Radio Plays XXXXIX
  




The Dock Brief by John Mortimer
******After 40 years of undistinguished practice Wilfred Morgenhall, a cynical and 
unsuccessful barrister, is overjoyed to be assigned a dock brief: the defence of an 
accused murderer.

His client Herbert Fowle, is a meek man who wants to plead guilty to murdering his wife. 
Through a series of courtroom scenes and flashbacks the lead-up to the crime unfolds, 
involving Fowle taking in a lodger, who takes an more-than-passing interest in Mrs. Fowle. 
Morgenhall, given an opportunity to shine for the first time in his life, insists on 
pleading his client "not guilty."

But the case does not go as planned: Morgenhall botches the pleadings and Fowle 
is found guilty. As Morgenhall drowns his sorrows in a pub, he learns that the Home Office 
has overruled the verdict: Fowle has been declared not guilty on the grounds that his 
defence was inadequate.

The New York Times: "Charming, comic...robustly amusing."




Knocking on the Hull 1.6 by Gill Adams
Knocking on the Hull 2.6
Knocking on the Hull 3.6
Knocking on the Hull 4.6
Knocking on the Hull 5.6
Knocking on the Hull 6.6
******The Russian nuclear submarine Kursk was carrying a crew of 118 when it sank in the Barents Sea 
on August 12 2000. Hull-based, award-winning playwright Gill Adams interviewed families of the submarine 
tragedy in the Russian town of Murmansk. Extracts from the interviews are used in the play, which is set 
in an old people's home in Hull during the few days between the time that the submarine was reported as 
"down", and the confirmation that the crew had lost their lives.






The Nutcracker and The Mouse King 1.4 Christmas Eve
The Nutcracker and The Mouse King 2.4 The Great Battle
The Nutcracker and The Mouse King 3.4 Mouseykins' Revenge
The Nutcracker and The Mouse King 4.4 Uncle and Nephew
******It's 'a Christmas to remember' when the toy cupboard comes under threat of invasion. 
ETA Hoffman's tale stars Tony Robinson.




The Phone - Tourist Trap by Jon Sen 


Happy New Year! by Alistair Rutherford
******In Alistair Rutherford's comic drama the Laing family gather for Hogmanay 
but fireworks erupt before the bells when some secrets and half-truths are revealed.



The Blue Hen by Des Dillon.
******Gritty drama about two men who are out of work and out of patience in the roughest 
scheme in Coatbridge. But they've one thing going for them - the power of their own 
imaginations.Paddy and John are two ordinary working class guys who are out of work 
and out of luck when they hit on a scheme to keep them occupied and keep their bellies full.

They’re going to rear chickens in their back green and sell the eggs for profit. But it’s not easy being 
the only honest men in Coatbridge’s roughest scheme and their venture doesn’t exactly go to plan. 
As their dreams of self-sufficiency crumble, a powerful story of friendship against the odds unfolds.
Starring Gary Lewis and Iain Robertson




Alibi for a Judge by Henry Cecil
******Mr Justice Carstairs is a High Court Judge. He is completely incompetent and a 
chronic worrier to boot. This is perfectly illustrated when he sentences a man to ten
years' imprisonment and then immediately doubts his verdict. Taking the unprecedented 
step of trying to overrule his own judgement he encounters resistance on all sides. 
Matters get really complicated when, in trying to prove the man's innocence, he becomes 
convinced of his guilt. He also becomes the target of a blackmailer. Find out how 
he resolves this dilemma in this is highly amusing and whimsical tale of a man 
assailed by his own doubts. 



By Royal Appointment by John Wyke
******


The Ghost Runner by David Hopkins
****** True story of a long distance runner (super- marathon) who was barred from competitive 
events because of red tape. This didn't stop him running. 



The Bridge by John Leslie
******While Frank is visiting his cousins Anne and Rodney Cranston in the country for a painting holiday, 
an experience at a local haunted bridge leaves him having strange episodes. Rodney, an eminent brain 
specialist, investigates.



The Subject Was Roses by Frank D. Gilroy
******In a Bronx apartment in 1946, John and Nettie Cleary squabble frequently. Their 21-year-old son 
Timmy has just returned home after serving three years in the army.

The Subject Was Roses was first presented at the Royale Theatre, New York City, on May 15, 1964. 
It was an outstanding success with critics and the public alike and it won many awards, 
including the Pulitzer Prize for drama.




 A Pocket Full Of Rye by Agatha Christie
*******Wealthy financier Rex Fortescue is found dead with rye grain in his pocket 
followed in quick succession by a woman dying while eating bread and honey 
and a maid killed in her garden. Jane Marple senses the murderer is dispatching 
his victims on the basis of a children's nursery rhyme and finds herself enrneshed 
in one of the strangest cases of her life. 

