Saturday Play
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12-Feb-2012
Saturday Play - Freud: The Case Histories: 1. Dora
Deborah Levy's dramatisation of Sigmund Freud's iconic case study 'Dora' translated by Shaun Whiteside. 1899 finds a father imploring Sigmund Freud to treat his daughter after discovering her intention to end her life. When Dora first comes to Freud she suffers from a loss of voice, a debilitating cough and a limp. Dream analysis is the key to unlocking the causes of Dora's condition, and as Freud's treatment continues, secrets, seduction and betrayal are uncovered. Freud.....Robert Glenister Dora.....Olivia Hallinan Papa.....Gerard McDermott Mama.....Tracy-Ann Oberman Herr K/Coachman....Alun Raglan Frau K..... Susie Riddell Madame Petrova....Tracy Wiles Directed by Elizabeth Allard Deborah Levy's dramatisation of "The Wolfman: A History of Infantile Neurosis" can be heard at the same time next week. Deborah Levy writes fiction, plays and poetry. Her work has been staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company, and she is the author of several novels. Her latest is the acclaimed "Swimming Home" which is soon to be a Book at Bedtime.
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06-Feb-2012
Saturday Play - Private Peaceful
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo dramatised by Simon Reade with music by Coope Boyes and Simpson. In WW1 over 300 British soldiers were executed by firing squad, some for desertion and cowardice. Many were traumatised by shell-shock. Some 90 years later they received posthumous pardons from the British Government, after a campaign helped by Michael Morpurgo's novel Private Peaceful . Recorded on location in Iddesleigh - the Devon village where the book is set with Michael Morpurgo playing the Vicar and Nicholas Lyndhurst Seargent Hanley YOUNG TOMMO Ted Allpress YOUNG CHARLIE Harvey Allpress YOUNG MOLLY Amy Reade YOUNG JIMMY Daniel Houghton TOMMO Paul Chequer CHARLIE Mark Quartley MOLLY Annette Chown JIMMY Ben Allen HAZEL/ANNA Alison Reid MR MUNNINGS/FARMER COX Nick Brimble JAMES/MOLLY'S FATHER/PATRON Christopher Bianchi COLONAL/OLD MAN Peter Ellis VICAR Michael Morpurgo TOMMO Paul Chequer CHARLIE Mark Quartley SERGEANT HANLEY Nicholas Lyndhurst JIMMY Ben Allen CAPTAIN WILKES/BRIGADIER Jonathan Keeble BUCKLAND/DOCTOR Terence Mann The Organist was Marjorie Cleverdon Music - Coope Boyes and Simpson. Private Peaceful opens with a tick from a precious watch that Tommo's brother, Charlie, has given him in battle. Tommo holds it to his ear to listen through the night, as he awaits the dawn. Tommo relives his childhood in rural Devon. From his first days at school, through the death of his Father, his unrequited love for Molly, to the circumstances that lead him to volunteer to fight in the Trenches. His world immediately comes to fully-dramatised life, in a large-cast, action-packed adventure story. The narrative is threaded through with the inner thoughts of Tommo which contrast with the dramatised scenes around them . The rich soundscape of Devon before the Great War - when the buzz of an aeroplane would be a first, terrifying and exhilarating, like the drone of a thousand bees - is juxtaposed with the crump of artillery and the leer of the cackling machine-guns as the soldiers tramp through the sludge to the Front Line. A night patrol to capture a German soldier across no-man's-land from the enemy trenches, is intense, agonising, breath-taking. The child's-eye-view of the world of adult authority - the feudal land-owner, the school master, the army Sergeant, God - is heard through the unbroken voices of the young boys and their counterpart broken voices as they are rapidly thrust into manhood. Private Peaceful moves from happiness and joy to human catastrophe in an inkling. The characters endure extraordinary psychological journeys in an unflinching portrayal of emotional truth. This, combined with characteristic exuberance and joie de vivre, is why dramatist Simon Reade is irresistibly drawn to dramatise the story. Private Peaceful's story comes from a tiny yet universal world: divided by love, united by war, torn apart by injustice. Directed on location by Susan Roberts As an experiment, we are offering Private Peaceful as a surround sound download. Follow the link from the below to find out how to download the programme and hear it in surround sound on loudspeakers or headphones.
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30-Jan-2012
Saturday Play - Agatha Christie's Endless Night
Joy Wilkinson's adaptation of Agatha Christie's psychological thriller. Lonely drifter Mike Rogers finally settles down when he meets young heiress Ellie Guteman. They build the house of their dreams in a beautiful and remote area, ignoring rumours of a curse. With their arrival, however, the curse seems to come to life, and they find themselves in grave danger. Directed by Sam Hoyle.
