Radio Drama preview/6

As a consequence of the sad demise of OneWord, Planet Rock and The Jazz, there is now more space in the radio listings in Radio Times. They have decided to use it to extend the information given on BBC 7 programs, which is very good news.

As is quite often the case, a highlight of the week’s drama is on Sunday night on Radio 3. Following on from his success playing Socrates a few weeks ago, Joss Ackland this week plays ‘Big Daddy’ in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, supported by a very strong cast.

On Monday BBC 7 begins the 20-part Martyn Wade adaptation of Trollope’s Barchester novels that was so successful some years ago. This first-class adaptation is performed by a great cast and accompanied by some haunting incidental music. There is much to enjoy here. Throughout the series, at different times, listen out for Alec McCowen (Septimus Harding), Stephen Moore (quite often in wonderful splenetic form as Dr Grantly), Peter Howell (the Bishop of Barchester), Simon Russell Beale (Slope), Clive Francis (Arabin), David Horovitch (Dr Proudie), Rosemary Leach (Mrs Proudie) and, in the final episodes, Kenneth Cranham (Crawley).

I don’t have anything against readings, especially when such a good reader as William Hootkins does them. On Sunday on BBC 7 at 18:30 we can hear him reading the first of two episodes of We Can Remember it for You Wholesale. Hootkins did a few readings for the BBC, including this one, and some drama. If you find his voice appealing then do have a listen to two recordings he made for Naxos shortly before his death – they are both remarkable, monumental, unabridged readings of classic American literature. First is Hiawatha and then, almost unbelievably, Moby Dick, which runs to over twenty hours. The Hiawatha lasts about 4 hours and I seem to remember reading some time ago that Hootkins did it as a warm-up for the Melville.

The Radio 4 Afternoon Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday is a bit different. There are 6 short plays split over the two days and there are accompanying visuals available online during the broadcast. This doesn’t sound like radio, but I’m open to persuasion.

SATURDAY 15th March

12:00/BBC 7/90 mins – The Secret Parts, by David Edgar. A murder mystery starring Celia Imrie, Frances Barber and Nathaniel Parker. First broadcast on Radio 4 in 2000.

14:30/BBC Radio 4/60 mins – The Dark Side, by David Chapel. A comic adventure about an MP’s researcher who becomes a lobbyist, starring Sam Troughton. Listen out for radio regulars Stephen Critchlow, Ben Crowe, Helen Longworth, Chris Pavlo, John Rowe and Ben Onwukwe. Part 1 of 2.

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! Repeated this evening at 23:00 on BBC 7.

18:30/BBC 7/30 mins – Dalek, I Love You, by Colin Sharpe. This is a tale about a Doctor Who fan and features David Raynor, Fiona Clarke and Charlie Hardwick.

21:00/BBC Radio 4/60 mins – Mr Standfast, by John Buchan, dramatised by Bert Coules, starring David Robb, Clive Merrison, Struan Rodger and including Peter Marinker and Ben Crowe. This story is set during the First World War. [Radio Times] includes this introduction – "Richard Hannay is ordered to pose as a pacifist and sent to Glasgow. Along the way he meets a teenage British Secret Service agent who will change the course of his life." Part 1 of 2, with part 2 being broadcast tomorrow at 15:00.

SUNDAY 16th March

15:00/BBC Radio 4/60 mins - Mr Standfast, by John Buchan, dramatised by Bert Coules, starring David Robb, Clive Merrison, Struan Rodger and including Ben Onwukwe and Chris Pavlo. This story is set during the First World War. Radio Times includes this introduction – "Richard Hannay pursues the German spy Moxon Ivery to Fance, where Mary Lamington offers herself as a bait in a deadly trap." I’ll listen to this for these reasons. First, I enjoyed last week’s episode, but secondly, and just as important, it has been dramatised by Bert Coules. Bert has, over the years, successfully adapted many classic tales for radio, most memorably many of the Radio 4 Sherlock Holmes stories that starred Clive Merrison and Michael Williams.

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Never the Bride. This adaptation of a novel by Paul Magrs has been good fun for the last couple of weeks, so I shall certainly be listening to this final episode. Featuring Joanna Tope, Monica Gibb, Sean Scanlan, Gareth Thomas and John Paul Hurle. Repeated later today at 12:00 midnight on BBC 7.

18:30/BBC 7/30 mins – We Can Remember it for You Wholesale, by Philip K Dick. This isn’t drama at all, but a reading of the story that formed the basis of the film Total Recall. As well as enjoying the plot, revel in this marvellous reading by the late William Hootkins. Part 1 of 2. Repeated very early tomorrow morning at 00:30 on BBC 7.