June Whitfield as Miss Jane Marple, Nicky Henson as Inspector Neele, 
& Derek Waring as Rex Fortescue.



The Christmas Chronicles (2009) - 01 by Tim Slover - Pine Boughs  
The Christmas Chronicles (2009) - 02 - Klaus the Carpenter  
The Christmas Chronicles (2009) - 03 - Anna the Racer 
The Christmas Chronicles (2009) - 04 - The Magic Reindeer
The Christmas Chronicles (2009) - 05 - The Green Council Convenes 
The Christmas Chronicles (2009) - 06 - Of Space and Time 
The Christmas Chronicles (2009) - 07 - Be of Good Cheer  
The Christmas Chronicles (2009) - 08 - The Word 
******This eight-part commissioned drama, complete with original music, captures the magic and mystery 
of everyone's favorite Yuletide character, Santa Claus. The Christmas Chronicles aired with great success 
in 2009 in the metro Salt Lake City market, and was featured on WBUR's Here and Now on NPR. Response 
from local listeners was beyond hope and expectations. National response for the "local only" broadcasts 
was astonishing. So here is your opportunity to listen to this heartwarming Christmas story.

A snowy December evening in the Rockies. A car stuck off the side of the road. A sleigh flashing past chased 
by something terrible and bleak.

These are the curious events that lead to an astounding discovery—the true and complete story of the man 
the world has come to know as Santa Claus. Now, his story can be told. Airing this December, The Christmas 
Chronicles is a new radio drama about Klaus, the carpenter; Anna, the racer; a greathearted reindeer, Dasher; 
and the malevolent Rolf Eckhof.

The series originated in accounts of the astonishing life and activities of Santa, recalled and told by the author, 
Tim Slover, to his children over the years. It all started with a strictly scientific answer to a child’s classic question: 
“How does Santa deliver all those toys all over the world in just one night?” That’s the query that unlocked the 
grand adventure to keep the magic in and the cynicism of the world at bay.

Slover is the author of Joyful Noise and Hancock County. He teaches dramatic literature and script analysis at the 
University of Utah and directs the playwriting and London study abroad programs for the 
university’s Department of Theatre.



The Flying Dutchman by Roger Danes  
******


The Thieves Who Couldn't Help Sneezing by Thomas Hardy
******  


Kings Wife by John Wyke
******



Bad Memories by Julian Simpson
******In 2004, a successful architect and his family mysteriously disappear from their home. 
Six years later five bodies are found in the cellar of their house. They are identified as 
Jonathan and Imogen Blake and their son, Matthew; Philip Gibson, who was on the missing 
person's register and a woman, identity unknown. Forensics determine that not only were 
they murdered, but the time of death was 1926. Can audio files found with the bodies solve the mystery?



Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys
******Sasha Jensen has returned to Paris, the city of both her happiest moments and her 
most desperate. Her past lies in wait for her in cafes, bars, and dress shops, blurring all 
distinctions between nightmare and reality. When she is picked up by a young man, she 
begins to feel that she is still capable of desires and emotions. Few encounters in fiction 
have been so brilliantly conceived, and few have come to a more unforgettable end.



Hanoverian Handicap by John Wyke
******


Pirates Are Coming by David Morgan
******



The Miser L'Avare by Molière
******The Miser's plot, involving a rich moneylender called Harpagon, whose feisty children long to 
escape from his penny-pinching household and marry their respective lovers, is a comedy of 
manners to which the 17th-century French upper classes presumably objected. It is less savage, 
however, and somewhat less realistic than Molière's earlier play, Tartuffe, which attracted a storm 
of criticism on its first performance.




The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris 1.2 by Léon Garfield
The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris 2.2 
*******In The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1971), the author describes, with wit 
and droll humor, two 18th-century schoolboys' experiment to see if a wolf will adopt 
and nourish a baby;A black comedy, in which the two boys decide to test the plausibility 
of the story of Romulus and Remus with one of the boys' baby sister;



On Earth, in Heaven 1.5 by Martyn Wade
On Earth, in Heaven 2.5
On Earth, in Heaven 3.5
On Earth, in Heaven 4.5
On Earth, in Heaven 5.5
******Wandering around the bookstalls by the Thames in the late 19th century, two publishers discover 
some manuscripts containing prose and poetry of exquisite beauty. The author of these unpublished 
works turns out to be a young man living in the 17th century, with whose life they become fascinated.