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29-Jan-2012
Saturday Play - The Believers
The Believers. Liverpool, 1963. The Merseybeat boom is about to take off. And with it, The Believers, a Christian pop band determined to spread the Word. If only they were all singing from the same hymn sheet. Comedy drama by acclaimed screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce. James..................................Ray Quinn Debbie.................................Samantha Robinson Billy.....................................Kieran Lynn Warren..............................John Biggins Reverend Michaels.............Rufus Wright Elder Wardle......................Gary Bleasdale Jenny................................Alison Pettitt Other parts played by Joanna Monro, David Seddon, Laura Molyneux, Jill Cardo and Keely Beresford. Original music by Carl Hunter and Mel Bowen Directed by Toby Swift *************************** Frank Cottrell Boyce is probably best known for films like '24 Hour Party People', 'A Cock & Bull Story', 'Hilary & Jackie', 'Welcome to Sarajevo' and 'Butterfly Kiss'. He won the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2004 for 'Millions', his first novel, which was subsequently filmed by British director Danny Boyle. Another novel, 'Framed', was shortlisted for the Whitbread Book of the Year, the Carnegie Medal and then adapted by Frank for BBC Television. His first theatre play, 'Proper Clever', was written for the Liverpool Playhouse as part of the 2008 European Capital of Culture Year. That year Frank also wrote a series of 5 radio dramas, 'One Chord Wonders', about the punk generation 30 years on. The music for the production was written by Carl Hunter (bass player of The Farm) and Mel Bowen. It was performed by Dave Lovelady (drums/backing vocals), Billy Kinsley (bass/backing vocals), Dave Morgan (lead guitar/backing vocals), Chay Heney (rhythm guitar) and Beverley Keenan (backing vocals) with additional guitars from Carl Hunter and Mel Bowen. Billy and Dave were in The Merseybeats and The Fourmost respectively, two of the most significant bands that emerged as part of the Merseybeat scene.
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28-Jan-2012
Saturday Play - The Kane Conspiracy
In 1941 Orson Welles' film Citizen Kane, now regularly voted top in critics' and audience polls, picked up nine Oscar nominations and was already being spoken of as a work of genius. But there were powerful forces lobbying hard against it, not least among them William Randolph Hearst, the media mogul on whom the story is based, and FBI supremo J Edgar Hoover. As the Oscar nominations are announced, Welles suffers an uncharacteristic attack of anxiety. And not without cause: FBI supremo J.Edgar Hoover has tasked a small-time FBI agent, Special Agent RB Wood, with making sure the film doesn't triumph at the Oscars ceremony. Hearst has banned any mention of the film across his media empire, RKO, the distributor, is looking shaky, and while the movie plays to capacity houses in art-house cinemas, no major theatres or cinema chains will take it. A chance encounter in an elevator leads to a highly charged head-to-head between Hearst and Welles when the two men lay their cards on the table. At the ceremony in February 1941 the film only wins one Oscar, and Welles' reputation in America never recovers. Only the character of Agent Wood is imagined, although he is based on a documented but shadowy figure mentioned in the FBI archives. And it is Wood who finally confronts Welles with the uncomfortable truth about the film: in hijacking Hearst's life for Citizen Kane, Welles has replaced it with his own. Orson Welles.........Jeff Harding J. Edgar Hoover........Toby Jones Herman Mankiewicz.....John Guerrasio William Randolph Hearst...Peter Marinker George Schaefer.......Garrick Hagon Agent Wood..........Val Jobara Radio Interviewer.......Paul Mundell Written by Jonathan Holloway Producer: Sara Davies.
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22-Jan-2012
Saturday Play - The Jinx Element
by Stephen Wakelam Edith Wharton's private life was as dramatic as many of her novels. An encounter with a journalist was to have a seismic effect on her marriage and her work. Edith Wharton ..... Fenella Woolgar Henry James ..... Allan Corduner Morton ..... Patrick Baladi Teddy Wharton ..... Nathan Osgood Cook/Manservant ..... James Lailey Mrs Gross/French Admirer ..... Rachel Atkins English Waiter/French Waiter ..... Simon Bubb Directed by Sally Avens Pulitzer prize winning author Edith Wharton had a long career, which stretched over forty years and included the publication of more than forty books, many of which have been made into films including 'The House of Mirth'. A born storyteller her novels are justly celebrated for their vivid settings, satiric wit, ironic style, and moral seriousness. Her characters are often trapped in bad relationships or confining circumstances. Her own life stands as an example of the obstacles that a woman of her time and place had to overcome to find self-realization. Stephen Wakelam's play tells the story of Edith's affair with the journalist Morton Fullerton through the eyes of her friend and fellow writer Henry James. Age 47 Edith embarked upon a relationship which made her reassess her own marriage to Teddy Wharton, a platonic relationship that did not allow her to share her intellectual and artistic interests. The affair also influenced her writing including the novella Ethan Frome which R4 has been dramatising in the Woman's Hour slot this week. Stephen Wakelam has written many successful radio plays including 'Adulteries of a Provincial Wife' about Flaubert writing Madame Bovary and 'What I Think of My Husband' about Thomas Hardy.
