Aeschylus

Aesop lived in the early sixth century BC on the island of Samos, which lies off the coast of modern Turkey. He originally came from Thrace which was a separate country in those days, though it now forms part of Greece and Bulgaria. Very little is known about his life except that he worked as a slave on Samos for a master called Iadmon, and that he became a very famous storyteller. He was so famous that almost any fable which could have been told by him became attributed to him.

Aesop

Afsaneh Knight

Afsaneh Moqadam

Afua Hirsch is a writer, filmmaker, and journalist. She is the author of Brit(ish), the Sunday Times bestseller that explores Britishness, identity and belonging, for which she was awarded the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Prize for Non-Fiction. She co-presented Enslaved, a 6-part series about the transatlantic slave trade with Samuel L Jackson. She is the presenter of the Audible podcast series We Need To Talk About the British Empire, and Africa Rising, an ongoing flagship series about art and culture for the BBC, through her production company Born in Me Productions. She is a longtime columnist for the Guardian and is a professor of journalism at the University of Southern California.

Afua Hirsch

AGAPI STASSINOPOULOS is an author, blogger and international speaker who inspires audiences around the world. She has spoken at many corporations and conferences, such as Nike Women, Starbucks,Time Inc., Virgin, Johnson &amp; Johnson and the American Heart Foundation. She was born in Athens and trained in London at RADA before gaining a Master’s in psychology at the University of Santa Monica. She has collaborated with her sister, Arianna Huffington, to develop talks and seminars, and has worked with the Oprah Winfrey network. She is currently hosting a new podcast series in collaboration with The Huffington Post, entitled ‘Sundays with Agapi’, which includes guided meditations and interviews with prominent guests. She lives in Los Angeles.

Agapi Stassinopoulos

Agatha Christie

Aggie MacKenzie

Aghnia Mardiyah is a London-based Illustrator and Character Designer with a passion for children's books and animation. She is drawn to fun, bright and vibrant colours. When she isn't disappearing under piles of work, she loves to travel! Exploring foreign places, exciting new sights and sensations is what inspires her the most!

Aghnia Mardiyah

Agnes Callard is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago. Her primary areas of specialization are ancient philosophy and ethics. She has written for The New York Times, New Yorker, Atlantic, Harper’s, Boston Review, and penned a monthly column for the Point. From 2019 to 2020, she held a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for the research that contributes to this book.

Agnes Callard

Agnes Jekyll

Agnes Bertha Marshall (24 August 1855-29 July 1905) was an English culinary entrepreneur who became a leading cookery writer, dubbed the 'Queen of Ices'. Her 1888 cookery book included a recipe for 'cornets with cream', possibly the earliest publication of the edible ice cream cone. Marshall was born in Walthamstow. She wrote four books: Ices Plain and Fancy: The Book of Ices (1885), Mrs A B Marshall's Book of Cookery (1888), Mrs A B Marshall's Larger Cookery Book of Extra Recipes (1891) and Fancy Ices (1894).

Agnes Marshall

Agnes Prus

Agri Ismaïl is a Kurdish author based in Sweden who has worked as a corporate lawyer in London, Dubai, and Iraqi Kurdistan. His work has been published in The White Review, The Rumpus, Litro, 3:AM Magazine, and Asymptote amongst other places. His piece 'Haunted Home' won the 2016 Stack award for best non-fiction for The Outpost, runner-up in the Lifted Brow &amp; RMIT non/fictionLab Prize for Experimental Non-Fiction, and he was longlisted for the 2017/2018 Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize. Hyper is his first novel.

Agri Ismaïl

Aharon Appelfeld authored more than 45 acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction and received many international awards including the MLA Commonwealth Award, the Independent Foreign Fiction prize, the prix Médicis étranger, the Israel prize, and the Nelly Sachs prize. Born in Czernowitz, Bukovina (now part of Ukraine) in 1932, he survived the Holocaust and passed away in Israel in 2018.

Aharon Appelfeld

Ahmadou Kourouma

Ahmed Alnaouq is a Palestinian journalist and human rights activist based in London. He is the co-founder and director of We Are Not Numbers and a journalist with Palestine Deep Dive. Ahmed holds a degree in English Literature from Al-Azhar university in Gaza, and an MA in International Journalism from Leeds University, where he was a Chevening Scholar. 
 