The Demon Cakestand of Beastley Chase
******A spookily seasonal tale from the Mausoleum Club. Sir Henry loves his cakes, 
but could they be his downfall? With Stephen Fry.



And Mother Makes Millions
******A dashing male stranger enters a world where human women can no longer have children, 
but is he all that he seems?



To Catch a Thief by David Dodge
******David Dodge's novel is a fast-paced, entertaining page-turner that was 
subsequently turned into a memorable film by Alfred Hitchcock, starring 
Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Now, Jean Buchanan's dramatisation brings 
it to radio. American John Robie is living quietly in the South of France, trying 
to put his career as a notorious jewel thief behind him. However, when a series 
of huge jewel thefts begins on the Riviera, targeting rich Americans, the police 
immediately suspect he's returned to his old ways. To prove his innocence, and 
trap the real thief, Robie must resort to subterfuge. But his plans go awry when 
the daughter of one of the rich American tourists takes rather too close an 
interest in him - and his past.





Miss Mackenzie 1.2 by Anthony Trollope
Miss Mackenzie 2.2 
******'Miss Mackenzie' by Anthony Trollope was the runner-up in Radio 4's 'Neglected Classics' vote. 
The novel was championed by Joanna Trollope who will be appearing on 'Open Book' to talk about 
the story in the very same week the Classic Serial begins the broadcast of Part One.

It is indeed a neglected gem of a novel. Miss Mackenzie is a single woman in her mid-thirties who 
receives a large inheritance when her brother dies. She must then deal with what comes with the 
fortune, including several suitors, who may, or, may not, simply be after her money.

Margaret decides to rent a small house in Littlebath and takes her surviving brother Tom's daughter 
with her as her ward. Tom and his wife, Sarah, are horrified that they have been left no money, 
especially as they find themselves in financial difficulties. Margaret Mackenzie's suitors include: 
her brother's junior partner, Mr. Rubb, a handsome young man but 'in trade'; her cousin, John Ball, 
a widowed father of seven. John is a gentle soul, who lives with his ailing father and his supercilious 
mother, Lady Ball; and the oleaginous Mr. Maguire, a curate in Littlebath. Unfortunately Mr. Maguire 
has a rather terrifying squint.

Miss Mackenzie has to pick her way through this romantic minefield, not knowing who is the best suitor 
and whether each man wants to marry her for her fortune rather than love. Her wish is simply to find true 
love. However, storm clouds gather when it is discovered that the fortune does not belong to Margaret 
after all but to her cousin, John Ball. The financial assistance she has given to her brother's family can 
continue no longer and also, what is to become of Miss Mackenzie?

Anthony Trollope has created a wonderful heroine in Miss Mackenzie. Although past the bloom of youth, 
her modesty, kindness and dignity will endear her to the listener and there is genuine delight when 
John Ball, against his mother's wishes, declares his love for Margaret and asks her to marry him.

The Author:
Convinced with good reason, that he was unloved and unregarded, Anthony Trollope struggled long and 
hard for a foothold in the world. But his vast resources of energy and dogged hard work broke down the 
barriers to success and found him loved, feted and avidly read. His labours were Herculean. He pitted 
himself against time to produce a vast collection of work about credible people and their foibles. He gained 
recognition as a writer who portrayed English life in a wry and honest manner with a cast of humorous and 
delightful characters. His portrayal of female characters is particularly skilful and Miss Mackenzie is no exception.




The Games Afoot by Nick Utechin (3 hours)
******The detective's radio investigations from the Forties to the Noughties. 
Nick Utechin's selection includes The Red-Headed League starring 
Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud.



The Other Constance Chatterley 1.5 by Martyn Wade
The Other Constance Chatterley 2.5 
The Other Constance Chatterley 3.5 
The Other Constance Chatterley 4.5 
The Other Constance Chatterley 5.5 
******A 1930s firm of solicitors is saved from ruin by the prospect of a literary libel case. 
But one of the partners might have to act beyond the call of duty.
With David Horovitch, Felicity Montagu, Rachel Atkins and Jon Glover.



Caught on a Train by Stephen Poliakoff
******Award-winning drama about a young businessman's nightmarish journey on a night-train 
through Germany, where he meets a beautiful American and an elderly Viennese lady who has 
an unsettling grip over him.