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15-Jan-2012
Saturday Play - Tom and Viv
Benedict Cumberbatch stars in the heart-breaking story of TS Eliot's marriage to Viv Haigh-Wood. Radio 4 commemorates the recent death of Michael Hastings with this his best known play. Its subject is the doomed marriage of the young TS Eliot and the charismatic Vivienne Haigh-Wood. This moving, highly-charged study has been described as 'one of the most important plays of the 20th century'. Tom ............... Benedict Cumberbatch Viv.................. Lia Williams Maurice..............David Haig Rose............... Judy Parfitt Charles............ John Rowe Louise..................Emily Randall Janes............... Chris Pavlo Dr Todd............ Gunnar Cauthery Barrister............. Jonathan Tafler Adapted and directed by......Peter Kavanagh.
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14-Jan-2012
Saturday Play - Deep Down and Dirty Rock 'n' Roll
By Mark Davies Markham. Suggs stars in a drama set in the music industry. Once Carl was the tragic suicidal poet of the band Lost Youth. Fourteen years earlier Carl feigned a mysterious disappearance. If he comes out of hiding now Lost Youth are history. Ed...Suggs Carl...Burn Gorman Tanya...Philippa Stanton Sophie...Alex Tregear Doreen...Joanna Monro Olly...Stuart McLoughlin Miss Brookes...Jane Whittenshaw Phil...Brian Bowles Music composed by Dave Gale Directed by Claire Grove Ed (SUGGS) and Carl (BURN GORMAN) are two musicians in mid-life meltdown, who've been friends and rivals since primary school. Carl, the supposedly dead or missing poet of the band Lost Youth, has been in hiding for fourteen years. But with Lost Youth's comeback tour and new album imminent maybe he's about to be outed. Ed has been living the rock and roll life and he's in serious debt. If Carl comes out of hiding Lost Youth are history, and so is he. SUGGS was a founder member of Madness, the ska revivalists who erupted out of Camden Town in the late '70's and became one of the greatest pop groups of the '80s. He presents a music show on Radio 2. BURN GORMAN is best known for Torchwood. He also played Bill Sykes in Oliver in the West End Mark Davies Markham writes hugely entertaining scripts for TV, theatre and radio. 'Taboo' the West End musical he wrote for Boy George was nominated for an Olivier Award . 'Eric' his recent play for the Liverpool Everyman was also about the music industry.
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08-Jan-2012
Saturday Play - The Quest of Donal Q
The Quest of Donal Q By David Ashton Based on the template of Don Quixote, The Quest of Donal Q, is the story of two rival brothers who journey through Scotland in search of a childhood sweetheart. Specially written for and starring Brian Cox and Billy Connolly. DONAL (Billy Connolly) and SANDY (Brian Cox) have been separated as kids in an orphanage. Donal adopted by a rich couple and taken off to grow up in sunny California, Sandy never chosen and left to live all his life in not quite so sunny Dundee. It's ten years since the brothers last met and at that time they had a fierce falling out. Now Donal is back - turning up out of the blue at Sandy's tobacconist shop, "Paterson's Inferno", to demand that his brother drop everything and travel on an urgent mission. The Quest is to find a girl they were both in love with at the Orphanage; Jeanette, red haired, fair skinned and beautiful. An ideal princess. Donal claims she has written to say that she's in dire straits and needs a knight in shining armour to come to her rescue. And so begins a journey - a journey that will make or break both brothers as conflict breaks out between past, present and future. CAST Donal ....................... BILLY CONNOLLY Sandy ...................... BRIAN COX Hamish/Mr Quigley.... JOHN KIELTY Jeanette/Leonora ...... SANDY McDADE Fergus/Mungo .......... FORBES MASSON Mother/Maybelle ....... LINDY WHITEFORD Mary ........................ HELEN MACKAY Margo/Mrs Quigley.... TRACY WILES Gilchrist.................... CARL PREKOPP Prester John/Ernie .... DAVID ASHTON Candy ...................... VICTORIA INEZ HARDY Producer/Director.......David Ian Neville.
