Art audiobooks

Womble Stories (Vintage Beeb)

By: Elisabeth Beresford

Narrated by: Bernard Cribbins

Length: 46 minutes

Abridged: No

Join Great Uncle Bulgaria, Tobermory, Madame Cholet and all the other Wombles in these six wonderful stories by Elisabeth Beresford. Snow falls on the common, there’s a visit from a Scottish cousin, Wellington finds a balloon, and Madame Cholet goes on extended leave – all with chaotic results! ‘The MacWomble’s Pipe Band’, ‘The Snow Womble’,... Read more

I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again

By: BBC

Narrated by: Bill Oddie, David Hatch, Graeme Garden, Jo Kend...

Length: 37 minutes

Abridged: No

Described by Barry Took as 'A kaleidoscope of funny voices, catch phrase and innuendo revolving at breakneck speed and with a complete disregard for logic', I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again pre-dated I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and showcased the comic talents of Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie. ... Read more

Charles Paris: Cast in Order of Disappearance

By: Simon Brett & Jeremy Front

Narrated by: Bill Nighy, Full Cast, Martine McCutcheon & Suz...

Length: 1 hour 52 minutes

Abridged: No

Charles finds himself uncharacteristically employed in a film, having landed the part of Szabec, a middle management vampire in The Wreathing.

His co-star is swimwear model turned actress Jodie Ricks and before long, Jodie is using Charles as a confidant. Poor Jodie is in terrible trouble - not only is she being blackmailed over some... Read more

The Capture Of Cerberus

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: David Suchet

Length: 1 hour 22 minutes

Abridged: No

Two recently-rediscovered Hercule Poirot short stories byAgatha Christie, read by David Suchet.In 2004, a remarkable archive was unearthed at Agatha Christie’s family home, Greenway – 73 of her private notebooks, filled with pencilled jottings and ideas. Hidden within this literary treasure trove were two rare, never-before-published short... Read more

Accomplices

By: Simon Passmore

Narrated by: Claudia Harrison, Stephen Hogan, Lizzy Watts & ...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

This BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation is a captivating thriller written by Simon Passmore, originally broadcast as the Afternoon Play on 29 June 2009. What would you be prepared to do to escape the grind of a life going relentlessly downhill? For former City lawyer Alice, the price is getting higher by the minute. Stars Claudia Harrison in... Read more

Marlowe's Edward The Second (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

By: Christopher Marlowe

Narrated by: Toby Jones & Patrick Kennedy

Length: 1 hour 59 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's notorious portrait of a weak king in thrall to his passions, who pays the ultimate price for choosing his heart over his political responsibilities. Originally broadcast 13 September 2009 in the ‘Drama on 3’ slot. Edward, preoccupied by the banishment of his lover, Gaveston, barely... Read more

The Windsor Jewels

By: Robin Glendinning

Narrated by: Alan Moore, Amy Clifton, Chris Yapp, Christian ...

Length: 56 minutes

Abridged: No

Robin Glendinning's BBC Radio 4 full-cast black comedy telling the story of a real mystery. Originally broadcast in the ‘Saturday Play’ slot on 11 July 2009. In 1946, the Duke of Windsor (formerly Edward VIII) and his wife (formerly Wallis Simpson) paid a visit to Britain, hoping to secure a government job for the Duke and a title for the... Read more

Smut Two Unseemly Stories The Greening Of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding Of Mrs Forbes

By: Alan Bennett

Narrated by: Alan Bennett

Length: 3 hours 52 minutes

Abridged: No

Two unexpected tales written and read by the best-selling author of The Uncommon Reader, Untold Stories and The History Boys.
"The Greening of Mrs Donaldson" - Mrs Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on the shores of widowhood after a marriage that had been much like many others: happy to begin with, then satisfactory and... Read more

Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?

