Woman's Hour Drama
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24-Sep-2011
Woman's Hour Drama - Life and Fate: 5. A Hero of the Soviet Union:
Life and Fate: A Hero of the Soviet Union By Vasily Grossman November, 1942. Krymov denounces Grekov as an enemy of the state. After speeches marking the 25th anniversary of the Revolution at which he is cold-shouldered by his colleagues, he slips out to find Stepan Spiridonov at the Central Power Station. He recalls the heady days of 1917 and Lenin's funeral and compares those ideals with the days of the show-trials. Dramatised for radio by Jonathan Myerson Nikolai Krymov ..... David Tennant Stepan Spiridonov ..... Kenneth Cranham Pryakhin ..... Gerard McDermott Pavel Andreyev ..... Malcolm Tierney Ogibalov ..... Carl Prekopp Makuladze ..... James Lailey Original music by John Hardy with Rob Whitehead Translated by Robert Chandler Directed and Produced by Alison Hindell Kenneth Branagh, Janet Suzman, David Tennant, Kenneth Cranham, Greta Scacchi and Harriet Walter star in this eight hour dramatisation of Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. This epic saga takes over every drama strand on Radio 4 this week. Set against the ferocious Battle of Stalingrad, Life and Fate is a sweeping historical tale that 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by Soviet authorities to be so dangerous that the manuscript itself was arrested and Grossman was told that it would not be published for at least 200 years. He died in 1964, never knowing that his book would be smuggled to the West and eventually published in 1980.
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23-Sep-2011
Woman's Hour Drama - Life and Fate: 4. Lieutenant Peter Bach
Life and Fate: Lieutenant Peter Bach By Vasily Grossman Peter Bach, a German officer, is wounded and treated at a military field hospital in November 1942. The brief respite from the fighting gives him time to contemplate his secret affair with a Russian girl, Zina, an affair that he roughly denies when confronted with it. Dramatised for radio by Jonathan Myerson. Lieutenant Peter Bach ..... Geoffrey Streatfeild Gerne ..... Lloyd Thomas Fresser ..... Michael Shelford The Goalkeeper ..... Tony Bell Zina ..... Jessica Raine Hospital Sister ..... Christine Kavanagh Hospital Orderly ..... David Seddon Original music by John Hardy with Rob Whitehead Directed and Produced by Alison Hindell Kenneth Branagh, Janet Suzman, David Tennant, Greta Scacchi and Harriet Walter star in this eight hour dramatisation of Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. This epic saga takes over every drama strand on Radio 4 this week. Set against the ferocious Battle of Stalingrad, Life and Fate is a sweeping historical tale that 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 and Grossman was told that it would not be published for at least 200 years. He died in 1964, never knowing that his book would be smuggled to the West and eventually published in 1980.
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22-Sep-2011
Woman's Hour Drama - Life and Fate: 3. Abarchuk
Life and Fate: Abarchuk By Vasily Grossman Lyuda's ex-husband, Abarchuk, is still a staunch believer in the Party even though he was sent to a Russian labour camp some years ago. In November 1942, he assumes his son, Tolya, is fighting for the motherland and composes a letter to him about his beliefs; beliefs that may have been shaken by a recent encounter with his former mentor, Magar. Dramatised for radio by Mike Walker Abarchuk ..... Malcolm Storry Rubin ..... Peter Polycarpou Barkhatov ..... Alun Raglan Magar ..... Sean Baker Mishanin ..... Jonathan Forbes With Simon Bubb, James Lailey, Stuart Mcloughlin and Daniel Rabin Original music by John Hardy with Rob Whitehead Translated by Robert Chandler Directed and Produced by Alison Hindell Kenneth Branagh, Janet Suzman, David Tennant, Greta Scacchi, Malcolm Storry and Harriet Walter star in this eight hour dramatisation of Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. This epic saga takes over every drama strand on Radio 4 this week. Set against the ferocious Battle of Stalingrad, Life and Fate is a sweeping historical tale that 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 and Grossman was told that it would not be published for at least 200 years. He died in 1964, never knowing that his book would be smuggled to the West and eventually published in 1980.
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20-Sep-2011
Woman's Hour Drama - Life and Fate: 2. Vera and her Pilot
Life and Fate: Vera and her Pilot By Vasily Grossman In a forest in northern Russia, Lenya, a pilot, longs to see his pregnant girlfriend, Vera. She is stranded in Stalingrad with her father, Stepan. Her mother (another sister of Lyuda) has drowned in the Volga. She watches the planes hoping to catch sight of Lenya. Dramatised for radio by Jonathan Myerson Lenya Viktorov ..... Luke Treadaway Vera Spiridonov ..... Morven Christie Pavel Andreyevich ..... Malcolm Tierney Stepan Spiridonov ..... Kenneth Cranham Skotnoy ..... Jonathan Forbes Solmatin ..... Carl Prekopp Mukhin ..... Simon Bubb Zakabluka ..... Gerard McDermott Original music by John Hardy with Rob Whitehead Directed and Produced by Alison Hindell Kenneth Branagh, Janet Suzman, David Tennant, Greta Scacchi and Harriet Walter star in this eight hour dramatisation of Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. This epic saga takes over every drama strand on Radio 4 this week. Set against the ferocious Battle of Stalingrad, Life and Fate is a sweeping historical tale that 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 and Grossman was told that it would not be published for at least 200 years. He died in 1964, never knowing that his book would be smuggled to the West and eventually published in 1980.
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20-Sep-2011
Woman's Hour Drama - Life and Fate: 1. Anna's Letter
Life and Fate: Anna's Letter By Vasily Grossman Viktor's mother, Anna, writes him a farewell letter in September 1941. As a Jew in Berdichev, in the Ukraine now occupied by the Nazis, she has been forced into a ghetto and understands what will come next. The letter somehow finds its way to Viktor and is to be a source of strength for him in days to come. Dramatised for radio by Mike Walker Anna Semyonovna ..... Janet Suzman Original music by John Hardy with Rob Whitehead Performed by Oliver Wilson-Dickson, Tom Jackson, Stacey Blythe and Max Pownall Translated by Robert Chandler Directed and Produced by Alison Hindell Kenneth Branagh, Janet Suzman, David Tennant, Greta Scacchi and Harriet Walter star in this eight hour dramatisation of Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. This epic saga takes over every drama strand on Radio 4 this week. Set against the ferocious Battle of Stalingrad, Life and Fate is a sweeping historical tale that 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 and Grossman was told that it would not be published for at least 200 years. He died in 1964, never knowing that his book would be smuggled to the West and eventually published in 1980.
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