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01-Jan-2012
Saturday Play - The Million Pound Bank Note
The Million Pound Bank Note by Mark Twain dramatised by Bryony Lavery Stranded in London, a penniless young American becomes the subject of a £20,000 bet between two wealthy English gentlemen. Can he can survive and prosper for a month as the bearer of a 1,000,000 pound bank note? A colourful, bright and vivid dramatisation of this charming and surprisingly relevant classic short story, first published in 1893. Brimming with Mark Twain's gentle humour, Henry Adam's plight is sure to entertain family audiences. HENRY ADAMS ..... Trevor White MISS PORTIA LANGHAM ......Verity-May Henry TRUBSHAW/BOSUN/VESUVIUS .... Conrad Nelson BASIl/MR RAYMOND/MAJORDOMO ......Jonathan Keeble ABEL/CONCIERGE ...... Malcolm Raeburn MRS HARRIS ...... Kathryn Hunt TOD/BELLBOY ...... Stephen Hoyle LLOYD HASTINGS/AMERICAN AMBASSADOR.......John Guerrasio Produced by ...... Pauline Harris and Sharon Sephton Tony Award winning playwright Bryony Lavery presents a rhythmic, energised dramatisation of this classic short story.
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26-Dec-2011
Saturday Play - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Written by L Frank Baum Dramatised by Linda Marshall Griffiths The story made famous by the iconic 1939 musical film is given a distinctly different treatment in our dramatisation by Linda Marshall Griffiths which reinstates some of the events and characters of L Frank Baum's classic book. When a tornado strikes Dorothy's farmhouse in Kansas, she is lifted to the magical world of Oz where she embarks upon a terrifying and perilous journey to find her way back home. Immediately she makes some powerful enemies by accidentally killing the Wicked Witch of the East and claiming her silver shoes. Desperate to return home her adventure takes her to the City of Emeralds to meet the Wizard of Oz. On the way she makes some new friends, a Scarecrow, a Tin Woodman and a Lion who have their own reasons for wanting to see the Wizard. Pursued by the frightening Kalidah beasts, the violent Flying Monkeys and the all seeing Wicked Witch of the West will they make it to the Emerald City and have what they most desire? DOROTHY.............Amelia Clarkson WIZARD OF OZ / KALIDAH / UNCLE HENRY..Jonathan Keeble SCARECROW................Kevin Eldon TINMAN.................Burn Gorman LION......................Zubin Varla WITCH OF THE NORTH / SOUTH / WEST / AUNT EM .......Emma Fielding KING MONKEY / MINER............Andrew Westfield MUNCHKIN / GATEKEEPER.........Graeme Hawley Original Music by Olly Fox Sound Design by Steve Brooke Directed by Nadia Molinari.
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25-Dec-2011
Saturday Play - Goldfinger
Ian Fleming's 1959 novel faithfully dramatised by Archie Scottney and directed by Martin Jarvis. Toby Stephens returns as 007, and a glittering cast is led by Ian McKellen in the title role. With cameo roles by top actors - all delighted to contribute to this remarkable Fleming adventure. Rosamund Pike plays wacky gang-boss Pussy Galore and Lisa Dillon is the vengeful Tilly Masterton. John Standing returns as 'M'. Tom Hollander, Tim Pigott-Smith and American star Hector Elizondo as New York City mobsters. Bond and Goldfinger are joined in the famous golf game by Alistair McGowan as the caddie, Hawker. Henry Goodman, Ian Ogilvy and Lloyd Owen contribute to the excitement. And Jon David Yu throws his bowler-hat with deadly effect as 'Oddjob'. Auric Goldfinger is not only a cheat at canasta and golf, he's also an international criminal on a massive scale. His obsession: gold. James Bond is charged by the Bank of England and MI5 to discover what Goldfinger is actually doing with his vast hoards of gold. Is he somehow connected with SMERSH - the feared soviet spy-killing organisation? When 007 becomes an undercover member of Goldfinger's team he soon learns that the madman's plans are more grandiose than even 'M' could possibly have imagined. Amazingly, robbing Fort Knox is on the agenda - and mass murder... Cast: Goldfinger ...... Ian McKellen James Bond .....Toby Stephens 'M'..... John Standing Col.Smithers ..... Ian Ogilvy Pussy Galore ......Rosamund Pike Tilly Masterton ..... Lisa Dillon Johnny Solo .....Tim Pigott-Smith Mr Strap .....Tom Hollander Du Pont .....Henry Goodman Hawker ..... Alistair McGowan Helmut Springer .....Hector Elizondo Felix Leiter ..... Lloyd Owen Jed Midnight .....Nigel Anthony Jill Masterton ..... Anna Louise Plowman Oddjob ..... Jon David Yu Alfred .....Alan Shearman Nigel .....Matthew Wolf Fleming .....Martin Jarvis Doctors & Pilot .....Kyle Stoller Nurse .....Tracy Pattin Dramatised by Archie Scottney. Music composed by Mark Holden and Sam Barbour. Producer: Rosalind Ayres Director: Martin Jarvis A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
