Performance audiobooks

Beyond Westminster Lessons Learnt From Coalitions Past

By: Andrew Rawnsley

Narrated by: Andrew Rawnsley

Length: 27 minutes

Abridged: No

The special New Year's Day 2011 edition of BBC Radio 4's 'Beyond Westminster', in which Andrew Rawnsley considers the lessons of history for Britain's coalition government - and its opponents. Conservative and Liberal Democrat ministers are busily advancing their ambitious political and economic agenda - albeit amid parliamentary revolts and... Read more

Payback (BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play)

By: Jonathan Myerson

Narrated by: Full Cast, Henry Goodman, Peter Marinker & Sara...

Length: 56 minutes

Abridged: No

It is 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 has not called up the reserve. In Florida, Richard Nixon awaits the final verdict of the Washington Appeal court... Read more

The Dos And Don'ts For The Mentally Interesting

By: Louise Ramsden

Narrated by: Full Cast, Janice Acquah, Joseph Kloska, Philip...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 drama by Louise Ramsden, based on Seaneen Molloy's blog 'The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive', her account of learning to live and love with bipolar disorder. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 8 May 2009. Facing life as a newly-diagnosed manic depressive, Seaneen fears that Rob has become more nurse than boyfriend,... Read more

My Dear Children Of The Whole World

By: Hugh Costello

Narrated by: Hugh Ross & Nick Dunning

Length: 56 minutes

Abridged: No

Vatican City, December 1942. As war rages across the globe, Pope Pius XII prepares to deliver his annual Christmas message. It is perhaps the most important public address he will ever give. This BBC Radio 4 play explores the Pontiff's thoughts as he faces the starkest dilemma of his reign. Originally broadcast as the 'Saturday Play' on 29... Read more

A Brief History Of Mathematics

By: Marcus du Sautoy

Narrated by: Marcus du Sautoy

Length: 2 hours 13 minutes

Abridged: No

This ten-part history of mathematics reveals the personalities behind the calculations: the passions and rivalries of mathematicians struggling to get their ideas heard. Professor Marcus du Sautoy shows how these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world and proves that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science.

He... Read more

Enron

By: Lucy Prebble

Narrated by: Chris Butler, Jackie Emerson, Greg Germann, Pam...

Length: 1 hour 51 minutes

Abridged: No

Fasten your seatbelts for a rapid-fire, sophisticated thrill-ride that propels you through one of the most infamous financial scandals in history! With a spicy blend of humor, pathos and music, the big biz machinations of Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling and Andy Fastow are laid bare as razzle-dazzle entertainment. Lucy Prebble’s Enron casts a... Read more

The Very Best Historical Dramas

By: Jane Austen, George Bernard Shaw & Oscar Wilde

Narrated by: Lars Carlson, Kathleen Chalfant, Kevin Daniels,...

Length: 5 hours 20 minutes

Abridged: No

Lion in Winter: James Goldman’s brilliant historical drama pits King Henry II of England against the strong-willed Eleanor of Aquitaine. Back stabbing, spying, double crossing, and rampant infidelity – a typical family Christmas. Typical, that is, for the Plantagenets. Kathleen Chalfant and Alfred Molina bring to life the witty, eloquent battle... Read more

Gettysburg

By: Jerry Robbins

Narrated by: Jerry Robbins & The Colonial Radio Players

Length: 3 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Highly detailed and accurate, you will find yourself in the middle of General Buford's skirmish line as he tries to halt the Confederate advance into Gettysburg, you will feel the anguish and hell of war — of the slaughter that took place in the wheat field. You will live the heroism of Picket’s doomed charge and hear the immortal words that... Read more

Vincent Price Presents - Volume One

By: M. J. Elliott

Narrated by: Jerry Robbins & The Colonial Radio Players

Length: 2 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: No

The Tinglers — from an original story by Mark L. Miller In this sequel to the Vincent Price classic The Tingler, Dr. Chapin and his crew search for a primitive tribe with ties to the elusive creature that is spawned from fear with a grip like iron. What they find in the dark jungle gives new meaning to the word terror!Fade Away — from an... Read more

The People's Princess

By: Shelagh Stephenson

Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Chris McHallem, Jill Cardo, Juli...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 play about the marriage of George, Prince of Wales, originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 11 December 2008 (and repeated on 9 December 2010). Facing financial ruin, George was obliged by his father, George III, to marry his first cousin, Princess Caroline of Brunswick. But if he had been expecting a docile partner with... Read more

Market: Loco Parentis

By: Gary Brown

Narrated by: Bobby Knutt, Ellie Meigan-Rose, Gerard Fletcher...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

'Market' is an umbrella series of six plays, originally broadcast in BBC Radio 4's 'Afternoon Play' slot, about people who work in and around its stalls. Each story is a self-contained quirky tale. 'Loco Parentis' is a bitter-sweet comedy about Jim, who can't sleep because his daughter's left for uni, his business is going belly-up, and his... Read more

What The Minister Saw (BBC Radio 4)

By: Philip Mould

Narrated by: Philip Mould

Length: 13 minutes

Abridged: No

Art historian Philip Mould discusses the art chosen by Government ministers in this BBC Radio 4 broadcast from 26 January 2011. Becoming a Minister has many perks, but one they can see every day is the art hanging in their office, often borrowed from the Government Art Collection. Art historian Philip Mould speaks to new ministers about what... Read more

Summer Love

By: Garrison Keillor

Length: 2 hours 8 minutes

Abridged: No

In the summer of 2010, Garrison Keillor, Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins, the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, and sound-effects artist Fred Newman went on a whirlwind tour of 25 cities in less than two months. The theme was everlasting love; the shows were jam-packed with tender duets and ballads, poetry, and stories of passion and marriage, all done... Read more

Sin

By: Wendy MacLeod

Narrated by: Steve Carell, Kyle Colerider-Krugh, Jeffrey Hut...

