Performance audiobooks

King Lear

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Corin Redgrave, David Troughton, Full Cast, Ger...

Length: 2 hours 37 minutes

Abridged: No

In this BBC full-cast production, King Lear tests his three daughters' love, with disastrous consequences.

Some of the most stirring scenes Shakespeare ever wrote resonate powerfully in this dramatic radio production. Tortured madness, pure evil, and the fatal struggle for power grip the listener until the final, shockingly tragic... Read more

Julius Caesar

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Stella Gonet, Nicholas Farrell, Full Cast, Gera...

Length: 2 hours 20 minutes

Abridged: No

In this BBC full-cast production, Julius Caesar is triumphant after his victory over the sons of Pompey. But as bad omens and weather plague Rome, even his most loyal friends are starting to see the signs...

Political intrigue and fierce battle rage in this tense and dynamic production in which a country is torn apart under the legacy of Julius... Read more

Henry IV Part Two

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Full Cast, Timothy West, Jamie Glover, Julian G...

Length: 2 hours 17 minutes

Abridged: No

In this BBC full-cast production of Henry IV Part 2, civil war is ravaging England. Rebels are rallying together, unified against Henry. Will Henry and his son, Hal, emerge victorious - or alive?

Father and son Julian Glover and Jamie Glover star as King Henry and his son Hal in the powerful production which also stars Timothy West and Prunella... Read more

Coriolanus

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Adrian Dunbar, Full Cast, Kenneth Cranham, Samu...

Length: 2 hours 43 minutes

Abridged: No

In this BBC full-cast production of Coriolanus, allies and enemies become blurred just as Rome is in sight...

Coriolanus tells of a proud Roman general who captures the town Corioli but subsequently falls from favour with the Roman people. He allies himself with the Volscians and leads an attack on Rome, but allegiances are won and lost before... Read more

As You Like It

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: David Morrissey, Full Cast, Helena Bonham Carte...

Length: 1 hour 59 minutes

Abridged: No

In this BBC full-cast production of As You Like It, Rosalind is banished from the Royal court, heartbroken over Orlando. Will the two find a way to reunite?

A comedy of wit, disguise and love, Shakespeare's tale about the enchanted world of the Forest of Arden remains as moving as it is funny.

Helena Bonham Carter stars as Rosalind, with David... Read more

Antony And Cleopatra

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Colin Tierney, David Harewood, Frances Barber, ...

Length: 2 hours 55 minutes

Abridged: No

In this BBC full-cast production of Antony and Cleopatra, the soldier and noble prince Mark Antony's enthralment with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra is proving controversial. Will the tumultuous relationship ultimately end in tragedy?

Antony and Cleopatra is an intense love story, exploring the constant conflict between duty and emotion with... Read more

All's Well That Ends Well

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Carl Prekopp, Siân Phillips, Miriam Margolyes, ...

Length: 2 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

In this BBC full-cast production of All's Well That Ends Well, the trials of marriage are hilariously explored. Will Helena complete the Herculean tasks to win Bertram's love?

All's Well That Ends Well finds Helena rewarded for her ministries to the sick with the choice of any husband she wishes. Her choice, Bertram, is unwilling to have her as... Read more

Brideshead Revisited

By: Evelyn Waugh

Narrated by: Ben Miles, Full Cast & Jamie Bamber

Length: 3 hours 47 minutes

Abridged: No

In 1944 Captain Charles Ryder travels with a company of soldiers to Brideshead. He has been there before, and the great house serves as a potent reminder of the decadent, stylish lifestyle now destroyed by the austerity of the Second World War. Charles' mind travels back twenty years to when he was a student at Oxford, in thrall to the... Read more

Paul Temple And The Lawrence Affair

By: Francis Durbridge

Narrated by: Full Cast, Marjorie Westbury & Peter Coke

Length: 3 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

For thirty years the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC Radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, usually needed Paul's help... Read more

Alistair Cooke

By: Alistair Cooke

Narrated by: Alistair Cooke

Length: 2 hours 38 minutes

Abridged: No

Alistair Cooke looks back on a rich and varied life, one which has taken him across the ocean but never far away from the BBC.

Drawing on archive recordings, this selection includes interviews from radio and television, Cooke's Letter From America, and a speech made to the Royal Television Society at New York's Cosmopolitan Club.

It charts the... Read more

Paul Temple And The Spencer Affair

By: Francis Durbridge

Narrated by: Full Cast, Marjorie Westbury & Peter Coke

Length: 3 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

From 1938 to 1969 the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC radio’s most popular series. When young drama student Mary Dreisler is found murdered in her flat, her father instantly sends for Paul Temple. There appears to have been no... Read more

Paul Temple And The Vandyke Affair

By: Francis Durbridge

Narrated by: Full Cast, Marjorie Westbury & Peter Coke

Length: 4 hours 4 minutes

Abridged: No

From 1938 to 1969 the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, where the women were chic and the men wore cravats - a world where Sir Graham... Read more

Hamlet

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Ellie Beaven, Full Cast, Juliet Stevenson, Kenn...