Curious, If True by Elizabeth Gaskell
******Five stories of mystery and the supernatural dramatised by Sally Hedges.
45 mins each

01 The Squire's Story
Mr Higgins appears every inch the gentleman. But his strange manners
- not to mention a tendency to disappear - suggest a less ordinary
source for his comfortable lifestyle. 
02 The Crooked Branch
Farmers Nathan and Hester Huntroyd shower love and money on their
handsome son Benjamin. But he has ambitions above their humble
station, and the result is unexpected, to say the least. 
03 The Poor Clare
A young lawyer investigating the heir to a substantial fortune is
drawn towards a young woman haunted by a mother's curse. 
04 Lois the Witch
A Warwickshire girl, newly arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, finds
herself drawn into a Puritan family's world of visions, malice and,
apparently, demonic possession.
05 The Grey Woman
A miller's daughter marries a nobleman. However, this is no fairy
tale but the beginning of a terrifying adventure.




The Doomed Oasis 1.6 by Hammond Innes - The Journey to Arabia
******The story of two men and their fight to save an oasis from the 
encroaching sands of the Empty Quarter. 
The great desert of the Empty Quarter provides a backdrop to the tragic 
friction that develops between them. 
The Doomed Oasis 2.6 Bahrain-Sharjah-Dubai
The Doomed Oasis 3.6 Escape to Saraifa
The Doomed Oasis 4.6 The Doomed Oasis
The Doomed Oasis 5.6 The Empty Quarter
The Doomed Oasis 6.6 Jebel Al-Akhbar




TwilightBaby.com s02e01 
TwilightBaby.com s02e02 
TwilightBaby.com s02e03 
TwilightBaby.com s02e04 
TwilightBaby.com s02e05 
******Jenny Eclair and Julie Balloo return with a second series about being an 'older' mother.
Cass Mason is finding motherhood age 47 tough. She barely has time to blog with a new baby 
who won't sleep; she fears she may be turning into a zombie. Not only does Cass have to deal 
with Florence the rest of the family aren't much help; will Ken ever get a job, will her designer 
clad sister even offer to hold a drooling baby and are her two grown children really contemplating 
moving back home? Cass charts Florence's first year to a backdrop of sibling rivalry, competitive 
mums and attempting to get her body back off the floor and into some kind of shape.
Jenny Eclair stars with Kevin Eldon and Felicity Montagu.




Ob'owa by Moya O'Shea
*******Ob'owa is the story of when eight-year-old Francesca and her brother six-year-old 
Joseph are kidnapped by their father to their parents' homeland of Nigeria, life is very 
different to they one they had in Peckham. Thirty years later, it's time to return to Nigeria.

As Francesca reveals the story of their kidnap and life at their Grandfather's house in 
Benin City with his three wives and his many children, it's clear many adjustments had 
to be made to survive in a world where everyone looks like you but are so very foreign. 
Peckham could not have prepared the children for the mosquitoes, lizards and sweltering 
heat of sub-Saharan Africa; the slaughter of animals in the backyard; a diet consisting of 
yam, yam and more yam and the painful ritual of tribal markings carved with a razor blade 
into young flesh.

Ob'owa is inspired by real events. Created by Director, Christiana Ebohon and Writer, Moya O'Shea. 
The play examines themes of belonging and home. Is home the place where your family originates 
or where you were born? It is told in present day, with flashbacks to the 70s and that fateful trip to Nigeria.



Master Harold and the Boys by Athol Fugard
******The play takes place in South Africa during the apartheid era, depicting how 
institutionalized racism, bigotry or hatred can become absorbed by those who 
live under it. Seventeen year-old Hally spends time with two African servants, 
Sam and Willie, whom he has known all his life. 
On a rainy afternoon, Sam and Willie, both middle aged, are practicing ballroom steps in 
preparation for a major competition. Sam is quickly characterized as being the more worldly 
of the two. When Willie, in broken English, describes his ballroom partner as lacking 
enthusiasm, Sam correctly diagnoses the problem: Willie beats her if she doesn't 
know the steps.

The role that won Zakes Mokae a Tony Award brought Danny Glover back to the New York 
stage for the Roundabout Theatre's revival of this searing coming of age story, 
considered by many to be Fugard's masterpiece. 
A white teen who has grown up in the affectionate company of the two black waiters who work 
in his mother's tea room in Port Elizabeth learns that his viciously racist alcoholic father is on his 
way home from the hospital. An ensuing rage unwittingly triggers his inevitable passage into the 
culture of hatred fostered by apartheid.

"One of those depth charge plays [that] has lasting relevance [and] can triumphantly survive 
any test of time...The story is simple, but the resonance that Fugard brings to it lets it reach 
beyond the narrative, to touch so many nerves connected to betrayal and guilt. An exhilarating play...
It is a triumph of playmaking, and unforgettable."-New York Post



Charles and Mary by Carlo Gebler
******Carlo Gebler's new play especially written for Radio 3 dramatizes the extraordinary 
relationship between brother and sister, Charles and Mary Lamb, the writers of 
'The Tales Of Shakespeare' (1807), the seminal children's introduction to Shakespeare, 
which is still in print.