Pam Bailey is a social-justice activist and journalist based in Washington DC. She lived and worked in the Gaza Strip following the 2008/9 Israeli assault, and co-founded We Are Not Numbers. Today, in addition to her ongoing dedication to the Palestinian cause, she dedicates herself to two nonprofits that advocate for people detained in American prisons -- including one she co-founded in 2020, called More Than Our Crimes.

Ahmed Alnaouq

Ahmed Errachidi

Ahmed Rashid

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar

Ahron Bregman is the author of four books about Israel and the Arabs: The Fifty Years War (with Jihan el Tahri), Israel's Wars, A History of Israel and Elusive Peace. He teaches at the Department of War Studies, King's College London.

Ahron Bregman

Ai Qing is regarded as one of the finest modern Chinese poets, whose free verse was influential in the development of new poetry in China.

Ai Qing

Ai Weiwei

Aidan Chambers was born in County Durham in 1934. After national service in the Royal Navy he became a teacher and then, for seven years, a monk. His young adult novels have been widely acclaimed, with POSTCARDS FROM NO-MAN'S LAND winning the prestigious Carnegie Medal and the US Michael L Printz Award. With his wife Nancy he ran Signal magazine and he has served as the president of the School Library Association. His devoted services to children's literature were recognised by his receipt of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002.

Aidan Chambers

Aidan Higgins was born in 1927. Langrishe Go Down, his first novel, won the James Tait Black memorial Prize and the Irish Academy of Letters Award, and was later filmed for television with a screenplay by Harold Pinter. His second novel, Balcony of Europe, was shortlisted for the 1972 Booker Prize. The novel Lions of the Grunewald appeared in 1993 and a collection of shorter fiction, Flotsam and jetsam, in 1996. Donkey's Years and Dog Days were the first two volumes of the Higgins Bestiary which concludes with this volume.

Aidan Higgins

Aidan Mathews

Aidan Potts

Aidan Smith

Aidan Storey

Aidan Trimble is the Chief Instructor to the Federation of Shotokan Karate and a former British, European and World Karate Champion, winning the world title in Tokyo - the home of Karate. Aidan has trained with some of the world's leading teachers of 'traditional' and 'sport' karate and is now an award-winning instructor and teacher who is in demand throughout the world. He can be contacted via www.fsk-karate.com.

Aidan Trimble

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Andrew Lawrence

The second four-part mini-series of short comedic monologues on BBC Radio 4. Written and performed by stand-up comedian Andrew Lawrence, it takes a light-hearted look at various aspects of conventional living and the pressure we feel to conform to social norms and ideals.   In these four episodes, all recorded in front of a live audience, Andrew Lawrence examines such topics as 'Special Occasions', 'Leisure Pursuits', 'Home Making' and 'Travel'.

What To Do If You're Not Like Everbody Else

Series 2

Charles Dickens

Sir David Jason reads Charles Dickens' magical, much-loved Christmas story. Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean, unpleasant man who dislikes people generally and Christmas especially. But one Christmas Eve, he has a terrifying experience: He sees the ghost of his one-time business partner, Jacob Marley, who is bound in chains and doomed to wander the Earth because of the sins of his past life. Marley warns Scrooge that he is headed for the same dreadful fate: but there is one possible means of escape. 
Soon, he will be visited by three more spirits: the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Can these phantoms persuade Scrooge to change his ways?

A Christmas Carol

A BBC Radio Reading

Peter Jukes

A series of four plays by about Jake Thorne, a Methodist minister and police chaplain who is battling with his own demons at the same time as trying to resolve the problems of his parishioners. 
 
In the first of the plays, 'Bad Faith', we are introduced to Jake Thorne, a police chaplain. His job is to offer counselling and comfort to officers in trouble, victims and young offenders. But Jake has lost his faith and has decided, as a test for God, to behave appallingly towards those he's supposed to help. 
 
In the second play, 'Vengeance is Mine', Jake gets involved in a restorative justice programme which tries to reconcile a bereaved mother and the woman responsible for killing her daughter. 
 
'The Fire This Time' sees Jake takes on his arch-rival and nemesis Bishop Elias Wright in a battle over the soul of a mentally unstable parishioner, fighting the good fight against homophobia and Islamophobia along the way. 
 
In the final play, 'Nothing Sacred', Jake counsels a policeman who has lost his memory of a fatal blaze. Meanwhile Jake's father, Isaac, is slipping into dementia and seems intent on wreaking revenge on the whole world, particularly his own son. 
 
