Radio Drama preview/4

The week starts off well with a classic detective story on BBC 7 at 12 noon on Saturday. Over on Radio 4 in the afternoon we are treated to a ninety-minute play by esteemed playwright Simon Gray. Nick Warburton, who wrote the Fear on Four offering this evening at 18:00 on BBC 7, can be relied upon to provide some chilling drama.

The ninety-minute play on BBC7 on Sunday is a serious one, telling part of the story of the miners’ strike of 1984. The afternoon on Radio 4 sees the final episode of the wonderful ‘Fortunes of War’; Classic Serials don’t come much better than this. I’m looking forward to Sunday evening, starting at 18:00 on BBC 7 with an adaptation of a Paul Magrs story. Paul has written some Doctor Who audio scripts for Big Finish, which as far as I am concerned gives him a good reputation. Later, on Radio 3, I shall be listening to The Adding Machine. I have to admit that I haven’t previously heard of this play, or its author, but the introduction in Radio Times, quoted later, makes it sound intriguing.

On weekdays next week, Radio 4’s Afternoon Play consists of a series of five plays based on Ovid, entitled, unsurprisingly, New Metamorphoses. Apart from this that network offers two drama serials late at night at 23:00. On Monday we have a repeat of a Simon Brett story about Charles Paris, starring Bill Nighy and on Wednesday the latest Terry Pratchett adaptation continues. The 45-minute dramas on BBC 7, at 10:15 repeated at 21:15 are also all of interest. I have to say that I do enjoy BBC7 in the evenings, that 21:15 slot in particular. Even though I’ve heard most of the plays before they are all worth hearing again. BBC 7 is careful to choose only the best from the archive of Radio 4 afternoon plays.

SATURDAY

12:00/BBC 7/90 mins – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie. This was first broadcast on Christmas Eve, 1987 and was the first time that John Moffatt had played the great Belgian detective. John Woodvine also stars. Listen out too for the wonderful Deryck Guyler, who plays a butler. Of course, this is one of the most famous of Christie’s detective stories and amongst the most famous of all British detective stories. Do listen, whether you know the story or not.

14:30/BBC Radio 4/90 mins – Missing Dates, by Simon Gray, starring Toby Stephens, Jasper Britton and Monica Dolan. Two brothers compete for the attention of the same woman. A ninety-minute play on Radio 4 on a Saturday afternoon! This must be something special that is going to increase our normal sixty-minute attention spans.

17:00/BBC 7/60 mins – Garrison Keillor’s Radio Show. This import from the USA is more a light entertainment show in the old BBC tradition than audio drama, but may well be worth listening to if you like that kind of thing. Garrison has a light (and sometimes not so light) line in satire that many find appealing. Listen out especially for his weekly monologue about ‘Lake Wobegone, My Home Town’. There are no real adverts broadcast during this program!

18:30/BBC 7/30 mins – Fear on Four: His Last Card, by Nick Warburton. This is a repeat of one of the old Radio 4 horror stories from the last century.

21:00/BBC Radio 4/60 mins – Fortunes of War, by Olivia Manning, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, starring Joanna Lumley, Honeysuckle Weeks, Khalid Abdalla, Sam Dale, Nigel Anthony etc. Part 5 of 6, this is a repeat of last Sunday’s episode, with part 6 being broadcast tomorrow at 15:00. I am finding this compelling, not least because I am currently reading the books on which it is based. Joanna Lumley’s narration, as the older Harriet Pringle, is just right, while the impetuous younger Harriet is well played by Honeysuckle Weeks. Another reason for liking this adaptation is because of the decision to use the music of Gerald Finzi, which I have long admired.

SUNDAY

10:00/BBC 7/90 mins – That Summer, by David Edgar. The summer in question is the one of 1984, during the miners’ strike. Nicholas Le Provost stars. Repeated this evening at 20:00 on BBC 7.

15:00/BBC Radio 4/60 mins - Fortunes of War, by Olivia Manning, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, starring Joanna Lumley, Honeysuckle Weeks, Khalid Abdalla, Sam Dale, Nigel Anthony etc. Part 6 of 6. See my comments at 21:00 on Saturday above.

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Never the Bride. This adaptation of a novel by Paul Magrs is certainly on my list to listen to. Radio Times calls this a "whimsical mystery". Part 1 of 3. Repeated later today at 12:00 midnight on BBC 7.

20:00/BBC Radio 3/75 mins – The Adding Machine, by Elmer Rice, which is from the year 1923. Radio Times says "Mr Zero has spent the past 25 years adding up columns of figures and dreaming of advancement. But when the boss finally calls him into his office, Zero doesn’t get the promotion he was expecting. Quite the opposite ..." Listen out for our old friends Chris Pavlo, Peter Marinker and Ben Crowe.

MONDAY

09:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Fatherland, by Robert Harris. Episode 1 of 5. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 20:00.

10:00/BBC 7/15 mins – Where Angels Fear to Tread, by E M Forster. Episode 6 of 10. Repeated tonight on BBC7 at 21:00.

10:15/BBC 7/45 mins – An Englishman Abroad, by Alan Bennett, starring Michael Gambon and Penelope Wilton. The Englishman in question is spy Guy Burgess and ‘abroad’ is Moscow. Repeated this evening on BBC 7 at 21:15.

