Drama on Radio 3

Here is the latest offering on BBC Radio 3. Please visit the LibraryThing Radio 3 group for further information about downloading, streaming this broadcast.

Drama on 3
On: BBC Radio Three
Date: Sunday 16th May 2010 (starting in 2 days)
Time: 20:00 to 20:30 (30 minutes long)

Krapp's Last Tape, by Samuel Beckett.

A production of the classic stage play, broadcast as a tribute to actor Corin Redgrave, who died last month. On his 69th birthday, Krapp sits down to record a tape as he has done every year. With Corin Redgrave.
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Directors: Polly Thomas, Carrie Rooney

Thanks for posting the notice. Hope to tune in--they archive programs for a period of time, don't they? So if you miss the initial broadcast, you can still tune it (at a more convenient time)...

Yes, you can visit the BBC website and access the broadcasts up to seven days after transmission, in excellent sound. I like to copy these transmissions, burn them to CD and listen to them in the car or on the train.

And isn't Radio 3 also the station doing all the Le Carre adaptations? I listened to the "Smiley" trilogy and thought it sublime...

I think that's probably BBC Radio 7. They do some excellent things - you will probably still be able to catch John Milton's Paradise Lost, for example.

No, the Le Carre is on Radio Four.

Thank you for the clarification.

"Krapp's Last Tape" is quite good, but I think the play that follows, "Embers", is even better. Michael Gambon is wonderful and Sinead Cusack appears in a supporting role. I found it riveting and urge you all to give it a listen. I think the radio drama format was perfect for Beckett and both these productions are superbly produced and thoroughly enjoyable. Don't miss them...

I also had the chance to listen to this. I grabbed my copy of the play and read along to Redgrave's performance. I'm so glad I got the chance to hear this fine actor. Thanks for the heads up, antimuzak.

Group members may be interested in the following broadcast:

DRAMA: Drama on 3
On: BBC Radio Three
Date: Sunday 19th September 2010 (starting this evening)
Time: 18:45 to 23:00 (4 hours and 15 minutes long)

Goethe's Faust, one of the pillars of Western literature, is presented in a dramatisation by David Timson.

By Johann Wolfgang Goethe, translated by John R. Williams, with Samuel West as Faust, Toby Jones as Mephistopheles, Anna Maxwell Martin as Gretchen and Derek Jacobi as The Lord. Adapted and directed by David Timson, with music composed by Roger Marsh.

Goethe's Faust, one of the pillars of Western literature, is presented in a dramatisation by David Timson. In Part 1, following an agreement between Mephistopheles and The Lord, the scholar Faust is tempted into a contract with the Devil. His life is changed and he plunges into the enjoyment of sensuality until his emotions are stirred by a meeting with Gretchen, leading to a tragic outcome. Part 2, written much later in Goethe's life, presents a series of episodic scenes in which the poet places his eponymous hero in a variety of surprising circumstances reflecting the predicament of humanity. Funny, reflective and moving, this dramatisation shows why Goethe's Faust had such a massive influence on Western culture.

Faust ..... Samuel West
Mephistopheles ..... Toby Jones
Gretchen ..... Anna Maxwell Martin
The Lord ..... Derek Jacobi
Wagner (Faust's assistant) ..... Stephen Critchlow
Martha ..... Joannah Tincey
Valentin (Gretchen's brother) ..... Peter Kenny
Helen ..... Emily Raymond
The Emperor ..... Gunnar Cauthery
The Earth Spirit and Thales ..... Sean Barrett
Lord Chancellor and Anaxagoras ..... Hugh Dickson
Homunculus ..... Anne-Marie Piazza
Nereus ..... Gerard Horan
Chiron and Proteus ..... Gunnar Cauthery
Manto and Panthalis ..... Auriol Smith
Lynceus ..... Peter Kenny
Care ..... Emily Raymond
Euphorion ..... Daniel Mair

Wow! Thanks for that. Love, LOVE radio drama.

Drama on 3
On: BBC Radio Three
Date: Sunday 3rd October 2010 (starting this evening)
Time: 20:00 to 21:30 (1 hour and 30 minutes long)

The Hairy Ape, By Eugene O'neill.