Length: 1 hour 47 minutes

Abridged: No

Featuring Steve Carell, Sin is a contemporary morality play about a helicopter traffic reporter who is trying to keep herself above life's messiness. Her soon-to-be-ex-husband is a charming alcoholic, her roommate is a glutton, she's trapped daily in a helicopter with an envious coworker, and her blind dates are disasters. It takes her dying... Read more

Ozma of Oz

By: L. Frank Baum & Jerry Robbins

Narrated by: Jerry Robbins & The Colonial Radio Players

Length: 1 hour 47 minutes

Abridged: No

Dorothy Gale, on a voyage at sea, is tossed overboard during a storm. She is washed ashore at Ev, a country neighboring Oz, where she meets up with her old friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion. She also meets Ozma, the new Princess of Oz, who has come to Ev on a mission of her own, which will bring them all in contact... Read more

My Haunted Expression

By: Helen Clohessy

Narrated by: Daniel Cooper, Deeivya Meir, John Dougall, Jude...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

An offbeat 21st Century urban love story starring Rosie Cavaliero and John Dougall, originally broadcast as BBC Radio 4's 'Afternoon Play' on 12 January 2011. It's a difficult time for Sue, her mother has just died and the kids have moved out. She has a vision of leaving their tough housing estate behind and starting a new life by the sea but... Read more

Believe Me

By: Stephanie Dale

Narrated by: Alex Lanipekun & Naomi Frederick

Length: 44 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 drama by Stephanie Dale, originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 10 January 2011. When art teacher Rachel, walking home festooned with end-of-term gifts from her pupils, bumps into Tyrone on his first day in London it is the beginning of a passionate love affair. Soon it makes sense for Tyrone, now working as a chef in a... Read more

The Moment You Feel It

By: Ed Harris

Narrated by: Caroline Guthrie, Hugh Ross, Janice Acquah, Ric...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

A tender and sad BBC Radio 4 comedy drama about losing your past, starring Richard Briers. 'The Moment You Feel It' was originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 18 May 2009. Alf's memories come in flashes with great blank holes, along with a running commentary from the voices of his past. So how does finding a strange coat in his kitchen... Read more

Johnners' A View From The Boundary Test Match Special

By: Barry Johnston

Narrated by: Barry Johnston & Guests

Length: 2 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

During the lunch interval on the Saturday of every Test in England, BBC Radio’s ‘Test Match Special’ used to invite a well-known guest into the commentary box for a chat with Brian Johnston about themselves and their passion for cricket. Some turned out to be able cricketers, but they all had stories to tell about matches they had seen and... Read more

Voices Of The Powerless The Complete Series

By: Melvyn Bragg

Narrated by: Melvyn Bragg

Length: 6 hours 20 minutes

Abridged: No

Melvyn Bragg follows his long historical exploration of the Routes of English with 'Voices of the Powerless', the BBC Radio 4 series in which he explores the lives of the ordinary working men and women of Britain at critical moments across the last 1,000 years.

The Norman Conquest is his starting point, a time when William the Conqueror's... Read more

Drama on 3

By: Carl Grose

Narrated by: Charles Barnecut & Amanda Lawrence

Length: 59 minutes

Abridged: No

A surreal, dark comedy from BBC Radio 3's 'The Wire', by Cornish writer Carl Grose that was inspired by seeing a Johannesburg local newspaper headline about a farmer who hanged 49 donkeys from tree branches on his land. Originally broadcast 1 November 2008 and repeated 18 Jul 2009. In Grose's play, Stanley Bray, a Cornish farmer, is compelled... Read more

Charles Paris: Cast in Order of Disappearance

By: Simon Brett & Jeremy Front

Narrated by: Bill Nighy, Full Cast, Martine McCutcheon & Suz...

Length: 1 hour 52 minutes

Abridged: No

Charles finds himself uncharacteristically employed in a film, having landed the part of Szabec, a middle management vampire in The Wreathing.

His co-star is swimwear model turned actress Jodie Ricks and before long, Jodie is using Charles as a confidant. Poor Jodie is in terrible trouble - not only is she being blackmailed over some... Read more

Beware The Kids (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

By: Karen Laws & Fiona Evans

Narrated by: Judi Earl, Jane Holman, Max Watson & Tony Neilson

Length: 50 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 3 drama that was developed with a community group in Byker, Newcastle which takes a journey into the reality of neglect as one child's life spirals out of control. Originally broadcast as part of the 'Drama on 3' collection on 25 October 2009. In a fractured society Lives a fractured family. In their fractured home Lies a fractured... Read more

Shirleymander (BBC Radio 4 Friday Play)

By: Gregory Evans

Narrated by: Tracy-Ann Oberman, Maggie Steed & Joseph Cohen-...

Length: 56 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 tragic-comedy drama depicting the principal events of Shirley Porter's time as leader of Westminster city council in the 1980s. Originally broadcast as the 'Friday Play' on 27 November 2009, and starring Tracy-Ann Oberman as Shirley Porter. Also featured amongst the cast are Maggie Steed, Joseph Cohen-Cole, Piers Wehner, Stephen... Read more