Performance audiobooks

The Alan Ayckbourn Collection

By: Alan Ayckbourn

Narrated by: Rosalind Ayres, Gia Carides, Jane Carr, Kenneth...

Length: 9 hours 51 minutes

Abridged: No

Six plays from the Olivier, Tony and Moliere Award winning playwright Alan Ayckbourn: The legendary The Norman Conquests trilogy; as well as a brand new recording of his play Henceforward… starring Mad Men’s Jarred Harris alongside Anne Heche; Just Between Ourselves starring Alfred Molina; and a remaster of L.A. Theatre Works’ recording of Man... Read more

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

By: Brothers Grimm

Narrated by: The Colonial Radio Players

Length: 40 minutes

Abridged: No

Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when the flakes of snow were falling like feathers from the sky, a queen sat at a window sewing, and the frame of the window was made of black ebony. And whilst she was sewing and looking out of the window at the snow, she pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell upon the snow.... Read more

Jack and the Beanstalk

By: Benjamin Tabart

Narrated by: J.T. Turner & The Colonial Radio Players

Length: 48 minutes

Abridged: No

A poor woman lives far from London in a cottage with her "indolent, careless, and extravagant" son, Jack. The two have little money and are forced to sell their last possession, a cow. Jack leads the animal along the road and meets an old man who trades some magic beans for the cow. Jack’s mother is furious when she discovers he has come home... Read more

The Road to Oz

By: L. Frank Baum & Jerry Robbins

Narrated by: Jerry Robbins & The Colonial Radio Players

Length: 1 hour 58 minutes

Abridged: No

While guiding a lost traveler, Dorothy gets lost and finds herself on an enchanted road headed yet again to Oz. She meets many new friends and dangers along the way - but can she get to the Emerald City in time for Ozma's birthday party? Read more

Pygmalion (Classic Radio Theatre)

By: Bernard Shaw

Narrated by: Full Cast, Imelda Staunton & Simon Cadell

Length: 1 hour 26 minutes

Abridged: No

When phonetics tutor and linguist Henry Higgins meets Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle, he makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can teach her to speak so well that she will be able to pass herself off as a Duchess at a society ball. Eliza agrees, seduced by promises of chocolates and taxi rides - but her transformation from... Read more

The Capture Of Cerberus

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: David Suchet

Length: 1 hour 22 minutes

Abridged: No

Two recently-rediscovered Hercule Poirot short stories byAgatha Christie, read by David Suchet.In 2004, a remarkable archive was unearthed at Agatha Christie’s family home, Greenway – 73 of her private notebooks, filled with pencilled jottings and ideas. Hidden within this literary treasure trove were two rare, never-before-published short... Read more

A Visit with Aesop

By: J.T. Turner

Narrated by: J.T. Turner & The Colonial Radio Players

Length: 1 hour 23 minutes

Abridged: No

Based on his original stage play, J.T. Turner performs these classic tales so well you will feel you are hearing them for the first time, including The Boy Who Cried Wolf The Mouse and the Lion The Grasshopper and the Ant Sure to bring a smile and a laugh no matter the age. Read more

The History Of Titus Groan

By: Mervyn Peake

Narrated by: Carl Prekopp, Full Cast, James Fleet, Miranda R...

Length: 5 hours 41 minutes

Abridged: No

Paul Rhys, Miranda Richardson and Carl Prekopp star in this major six-part BBC Radio Classic Serial based on the writings of Mervyn Peake and Maeve Gilmore.

The life and times of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Gormenghast - a vast stronghold of crumbling masonry steeped in immemorial ritual and inhabited by an extraordinary cavalcade of characters... Read more

BBC National Short Story Award 2011

By: Various

Narrated by: Indira Varma, Lydia Wilson, Mike Sengelow, Tim ...

Length: 2 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

The five shortlisted titles for the BBC National Short Story Award 2011 administered in partnership with Booktrust, containing: ‘Rag Love’ by M. J. Hyland, read by Mike Sengelow; ‘The Heart of Denis Noble’ by Alison MacLeod, read by Tim Pigott-Smith; ‘Wires’ by Jon McGregor, read by Lydia Wilson; ‘The Human Circadian Pacemaker’ by K. J. Orr,... Read more

A City Killing

By: Mike Walker

Narrated by: David Tse, Full Cast, Janice Acquah, Nathan Osg...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 drama about three City traders who launch an aggressive new hedge fund, which they then struggle to prevent from complete failure. Tim, Meredith and Harry are three sassy, thirty something traders who, tired of making money for someone else, combine to launch a new hedge fund. But it doesn't take long before they get seriously... Read more

The Forgetting Curve

By: Hugh Costello

Narrated by: Andrea Irvine, Annie McCartney, Chris McHallem,...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

A tense, white-knuckle ride of a play from BBC Radio 4 in which a rather self-satisfied hero embarks, reluctantly, on a voyage of self-discovery. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 7 January 2009, and repeated on 31 March 2011. As an expert on memory loss, Greg Cooke is asked to invalidate the testimony of an eyewitness in a... Read more

Leverage (BBC Radio 4 The Saturday Play)

By: Simon Passmore

Narrated by: Blake Ritson, Charlie Cox, Claire Foy & Full Cast

Length: 56 minutes

Abridged: No

A fast-paced psychological thriller from BBC Radio 4's 'Saturday Play' slot, originally broadcast 26 March 2011. A city banker is found dead in an opulent apartment. At the funeral, his former girlfriend Helen is unexpectedly questioned about when she last saw him. Did he mention computer files, or give her anything as a keepsake? Helen's... Read more

Cavity

By: Sean Grundy

Narrated by: Deirdre Mullins, Full Cast, Hayley Doherty, Ing...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

A strange but funny BBC Radio 4 'Afternoon Play' about sex, betrayal, the housing market and a love triangle that follows its own surreal logic. Kirsty is having an affair with a married man, Adrian. When his wife, Lucy, returns unexpectedly from a business conference, Kirsty hides in the attic. In a panic, she falls down the back of the attic... Read more

The Magnificent Andrea

By: Nigel Planer

Narrated by: Brian Bowles, Jane Wittenshaw, Nigel Planer, Ro...