A classic American expressionist drama from 1921. It tells the tragic tale of Yank, a stoker whose whole world is turned upside down when a young heiress ventures into the engine room of a transatlantic ocean liner. Starring Dominic West, Shaun Dingwall, Jim Norton, Sasha Pick, Annabelle Dowler and John Guerrasio. Other parts played by John Kay Steel, Joe Montana, Matt Addis, David Hargreaves, Stephen Hogan, Benjamin Askew and Philip Fox.
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Director: Toby Swift

Good catch and thanks for the tip.

BBC Radio has adapted Gogol's DEAD SOULS, starring none other than Michael Palin. Tune in here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wylht

(Part II tomorrow)

A new audio version of Huck Finn deletes the n-word:

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/04/new-edition-of-huckleberry-finn-to-drop-n-word...

Silly, silly, silly...

I watched Kind Hearts and Coronets on TCM the other day. They used the N word twice. Once in a nursery rhyme. Eeenie meenie minee mo. Catch an N-word by the toe. If he hollers let him go. Eenie meenie minee mo. I was surprised it wasn't bleeped, but it wasn't. People were so cruel that way back in the forties. Now we have whole new sets of people to be pointlessly cruel toward and the social authority to be cruel toward them.

Michael Palin, reading a "Biggles" adventure:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b007lnqr/Biggles_Flies_North_Biggles_Gets_a...

Cardinal Biggles?

http://media.photobucket.com/image/cardinal%20biggles/David_Manning/J-OMG/Spanis...

Something that may be of interest.......

Drama on 3
On: BBC Radio Three (703)
Date: Sunday 27th March 2011 (starting in 1 day)
Time: 20:00 to 21:30 (1 hour and 30 minutes long)

Wuthering Heights.

A new adaptation by Jonathan Holloway of Emily Bronte's great novel of violent obsession. With Carl Prekopp, Natalie Press, Janine Duvitski, Samuel Barnett, David Birrell, Hayley Doherty and Russell Boulter.

>20 antimuzak: - what is the point of yet another adaptation of Wuthering Heights? The big selling point appears to be that it has been modernised to include swearing. So what? Is this really the best the BBC can do?

I think I'll probably give it a listen, though I don't expect it to be my cup of tea. I generally prefer audiobooks or television adaptations over radio dramatizations to begin with, and I'm not convinced that the addition of swearing will capture the original 'shock' of the book (as the writer claims).

I listened to one of the new Professor Challenger adaptations the other day, with Bill Patterson as the irascible title character. The story was silly but I liked the production.

I have to say I adore well-made radio dramas and BBC often does a terrific job.

The trouble with people adapting famous characters/books these days is they're always tempted to update the original, make it faster, more modern, whatever. But the best adaptations try to reproduce the original with even greater accuracy and authenticity--I think of the recent Philip Marlowe radio plays BBC produced, with Toby Stephens in the lead role. They would've made Raymond Chandler smile--solid productions, lines taken right from the books. Marvelous...

Listen to Alan Bennett's "An Englishman Abroad":

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007jyxz

Only 7 days left, so scurry over there...

Sam Lipsyte reads Tom McGuane's "The Cowboy" and discusses the author with a NEW YORKER editor:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/2011/04/25/110425on_audio_lipsyte

"At the Mountains of Madness" read on BBC 4:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vpkkt

(Available for only 1 week)

BBC 4 Extra is replaying some old Walter de la Mare ghost stories. I listened to "All Hallows" last night, read by Richard E. Grant, and it was genuinely spooky.

Philip K. Dick's DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP on BBC Radio:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vvvz4

Really enjoying the 1-hour dramas on the Beeb dealing with some of the great and notorious Caesars:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00d0bt7

Theater of the mind. Incredible stuff.

Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate - 13 parts/8 hours on BBC Radio4 over the next week

Began yesterday. Looks like each installment will be available for 30 days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/lifeandfate

Looks great! Thanks, mon.

>30 beardo:: I'm listening; and Woman's Hour Drama is also 'doing' Vasily Grossman
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b014pw49/

Gonna throw a couple of his books on my next library order, methinks.

H.P. Lovecraft dramatized on the Beeb:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b015flrz

Superb BBC Radio doc on the life of GORMENGHAST creator, Mervyn Peake:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01292v3

Mr. Peake's later life was fraught with tragedy and--oops, sorry, no spoilers. Enjoy the doc.