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18-Dec-2011
Saturday Play - Our Country's Good
by Timberlake Wertenbaker Australia 1789: A young lieutenant attempts to direct a cast of convicts in 'The Recruiting Officer', the first play ever to be staged in the country. But one of his cast may be about to be hanged. The convicts' production of The Recruiting Officer can be heard on Drama on 3 on Sunday evening.. Captain Arthur Philip ..... Nicholas Le Prevost Major Robbie Ross ..... Stuart McQuarrie Captain David Collins ..... Paul Moriarty Captain Watkin Tench ..... Adam Billington Captain Campbell ..... James Lailey 2nd Lieutenant Ralph Clark ..... Paul Higgins Reverend Johnson ..... Simon Bubb Midshipman Harry Brewer ..... Rikki Lawton Mary Brenham ..... Francine Chamberlain Robert Sideway ..... Adam James John Wisehammer ..... Elliot Levey Liz Morden ..... Kate Fleetwood Dabby Bryant ..... Alex Tregear John Arscott ...... Ralph Ineson Ketch Freeman ..... Jonathan Forbes Duckling Smith ..... Adjoa Andoh Director ..... Sally Avens Timberlake Wertenbaker's stage play was adapted from Thomas Keneally's novel, 'The Playmaker'. It tells the true story of Lieutenant Ralph Clark's attempts to put on a production of George Farquhar's 'The Recruiting Officer' using a cast of convicts. It met with high praise when it was first staged at The Royal Court and the play argues eloquently for the redemptive power of theatre. Many of the arguments are still current today as we debate how best to rehabilitate prisoners. At the heart of the play is its language; Wertenbaker celebrates the beauty of language in the slang of the criminal classes and the poetry of the play but she also looks at how language is used as an instrument of power. Over one weekend Radio 4 and Radio 3 present new productions of 'Our Country's Good' and 'The Recruiting Officer' using the same cast. On Saturday on Radio 4 we hear 'Our Country's Good' and watch a group of convicts' lives change as they rehearse 'The Recruiting Officer' and on Sunday on Radio 3 we hear the convicts' production of 'The Recruiting Officer'.
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11-Dec-2011
Saturday Play - The Gate of Angels
by Penelope Fitzgerald, dramatised by Yvonne Antrobus Penelope Fitzgerald's 1990 novel, set in Edwardian London and Cambridge, exploring love, religion, physics and the random nature of chance. Fred Fairly ... Geoffrey Streatfeild Daisy Saunders ... Jade Williams Kelly ... Carl Prekopp Venetia/Matron ... Tracy Wiles Wrayburn/Dr Sage ... James Lailey Matthews ... Gerard McDermott Skippey ... Simon Bubb Flowerdew/Master ... Paul Moriarty Manageress ... Victoria Inez Hardy Mrs Saunders ... Adjoa Andoh Beazley ... Rikki Lawton Solicitor/Constable ... Adam Billington.
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04-Dec-2011
Saturday Play - Dover and the Sleeping Beauty
Comedy thriller by Paul Mendelson, set in the 1960s, featuring Scotland Yard's most unwanted man, Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover, and his long-suffering gofer, Sergeant McGregor. A young woman, Isabel Slatcher, has been in an irreversible coma for months after being shot outside her local church in a small northern town. Now she has been smothered - murdered. Who killed her? Was it the person that shot her and why have they waited until now to complete their evil crime? Chief Inspector Dover ...... Kenneth Cranham Sergeant McGregor ...... Stuart McQuarrie Chief Constable Muckle ...... Philip Whitchurch Mrs Muckle ...... Colleen Prendergast Reverend Bonnington ...... Shaun Prendergast Mrs Horsley ...... Geraldine McNulty Violet ...... Debbie Arnold Freddie Gash ...... Ross Adams Muckle ...... Cesca Bonetti Other parts played by the cast. Directed by David Ian Neville.
