William Hogarth’s A Harlot’s Progress & Marriage a la Mode

A scandalous full-cast dramatized romp through Hogarth’s famous paintings, bringing to life the story in – and behind – each canvas


Listen to this double helping of laugh-out-loud comedy featuring an all-star cast including Stephen Mangan, Annabel Scholey (The Split), Sheila Reid (Benidorm) and Will Keen (His Dark Materials and The Crown) as they bring alive the life and times of William Hogarth and the stories revealed - and concealed - in his famous sequence of engravings.

This enchanting and hilarious collection is comprised of two audio treats. In the first, A Harlot’s Progress, it’s 1732 and a young, undistinguished painter abandons his classical training and sets out to tell the tale of a country girl's downfall on the streets of London in a series of paintings. Innocent Moll Hackabout, the story’s heroine, arrives in London and is swiftly taken in by procuress Mrs Needham. She becomes a city trader’s courtesan but falls for a famous highway man. As she descends into a life of prostitution, penury and misery, painter William’s life in 18th century London is just beginning…

In Marriage a la Mode the story continues and Mr and Mrs Hogarth return with another romp through a series of classic engravings as a marriage made in the Bank of England unites the aristocratic Squanders with the bourgeois Grubpumps, to the disgust of both bride and groom. Hogarth engraves the disastrous consequences of marrying for money rather than love as the wealthy newlyweds indulge every desire - if only they desired each other. Affairs, transgressions, debts, deceit and murder are only a part of this pacy and hilarious adventure that culminates in very different endings for the Squanders, Grubpumps and Hogarths.

Writer Jonathan Myerson is a renowned TV and radio dramatist. His animated film The Canterbury Tales won a BAFTA Award and four primetime Emmys and he has also written scripts for several British television drama series including The Bill, Holby City, EastEnders, Jupiter Moon and The Legend of William Tell.

A Harlot’s Progress

Cast and credits

Written by Jonathan Myerson

Directed and produced by Jonquil Panting

William Hogarth - Will Keen

Jean - Shella Reid

Moll - Liz White

London girl - Amelia Lowdell

London girl - Annabel Scholey

Mrs Needham - Rosemary Leach

Charteris - Crawford Logan

Gourlay - Gerard McDermott

Wagondriver - Stephen Critchlow

Giuseppe - Paul Reynolds

Solomon - Nickolas Grace

Bess - Amelda Brown

James/Dr Rock - Ben Crowe

Client/Joshua - Geoffrey Beevers

First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6th - 10th February 2006

Marriage a la Mode

Cast and credits

Written by Jonathan Myerson

Directed and produced by Jonquil Panting

William Hogarth - Will Keen

Jane Hogarth - Rebecca Johnson

Charles - Stephen Mangan

Emily Grubpump (Later Countess Squander) - Anna Madeley

Grubpump - Robin Soans

Sylvester Silvertongue/Sir Andrew - John Dougall

Old Squander/Misaubin - Sam Dale

Mrs Wisebourne - Nichola McAulffle

Tyers - Anthony Glennon

Clarissa - Poppy Friar

Missus - Rachel Bavidge

Steward - Mark Straker

Simmy - Jasmine Callan

Little William - Jordan Clarke

First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26th - 2nd March 2007

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