Performance audiobooks

Marlowe's Edward The Second (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

By: Christopher Marlowe

Narrated by: Toby Jones & Patrick Kennedy

Length: 1 hour 59 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's notorious portrait of a weak king in thrall to his passions, who pays the ultimate price for choosing his heart over his political responsibilities. Originally broadcast 13 September 2009 in the ‘Drama on 3’ slot. Edward, preoccupied by the banishment of his lover, Gaveston, barely... Read more

The Windsor Jewels

By: Robin Glendinning

Narrated by: Alan Moore, Amy Clifton, Chris Yapp, Christian ...

Length: 56 minutes

Abridged: No

Robin Glendinning's BBC Radio 4 full-cast black comedy telling the story of a real mystery. Originally broadcast in the ‘Saturday Play’ slot on 11 July 2009. In 1946, the Duke of Windsor (formerly Edward VIII) and his wife (formerly Wallis Simpson) paid a visit to Britain, hoping to secure a government job for the Duke and a title for the... Read more

Christmas Book At Bedtime

By: Various

Narrated by: Joss Ackland, Judi Dench, Miriam Margolyes, Pat...

Length: 1 hour 51 minutes

Abridged: No

Everyone loves a bedtime story. And here are eight of the best, each with a Christmas theme, written by an array of literature's best-known names: Laurie Lee, Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Andersen are just some of the storytellers included in this collection. Amongst those giving voice to these stories are Patricia Routledge, Joss... Read more

Self Storage

By: Tom Collinson

Narrated by: Reece Shearsmith, Mark Heap, Rosie Cavaliero & ...

Length: 1 hour 20 minutes

Abridged: No

BBC Radio 4 Sitcom by Tom Collinson starring Reece Shearsmith, Mark Heap and Rosie Cavaliero.

In the wake of a marital break-up, Dave finds himself living in the storage unit in which he keeps his belongings. Dave is accompanied by his fellow inhabitant, the borderline psychotic Geoff, and cultured security guard Ron.

In this second series... Read more

Von Ribbentrop's Watch (Bbc Radio 4 Saturday Play)

By: Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran

Narrated by: Allan Corduner, Harriet Walter, Miriam Margolye...

Length: 1 hour 26 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. Originally broadcast in the ‘Saturday Play’ slot on 8 November 2008. Wine shop owner Gerald desperately needs money: his business is failing and the landlord has raised the cost of the lease. When he inherits a watch that used to belong to wartime Nazi Joachim Von Ribbentrop he... Read more

The George Bernard Shaw Collection

By: George Bernard Shaw

Narrated by: Paul Gutrecht, Kaitlin Hopkins, Shirley Knight,...

Length: 13 hours 8 minutes

Abridged: No

Eight of George Bernard Shaw's most memorable plays in one splendid collection:

Mrs. Warren’s Profession: Shaw pits a clever heroine against a memorable gallery of rogues in this superbly intelligent and still shocking comedy, which was banned for eight years from the English stage after its London debut. Performed by: Paul Gutrecht, Kaitlin... Read more

Side Man

By: Warren Leight

Narrated by: Kyle Colerider-Krugh, Garret Dillahunt, Kevin G...

Length: 1 hour 29 minutes

Abridged: No

A Tony Award winner for Best Play, Side Man delves deep into the postwar New York jazz underground through the life of a celebrated musician and his dysfunctional family. Warren Leight used his own experiences as the son of a jazz musician to create Gene, a talented but emotionally incompetent trumpeter whose pure devotion to music comes at the... Read more

Walter Koenig's Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot

By: Walter Koenig

Narrated by: Walter Koenig & The Colonial Radio Players

Length: 6 hours 49 minutes

Abridged: No

From the mind of Walter Koenig (Star Trek: The Original Series, Babylon 5) comes Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot - a science-fiction comedy unlike anything you've ever heard before! When an alien invasion annihilates most of humanity, it's up to a small pocket of survivors to restart civilization. There's just one problem: they're all... Read more

The Tempest - Abridged

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: a full cast, Sonja Lanzener, Ira Burton, John G...

Length: 1 hour 44 minutes

Abridged: Yes

In The Tempest, long considered one of Shakespeare’s most lyrical plays, Prospero, a sorcerer, and his daughter, Miranda, have been stranded on an enchanted island for twelve years. When a shipwreck—caused by the eponymous tempest—brings enemies to the island, the stage is set for comedy, romance, and reconciliation. The Tempest embodies both... Read more

Zorro and the Pirate Raiders

By: Johnston McCulley & D. J. Arneson

Narrated by: Kevin Cirone & The Colonial Radio Players

Length: 2 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

The Pirate Raiders, with the villainous Captain Bardoso in command, are employed by the vicious Captain Ramon to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy caballero, hoping to use her to trap Zorro. Battles on land and sea, flashing swords and booming cannon explode before your very ears in this exciting audio production. Read more

Road Wife

By: Eoin McNamee

Narrated by: Stuart Graham & Su-Lin Looi

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation written by Eoin McNamee, originally broadcast as the Afternoon Play on 23 March 2009. A truck driver in Ireland gives a lift to a female Asian hitchhiker but gets more than he bargained for, especially when his truck is stopped by immigration officers and he and his illegal occupant are taken in for... Read more

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol

By: Charles Dickens

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

Length: 1 hour 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Benezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation resulting from supernatural visits from Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim.The book was written and published in early Victorian Era Britain, a period when there was both strong... Read more

Tinsel Tales

By: NPR

Length: 2 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: No

Ho ho ho! Here’s what to listen to while driving to the mall, wrapping gifts, entertaining friends, or relaxing in front of a crackling holiday fire.