20:00/BBC Radio 3/120 mins – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, by Tennessee Williams. This broadcast of the original version of this famous play stars Joss Ackland, Gemma Jones, Elizabeth McGovern, Marcus D’Amico, Alison Steadman, etc.

MONDAY 17th March

09:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Paul Temple and the Geneva Mystery, by Francis Durbridge, starring Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury. Episode 3 of 6. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 20:00.

09:30/BBC 7/30 mins – The Singing Sands, by Josephine Tey. This is a new production for BBC 7 and is a classic mystery story by the author of The Daughter of Time and features the same police officer, Alan Grant. Difficult to tell from Radio Times or BBC 7’s trails whether this is a drama or a reading, but I shall be listening whatever. Episode 1 of 4. Repeated tonight at 20:30 on BBC 7.

10:00/BBC 7/15 mins – The Real Dennis Truelove, by Dave Sheasby. Fine Time Fontayne, Denys Hawthorne and Iwan Thomas feature in this story about a man who escapes his boring job. Episode 1 of 5. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 21:00.

10:15/BBC 7/45 mins – Daunt and Dervish - After the Ball is Over, by Guy Meredith, starring Imelda Staunton and Anna Massey. Two women set up a detective agency at the end of World War II. Episode 1 of 5. Repeated this evening on BBC 7 at 21:15.

11:00/BBC 7/60 mins – The Barchester Chronicles – The Warden/1, by Anthony Trollope, dramatised by Martyn Wade. Episode 1 of 20.

11:30/BBC Radio 4/30 mins – Dixon of Dock Green. An adaptation by Sue Rodwell of a Ted Willis TV script from the classic television series. David Calder stars as George Dixon and David Tennant as Andy Crawford. Part 2 of 6.

14:15/BBC Radio 4/45 mins – Baldi – A Very Neglected Fish, by John Murphy. Franciscan priest Paolo Baldi finds himself in the middle of another mystery. David Threlfall takes the lead part, ably supported by series regulars Tara Flynn and Owen Roe. James D’Arcy and Amanda Root also feature in this story about celebrity chefs.

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – The Silent Scream, by Wally K Daly. First broadcast on Radio 4 in 1979, this serial follows on from Before the Screaming Begins, being the second of three serials. Part 3 of 3. 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, Suzanne Burden and Julian Rhind-Tutt star in this adaptation of one of Simon Brett’s entertaining novels about Charles Paris. Episode 3 of 4.

TUESDAY 18th March

09:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Paul Temple and the Geneva Mystery, by Francis Durbridge, starring Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury. Episode 4 of 6. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 20:00.

09:30/BBC 7/30 mins – The Singing Sands, by Josephine Tey. This is a new production for BBC 7 and is a classic mystery story by the author of The Daughter of Time and features the same police officer, Alan Grant. Difficult to tell from Radio Times or BBC 7’s trails whether this is a drama or a reading, but I shall be listening whatever. Episode 2 of 4. Repeated tonight at 20:30 on BBC 7.

10:00/BBC 7/15 mins – The Real Dennis Truelove, by Dave Sheasby. Fine Time Fontayne, Denys Hawthorne and Iwan Thomas feature in this story about a man who escapes his boring job. Episode 2 of 5. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 21:00.

10:15/BBC 7/45 mins – Daunt and Dervish – South of the Border, by Guy Meredith, starring Imelda Staunton and Anna Massey. Two women set up a detective agency at the end of World War II. Episode 2 of 5. Repeated this evening on BBC 7 at 21:15.

11:00/BBC 7/60 mins – The Barchester Chronicles – The Warden/2, by Anthony Trollope, dramatised by Martyn Wade. Episode 2 of 20.

14:15/BBC Radio 4/45 mins – Mrs Mabb, by Susanna Clarke, dramatised by Judith Adams and starring Emma Fielding and Jasmine Hyde. Presumably the author is the same Susanna Clarke who wrote the fascinating novel Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, so this play is on the ‘must-listen’ list.

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – With a Whimper to the Grave, by Wally K Daly. First broadcast on Radio 4 in 1984, this serial follows on from The Silent Scream, being the third of three serials. Part 1 of 3. Repeated at midnight tonight on BBC 7.

WEDNESDAY 19th March

09:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Paul Temple and the Geneva Mystery, by Francis Durbridge, starring Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury. Episode 5 of 6. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 20:00.

09:30/BBC 7/30 mins – The Singing Sands, by Josephine Tey. This is a new production for BBC 7 and is a classic mystery story by the author of The Daughter of Time and features the same police officer, Alan Grant. Difficult to tell from Radio Times or BBC 7’s trails whether this is a drama or a reading, but I shall be listening whatever. Episode 3 of 4. Repeated tonight at 20:30 on BBC 7.