Starring Lenny Henry, Danny Sapani and Jenny Jules. Written by Peter Jukes. Producers: Steven Canny and Mary Peate. Executive Producer: Simon Elmes.

Bad Faith: The Complete Series

A Series of Four Plays - Bad Faith, Vengeance Is Mine, The Fire this Time, Nothing Sacred

Stephen Wyatt

Much in need of a holiday, Mel and the Doctor head for Paradise Towers: a luxury man-made planet with sparkling fountains, sunny streets, exotic flowers and a shimmering blue swimming pool. But when the TARDIS materialises in a dark, rubbish-filled, rat-infested alley it seems that this particular Paradise has turned into Hell! Pursued by rogue cleaning machines, authoritarian caretakers and old ladies with strange eating habits, the Doctor and Mel track down the source of the chaos to one mysterious character - the designer of Paradise Towers, the Great Architect himself... Bonnie Langford, who played Mel in the original TV series, reads Stephen Wyatt's complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1988.

Doctor Who: Paradise Towers

Dennis Spooner

'The events will happen, just as they are written...'   Materialising in a forest, the Doctor and his three companions discover themselves to be 12 kilometres from Paris. This is the 18th century, and France is the scene of an ongoing bloody battle between royalists and revolutionaries. Following a blaze at a rural farmhouse, Ian, Barbara and Susan are separated from the Doctor and arrested as traitors, their destination the city's gaol.   Ian receives information about James Stirling, an English spy with information vital to the revolution. No-one seems to know where Stirling is, and locating him becomes Ian's priority. The Doctor, meanwhile, arrives in Paris in the guise of a Regional Officer, and before long he has an audience with the leader of the Revolution himself: Robespierre!   With Robespierre's downfall imminent, and the revolution about to reach its climax, the Doctor and friends must extricate themselves from Paris, before events overtake them and they too become victims of Madame Guillotine...   Carole Ann Ford, who played Susan in these six BBC TV episodes from 1964, provides linking narration for the story.

Doctor Who: The Reign Of Terror

Philip Martin

Varos is a cruel world where the descendants of a prison planet are fed a diet of endless video nasties... where execution is spectacle and torture high entertainment. The TARDIS is desperately short of Zeiton 7 ore to power its engines, and the Doctor and Peri know Varos is the only place they may find it. But soon they become involved in the deadly politics of the planet, and the machinations of the sinister Sil, a slug-like alien who wants the price of Zeiton 7 lowered, and the Doctor - along with the governor of Varos - out of the way for good. Fighting for the freedom of Varos and for the ore he needs to continue his journeys, the Doctor faces death many times - whilst being constantly fiilmed for the pleasures of the viewers at home... Colin Baker, who played the Sixth Doctor in Doctor Who, reads Philip Martin's complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1988.

Doctor Who: Vengeance On Varos

Helen Macdonald

Helen Macdonald is a falconer and poet. She keeps a goshawk called Mabel. As a child she fell in love with a rare book of intense nature writing, J.A. Baker's The Peregrine, which records a winter watching wild peregrines on the Essex coast. Her new play brings her birds and his together. Baker tramps the bleak coastal marshes scanning the skies for fleeting moments of bloody drama as a peregrine stoops at immense speed after a plover or a pigeon. Helen woos her captive-bred goshawk in her spare bedroom - acclimatising it to human noise and human movement. Baker crouches over a half-dead pigeon and finishes it off for the wild falcon; Helen walks the city street with a goshawk on her fist. Their stories begin to fly closer to one another. Starring David Birrell as J. A. Baker, Gemma Lawrence as Young Helen and Helen Macdonald as herself. Part recorded on location at The Bird of Prey Centre in Newent, Gloucestershire. Producer: Tim Dee.

Falcon And The Hawk, The

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Peter Souter

What if you couldn't remember a single minute of the ten years you'd spent with the love of your life? Joe can remember everything about Ally; Ally remembers nothing about Joe A romantic, sad drama starring Alex Jennings as Joe and Juliet Stevenson as Ally. Directed by Gordon House.

