Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Arts & Entertainment

Jules Verne's two novels featuring Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island), condensed down to two thrilling hours. In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, marine scientist Professor Aronnax and his stowaway daughter, Connie, join whaler Ned Land aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln to hunt an aggressive sea monster, believed to be a giant narwhale. When they engage the monster, they find to their astonish­ment it's an electrically powered submarine, the Nautilus, techno­logically far superior to any vessel known.

Frederick Jaeger stars in a BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of the legend that has haunted the imagination of millions for over a hundred years! Summoned to the forbidden heart of the Carpathian mountains, in the depths of Transylvania, Jonathan Harker journeys to Castle Dracula. There he becomes the unwitting prisoner of the mysterious nobleman whom local legend insists is nosferatu, the vampire…

Dramatisations and readings of five of Josephine Tey's classic mystery novels. Scottish novelist and playwright Josephine Tey was one of the greatest Golden Age crime writers and the author of eight mysteries, including six featuring Scotland Yard inspector Alan Grant. The most famous of these, The Daughter of Time, was acclaimed the greatest crime novel of all time by the Crime Writers' Association. A full-cast dramatisation of this iconic story is included here, along with adaptations of four of her other much-loved mystery novels.

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in these two thrilling dramas featuring the wily magician of the Old Bailey at his implacable best. Rumpole takes up the cause of young Bertie Timson, whose sole ‘crime’ seems to be playing football in the street. As he endeavours to defend our ancient freedoms, he becomes uneasy about exactly what his wife Hilda is up to in her continuing friendship with a high court judge.

Jeremy Hardy returns with a brand-new series that not only seconds that emotion but explains it, too. Yes, BBC Radio 4's most passionate polemicist returns to the airwaves with a new format which promises to be both personal and profound, and to present sides of Jeremy you won't have heard before. He may even sing. (He won't sing.)

Welsh comedian Rhod Gilbert is one of the biggest names in UK stand-up, performing to sell-out audiences in Britain and abroad. Now he has his own radio series, recorded in front of a live audience and packed with laughs. Joining Rhod on stage are fellow comedians Lloyd Langford and Greg Davies ('We Are Klang'), along with Sarah Millican who takes a look at The Six Stages of Woman.

Anne-Marie Duff stars as Blanche DuBois in BBC Radio 3’s landmark production of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece Tennessee Williams's iconic play tells the story of a catastrophic confrontation between fantasy and reality, embodied in the characters of Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski...

Ready with his black bag, Dr Finlay sets out to remedy all manner of ailments suffered by his patients in the Scottish Highland town of Levenford. In this complete BBC Radio collection, we meet the surprising Dr Finlay as he is welcomed to the practise with a black eye. Over the course of these series the early years of Dr Finlay are explored, as he gets to grips with the locals in the Scottish Highland town of Levenford.

From 1965 to 1968, Round the Horne boldly went where no programme had previously dared, bringing a frenetic mix of wit, satire, parody and downright innuendo to the BBC airwaves.

With its brilliant blend of the silly, the serious and the satirical, The News Quiz has been a must-listen for comedy fans since it started 46 years ago. Recorded in front of an audience, these three series see Andy Zaltzman presiding over a motley crew of comedians and journalists as they trawl through the biggest (and smallest) news stories of 2023 to provide comedy, commentary, irony and irreverence.

Kenneth Branagh stars in BBC Radio 4's ambitious eight-hour dramatisation of Life and Fate, Vasily Grossman's epic masterpiece set during the Battle of Stalingrad. This powerful work, completed in 1960, charts the fate of both a nation and a family in the turmoil of war. Its comparison of Stalinism with Nazism was considered by Soviet authorities to be so dangerous that the KGB placed the manuscript under arrest and Grossman was informed his book would not be published for at least 200 years.

For over a decade between 1974 and 1985, lugubrious funnyman Les Dawson had radio audiences in stitches with his hit comedy show Listen to Les. Included in this collection are 26 vintage episodes, showcasing the gravel-voiced master of mirth at his very best. All your favourite characters are here, including gossip-loving housewives Cissie and Ada; chat show host Cosmo Smallpiece; the elegant Sophisticates and the hilariously dismal Desponds—as well as Wotan, Man of Steel; the debut appearance of comic discovery Justin Jest.

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.

A sparkling collection of the major works of the ever-adored Oscar Wilde, with incredible casts including Judi Dench, Martin Clunes, Michael Sheen, Miriam Margolyes, Ian McDiarmid, Joely Richardson, Penelope Keith, Martin Jarvis, Diana Rigg, Simon Russell Beale, Sheila Hancock, Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry.

Comic phenomenon Kevin Eldon has appeared in almost every hit comedy series in the last 25 years, from Fist of Fun, Brass Eye and This Morning with Richard Not Judy to Jam, Harry & Paul and Inside No. 9. Having starred alongside Stewart Lee, Richard Herring, Chris Morris, Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, he's decided to take it up a notch with his very own show. It features sketches, characters, sound effects, a bit of music and a lot of messin' about.

Highlights from Richard Burton's finest BBC radio performances from the 1940s to the 1980s. Richard Burton was one of the most famous British actors of the twentieth century, renowned for his magical, mellifluous voice. Before Hollywood tempted him away, he worked frequently for the BBC and many of his most electrifying performances were recorded there.

Each Roman Catholic parish compiles a Book of the Dead from the lists of departed loved ones submitted by parishioners. Printed on the front of the envelopes are three words: November Dead List. In this series, a young priest opens one such envelope and discovers not a list of the dead but a list of people he knows to be alive and members of his congregation. At first he thinks it's someone's idea of a joke. Then the people named start turning up dead.

Mark Steel turns his analytical mind to the theme of revolutions in these six entertaining lectures, examining some of the major historical forces at work and holding up a mirror to our own age. In these entertaining lectures, he reinterprets the French Revolution, examining everything from the storming of the Bastille to the guillotine; looks at the politics of the sexual revolution (taking in the pill, the women’s movement and the Stonewall riots); and assesses the motivating factors and key players in the Russian Revolution – including the Romanovs, Rasputin and the Red Guard.

 The popular topical comedy show is back with another helping of political vituperation, media mauling and celebrity savaging. So sit back and treat your ears to a bumper helping of superb satirical impressions from the team: Jon Culshaw, Lewis MacLeod, Jan Ravens, Jess Robinson, Duncan Wisbey and Jason Forbes.

This third treasury of rare archive material presents another four newly restored radio episodes of Hancock’s Half Hour: ‘The 13th of the Series’ (1957), ‘The Male Suffragettes’ (1958), ‘The Sleepless Night’ (1958) and ‘The Last Bus Home’ (1959). Starring once again alongside Tony Hancock are Sid James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams. Three further editions of the radio hit Calling All Forces, from 1952, feature Hancock as co-compere with Charlie Chester, with a bill featuring Robb Wilton and many other light entertainment stars of the day.