10:00/BBC 7/15 mins – The Real Dennis Truelove, by Dave Sheasby. Fine Time Fontayne, Denys Hawthorne and Iwan Thomas feature in this story about a man who escapes his boring job. Episode 3 of 5. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 21:00.

10:15/BBC 7/45 mins – Daunt and Dervish – A Question of Class, by Guy Meredith, starring Imelda Staunton and Anna Massey. Two women set up a detective agency at the end of World War II. Episode 3 of 5. Repeated this evening on BBC 7 at 21:15.

11:00/BBC 7/60 mins – The Barchester Chronicles – Barchester Towers/1, by Anthony Trollope, dramatised by Martyn Wade. Episode 3 of 20.

14:15/BBC Radio 4/45 mins – The City Speaks – 1/2. To quote Radio Times – "In this unique co-production, Peter Ackroyd’s short story, in which the Virgin Mary makes an appearance in London, is the inspiration for six dramas and films, which can be seen and heard simultaneously." The accompanying film can be viewed on-line or by pressing your TV’s red button. Today’s three short plays are Pushing by Lin Coghlan, I Am Not You Are Not Me by Mike Walker and Broken Chain by Mark Norfolk. Continued tomorrow at 14:15.

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – With a Whimper to the Grave, by Wally K Daly. First broadcast on Radio 4 in 1984, this serial follows on from The Silent Scream, being the third of three serials. Part 2 of 3. 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 4 of 5.

THURSDAY 20th March

09:00/BBC 7/30 mins – Paul Temple and the Geneva Mystery, by Francis Durbridge, starring Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury. Episode 6 of 6. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 20:00.

09:30/BBC 7/30 mins – The Singing Sands, by Josephine Tey. This is a new production for BBC 7 and is a classic mystery story by the author of The Daughter of Time and features the same police officer, Alan Grant. Difficult to tell from Radio Times or BBC 7’s trails whether this is a drama or a reading, but I shall be listening whatever. Episode 4 of 4. Repeated tonight at 20:30 on BBC 7.

10:00/BBC 715 mins – The Real Dennis Truelove, by Dave Sheasby. Fine Time Fontayne, Denys Hawthorne and Iwan Thomas feature in this story about a man who escapes his boring job. Episode 4 of 5. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 21:00.

10:15/BBC 7/45 mins – Daunt and Dervish – Games of Chance, by Guy Meredith, starring Imelda Staunton and Anna Massey. Two women set up a detective agency at the end of World War II. Episode 4 of 5. Repeated this evening on BBC 7 at 21:15.

11:00/BBC 7/60 mins – The Barchester Chronicles – Barchester Towers/2, by Anthony Trollope, dramatised by Martyn Wade. Episode 4 of 20.

14:15/BBC Radio 4/45 mins – The City Speaks – 2/2. For a description of this program, see yesterday at the same time. Today’s three dramas are Yalda by Mehrdad Seyf, Ayshe’s Tale by Alison Joseph and Make Your Way by Nick Warburton.

18:00/BBC 7/30 mins – With a Whimper to the Grave, by Wally K Daly. First broadcast on Radio 4 in 1984, this serial follows on from The Silent Scream, being the third of three serials. Part 3 of 3. Repeated at midnight tonight on BBC 7.

FRIDAY 21st March

10:00/BBC 7/15 mins – The Real Dennis Truelove, by Dave Sheasby. Fine Time Fontayne, Denys Hawthorne and Iwan Thomas feature in this story about a man who escapes his boring job. Episode 5 of 5. Repeated tonight on BBC 7 at 21:00.

10:15/BBC 7/45 mins – Daunt and Dervish – The Singer Not the Song, by Guy Meredith, starring Imelda Staunton and Anna Massey. Two women set up a detective agency at the end of World War II. Episode 5 of 5. Repeated this evening on BBC 7 at 21:15.

11:00/BBC 7/60 mins – The Barchester Chronicles – Barchester Towers/3, by Anthony Trollope, dramatised by Martyn Wade. Episode 5 of 20.

14:15/BBC Radio 4/45 mins – Fair Play, by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal and dramatised by Sue Glover. Colette O’Neill and Sheila Reid star in this tale about love between two older women.

21:00/BBC Radio 4/60 mins – The Day King Hammer Fell From the Sky, by Gregory Whitehead, with a poem by Jon Swan. This welcome return, after a fortnight away, of The Friday Play, is about what happens when a headless corpse falls from the sky onto one of America’s famous universities.