By: Micky Flanagan

Narrated by: Micky Flanagan

Length: 1 hour 50 minutes

Abridged: No

The complete BBC radio series of Micky Flanagan's autobiographical comedy show - plus pilot episode

'Excellent, funny and poignant' Miranda Sawyer, The Observer

Based on his Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated show What Chance Change?, Micky Flanagan's debut radio series combines brilliant stand-up with insightful behind-the-scenes interviews to tell... Read more

Pericles (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Benjamin Zephaniah, Helen Longworth & Tom Mannion

Length: 1 hour 39 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 3 full-cast dramatisation of Shakespeare’s classic ‘Pericles’, starring Tom Mannion. Originally broadcast in November 2005 and repeated as part of the ‘Drama on 3’ collection in November 2008. Shakespeare's romantic adventure full of tyrants, incest, murder, knights, teenagers, pirates, brothels, sublime poetry, young love, a great... Read more

Shakespeare's Cymbeline

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Full Cast

Length: 2 hours 30 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 3 full-cast dramatisation of Shakespeare’s classic ‘Cymbeline’, starring Bill Wallis. Originally broadcast in December 2006 as part of the ‘Drama on 3’ collection. Shakespeare's play, set during the Roman invasion of Britain, centres around the banishment of the man who has incurred the wrath of the king by secretly marrying his... Read more

Prospero, Ariel, Reith and Gill

By: Gary Brown

Narrated by: Alison Pettitt, David Seddon, Jonathan Glover, ...

Length: 43 minutes

Abridged: No

Gary Brown's BBC Radio 4 full-cast comedy dramatisation about artist Eric Gill's clash with the BBC over his famous sculpture of Prospero and Ariel, starring Anton Lesser as Eric Gill and Tim McInnerny as Sir John Reith, the first Director General of the Corporation. Originally broadcast in the ‘Afternoon Play’ slot on Wednesday 9 June 2010. ... Read more

Mum's On The Run The complete series

By: Alexis Zegerman

Narrated by: John Gordon Sinclair, Alexis Zegerman, Christin...

Length: 2 hours 47 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast comedy by Alexis Zegerman about the hectic life of a single mother, originally broadcast 25 August - 29 September 2010.

'Mum's on the Run' is a modern-day twist on the single-family situation. It follows the hectic life ('What life?') of single mum, Jen. Mother of two, Master of none - Jen seems to spend most of her time... Read more

We Are Klang

By: Marek Larwood, Steve Hall & Greg Davies

Narrated by: Greg Davies, Steve Hall & Marek Larwood

Length: 1 hour 52 minutes

Abridged: No

The specially commissioned BBC radio series from the trio who were nominated for an if.comedy award. 'We Are Klang' are three stand-up comedians: Greg Davies - ‘a very fat Rik Mayall’ - Steve Hall - ‘a poor man’s David Baddiel’ - and the hairless Marek Larwood - ‘a homeless Matt Lucas’. Their sell out Edinburgh show was nominated for an... Read more

Armstrong And Miller The Complete Radio Series

By: Alexander Armstrong & Ben Miller

Narrated by: Alexander Armstrong, Ben Miller, Samuel West & ...

Length: 57 minutes

Abridged: No

Welcome to the strange world of Armstrong and Miller, which includes some comedy sketches with tough-guy cops in 'Parsons and Lampkin' (and Lampkin’s mate Steve), and there’s an insider’s view of National Trousers Day – ‘because involvement should be as easy as a walk to the wardrobe’. More highlights include some really macho rock climbers,... Read more

Frankenstein

By: Mary Shelley

Narrated by: Full Cast, John Wood & Michael Maloney

Length: 1 hour 53 minutes

Abridged: No

Frankenstein, first published in 1818, is widely recognised as being one of the first 'science fiction' novels. Starring Michael Maloney as Frankenstein and John Wood as the Creature, this spine-tingling dramatisation perfectly conveys the book's pervasive sense of unease and dread. Victor Frankenstein, an ambitious young scientist and seeker... Read more