11:00/[BBC 7/60 mins – The Diary of Samuel Pepys, starring Oliver Parker as Pepys. Episode 1 of 6.

14:15/BBC Radio 4/45 mins - New Metamorphoses/1 – Zeus and Semele, by Sebastian Baczkiewicz. "Five contemporary retellings of Ovid begin with this story ..." –[Radio Times. Starring Tony Jones (as Ovid, who appears in four of the five plays), Daniel Cerqueria, Robert Glenister, Lyndsey Marshall, with Peter Marinker as the Newsreader.

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Oneira, by Robert Easby. Part 1 of 5 of a science fiction story starring Lyndsey Marshall. Repeated at midnight tonight on BBC 7.

23:00/BBC Radio 4/30 mins – Sicken and So Die, by Simon Brett, dramatised by Jeremy Front. Bill Nighy and Suzanne Burden star in this adaptation of one of Simon Brett’s entertaining novels about Charles Paris. Episode 1 of 4.

TUESDAY

09:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Fatherland, by Robert Harris. Episode 2 of 5. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 20:00.

10:00/BBC 7/15 mins – Where Angels Fear to Tread, by E M Forster. Episode 7 of 10. Repeated tonight on BBC7 at 21:00.

10:15/BBC 7/45 mins – Apple Blossom Afternoon, by Dave Sheasby. A man decides to spend his 55th birthday in the betting shop. Repeated this evening on BBC 7 at 21:15.

11:00/BBC 7/60 mins – The Diary of Samuel Pepys, starring Oliver Parker as Pepys. Episode 2 of 6.

14:15/BBC Radio 4/45 mins- New Metamorphoses/2 – Echo and Narcissus, by Hattie Naylor. Carl Prekopp plays Mat, who starts attending his local gym. Torchwood’s Burn Gorman is also in the cast.

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Oneira, by Robert Easby. Part 2 of 5 of a science fiction story starring Lyndsey Marshall. Repeated at midnight tonight on BBC 7.

WEDNESDAY

09:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Fatherland, by Robert Harris. Episode 3 of 5. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 20:00.

10:00/BBC 7/15 mins – Where Angels Fear to Tread, by E M Forster. Episode 8 of 10. Repeated tonight on BBC7 at 21:00.

10:15/BBC 7/45 mins – Man in Snow. On a trip up Mount McKinlay a man recalls his dead son. Repeated this evening on BBC 7 at 21:15.

11:00/BBC 7/60 mins – The Diary of Samuel Pepys, starring Oliver Parker as Pepys. Episode 3 of 6.

14:15/BBC Radio 4/45 mins- New Metamorphoses/3 - Myrrha, by Colin Teevan. There are parts for Ben Crowe, Chris Pavlo and Peter Marinker in this story of the teenager Myrrha who was raised by Father Michael and his sister after being abandoned as a baby.

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Oneira, by Robert Easby. Part 3 of 5 of a science fiction story starring Lyndsey Marshall. Repeated at midnight tonight on BBC 7.

23:00/BBC Radio 4/30 mins – Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett, dramatised by Robin Brooks. A ‘must-listen’, with Philip Jackson, Carl Prekopp, Paul Ritter, Sam Dale, Clare Corbutt, Matt Addis, Ben Onwukwe and Peter Marinker. Episode 2 of 5.

THURSDAY

09:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Fatherland, by Robert Harris. Episode 4 of 5. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 20:00.

10:00/BBC 7/15 mins – Where Angels Fear to Tread, by E M Forster. Episode 9 of 10. Repeated tonight on BBC7 at 21:00.

10:15/BBC 7/45 mins – Altaban the Magnificent, by Sebastian Baczkiewicz. This is a story of a young scientist in post-war Berlin. Repeated this evening on BBC 7 at 21:15.

11:00/BBC 7/60 mins – The Diary of Samuel Pepys, starring Oliver Parker as Pepys. Episode 4 of 6.

14:15/BBC Radio 4/45 mins- New Metamorphoses/4 – Callisto, by Nick Warburton. Mystery surrounds a picture of a celebrity and a tramp. Starring Shaun Dooley, Joannah Tincey, Rachel Atkins and John Rowe. Ben Onwukwe plays a bouncer, which alone will be worth listening out for!

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Oneira, by Robert Easby. Part 4 of 5 of a science fiction story starring Lyndsey Marshall. Repeated at midnight tonight on BBC 7.

FRIDAY

09:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Fatherland, by Robert Harris. Episode 5 of 5. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 20:00.

10:00/BBC 7/15 mins – Where Angels Fear to Tread, by E M Forster. Episode 10 of 10. Repeated tonight on BBC7 at 21:00.

10:15/BBC 7/45 mins – Blue Veils and Golden Sands, by Martyn Wade. The story of composer Delia Derbyshire, pioneer of electronic music. Repeated this evening on BBC 7 at 21:15.

11:00/BBC 7/60 mins – The Diary of Samuel Pepys, starring Oliver Parker as Pepys. Episode 5 of 6.

14:15/BBC Radio 4/45 mins- New Metamorphoses/5 - Phaeton, by Katie Hims. A promise between a father and son leads to tragic consequences. Rosie Cavaliero, Vincenzo Nicoil, Paul Hilton and Steven Webb star.

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Oneira, by Robert Easby. Part 5 of 5 of a science fiction story starring Lyndsey Marshall. Repeated at midnight tonight on BBC 7.