SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2020

SAT 00:00 Ray Bradbury - The Veldt (m000fh8j)
A futuristic cautionary tale about the perils of smart technology, where danger prowls in the nursery...

Ray Bradbury's gripping sci-fi story first published in 1950.

Lydia/Witch… Diana Olsson
George… John Cazabon
Peter… Jon Hewitt
Wendy/Grethel… Nina Ludlow
David… Bruce Wightman

Adapted by Jack Pulman.

Producer: Frederick Bradnum.

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1959.


SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076sz2)
Nowt So Queer as Folk

Matthew Parris considers what is and what is not normal. With Amanda Mitchison, Jude Collins and actor Mat Fraser. From July 2005.


SAT 01:00 Colvil and Soames (b007jt9c)
Bad Apples

Episode 2

After an unexpected twist in his latest murder investigation, Inspector Guscott has asked his old friends from MI6, Colvil and Soames for their discreet assistance.

Christopher Lee's murder-mystery starring Christopher Benjamin and Amanda Redman as intelligence officers Henry Colvil and Alex Soames.

Henry Colvil …. Christopher Benjamin
Alex Soames …. Amanda Redman
DCI Guscott …. Dudley Sutton
DS Gwen Jenkins …. Sue Jones Davies
Miranda Peel …. Sheila Reid
Tom Margeson …. Tom Cotcher
Charlie Lofthouse …. Alistair McGowan

Producer: Pete Atkin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1998.


SAT 01:30 Beckett in Brooklyn (b04v30zx)
A disembodied mouth hovers 8 feet above the stage and appears to oscillate wildly around the pitch-black auditorium.

Blindfolded, her head strapped into a harness, Irish actor Lisa Dwan delivers the frenetic, roller-coaster stream of consciousness that is Samuel Beckett's 'Not I'. Alongside 'Footfalls' and 'Rockaby', the play forms one part of a trilogy of intensely demanding one-woman Beckett works which Lisa has been performing to packed houses across the UK & Ireland.

Now, as Lisa takes her Beckett trilogy across the Atlantic to the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theatre, we find her immersed in a whirlwind of rave reviews, TV appearances and a US theatre-going public heavily preoccupied with Ebola, Isis and the uncertainty of our times.

As the curtain prepares to fall for the last time, we discover the true extent of Lisa's commitment to these dark and challenging roles, what the impact of performing them has been on her and if, 25 years after the Irish playwright's death, she may have shown us that Samuel Beckett's work matters more than ever.

Producer: Conor Garrett

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.


SAT 02:00 Paul Murray - The Mark and the Void (b06445xm)
Episode 10

The bank fails, a heist is attempted and Claude the Everyman banker makes a choice that will change everyone's lives...

Paul Murray’s madcap novel of institutional folly - a stirring examination of the deceptions carried out in the names of art, love and commerce.

Concluded by Peter Serafinowicz.

Abridged by Sara Davies.

Producer: Jenny Thompson.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.


SAT 02:15 Friends & Foes - A Narrative History of Diplomacy (b08ctz6x)
Small Nation, Big Diplomacy

Professor David Rothkopf discusses the pivotal role of a small nation in negotiating a landmark Middle East peace agreement - the Oslo accords.

In 1973, a single handshake on the White House lawn between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders marked the end of decades of confrontation and conflict. But this breakthrough was brokered not through superpower intervention but with the help of Norway.

Crucially it was done through secret informal communications called 'back channel diplomacy'.

Professor Rothkopf hears from the negotiators about how they brought the two sides together under the cover of an academic conference and how, ultimately, their careful diplomacy resulted in the landmark Oslo accords.

But, as he discovers, back channel diplomacy does not always work.

A Kati Whitaker production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.


SAT 02:30 MM Kaye - The Far Pavilions (b00yj265)
Episode 15

Safe and with the woman he loves, Ash cannot work out how to marry her.

MM Kaye's epic of love and war, dramatised by Lucy Catherine.

Narrator ..... Vineeta Rishi
Ash ..... Blake Ritson
Gulbaz ..... Kaleem Janjua
Bukta ..... Adeel Akhtar
Anjuli ..... Ayesha Dharker
Stiggins ..... Sean Baker
Zarin ..... Christopher Simpson
Mrs Viccary ..... Joanna Monro

Directors: Marc Beeby and Jessica Dromgoole

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2011.