Goldfish Girl

When orphan Pip meets the escaped convict Magwitch in an overgrown churchyard on the Kent marshes, little does he know that the incident will change his life forever. Some years later, now apprenticed to his blacksmith brother-in-law, Pip falls in love with the beautiful Estella. Her half-crazed and bitter guardian Miss Havisham, however, exerts a malign influence over the girl and forces a wedge between the two. Pip abandons his roots and, with 'great expectations' of becoming a gentleman, heads for London society. There he begins to receive riches from a mysterious benefactor... Pip's quest to find his true identity, and his growth to maturity through misfortune and misery, form the basis of this atmospheric tale starring Douglas Hodge, Geraldine McEwan and Amanda Redman. Directed by Sally Avens.

Great Expectations

Francis Turnly

When Garda officer Detective Sergeant Roisin MacKenna is called to the scene of a murder not far from the border between the North and South of Ireland she soon finds that boundaries, both geographical and moral, become blurred. A body has been found buried in an Irish peat bog, identified as a farmer from Northern Ireland. Roisin is thrust into working with a PSNI counterpart, Darren Quinn, as her investigation takes her into the murky hinterland of the border area where nothing and no one is quite what they seem. Working together, Roisin and Darren must negotiate the limitations of their own jurisdictions and face up to the ambiguities of upholding the law in a landscape virtually impossible to police. Starring Catherine Cusack and Frank O'Sullivan. Written by Francis Turnly. Producer/Director Heather Larmour.

Hinterland

Jimmy Perry

David Croft

Meet the gang in these four classic BBC TV episodes! Enjoy the exploits of the Royal Artillery Concert Party, a motley troupe of military thespians seconded to India during the Second World War. In 'My Lovely Boy', When RSM Williams realises the love of his life is Parky's mum, he sets about recruiting him for the concert party. In 'The Supremo Show', a VIP visit calls for a very special show - but when Gloria sprains his ankle, the Sergeant Major must take his place. In 'We are Not Amused', Gloria plays Queen Victoria in a jingoistic pageant - but the men don't realise they'll be playing to an Indian VIP. In 'Money Talks', when the men discover that Gunner Graham is due to receive an inheritance, they set about winning his favour. Starring Windsor Davies, Melvyn Hayes, Don Estelle and Michael Bates.

It Ain't Half Hot Mum

Roy Clarke

Compo, Foggy and Clegg wreak havoc in four vintage episodes from the world's longest-running comedy series.  Only a man with a ferret down his trousers could love Nora Batty. So lock up your ferrets (and Nora Batty!), here come Yorkshire's hilarious adventurers - three pensioners in four classic capers from the BBC television series which kept the nation laughing for more than twenty-five years. Nora goes on the rampage when one of Compo's ferrets escapes into her house, Sid decides to install a new bell in the cafe, Clegg communicates with plants, and Foggy s interest with a Welsh widow makes the lads too curious to stay put. They may be as wrinkled as Nora's stockings, but their humour is as fresh as the Yorkshire air! The episodes are 'Ferret Come Home', ' Getting on Sydney s Wire', ' Flower Power Cut' and ' Who Made a Bit of a Splash in Wales, Then?' Starring Bill Owen as Compo, Peter Sallis as Clegg and Brian Wilde as Foggy.

Last Of The Summer Wine Volume 1

Richard Coles

Richard Coles examines same sex desire through the ages, in a journey reaching from the UK to India, Egypt, Greece and Native America. In episode one, his quest takes him to Saqqara, Egypt and the contested tomb of two men, Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum. Were the men lovers or brothers? He explores the ideas of the 'sexologists' and tells the story of Anne Lister, a 19th century Yorkshirewoman who had same sex relationships. In episode two, Richard explores the homosexuality of the ancients, tracing the transition from classical celebration to religious repression. Part three focuses on the complex relationship between sexuality and gender as Richard surveys the so-called 'third sex' in places such as India, Indonesia and Thailand. He concludes the series by looking at the globalisation of gay identity. Is the West attempting to promote ideas of gay liberation which are alien to the developing world? Producer: Laurence Grissell.

Out In The World A Global Gay History

John Dryden

A three-part thriller by John Dryden.   In Part 1, 'The Present', Dr Jan Roldano, microbiologist and WHO advisor on infectious diseases, arrives in Bangkok to give a keynote lecture at a medical conference. But when a virulent strain of bird flu emerges, he finds himself trapped in Thailand.   In Part 2, 'The Future', it is five years after a global pandemic that has wiped out half the world's population. British civil servant Diane Harper is sent to Oxfordshire to investigate the suicide of a government scientist, a job that leads to a desperate search for the truth about the origins of the outbreak.   In Part 3, 'The Past', eco-warrior Richard Frankel wants to give up direct action. But then he learns something that leads him into a dangerous world of environmental espionage and a conspiracy that will have a terrible, cruel and profound impact on the world.   Starring Ben Daniels, Emily Beecham and Michael Maloney.   ‘Radio drama at its galvanising best’  Daily Mail.   ‘An extraordinarily taut piece of writing by John Dryden and the pace is faster than the deadly Red Eye virus. It should be made into a movie’  Jane Anderson, Radio Times.   ‘An almost unbearably suspenseful affair…’ Gillian Reynolds, The Telegraph.