Length: 3 hours 28 minutes

Abridged: No

In this BBC full-cast production, the ghost of Hamlet's father orders him to kill the man who took his life, his throne and his wife: Claudius.

In a tale of caution, tragedy and revenge, Hamlet is driven to madness by his mission and his father's legacy.

Michael Sheen stars as Hamlet, with Kenneth Cranham as Claudius, Juliet Stevenson as... Read more

A Midsummer Night's Dream

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Becky Simpson, David Threlfall, Full Cast, Samu...

Length: 2 hours 13 minutes

Abridged: No

In this BBC full-cast production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena run to the woods and stumble into a life separate from time itself.

Fairy magic wreaks havoc and midsummer madness takes over as lovers tread the delicate line between fantasy and reality.

Sylvestra le Touzel stars as Titania in this delightful... Read more

Blake's 7 The Radio Adventures

By: Barry Letts

Narrated by: Full Cast, Michael Keating & Paul Darrow

Length: 3 hours 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Avon and the crew of Scorpio again face the ruthless machinations of Servalan in two thrilling full-cast BBC Radio 4 adventures. Together on audio for the first time, these two radio adventures reunite many of the cast of the classic BBC TV space adventure series. The Sevenfold Crown: Raiding Servalan’s HQ, the crew discover that she possesses... Read more

Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism

By: Bob Edwards

Narrated by: Bob Edwards

Length: 4 hours 30 minutes

Abridged: No

"Most Americans living today never heard Ed Murrow in a live broadcast. This book is for them. I want them to know that broadcast journalism was established by someone with the highest standards. Tabloid crime stories, so much a part of the lust for ratings by today's news broadcasters, held no interest for Murrow. He did like Hollywood... Read more

Lost and Found Sound and Beyond

By: The Kitchen Sisters & Jay Allison

Length: 2 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

The second volume of the LOST & FOUND SOUND collection explores how recorded sound has shaped and captured the history of the last 100 years. Drawing from the archives and attics of the nation, this historic and intimate collection of radio documentaries presents a compelling array of sonic pioneers and legends, eccentric collectors, and... Read more

Plenty of Pretty Good Jokes

By: Garrison Keillor

Length: 4 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

Includes the complete Pretty Good Jokes, Few More Pretty Good Jokes, and New and Not Bad Pretty Good Jokes. Read more

Chavez Ravine

By: Culture Clash

Narrated by: Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, Herbert Siguenza ...

Length: 1 hour 22 minutes

Abridged: No

The controversial history of Chavez Ravine, the immigrant community that once existed on the site that is now Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, is explored with humor, brutal honesty, and pulse-racing music by the nation's premier Chicano/Latino theatre troupe, Culture Clash.

An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Culture Clash: ... Read more

Car Talk: The Hatchback of Notre Dame

By: Tom Magliozzi & Ray Magliozzi

Length: 1 hour 3 minutes

Abridged: No

The Hatchback of Notre Dame includes many memorable Car Talk classics, including Morley Safer of CBS's Sixty Minutes, displaying a downright embarrassing obsession with his Peugeot, and space shuttle astronaut John Grunsfeld, who calls from Hawaii. (Well, 700 miles over Hawaii, actually). And, there's one of Click and Clack's all-time favorite... Read more

Commercial Radio

By: Garrison Keillor

Length: 1 hour 4 minutes

Abridged: No

A word or thirty from the sponsors of public radio’s enduring Saturday-evening staple, Commercial Radio features the best bits (and questionable marketing strategies) of many Lake Wobegon establishments. In addition to missives from longtime supporters such as the Catchup Advisory Board and the American Duct Tape Council, special messages from... Read more

This Little Piggy

By: BBC

Narrated by: Nigel Williams & Bronwyn Baud

Length: 41 minutes

Abridged: No

A collection of classic nursery rhymes and songs brought to you by the BBC.

Join in with over 40 minutes of fun with familiar favourite rhymes including This Little Piggy, Incy Wincy Spider and Baa Baa Black Sheep. Pre-schoolers will love to sing, dance and learn with this traditional compilation of 30 cheerful songs. Head down to the farm with... Read more

50 Favourite Nursery Rhymes

By: BBC

Narrated by: Andrew Branch & Anne Rosenfeld

Length: 31 minutes

Abridged: No

A classic BBC compilation of nursery rhymes, with light-hearted commentary from two BBC presenters.

In this popular collection, actors Andrew Branch and Anne Rosenfeld perform over fifty fantastic nursery rhymes, from familiar favourites to lesser-known gems, speaking the rhymes aloud and chatting about their meanings. As they listen, children... Read more

Going to St. Ives

By: Lee Blessing

Narrated by: Caroline Goodall & L. Scott Caldwell

Length: 1 hour 28 minutes

Abridged: No

The dignified mother of a ruthless African dictator travels to England to seek treatment for her failed eyes from a renowned ophthalmologist. At first glance, it looks like one woman helping another, but each woman brings to the other her true agenda, triggering a profound moral dilemma and a chain reaction of events with great personal and... Read more