SAT 02:45 Philip Glass - Words without Music (b05t7kpz)
Episode 5

Asked to write the score for visionary 1982 documentary Koyaanisqatsi, Glass discovered a new avenue for his musical composition.

He later worked with Martin Scorsese, writing the soundtrack for Kundun (1997).

Conclusion of the memoir by Philip Glass, the world-renowned composer of symphonies, operas and film scores.

Read by Kerry Shale.

Abridger: Laurence Wareing
Producer: Kirsteen Cameron

Music details:
Track: "Evening Song" (from Satygraha)
CD: The Essential Philip Glass
Label: Sony

Track: "The Grid"
CD: Koyaanisqatsi
Label: Island

Track: "Closing"
CD: Glassworks
Label: CBS

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.


SAT 03:00 Oscar Wilde (b007jnnk)
The Picture of Dorian Gray

Episode 2

Aristocrat Dorian Gray is living a life of selfish pleasure. But is retribution on the horizon?

Jamie Glover stars in the conclusion of Oscar Wilde's classic novel dramatised by Nick McCarty.

Dorian Gray ...... Jamie Glover
Lord Henry Wotton ...... Ian McDiarmid
Basil Hallward ...... Steven Pacey
Woman ...... Tilly Gaunt
Jim ...... Harry Myers
Duke Geoffrey ...... Edward de Souza
Thornton ...... Stephen Critchlow
Campbell ...... Geoffrey Beevers
Lord ...... Gavin Muir
Woman in Opium Den ...... Elizabeth Bell
Lady Narborough ...... Tessa Worsley
Francis ...... Tom George
Duke John ...... Brett Usher
Duchess ...... Alice Arnold

Director: Gordon House.

First broadcast on the BBC World Service in January 2000.


SAT 04:00 Funny You Should Ask (b0b3j9rq)
From 23/07/1979

Peter Jones hosts the entertainment quiz about comedy as he tests a panel of experts:

Sid Colin, Barry Cryer and John Junkin recall memories of careers and comic colleagues.

Funny You Should Ask ran for 8 series from 1976 to 1982.

Questions compiled by Michael Pointon.

Producer: Bob Oliver Rogers

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in July 1979.


SAT 04:30 Dry Slopes (b00ly7c2)
Series 1

Dry Wit

Friendless, jobless Angus writes a requiem to himself. He is really a genius, you know

Nick Ball’s sitcom about the unemployed son of a high-flying mother.

Angus Dry ...... Nick Ball
Mum ...... Louisa Rix

With Robert Harley, Toby Longworth and Julie Gibbs.

Producer: Gareth Edwards

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1995.


SAT 05:00 The Lentil Sorters (b06pbw9x)
Multi-Parameter Database Search

A sitcom set in the Office of Local and National Statistics which, depending on who you ask, is either where the real power of government resides, or the place where fun goes to die.

In this episode, a database linking of Ribena and MI5 makes Graham reach for his Stress Cardigan. Also, Jane Austen and a brick.

Meet the team:

Graham Quicks, Head of the People and Places Department of the LNS. There are three things in the world that Graham will always have faith in – statistics, the supremacy of filofaxes over computers and the idea that cardigans will never go out of style.

Audrey Carr is the Survey Researcher. She believes passionately that statistics should be used as a tool to help the man on the street. Fortunately for her, she’s never actually met “the man in the street”. She’s also passionate about Jane Austen, Les Miserables and pretending that she doesn't work in an office with Daniel.

Daniel Porter is the Data Analyst. He used to work in the City, until the City realised he was a colossal waste of space. Daniel divides his time between manipulating statistics to further his vision of capitalism, necking energy drinks and telling people his thighs are really, really strong. He’s terrible.

Mrs. Wilkins has worked as tea lady, archivist and maintenance guru for 15 years. She knows where the bodies are buried. We must stress that that is a figure of speech.

Graham Quicks ...... Vincent Franklin
Audrey Carr ...... Rebekah Staton
Daniel Porter ...... Kieran Hodgson
Mrs Wilkins ...... Julia Deakin

Special guests:
Akif..............................Ray Panthaki
Black Firebird X............ Matt Green

With Jo Unwin as The Narrator

Written by Jack Bernhardt

Producer: David Tyler

A Pozzitive production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in February 2020.