This has kind of morphed in the BBC Radio thread and why not? The Beeb is still a fantastic repository for spoken word and drama, as is evidenced by this presentation of Alan Bennett's THE UNCOMMON READER.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01j8n6d/episodes/player

Alan Bennett--love the man.

(This production only available in its entirety for the next couple of days.)

A look at the life of Viv Stanshall, founder of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b007kdyf/Big_Shot_A_Trip_Through_the_Canyon...

Narrated by Stephen Fry.

I know I'm a bit slow on the uptake, but I've recently been enjoying the "Radiolab" (NPR) podcasts:

http://www.radiolab.org/series/podcasts/

Other fans out there?

There was an article on the show and its host in a recent issue of MOTHER JONES.

I'm part of CCLaP's "Podcast Dreadful" series:

http://driftlessareareview.com/2012/08/22/cclap-fridays-wednesday-podcast-dreadf...

Michael Palin in Gogol's LOST SOULS:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wylht

(Limited time offer!)

Podcast Dreadful Episode 1 now live!

http://www.cclapcenter.com/2012/09/cclaps_podcast_dreadful_1_of_1.html

(Or would this shameless promotion be better served in the "Personal Messages" thread?)

Tuned in to your segment, Karl, it was a hoot. Hope it does well for you. You dropped more references than six volumes of ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA.

By Jupiter's Ghost, you are correct! Gotta say, I love writing serialized fiction. Does this negate my snob-worthiness?

Nahhhhhh...

41: Yours was interesting. The references made me grin and it was accurately cast in the penny dreadful mode. Frankly, the worst part of it was the narrator's inability to portray accents - for which I'd probably prefer it as text.

The latest installment of the "BBC World Book Club" features Paul Auster:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/wbc

Old time radio drama available here:

http://www.radiomickdanger.com/index.php

Lots of "Jeeves & Wooster", "Sam Spade", etc.

Great way to wind down a tough day.

Iain Sinclair presents a documentary on W.G. Sebald:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b044j7pt

Excellent BBC Radio production of Kafka's THE TRIAL:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04k6p4c

Adapted by Hanif Kureishi.

BBC strikes gold again with another brilliant adaptation, this time "Oblomov", starring Toby Jones:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076t2t

BBC Radio 4 is also replaying the "Complete George Smiley", with Simon Russell Beale doing excellent service as the crafty, old spy.

Toby Jones, whom I've enjoyed in everything I've seen him in.

Right, I've made the correction.

Loved Jones in "Berberian Sound Studio", one of my favourite films of the last few years.

I saw this when it played in Edinburgh and it was great - The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler. There were some visual effects that added to the overall effect so I'm not sure how it will play as audio only.

Naturally, it helps if you know who Ivor Cutler is. He was a favourite of John Peel and played tour bus guide in The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour. This documentary may explain some of his appeal - Archive on 4: Ivor Cutler at 90.

Steve Buscemi and Elliott Sharp combine to pay homage to William Burroughs:

https://infrequentseams.bandcamp.com/album/rub-out-the-word

(From Gord)

A BBC program devoted to John D. MacDonald, written and narrated by thriller writer Lee Child:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07x6j4n

Brian Eno gives "John Peel Lecture":

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p033smwp

(Cheers, Gord)

I love radio plays. Since I'm not a TV viewer and I always need to multi-task; they make the most sense for me in my leisure time. Something light and non-crucial that I can listen to with one ear while concentrating on stuff of my own. Also, I want no part of 'audio books' and I love that radio programs are free. Win/win.

And occasionally, gems turn up. I was working alone late one night when the horrifying, 'The Thing on the Fourbleboard' came over the air...

Good radio drama is wonderful--I saw an interview with Jeremy Brett and he insisted radio was the best format for the "Sherlock Holmes" stories and I think he's right.

The BBC Radio adaptations of the Holmes canon, starring Clive Merrison and Michael Williams, are sublime.

Ditto, the "Jeeves/Wooster" productions, with Briers and Hordern.

Too true! Well said.

Sherlock Holmes radio plays are voluminous; they are legion. Extremely long-running productions.
There's a series with Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce, which they did at the same time as they were also doing the movie series.

