, as it examines the plight of a promising politician, desperate to hide a secret in his past. With empathy and wit, Oscar Wilde explores the pitfalls of holding public figures to higher standards than the rest of us.

Frustrated copy man Ken Handley cannot help but conceive of the world in advert form. Over three series witness Ken coping with a drunken boss, straight-laced colleagues and an overactive mind, as we follow his exploits and moral dilemmas in this advertising satire. Martin Jarvis stars as Ken, alongside a cast that includes Miriam Margolyes, Imelda Staunton, Christopher Godwin and Joss Ackland.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Henry Fielding's rollicking comic masterpiece. Found one evening in the bed of the rich and benevolent Mr Allworthy, baby Tom grows up in the guardianship of the kindly squire. He develops into a good-hearted fellow who is nonetheless resented by Allworthy's mean-natured heir and nephew, Blifil. Tom's naive inability to resist a pretty face lands him in hot water when the gamekeeper's daughter declares herself pregnant.

Affectionately known as the Chekhov of Coldsands-on-Sea, Felix Morsom enjoys writing about the thwarted hopes of genteel lives. His own existence, he reflects, is comfortable if uneventful, except for the flirtatious moments he shares with his publicist, the delicious Brenda Bodkin. Until he meets Gavin and Miriam. Suddenly he is on the run from PROD, the Parental Rights and Obligations Department, as Miriam announces he is the father of her son Ian

Dick Dunster and Philip Progmire have been friends from their schooldays. They have also been adversaries. Progmire’s thespian longings, nurtured since he was a university actor, are now submerged in his work as an accountant with Megapolis Television. Dunster is also at Megapolis, engaged on an exposé of war criminals, focussing on a blown-up church and the massacre of the whole population of a small town during the Italian campaign.

No more chocolate! It's a new century and the government in power is called the "Good For You Party". They close down all the burger bars and chip shops and they even ban chocolate - a step too far for Huntley and his chum, Smudger. They devise a plan to beat the chocolate plan with amazing results.

When Peter Pan flies through the Darling Children's nursery window one night, he is nearly captured and makes a hasty escape, leaving behind his shadow. Returning with the fairy Tinker Bell to reclaim it, he wakes up Wendy, John and Michael and whisks them away to the magical shores of Neverland. There they meet the Lost Boys, befriend Tiger Lily and her Braves, swim with the mermaids in the lagoon and have a host of wonderful adventures. But danger awaits too, for the terrible Captain Hook and his pirate gang are determined to make them walk the plank.

Throughout his life Kipling never stopped writing. Greatly revered during his own lifetime and recipient of the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature The Essential Kipling celebrates a truly prolific and varied career; with his poetry and stories interpreted vividly by wonderful actors.