SAT 05:30 The Skewer (m000f783)
Series 1

Episode 6

From the mind of Jon Holmes comes topical satire like you've never heard it before.


SAT 06:00 Neville Watchurst - A Vital Flaw (b00mj27x)
Nazi SS leader Heinrich Himmler has a serious health problem and Dr Felix Kersten is summoned to treat him.

So successful is he that Himmler's dependency on him is established and when war breaks out Kersten is faced with an impossible dilemma.

John Duttine and Martin Jarivs star in Neville Watchurst's drama - a truthful account of a relationship which developed in Germany both before and during the Second World War.

Heinrich Himmler ...... John Duttine
Dr Felix Kersten ...... Martin Jarvis
Rudolf Brandt ...... Christopher Ravenscroft
Irmgard ...... Louise Jameson
Rostery ...... Norman Bird
Bernadotte ...... Peter Harding
Hewitt ...... David Monico
Poh ...... Dominic Letts
Koch ...... Michael Onslow
Jacobseb ...... Malcolm Ward
Kivimaeki ...... John Baddeley
Kaltenbrummer ...... Gareth Armstrong

Music composed by Anthea Gomez.

Directed by Sue Wilson.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1994


SAT 07:30 Reimagining the City (b03s645s)
Series 2

Birmingham

Musician Soweto Kinch offers a different vision of a city he's loved all his life - Birmingham.

Soweto often gets a surprised response when he tells people he's from Birmingham. For one, he doesn't have an accent. But also, as a successful jazz musician and hip hop star, the expectation is often that he should be living in London or New York - or almost anywhere except Birmingham.

But, for Soweto, Birmingham is a place of artistic endeavour and cultural significance on a par with any other major city. The city is where he served his cultural apprenticeship in jazz and hip hop. "The saxophone called me. I've never seen so many shiny keys. And the love affair continued from there."

He left to study history at Oxford but chose to make Birmingham his home. "The fact that I've stayed in Birmingham sets me apart from the other musicians in London - I can do everything from here. There's a camaraderie and respect that other musicians have for each other in Birmingham."

Soweto lives in a tower block in Hockley - it's been a place that's given him creative input for his albums and music. From his window he can see the Hockley Flyover, a space which was the scene of gang fights and crime. In 2009 Soweto decided to turn it into a festival venue.

"I've been proud of the fact we've redefined peoples' relationships to this space. It's a neglected area. I felt that more than any other area this expressed a lot of the innate contradictions we face in the black community in Britain. I wanted to reclaim the space and reclaim the stories."

Producer: Rachel Hooper

A Falling Tree production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.


SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b0713m3h)
In The Bluff

There is, argues poet Paul Farley, something very particular about the bluff that sets it apart from other members of the deception family.

More theatrical than a straight-forward, two-dimentional lie, it can be called, it can be doubled, and often times remains mysterious - we never actually find out whether indeed a particular bluff was just that.

It permeates our everyday conversation, with nods of the head and affirmative grunts suggesting that yes indeed we have read Proust, and are of course conversant with Scandinavian philosophy; it proves a vital weapon on the sports field and the poker table; and in international relations and military strategy remains an invaluable resource.

Paul takes to the poker table himself, and speaks to experts from a variety of fields, including Jonathan Agnew and Bridget Kendal, to delve deeper into the psychology and application of the bluff.

Along the way he frequently has need to suggest a degree of knowledge in subjects that in fact remain largely a mystery to him.

Producer: Geoff Bird

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2016.


SAT 09:00 Dr Hannah Fry: Codebreaker (m000fn1n)
As a mathematician Dr Hannah Fry specialises in understanding patterns of human behaviour. And nowhere does the human factor smash headlong into the reality of numbers than in the secretive world of code-breaking.

So she's delved into the BBC Radio Archive to present a fascinating selection of programmes all about codes, secrets and ciphers. And if you have a pen and paper handy she'll be presenting you with a code which you can try to crack, offering hints which will help throughout the programme.

On hand to help are two experts who between them have got numbers and words covered. Bobby Seagull is a maths teacher and author of The Life-changing Magic of Numbers and Richard Rogan is the editor of The Times Cryptic Crossword. They'll share their insights into codes, and give their takes on a fascinating selection from the archive. Featuring:

A creepy delve into the world of cold war number stations - Simon Fanshawe investigates in Tracking the Lincolnshire Poacher.