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27-Nov-2011
Saturday Play - Dover and the Unkindest Cut of All
Comedy thriller by Joyce Porter, set in the 1970s, dramatised by Paul Mendelson. Chief Inspector Dover's annual seaside break becomes a busman's holiday with the death of a local policeman. Was it suicide and was it linked to the recent murder of a well-known gangster? It's another strange case for Scotland Yard's laziest detective. Chief Inspector Dover ...... Kenneth Cranham Sgt McGregor ...... Stuart McQuarrie Chief Constable ...... Philip Madoc Mrs Dover ...... Carolyn Pickles Sgt Rhys-Smith ...... Gareth Armstrong Joey the Jock ...... Ben Crowe Miss Ffiske ...... Jennifer Hill Sandra Pugh ...... Siwan Morris Directed by David Ian Neville.
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20-Nov-2011
Saturday Play - The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
Say 'Alderley Edge' to a lot of people and they'll think of footballers with their wives, living in grand mansions. But for a great many the words will conjure up wizards and a hundred knights sleeping in a cave for thousands of years. Alan Garner used a local legend as the starting point to his book "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" and the story is firmly set in the part of Cheshire that he knows so well. The book has been cherished by readers of all ages for fifty years and it's timely that Radio 4 is broadcasting a new dramatisation as Garner's novel about the adult life of the young hero of Brisingamen is due out next year. Robert Powell who plays the narrator, has known Alan Garner since he was a schoolboy in Manchester and Struan Rodger who plays the dwarf, Durathror, was in a radio production of another Garner story, "Elidor", when he was only thirteen years old. Philip Voss plays Cadellin the wizard and Monica Dolan, who recently made such an impression as Rosemary West in TV's "Appropriate Adult", plays a witch. Hugo Docking and Fern Deacon, who play the two children caught up in a fearsome adventure, both come from the Sylvia Young School and Hugo commuted daily from Cirencester. Dramatised by Peter Thomson. Cast: Colin ...... Robert Powell Young Colin ...... Hugo Docking Susan ..... Fern Deacon Gowther ...... Trevor Cooper Bess ...... Rachel Atkins Selina Place ..... Monica Dolan Cadellin ...... Philip Voss Fenodyree ...... Steve Hodson Durathror ...... Struan Rodger Music by Mia Soteriou Special Effects: Wilfredo Acosta Director: Jane Morgan A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
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13-Nov-2011
Saturday Play - Bar Mitzvah Boy
BAR MITZVAH BOY by Jack Rosenthal, Adapted for radio by Amy Rosenthal A radio version of Jack Rosenthal's award-winning television play about a boy having his Bar Mitzvah - the ceremony in which a thirteen year old becomes a man in the Jewish faith. At the tender age of thirteen Eliot Green is about to become a man - in the Jewish religion at least. In synagogue, in front of the whole congregation, he will read and sing in Hebrew from the Torah (the Hebrew scrolls) - this after a year of intensive tuition. Later he will enjoy receiving gifts from relatives and friends as he celebrates with them at his Bar Mitzvah party. All eyes are on Eliot as he is called up in synagogue for his big moment! But is he ready to become a man? This play along with many others established the late Jack Rosenthal as one of Britain's best loved television writers. A master at creating characters that you could recognise and empathise with, his plays were always sharp and finely tuned with a rich helping of humour. This new version of Bar Mitzvah Boy is specially adapted for radio by Jack's daughter, the playwright Amy Rosenthal. Eliot......................................HUGO RAINE Rita.......................................TRACY-ANN OBERMAN Victor.....................................DAVID HOROVITCH Grandad.................................ANDREW SACHS Lesley. . . . ............................SUSANNAH WISE Harold......................................JONATHAN TAFLER Rabbi Sherman ......................PETER MAJER Denise...................................MAYA GERBER Squidge.................................SAM CUMMINGS Synagogue Cantor...................RABBI MARK L. SOLOMON Produced and directed by David Ian Neville.
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06-Nov-2011
Saturday Play - The Middle
by Amelia Bullmore Clare is the golden middle sister in a family headed by a formidable matriarch, Luca. Clare meets and quickly marries Martin, who falls just as much in love with her fun, sparky family. But Martin makes a mistake and sets in train a series of events which brings the family to its knees. Clare ..... Emma Cunniffe Martin ..... Ben Miles Nicky ..... Anna Madeley Justine ..... Eve Matheson Luca ..... Paola Dionisotti Karl ..... Nigel Pilkington Owen ..... Baxter Willis Mick ..... John Biggins Ed ..... Piers Wehner Donna ..... Melissa Advani Directed by Mary Peate.