Then later, there's Bruce & Tom Conway and then Bruce & John Stanley...then still another series with Alfred Shirley as Watson and Stanley again as Holmes. You really need a scorecard to keep track.

Personal fave: Ralph Richardson as Watson and John Gielgud as Holmes. Very high production quality; really I'd label them the definitive versions (at least for me, they are). Orson Welles plays Moriarty!

And speaking of Welles, the Mercury Theater did 'The Case of Alice Faulkner' with Welles as Holmes. Scratchy sound quality but still, great stuff.

Maybe you can recommend some versions I'm unfamiliar with? Is there a Brett & Hardwicke series on radio?

Don't think Brett/Hardwicke did radio...but there was the stage production, "The Secret of Sherlock Holmes" (written by Jeremy Paul), which they toured throughout Great Britain.

A strange offering in the Holmes canon, Billy Wilder's "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes", which was a curio but didn't strike my fancy.

I'll always have a soft spot for "The Seven Per Cent Solution", with Nicol Williamson as Holmes.

>60 CliffBurns: - The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes may have played better if it hadn't been cut so much.

Murder by Decree starring Christopher Plummer and James Mason as Holmes & Watson investigating Jack the Ripper is a decent pastiche.

The BBC have also adapted some of Holmes' rivals: The Tales of Max Carrados are still available (Carrados' usp is that he is blind) and there is The Rivals where Lestrade helps some of the rivals solve crimes.

Naturally, I have a soft spot for McLevy set in 19th century Leith and starring Brian Cox. (Leith is technically part of Edinburgh but most Leithers view Edinburgh council as an occupying force).

Well sure, the list of Holmes movies and TV is staggeringly long. Huge. But if there's any more obscure radio Holmes you know if, that's bound to be much more concise-- if you know of any I might be unaware of, please pipe up!

>62 Jargoneer: I googled 'usp' in an admittedly cursory way and think that that's likely a slightly sardonic use of 'unique selling point' rather than having to do with pharmaceutical matters--?

I searched for a list of archive radio documentaries some of them on literary matters from RTE, our state broadcaster--Documentary on One has got tall heaps of international awards for programmes managed by a small crew and often produced by amateurs--to link to here without success, but scrolling down a bit on this link might offer a few Finds: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/2009/0616/646036-links/.

eta, and I've read many of the Max Carrados stories and rather recommend them. Am not by any means keen on detective stories, but those were pleasant & satisfying.

>63 Dzerzhinsky: - have you visited this site - Old Time Radio - Sherlock Holmes?

>64 bluepiano: - I was torn between using gimmick and USP. You see it a lot around the time of Holmes, where writers wanted to get in on the detective craze but wanted to differentiate their man (or very occasionally woman - that in itself may be a USP) and Doyle's. It also allows the writer to show off their ingenuity. Nowadays the detective tends to given a flaw - alcohol, divorced and alienated from children, etc.

That's a dandy OTR bookmark to add to my existing ones. It appears that all the downloads are free and there's good variety. Much obliged to you.

'Digital Deli' is where I typically go to learn the backstory behind each show. Energetic documentation.

Some of these radio performers had amazing careers; the volume of work they did and their various vocal gifts were extraordinary. Jumping from show-to-show and from genre-to-genre. Thirty yr careers. And then even after that, you'd still see that some of them made the shift to TV and worked for another twenty yrs.

Even the old-timey radio commersials are fun. It's a hoot to hear the Phillip-Morris company 'positively' assuring smokers (via independent testing laboratories) that Chesterfields cause absolutely no ill effects to smokers.

Caught Herbert Marshall (famed English light-comedy star, worked closely with Ernst Lubitsch) doing 'the Mystery of Edwin Drood' last night. This Dickens book is one I've never had any interest in reading; so I consider this rather a 'free peek'

Great program on BBC Radio--a documentary about the "Eerie" that is still present in the U.K. landscape:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p07276tl

NPR program about the CIA's attempts to change minds and influence people...with psychotropic drugs:

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/09/758989641/the-cias-secret-quest-for-mind-control-...

Podcasts of interviews and features on writers at the London Review of Books:

https://www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/events

I've listened to interviews with Slavoj Zizek and Robert Chandler (translator of Vasily Grossman).