Betjeman's Britain Poems From The BBC Archive

By: BBC & John Betjeman

Narrated by: John Betjeman

Length: 2 hours 3 minutes

Abridged: No

Sir John Betjeman was one of the best-known and loved Poet Laureates. Even after his death, his popularity continues to garner acclaim and new admirers. Fortunately, he left behind a legacy of poetry readings and performances in the BBC archives that can be enjoyed in this comprehensive collection. Selected from over thirty years of radio and... Read more

Summoned By Bells A Life In Verse

By: John Betjeman

Narrated by: John Betjeman

Length: 2 hours

Abridged: No

'For myself/ I knew as soon as I could read and write/ That I must be a poet. Even today,/ When all the way from Cambridge comes a wind/ To blow the lamps out every time they're lit/ I know that I must light mine up again.' From his earliest boyhood memories of Highgate and Archibald, his old stuffed bear, through to his undergraduate years at... Read more

Noel Coward An Audio Biography

By: Sheridan Morley

Narrated by: Sheridan Morley

Length: 2 hours 33 minutes

Abridged: No

Playwright, actor, singer, songwriter, poet, and scriptwriter, Sir Noël Coward used his "talent to amuse" to spectacular effect for almost 60 years.

Sir Laurence Olivier, Lord Mountbatten, and Joyce Carey are just some of the voices heard paying tribute to the elegant star in this audio biography, which is linked by the broadcaster and critic... Read more

La Princesse De Clèves (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

By: Madame de Lafayette

Narrated by: Melody Grove, Liam Brennan, Candida Benson & Fu...

Length: 1 hour 14 minutes

Abridged: No

Madame de Lafayette's classic tale of intrigue and love, ‘La Princesse de Clèves’, dramatised for BBC Radio 3 and originally broadcast in the ‘Drama on 3’ slot on 28 February 2010. Set in the 16th Century, the play follows the life of a beautiful young lady newly presented to Court. It's the reign of Henri II and Mary Queen of Scots is safely... Read more

The Custom Of The Country

By: Edith Wharton

Narrated by: Barbara Barnes, Full Cast & Rebecca Night

Length: 2 hours 49 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Edith Wharton’s 1913 satire of marriage and money in early-20th century American society. The play follows the beautiful Undine Spragg as she arrives in New York and sets her sights on Ralph Marvell, then travels to Paris where she meets a charming French aristocrat. Will Undine ever find real happiness? ... Read more

Pattern Of Painful Adventures, The (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

By: Stephen Wakelam

Narrated by: Antony Sher, Stephen Critchlow & Will Keen

Length: 1 hour 28 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 3 full-cast drama by Stephen Wakelam on a period in the life of Shakespeare, ‘The Pattern of Painful Adventures’, originally broadcast in the ‘Drama on 3’ slot on 23 November 2008 and repeated on 25 April 2010. Business is going well, but the playwright urgently needs a collaborator for his latest play. His daughter is getting... Read more

God's President Mugabe Of Zimbabwe (BBC Radio 4 Friday Play)

By: Kwame Kwei-Armah

Narrated by: Lucian Msamati & Danny Sapani

Length: 56 minutes

Abridged: No

In 2010, the 30th anniversary year of the Independence of Zimbabwe, BBC Radio 4 commissioned two Friday Plays from leading writers. The first play, ‘God's President: Mugabe of Zimbabwe’ by Kwame Kwei-Armah, tells the story of the tense negotiations around the Lancaster House Conference, and the road to Zimbabwe's Independence. On 4th March 1980... Read more

Atching Tan

By: Dan Allum

Narrated by: Dean Loveridge, Maryanne Loveridge & Sharon Lov...

Length: 44 minutes

Abridged: No

A BBC Radio 4 drama by Dan Allum, ‘Atching Tan’ was recorded on location on a Traveller site, with all Traveller parts cast from the Traveller community. Originally broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 23 November 2010. Lovvie Arkley is torn. Does she marry childhood sweetheart Nelius and live a traditional yet isolated Traveller life? Or does... Read more