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30-Oct-2011
Saturday Play - Something Wicked This Way Comes
Something Wicked This Way Comes By Ray Bradbury Dramatised by Diana Griffiths Will .. Theo Gregory Jim ... Josef Lindsay Charlie ... Henry Goodman Mr. Dark .. Kenneth Cranham Mr. Coogar/ Lightening rod salesman ... Gerard McDermott Miss Foley ..... Barbara Barnes Dust Witch ... Buffy Davis Robert .. Taran Stanzler Young Miss Foley ..... Amelia Clarkson JED ..... Ethan Brooke Composer ..... David Paul Jones Sound ..... Paul Cargill Produced/Directed by Pauline Harris Set in 1960's Illinois this gem of modern Gothic literature is the memorable story of two boys, James Nightshade and William Halloway, and the evil that grips their small Midwestern town with the arrival of a "dark carnival" one Autumn midnight. These two innocents, both aged 13, (Will is born one minute before Halloween, and Jim one minute after) save the souls of the town (as well as their own). This is a vivid variation on the eternal theme of the fight between Good and Evil. A thrilling, chilling, richly kaleidoscopic sound world ensues; a shimmering mirror maze that reflects your older or younger self, depending on your desires, and a magic carousel that plays Chopin's Funeral March forwards - with each rotation you gain a year, and rotating backwards - you get younger.
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25-Oct-2011
Saturday Play - Classic Chandler: 6. The High Window
By Raymond Chandler Dramatised by Robin Brooks When rare gold coin is stolen from her collection, Mrs Murdoch hires private eye Philip Marlowe to find it. The tough matriarch is convinced about the identity of the thief, but Marlowe's own enquiries lead him elsewhere. He's soon caught in the crossfire of a family at war with itself. Cast: Philip Marlowe . . . . . Toby Stephens Mrs Murdoch . . . . . Judy Parfitt Merle Davis . . . . . Jessica Raine Leslie Murdoch . . . . . Patrick Kennedy Detective Breeze . . . . . Joe Montana Alex Nash . . . . . Stuart Milligan Linda Conquest . . . . . Susie Riddell Elisha Morningstar . . . . . Peter Polycarpou Apartment Manager . . . . . Gerard McDermott Lou Vannier . . . . . Carl Prekopp Lois Nash . . . . . Alex Tregear George Philips . . . . . James Lailey Mr Shaw . . . . . Sean Baker Delmar Hench . . . . . Alun Raglan John . . . . . Simon Bubb Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko Produced by Claire Grove This series brings all the Philip Marlowe novels to Radio 4's Saturday Play. The Big Sleep 1939, Farewell My Lovely 1940, The High Window 1942, The Lady in the Lake 1943, The Little Sister 1949 and The Long Goodbye 1953, and two lesser known novels, Playback 1958 and Poodle Springs, unfinished at the time of his death in 1959. Toby Stephens is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002) and Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre (2006). In autumn 2010 Toby starred as a detective in Vexed, a three-part comedic television series for BBC Two. He also made his debut at the National Theatre as George Danton in Danton's Death.
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25-Oct-2011
Saturday Play - Classic Chandler: 5. The Long Goodbye
Toby Stephens is back as Raymond Chandler's fast-talking private eye Philip Marlowe.This is California in the 50's, as beautiful as a ripe fruit and rotten to the core, reflecting all the tarnished glitter of the American Dream. Outside a club on Sunset Boulevard Marlowe meets a drunk named Terry Lennox, a man with scars on one side of his face. They forge an uneasy friendship but everything changes when Lennox shows up late one night, asking for a favour. Philip Marlowe...Toby Stephens Terry Lennox.....Trevor White Eileen Wade...Saskia Reeves Roger Wade...Peter Polycarpou Howard Spencer...James Lailey Candy...Simon Bubb Menendez...Alun Raglan Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt Directed by Claire Grove This series brings all the Philip Marlowe novels to Radio 4's Saturday Play. The Big Sleep 1939, Farewell My Lovely 1940, The High Window 1942, The Lady in the Lake 1943, The Little Sister 1949 and The Long Goodbye 1953, and two lesser known novels, Playback 1958 and Poodle Springs, unfinished at the time of his death in 1959. Toby Stephens is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002) and Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre (2006). In autumn 2010 Toby starred as a detective in Vexed, a three-part comedic television series for BBC Two. He also made his debut at the National Theatre as George Danton in Danton's Death. Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 23, 1888, but spent most of his boyhood and youth in England, where he attended Dulwich College and later worked as a freelance journalist for The Westminster Gazette and The Spectator. During World War I, he served in France with the First Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, transferring later to the R. A. F. In 1919 he returned to the United States, settling in California, where he eventually became director of a number of independent oil companies. The Depression put an end to his business career, and in 1933, at the age of forty-five, he turned to writing, publishing his first stories in Black Mask. By the time he published his first novel, The Big Sleep (1939), featuring the iconic private eye Philip Marlowe, it was clear that he had not only mastered a genre but had set a standard to which others could only aspire. He died in 1959.