Length: 44 minutes

Abridged: No

At the heart of this explosive BBC Radio 4 comedy-drama are two morally opposed characters, both in love with the same woman, who has just - tragically - died. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 22 March 2011, The Magnificent Andrea is the first original radio play by Nigel Planer ('The Young Ones', 'Hairspray'), in which two... Read more

Pouring Poison

By: Lou Ramsden

Narrated by: Alison Pettitt, Dan Hagley, Jonathan Keeble, Ka...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

Hazel (Kathryn Hunt) spends her life describing plays for visually impaired people. But when she starts to describe the real world to her new friend Davy (Nicholas Boulton), is she giving an accurate picture of the world around her? She's looking for an escape from the pressures of looking after her disabled mother, but is she looking in the... Read more

Jelly Babes

By: Judy Upton

Narrated by: David Seddon, Full Cast, Jane Whittenshaw, Nadi...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

Resourceful mum Shanice is persuaded by her next-door neighbour, Evie, to take up the bizarre sport of jelly wrestling to make ends meet in this BBC Radio 4 'Afternon Play'. Becky, AKA 'Azaria The Amazon', shows Shanice the ropes, and she is soon wowing the rowdy stag night audiences with her slams and smackdowns. By night she's bikini clad... Read more

Like An Angel Passing Through My Room

By: Christopher Green

Narrated by: Anna-Frid Lyngstad, Christopher Green & Full Cast

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

Summer 2006: Christopher Green meets Frida. He is the after-dinner entertainment. She is a dinner party guest. What starts as a 'I'm your biggest fan' conversation turns into a long chat about the nature of loving someone you've never met. 'Like an Angel Passing Through My Room' is about being a fan. About a real and an imagined intimacy. A... Read more

The Lottery Ticket

By: Donna Franceschild

Narrated by: John Kazek, Meg Fraser & Nitzan Sharron

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 black comedy about the unlikely friendship between an asylum seeker and a migrant worker, who find a stray lottery ticket and think it may be the answer to all their problems. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 18 February 2009, and repeated on 1 April 2011, 'The Lottery Ticket' was written by BAFTA winner Donna... Read more

Cabin Pressure: The Complete Series 1

By: John Finnemore

Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch, Full Cast, John Finnemore...

Length: 2 hours 48 minutes

Abridged: No

Cabin Pressure is set in the wing and a prayer world of a tiny, one-plane charter airline; staffed by two pilots, one on his way down, and one who was never up to start with. Whether flying actresses to Italy, cricketers to the Sahara, or a cat to Abu Dhabi, no job is too small, but many, many jobs are too difficult.

Carolyn Knapp-Shappey, MJN... Read more

Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped

By: Robert Louis Stevenson

Narrated by: Various

Length: 2 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: No

David Balfour has never had an adventure, never sailed the high sea, nor fought in a battle - that changes after the death of his parents. Now he must collect his inheritance from his father's younger brother, and assume his station as man of wealth and standing, but that is not as simple as it sounds. He must first survive and outwit his... Read more

Macbeth

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Kristoffer Tabori, Josh Cooke, JD Cullum, Dan D...

Length: 1 hour 59 minutes

Abridged: No

Infamously known as the cursed Scottish play, Macbeth is perhaps Shakespeare’s darkest tragedy. When General Macbeth is foretold by three witches that he will one day be King of Scotland, Lady Macbeth convinces him to get rid of anyone who could stand in his way – including committing regicide. As Macbeth ascends to the throne through bloody... Read more

The Rivals

By: Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Narrated by: Rosalind Ayres, Kenneth Danziger, Lucy Davis, N...

Length: 2 hours 21 minutes

Abridged: No

Romantic havoc ensues in the town of Bath when Sir Anthony arrives to arrange the marriage of his son Captain Jack Absolute to the wealthy Lydia Languish. Jack and Lydia are already in love, but because of Lydia’s obsession with romantic novels, Jack has disguised himself as a poor officer named Ensign Beverly - and he is only one of Lydia’s... Read more

Trifles

By: Susan Glaspell

Narrated by: Steve Vinovich, Jeanie Hackett, Amy Madigan, Sa...

Length: 28 minutes

Abridged: No

Based on an actual murder case Susan Glaspell reported for the Des Moines News in 1916, this one-act play represented an early exploration of gender relationships in a time when women often were considered to be mere “trifles.” The play is considered a groundbreaking work in feminist literature and is often included in American drama... Read more

The Arthur Miller Collection

By: Arthur Miller

Narrated by: Emily Bergl, Kevin Chamberlin, Tim DeKay, James...

Length: 18 hours 41 minutes

Abridged: No

After the Fall Miller drew on his own life to tell the story of Quentin, who's haunted by a disastrous affair with a needy sex symbol - a character said to be based on Marilyn Monroe. All My Sons Julie Harris stars in Miller’s classic about a prosperous family with tragic secrets. Broken Glass Set in 1938, Sylvia Gellburg mysteriously loses... Read more