Pandemic

Peter Ustinov

Peter Ustinov was an actor, director, author and raconteur who won many awards in his lifetime, including Academy Awards, Emmys, Golden Globes and BAFTAs. In this collection we hear - in his own words - about his thoughts on being a writer and director, and those who influenced him. He discusses his childhood and upbringing as well as providing insights into his family. Peter, in his own unique style, also talks about his work, ageing and the future. 
 
 Interviews include: Frost Over America, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 1 July 1970); Parkinson, BBC television (first broadcast 16 December 1972); Just a Nimmo, BBC television (first broadcast 25 February 1976); Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 19 November 1977); Parkinson, BBC One (first broadcast 7 January 1978); Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 6 April 1983); Meet for Lunch, BBC Radio Wales (first broadcast 29 August 1984); Bookshelf; BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 8 November 1990); The Big Question, BBC television (first broadcast 11 February 1996). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Peter Ustinov In His Own Words

Ruth Rendell

Love and death are the principal players in these two BBC Radio full-cast dramatisations of chilling Ruth Rendell stories.   In 'The Bridesmaid', when Philip embarks on an affair with Senta, his sister's bridesmaid, she reminds him of the stone statue he adored as a child. Yet Senta is married, and Philip's overwhelming aversion to violence leads indirectly to murder and horror as he is drawn into erotic but murderous complicity. Starring Jamie Glover and Rachel Lewis.   In 'Going Wrong', natural born villain Guy Curran has youth, good looks and charm, but not the one thing he longs for: Leonora, the sophisticated girl he has loved since childhood. When Guy learns that she's about to get married, his growing obsession convinces him that if Leonora can't be his, nor can she be anyone else's - ever. Starring Peter Wingfield and Oona Beeson.

The Bridesmaid / Going Wrong

Carl Grose

The Kneebones of United Downs have hard lives, weird vehicles and a love of Country and Western music. When scrap dealer Jed Kneebone dies, his three children are left in serious trouble. But they have inherited Jed's prized 1956 Cadillac Eldorado - could the legendary Boneshaker Stock Car Races be the answer? A wry Cornish comedy about family, death, love and hope by Carl Grose. Starring Alex Tregear as Maddy, Carl Grose as Slick, Ed Gaughan as Dwight, Charles Barnecut as Hooper Munroe, Amanda Lawrence as Phylis Vanloo and Joseph Kloska as Ennis. Directed by Claire Grove.

The Kneebone Cadillac

Drew Pautz

To the outside world Charlie Radcliffe was an esteemed businessman and philanthropist. But Charlie knew that he had swindled billions over decades from his wealthy clients and he knew that one day the game would be up. Now in prison, Charlie tells the story of his last hours of freedom to new inmate Sam. Drew Pautz's drama inspired by the crisis in the financial world examines the gaps between facts, finance, conscience and confidence. Starring Henry Goodman, Ashley Kumar, Conrad Nelson, Graeme Hawley, Kevin Harvey and Chris Jack. Produced by Nadia Molinari.

The Last Free Hours of Charlie Radcliffe

Oscar Wilde

A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation of Wilde's gothic masterpiece. When Dorian Gray gazes upon his portrait, he is struck by his own youth and beauty and makes a wish that they will last forever. Gradually, his simple good nature is corrupted with the help of his hedonistic friend Lord Henry Wotton. Dorian sinks into a life of debauchery and depravity yet keeps his innocent good looks. Only his portrait reveals the true corruption of his soul Starring Jamie Glover as Dorian Gray and Ian McDiarmid as Lord Henry Wotton.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Simon Brett

Jeremy Front

Bill Nighy returns as Charles Paris: unsuccessful actor, bad husband and dipsomaniac. Desperately in need of work, having been kicked out of the marital home, Charles jumps at playing a missing property developer in a crime reconstruction programme. But the missing person case soon turns to murder when severed body parts begin to appear. 
 