In Scott Simon’s modern version of the Christmas story, Jesus is born in an abandoned factory near Cleveland and the Three Wise Persons bring Chipotle gift cards. Claudia Sanchez gives a Latin... Read more

Alistair Cooke's America

By: Alistair Cooke

Narrated by: Peter Marinker

Length: 14 hours 1 minute

Abridged: No

For years legendary broadcaster Alistair Cooke brought America to the rest of the world with incomparable wit and wisdom. This is his classic "personal history" of America, guiding us through centuries of changing life in the USA. Beginning with his own arrival in America as a graduate in the 1930s, Alistair Cooke discusses the explorers who... Read more

Double Science (BBC Radio 4 Comedy)

By: Ben Willbond & Justin Edwards

Narrated by: Ben Willbond, Full Cast, Justin Edwards & Rebec...

Length: 2 hours 48 minutes

Abridged: No

Here are all six episodes of the BBC Radio 4 sitcom written by and starring Ben Willbond and Justin Edwards about two incompetent science teachers who work at a college that specialises in drama, and whose world is turned upside down by the arrival of a new boss. Forresters Sixth Form College has a highly successful drama department run by the... Read more

The Misunderstanding Of Glencoe

By: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrated by: Paul Smith, Kenny Blyth & Full Cast

Length: 27 minutes

Abridged: No

A full-cast BBC Radio Scotland comedy dramatisation written by Alexander McCall Smith. An Edinburgh couple on holiday in the Highlands discover that centuries-old tensions are still very near the surface. Starring John Buick, Kenny Blyth, Monica Gibb and Paul Young. Read more

Nine Days Queen, The BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play)

By: Amanda Whittington

Narrated by: Loo Brealey & Emma Stansfield

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation written by Amanda Whittington, originally broadcast as the Afternoon Play on 23 February 2009. The tumultuous tale of the trial of Lady Jane Grey, proclaimed Queen of England in 1553 at the age of 16, nine days later locked in the Tower and, within a year, dead. ‘Loo Brealey puts in a superb performance’... Read more

Accomplices

By: Simon Passmore

Narrated by: Claudia Harrison, Stephen Hogan, Lizzy Watts & ...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

This BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation is a captivating thriller written by Simon Passmore, originally broadcast as the Afternoon Play on 29 June 2009. What would you be prepared to do to escape the grind of a life going relentlessly downhill? For former City lawyer Alice, the price is getting higher by the minute. Stars Claudia Harrison in... Read more

Kenneth Williams' Stop Messing About (Classic BBC Radio Comedy)

By: Myles Rudge

Narrated by: Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick & Joan Sims

Length: 1 hour 47 minutes

Abridged: No

‘Stop Messing About - the first all-nude radio show. Nervous listeners are advised to keep their eyes closed... and it’s forbidden to take photographs.’ Taking over the mantle of 'Round the Horne', 'Stop Messing About' carried on the comedy tradition, which reunited Kenneth Williams with his 'Carry On' co-star Joan Sims and Hugh Paddick. These... Read more

Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, The (BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play)

By: L. Frank Baum

Narrated by: Full Cast

Length: 56 minutes

Abridged: No

Linda Marshall’s BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of L. Frank Baum's children's classic, ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’. Originally broadcast as part of the BBC Christmas 2009 season. When a tornado strikes her farmhouse in Kansas, young Dorothy and her dog Toto are lifted to the magical world of Oz, the strange land of the Munchkins. There... Read more

Night They Tried To Kidnap The Prime Minister, The (BBC R4)

By: Martin Jameson

Narrated by: Tim McInnerny, Benjamin Askew, Michelle Duncan ...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

This full-cast dramatisation by Martin Jameson for BBC Radio 4 is a fictionalised account of the incident in 1964 when a group of students attempted to kidnap the then-Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, in Scotland. Originally broadcast as the Afternoon Play on 15 July 2009, this dramatisation stars Tim McInnerny as Sir Alec, Chris Starkie... Read more

Johnners' It's Been A Lot Of Fun - Abridged

By: Brian Johnston

Narrated by: Brian Johnston

Length: 1 hour 15 minutes

Abridged: Yes

When Brian Johnston died in 1994 at the age of 81, the Daily Telegraph described him as ‘the greatest natural broadcaster of them all’. In this delightful reading from his autobiography 'It’s Been a Lot of Fun', Brian recalls his schooldays at Eton and Oxford, his early career in the family coffee business in the City, Hamburg and Brazil, and... Read more

Age Of Innocence

By: Edith Wharton

Narrated by: Andrew Wincott, Full Cast & Susanne Bertish

Length: 1 hour 53 minutes

Abridged: No

A full-cast dramatisation of Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a passionate love affair which breaks all the rules of the restrictive high society of 1870s New York. In the exclusive world of upper-class New York, in which attendance at balls and dinner passes for occupation, Newland Archer anticipates his marriage to May... Read more

Mr Larkin's Awkward Day

By: Chris Harrald

Narrated by: Adrian Scarborough, Anne Reid & Lynne Verrall

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

Chris Harrald's Sony Radio Academy Award-winning play takes a light-hearted look at a chaotic day in the life of an emerging poet. One morning in September 1957, Philip Larkin receives a very official looking letter which sends him into a spin. The events that unfold provide a delicious insight into Philip's character, with a tremendous sense of... Read more