What is less well known are the tragic circumstances, domestic and personal, behind 
the partnership of Charles and Mary. The Lamb family were London born and bred, 
bohemian and penniless. A combination of poverty and stress drove Mary insane 
and she committed a shocking crime. Charles saved her from prison and promised 
he would always take care of her. Mary was never 'sane' again but during the writing 
of 'The Tales' alongside her brother she was at her sanest. Literary production gave 
order and structure to her life. The main essence of this play explores the connection 
between literary creativity and mental equilibrium.



So Great A Crime 1.5 by David Gooderson
So Great A Crime 2.5 
So Great A Crime 3.5 
So Great A Crime 4.5 
So Great A Crime 5.5 
******The suicide of Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald in 1903 provoked a storm 
of controversy. Was he guilty of paedophilia? Or was he an innocent victim caught 
up in a web of lies and class prejudice? Based on the few known facts, fact and 
fiction are used to create the most likely scenario.

With Gary Lewis, Chris Briggs, John Rowe, Charlotte West-Oram, Tom Roberts, 
Bertie Carvell, Marcus Stephen Fernando, Nicola Grier, and Paul Wallis.



Through a Glass Darkly 01.10 by Shelagh Stephenson
Through a Glass Darkly 02.10 
Through a Glass Darkly 03.10 
Through a Glass Darkly 04.10 
Through a Glass Darkly 05.10 
Through a Glass Darkly 06.10 
Through a Glass Darkly 07.10 
Through a Glass Darkly 08.10 
Through a Glass Darkly 09.10 
Through a Glass Darkly 10.10 
******Martha Jardine obsesses over the diaries of renaissance man John Collingwood, 
but in the 18th century, Collingwood's family are discovering his secret.

"As recorded by our radio drama critic Moira Petty, 2004 has been another vintage year .... 
Shelagh Stephenson’s compelling Through a Glass Darkly, produced on Radio 3 in June, 
cleverly played out two lives, 220 years apart, in parallel. What linked them was obsessional 
behaviour. Superb performances by John Wood and Emma Fielding ensured this production 
a five-star verdict from Moira."



The Wild Ass's Skin Reloaded by Adrian Penketh.
******Balzac's classic novel is relocated to contemporary London. Rupert, 
an unemployed investment banker, is distracted from his suicidal despair 
by a magic skin which can grant his every wish. Inevitably, there is a price to pay. 



The Year They Invented Sex 1.5 by Caroline and David Stafford
The Year They Invented Sex 2.5
The Year They Invented Sex 3.5
The Year They Invented Sex 4.5
The Year They Invented Sex 5.5
******drama focusing on three very different women who find their lives transformed 
by taking part in the 1960 trials of the contraceptive pill




Payback by Jonathan Myerson
******6th October 1973. Golda Meir has become Prime Minister of Israel in her seventies. 
Syrian and Egyptian troops are massing on Israel's borders, but despite eleven warnings 
of impending war in the past month, the Israeli cabinet have not called up the reserve. 
In Florida, Richard Nixon awaits the final verdict of the Washington Appeal court on his 
objections to surrendering the Watergate Tapes. In New York, Henry Kissinger is about 
to be woken at his room in the Waldorf Astoria, with news of a new Middle East War. 
Jonathan Myerson's play investigates how domestic and international politics were about to 
combine, to change the Middle East forever.

Henry Kissinger ..... Henry Goodman
Richard Nixon ..... Peter Marinker
Golda Meir ..... Sara Kestelman


Living with Princes by Stephen Wakelam.
******In 1588, the essayist and landowner Michel de Montaigne, set out on a journey round 
the troubled kingdom of France. He was on a mission - to reconcile the Valois King Henri 
the Third, a Catholic, with his likely successor, the Bourbon King of Navarre, a Protestant. 
It's high stakes: intensified Civil War the consequence of failure.



Her Private We by David Buck
******Adapted from Fredick Manning's novel 'The Middle Parts Of Fortune
Based on a WWI novel drawn from Australian Frederic
Manning's 1916 experiences on The Somme at Ancre while
a private in the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.

Originally published in a limited edition in 1929 as
'The Middle Parts of Fortune' by Private 19022 (Mannings'
rank and number). Bowdlerised and re-published in 1930
as 'Her Privates We' - expurgated because Manning used
the language of the ranks.

The closest thing to 'All Quiet On The Western Front'
produced by an Allied author.





  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  Total 0 folder(s); 100 file(s)

  Total files size: 908 MB; 907991 KB; 929782823 Bytes

  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^