Television ratings soar as the public tune in to discover every gory detail of the case. The raging egos and jealous manoeuvrings of the producers, presenters and the police provide a long list of suspects for Charles as he pieces together a macabre jigsaw puzzle of murder. 
 
Bill Nighy, Suzanne Burden and Jon Glover are among the star cast in this enjoyable mystery, dramatised by Jeremy Front. 
 
Written by Jeremy Front, based on the novel by Simon Brett.

Charles Paris: A Reconstructed Corpse

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Various

Mid-Wales: and a lonely bachelor avoids personal contact as much as humanly possible, despite the best efforts of his well-meaning but nosey next door neighbours. Gwilym Lloyd whiles away his time, pottering in the garden, learning the harmonica and writing letters to women serving long-term prison sentences in various jails around the world. Women that he knows he'll never have to meet. When South Londoner Layla O'Dowd is released on early parole and suddenly shows up on the the doorstep of Gwilym's rural Welsh cottage out of the blue, his whole world is turned upside down. In the modern social media jungle of internet profiles and identity theft, the art of letter writing may seem quaintly old fashioned, but that doesn't mean that it's not fraught with the very same dangers. Craig Hawes is a new Welsh writer. Jailbird Lover is his first Afternoon Drama.

Jailbird Lover (BBC Radio Drama)

Charlotte Jones

The Kennedys were the most famous family in England when Joseph became American Ambassador in London. But daughter Rosemary's behaviour began to cause the family increasing concern. Award winning writer Charlotte Jones' play is inspired by the lives of two of JFK's sisters, 'Rosemary' Kennedy, who died in 2005, but underwent a prefrontal lobotomy aged 23 and Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy who married the heir to the Duke of Devonshire.

An American Rose

Alan Ayckbourn

Alan Ayckbourn is a multi-award-winning playwright, whose plays have been seen in the West End, on Broadway and worldwide. In this collection we hear - in his own words - about his family and upbringing; on being a writer and director, as well as those who influenced him. He discusses the characters he creates and his time in Scarborough, and also his childhood and his love of theatre. Alan also talks about his relationships - on and off stage - and touches on his personal life. 
 
 The interviews on this collection include: Today, BBC Radio 2 (first broadcast 2 March 1979); Saturday Review, BBC 2 (first broadcast 4 June 1980); The Levin Interview, BBC 2 (first broadcast 1 July 1984); Kaleidoscope, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 21 November 1984); The Michael Parkinson Programme, BBC Radio 2 (first broadcast 28 May 1987); Meridian, BBC World Service (first broadcast 5 September 1989); Omnibus, BBC 1 (first broadcast 13 February 1990); Alan Ayckbourn in Conversation, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast May 1991); Simon Mayo, BBC Radio 2 (first broadcast 24 January 2010); Imagine, BBC 1 (first broadcast 15 November 2011). 
 
 Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

In His Own Words

Derek Jacobi

Sir Derek Jacobi is an award-winning actor who is famous for his many roles on television, film and on stage. He received a Tony Award for his performance as Benedick in the RSC's production of Much Ado About Nothing and is probably most famous for his TV roles in Cadfael and I, Claudius. 
 
 In this collection we hear, in his own words, about his influences, his school years and early acting performances, as well as the many roles he has played. He talks about being a star and working with other famous names, and discusses playwrights, casting, Shakespeare, the skill needed in acting and future roles. Sir Derek also talks about his relationships - on and offstage - and about his personal beliefs and perceptions. 
 
 Interviews include: radio archive interview (first broadcast 1 January 1976, featuring Louis Robinson); Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcat 10 June 1978, featuring Roy Plomley); The Brian Morton Show, BBC Radio Scotland (first broadcast 14 August 2000, featuring Brian Morton); Front Row, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 16 September 2004, featuring Mark Lawson); Front Row, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 19 November 2012, featuring Mark Lawson). 
 
 Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Derek Jacobi In His Own Words

Csaba Szekely

It's difficult being young and in love when your Dad is a high ranking official in Ceausescu's communist machine, your mother weeps all the time and your brother is trying to kill you. This wild and sideways look at life behind the Iron Curtain during Ceausescu's regime is a first play by a young Hungarian writer living in Romania and was shortlisted for the BBC World Service/British Council's International Playwriting Competition. Starring Freddy White, Michael Begley, Jane Whittenshaw, Julia Tarnoky, Brian Bowles, Daniel Rabin, and Luke Newberry. Director: Marion Nancarrow. Says Szekely of himself: It's difficult being young and in love when your Dad is a high ranking official in Ceausescu's communist machine, your mother weeps all the time and your brother is trying to kill you. This wild and sideways look at life behind the Iron Curtain during Ceausescu's regime is a first play by a young Hungarian writer living in Romania and was shortlisted for the BBC World Service/British Council's International Playwriting Competition. Starring Freddy White, Michael Begley, Jane Whittenshaw, Julia Tarnoky, Brian Bowles, Daniel Rabin, and Luke Newberry. Director: Marion Nancarrow. Says Szekely of himself: "I'm 28 years old. I used to be the cultural editor of a weekly magazine, then cultural editor at the local radio station. Now I'm just a writer. I'm also a translator (from Romanian and English to Hungarian) always looking for a job. I write movie reviews and book reviews too. I'm not famous".

Do You Like Banana, Comrades?

In the polluted and poverty-ridden Coketown, Louisa and Tom Gradgrind endure a cold and loveless childhood at the hands of their self-satisfied and unimaginative father Thomas. Starved of affection, Louisa is forced into a miserable marriage with the self-made industrialist Josiah Bounderby, thirty years her senior, whilst Tom descends into a secret life of theft. Into such squalor and misery comes Sissy Jupe, a child of the circus whose ailing father Sleary has deserted her. When she is adopted by Tom Gradgrind, the generous hearts of Sissy and her circus colleagues help combat the pervading gloom and offer the hope of redemption and eventual happiness. This full-cast BBC Radio dramatisation stars John Woodvine, Tom Baker and Anna Massey.

Hard Times

Paul Mason

What caused the financial mess we're in? And how do we get out of it? Two of the great economic thinkers of the 20th century had sharply contrasting views. John Maynard Keynes believed that government spending could create employment and longer term growth. His contemporary and rival Friedrich Hayek believed that investments have to be based on real savings rather than increased public spending or artificially low interest rates. Keynes's biographer, Professor Lord Skidelsky, takes on modern-day followers of Hayek in a debate at the London School of Economics. Paul Mason, economics editor of Newsnight, is in the chair. Speakers include George Selgin, Duncan Weldon and Jamie Whyte.

Keynes V Hayek

Myles Rudge

Join Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Joan Sims as they go beyond Round the Horne. Taking over the mantle of Round the Horne, Stop Messing About carried on the comedy tradition, which reunited Kenneth Williams with both Hugh Paddick and Kenneth's Carry On co-star, Joan Sims. These four episodes include such favourites as crusty old judge Sir Inigo Parchmutter, Crackerjackanory With Mother, more visits to Tolpurgis Hall, as well as a couple who bear a bona similarity to Julian and Sandy. With much vada-ing and some wonderful film adaptations, such as A Fistful of Denaro and Oliver Stick, Stop Messing About is packed with outrageously funny sketches, parodies, double entendres and saucy songs. 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.

More Kenneth Williams' Stop Messing About

Andy Macdonald

A tense and powerful drama exploring the timely issues of unemployment, ethics and international conflict. A fifty year old factory employee finds his own way to make a stand. With orders still on the books, Kenny Gall refuses to leave the factory he has worked in for more than thirty years. This will have serious implications for the company, his daughter, Ashley, and for a local ex-serviceman. Starring Alexander Morton, Sally Reid, Brian Ferguson, Tracy Wiles. Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane.

Occupation

Anthony Trollope

The American Senator By Anthony Trollope. Dramatised by Martyn Wade. 
Part One: 
Arabella is determined to keep her engagement to John Morton a secret. Perhaps, there is a more exciting and wealthy husband she might be able to catch. 
Part Two: 
 Lord Rufford has kissed Arabella twice but she realises that much more needs to be done to win him and his estate. It is now time to tell John Morton she no longer wants to marry him? 
Part Three: 
Lord Rufford has run away from Arabella but she hasn't given up hope. She is determined that he will marry her but then she receives some distressing news 
Starring Robert Glenister, Anna Maxwell Martin, Barbara Flynn, Blake Ritson, Stuart Milligan, Joanna David, Daniel Rabin, Penelope Rawlins, Carl Prekopp, Henry Devas, Elaine Claxton, Joanathan Forbes, Jane Whittenshaw, and Sean Baker. Directed by Tracey Neale.

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