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23-Oct-2011
Saturday Play - Classic Chandler: 8. Poodle Springs
By Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker Dramatised by Robin Brooks Fresh from his honeymoon with heiress Linda Loring, Philip Marlowe has set up shop in the upmarket Californian town of Poodle Springs. But the life of a kept man soon loses its charm, and when he's asked to find a gambler on the run from his debts, Marlowe can't resist. Toby Stephens plays iconic detective Philip Marlowe. The eighth and final Philip Marlowe novel, Raymond Chandler's Poodle Springs was unfinished at the time of the author's death in 1959. It remained so for another 30 years, until crime writer Robert B. Parker completed the novel to mark the centenary of Chandler's birth. Cast: Philip Marlowe . . . . . Toby Stephens Linda Marlowe . . . . . Lorelei King Larry Victor . . . . . Stephen Campbell Moore Muffy Valentine . . . . . Laurel Lefkow Manny Lipshultz . . . . . Peter Polycarpou Angel Victor . . . . . Sasha Pick Bernie Ohls . . . . . Gerard McDermott Film Director . . . . . James Lailey Eddie Garcia . . . . . Alun Raglan Clayton Blackstone . . . . . Sean Baker Leonard . . . . . Carl Prekopp Turn Key . . . . . Simon Bubb Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko. Produced by Claire Grove.
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22-Oct-2011
Saturday Play - Classic Chandler: 7. The Little Sister
A small, neat girl walks into Philip Marlowe's office. Orfamay Quest is looking for her brother Orrin. She gives Marlowe twenty dollars and lots of moral disapproval. Marlowe takes the case and finds himself drawn into the glamorous world of the Hollywood film studios. Toby Stephens plays Philip Marlowe in a landmark series bringing all Raymond Chandler's Marlowe novels to Radio 4. Philip Marlowe...Toby Stephens Oramay Quest...Kelly Burke Mavis...Fenella Woolgar Clausen...Peter Polycarpou Dolores...Ginita Jimenez Lagardie...John Guerrasio Hicks...Jonathan Forbes Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt Directed by Claire Grove This series brings all the Philip Marlowe novels to Radio 4's Saturday Play. The Big Sleep 1939, Farewell My Lovely 1940, The High Window 1942, The Lady in the Lake 1943, The Little Sister 1949 and The Long Goodbye 1953, and two lesser known novels, Playback 1958 and Poodle Springs, unfinished at the time of his death in 1959. Toby Stephens is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002) and Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre (2006). In autumn 2010 Toby starred as a detective in Vexed, a three-part comedic television series for BBC Two. He also made his debut at the National Theatre as George Danton in Danton's Death.
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25-Sep-2011
Saturday Play - Life and Fate: Fortress Stalingrad
Life and Fate: Fortress Stalingrad By Vasily Grossman As the Russian tanks encircle Stalingrad, the commanders of the German 6th Army realise that the end is in sight but Hitler will not permit a surrender. Spiridonov abandons the power station to join his daughter, Vera, and her new baby on a barge frozen into the Volga. As the citizens of Stalingrad start to reclaim their wrecked city, the family begin to make plans for the future. Dramatised for radio by Jonathan Myerson Stepan Spiridonov ..... Kenneth Cranham Vera Spiridonova ..... Morven Christie Pavel Andreyev ..... Malcolm Tierney General Von Paulus ..... Matthew Marsh General Schmidt ..... Elliot Cowan Colonel Adam ..... Jonathan Cullen Lieutenant Peter Bach ..... Geoffrey Streatfeild Sergeant Eisenaug ..... Michael Shelford Zina ..... Jessica Raine Major Byerozkin ..... Sam Dale Alexandra Vladimirovna ..... Ann Mitchell Natalya ..... Alison Pettit Sergeyevna ..... Christine Kavanagh Hitler's Orderly ..... David Seddon Stalin's secretary ..... Tony Bell Petenkoffer ..... Lloyd Thomas Driver ..... Jude Akuwudike Original music by John Hardy with Rob Whitehead Directed and Produced by Alison Hindell Set against the ferocious Battle of Stalingrad, Life and Fate charts the fate of both a nation and a family in the turmoil of war and is increasingly hailed as the most important Russian novel of the 20th century. Its comparison of Stalinism with Nazism was considered by Soviet authorities to be so dangerous that the manuscript itself was arrested. Grossman died in 1964, never knowing that his book would be smuggled to the West and eventually published in 1980.
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