David Baddiel tries to understand Cryptic Crosswords.

A famous example of a literary code in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Dancing Men, adapted by Bert Coules.

In The Bletchley Girls, Tessa Dunlop tracks the stories of just a few of the often sidelined women who populated the codebreaking station Bletchley Park in the Second World War, and played their part in significantly shortening the length of the conflict.

And in a special episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage Katy Brand joins the team in the security agency GCHQ to talk ciphers.

So get your pen ready, join Dr Hannah Fry, listen out for the clues - and get cracking.
Producer: Kevin Core
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in February 2020.
Image credit: Paul Wilkinson


SAT 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k4m9)
Series 4

The Bolshoi Ballet

The lad's hopes for a night of dance at London's Covent Garden don't quite go to plan.

Starring Tony Hancock.

With Sidney James, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams.

Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

Theme and incidental music composed by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.

Producer: Dennis Main Wilson

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in October 1956.


SAT 12:30 Such Rotten Luck (b01nvphb)
Series 1

Stories Before Bed

Woodhouse attempts to write children's fiction.

The ups and downs of a second class writer

Comedy drama series written by Ronald Hayman

Woodhouse …. Tim Piggott-Smith
Gila …. Zoe Wanamaker
Seamus …. Stephan Rea
Wilhelmina …. Susie Bran
Henrietta Masterson …. Miriam Karlin
Hamish McVomitory …. Bill Wallis
Mark Grimshaw …. Geoffrey Whitehead
Benjamin Witrow …. Gila's Father
Joan Matheson …. Gila's Mother
Charlotte aged 17 …. Susan Sheridan

With Eva Stuart and Shaun Prendergast as the other members of the Creative Writing Class

Music by Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

Director: Piers Plowright.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1989.


SAT 13:00 Girls of Riyadh (Omnibus) (m000fn1v)
The girls of Riyadh are young, attractive and living by Saudi Arabia’s strict cultural traditions.

Well, not quite... In between dating, shopping, drinking, dancing and having fun, they’re still trying to be good Muslims and please their families. But can you be a 21st century woman and a Saudi woman?

Dramatisation of Rajaa Alsanea's best-selling novel by Claudine Toutoungi.

Omnibus of five parts.

Gamrah.....Lara Sawalha
Sadeem.....Laila Alj
Michelle.....Jasmine Jones
Lamees.....Nyla Levy
Faisal.....Ikky Elyas
Rashid.....Elham Ehsas
Firas.....Moe Bar-El
Pilot/ Bookseller.....Ian Conningham
Tara.....Sinead MacInnes

Director: Emma Harding

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2020.


SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m000fn21)
Frank Skinner

Comedian Frank Skinner chooses ‘Winter Wonderland’ by Dean Martin and ‘Why Women Don't Like Me?’ by George Formby.


SAT 14:15 With Great Pleasure (b00j0q57)
Les Dennis

The comedian and actor Les Dennis shares literary favourites, including Pygmalion, Wuthering Heights, Brideshead Revisited and Winnie the Pooh.

Les reads some of the passages, with actors Christopher Cazenove and Jodie McNee.

Producer: Christine Hall

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2009.


SAT 14:45 Uncle Mort's North Country (b007jrc0)
Series 2

Young Chocolate

Carter's uncle fancies a good funeral, so they head off to the burial for a boxer.

Peter Tinniswood’s continuing tales of Carter Brandon and his curmudgeonly uncle.

Uncle Mort and his Yorkshire based family first appeared in Tinniswood’s novel ‘A Touch Of Daniel’ which earned them a run of four series of ‘I Didn't Know You Cared’ on BBC TV from 1975 to 1979.

Uncle Mort …. Stephen Thorne
Carter Brandon …. Peter Skellern
The Undetraker …. Michael Graham Cox
Marcus Potts …. Stan Richards
Narrator …. Christian Rodska

Producer: Pete Atkin.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1989.


SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b0713m3h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


SAT 16:00 Neville Watchurst - A Vital Flaw (b00mj27x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SAT 17:30 Reimagining the City (b03s645s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SAT 18:00 John Wyndham - The Kraken Wakes (m000fn2b)
Episode 2

Lone alien attacks are replaced by global flooding. Mike and Phyllis fight to survive as much of the world is submerged and most of the global population dead or displaced.

John Wyndham's 1953 novel adapted by Val McDermid.

Floods have recently devastated parts of Britain. But what if the flood waters never subsided? What if an apparent meteor shower was actually the invasion fleet of an alien race?

Mike Watson ...... Paul Higgins
Phyllis Watson ...... Tamsin Greig
Becker ...... Richard Harrington
Denzel ...... Richard Harrington
Dr Emma Chisholm ...... Sally Carman
Aziz ...... Abdullah Afzal
Humza ...... Abdullah Afzal
Bill ...... Gareth Cassidy
Jonah ...... Gareth Cassidy
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon ...... Nicola Sturgeon

Performed 'as live' with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
Conductor: Clark Rundell.
Composer: Alan E. Williams.

Director and Producer: Justine Potter.

A Savvy production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2016.


SAT 19:00 Dr Hannah Fry: Codebreaker (m000fn1n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


SAT 22:00 Josh Howie's Losing It (b07v0hnp)
Series 1

The Route

Josh and his wife Monique attend their first NCT class where he typically manages to fall out with almost everyone.

Sitcom in which stand-up comic Josh comes to terms with the impending birth of his first child.

Starring Josh Howie and Pippa Evans.

Written by Josh Howie.

With Jenny Bede, Stephen Hagan, Caroline Mabey, Debra Tammer and Wendy Wason.

Producer: Ashley Blaker

A Black Hat production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2016.


SAT 22:30 Chain Reaction (b071vkwl)
Series 11

Al Murray interviews Ian Hislop

Pub Landlord creator, Al Murray passes the baton to the comedian and satirist Ian Hislop.

Chain Reaction is the long running hostless chat show where this week's interviewee becomes next week's interviewer.

After an early foray into stand-up as a character called 'The Murderer', Al Murray created his famous Pub Landlord character in the mid nineties as part of a touring show with Harry Hill. The Pub Landlord went on to tour venues and festivals worldwide before making his own chat show and sitcom for Sky. Outside of the Pub Landlord, Al is well known as a presenter of history documentaries and more recently as a candidate for parliament when he stood against Nigel Farage in South Thanet during the UK General Election of 2015.

Al's guest Ian Hislop is much more used to the cut and thrust of British politics both as a long-standing team captain on 'Have I Got News for You' and as the editor of satirical magazine Private Eye. As a dedicated fan and student of history, he has made several acclaimed documentaries on wide-ranging subjects including conscientious objectors and The Beeching Report.

Al grills Ian on his early days writing for such comedians as Harry Enfield, asks how we should define the role of the satirist and poses the intriguing question, 'what's it like being sued?'

Producer: Richard Morris

A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in March 2016.


SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m000fz9c)
Ruth Bratt 2/3

From 10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Jake Yapp chats to improv-musical-comedy star Ruth Bratt.


SAT 23:00 Colin Hoult's Carnival of Monsters (b04xrzdh)
Series 2

Episode 2

Enter the Carnival of Monsters, a bizarre and hilarious world of sketches, stories and characters, presented by the sinister Ringmaster.

A host of characters are the exhibits at the Carnival - all played by Colin himself.

Meet such monstrous yet strangely familiar oddities as: Wannabe Hollywood screenwriter Andy Parker; Anna Mann - outrageous star of such forgotten silver screen hits such as 'Rogue Baker', 'Who's For Turkish Delight' and 'A Bowl For My Bottom'; and a host of other characters from acid jazz obsessives, to mask workshop coordinators.

Writers Guild Award-winner Colin Hoult is best known for his highly acclaimed starring roles in Paul Whitehouse's 'Nurse', 'Being Human', Rickey Gervais' 'Life's Too Short' and 'Derek', and 'Russell Howard's Good News', as well as his many hit shows at the Edinburgh Festival. He has also appeared and written for a number of Radio 4 series including 'The Headset Set' and 'Colin and Fergus' Digi-Radio'.

Producer: Sam Bryant.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2015.


SAT 23:30 Elis James's Pantheon of Heroes (m000fn2f)
Series 4

Market Towns

Comedian Elis James determines which Welsh market towns are the nation’s best, pitting Carmarthen and Llangollen against Hay-on-Wye

With Benjamin Partridge and Nadia Kamil.

First broadcast on BBC Radio Wales in August 2016.