SATURDAY 04 OCTOBER 2014

SAT 00:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b04hywtg)
BBC National Short Story Award 2014
Kilifi Creek
Lionel Shriver's winning story for this prestigious award for a single short story is about a naïve, young woman who makes her first trip abroad and finds herself in peril. Nancy Crane is the reader.
Abridged and produced by Elizabeth Allard.
SAT 00:30 15 Minute Drama (b037v8vv)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
Episode 5
1667. Now that peace has been declared with the Dutch, Sam goes to the country, with his wife and father, and Will to dig up his gold at the dead of night. Unfortunately, they can't quite remember where they put it. There's a threat of an enquiry into the recent skirmish with the Dutch and Sam fears that the blame will land at his door. The year ends with mince pies and harmony in the Pepys household.
Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viol by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.
Historical consultant: Liza Picard
Sound by Nigel Lewis
A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
SAT 00:45 Christopher Bigsby - Arthur Miller (b01byckp)
Episode 5
With a crumbling marriage, Miller writes Marilyn Monroe a screenplay. Henry Goodman concludes Christopher Bigsby's biography.
SAT 01:00 The 99p Challenge (b00ntnb7)
Series 2
Episode 5
Crazy panel show capers as host Sue Perkins grills Simon Pegg, Peter Baynham, David Schneider and Tom Binns.
The game where someone stands to leave the studio 99p richer than when they came in.
Producer: David Tyler
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.
SAT 01:30 Pioneers (b013n554)
Series 2
James Goodfellow
Pioneer, James Goodfellow tells Clare English about his invention of the cash machine and the global impact it had on the banking industry.
James also patented the Personal Identification Number (PIN) technology which is still fundamentally the basis for modern day cash withdrawals.
Producer: Philip Sime
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 2011.
SAT 02:00 Raffles (b01p3hkh)
Series 1
5. Wilful Murder
Bunny is horrified when gentleman thief Raffles calmly declares he wants to try a different crime - by planning to commit a murder.
EW Hornung's early Raffles stories dramatised by David Buck.
Starring Jeremy Clyde and Michael Cochrane.
AJ Raffles ...... Jeremy Clyde
Bunny ...... Michael Cochrane
Crawshay ...... Ron Pember
Sergeant/Waiter ...... John Church
Inspector MacKenzie ...... Henry Stamper
Signature tune composed by Jim Parker.
Director: Gordon House
A BBC Radio 4/ BBC World Service production first broadcast in November 1985.
SAT 02:30 The Poetry of History (b0076y0h)
Series 1
TS Eliot and the Blitz
Jonathan Bate investigates how the Blitz motivated TS Eliot's Four Quartets. How does history influence poetry? From April 2006.
SAT 03:00 Classic Serial (b00t384l)
Hermann Hesse - The Glass Bead Game
Episode 2
Dramatisation of Hermann Hesse's classic novel set in a futuristic, utopian society.
Starring Derek Jacobi.
Joseph Knecht is a rising star in the Castalian Order, a band of elite intellectuals who live a closeted life of study and Glass Bead Game playing. But Joseph's elevation to one of the highest and most respected ranks of the Order coincides with a crisis of conscience, as his ever deepening doubts about this idealistic and sanitised society threaten to topple its very foundations.
As Magister Ludi, Joseph Knecht begins to plan for the forthcoming Glass Bead Game. As excitement mounts, Joseph's doubts about the Castalian way of life are compounded by his newly acquired position.
Biographer...Derek Jacobi
Joseph Knecht...Tom Ferguson
Fritz...Toby Hadoke
Music Master...Malcolm Raeburn
Plinio...David Seddon
Helena...Olwen May
Tito...Oliver Gomm
Dramatised by Lavinia Greenlaw
Producer: Charlotte Riches
Director: Susan Roberts.
SAT 04:00 Afternoon Reading: The Time Being (b00pmcqg)
Series 4
Smell My Fleece
Series of original stories by unpublished writers.
With four fewer teeth and a mouth stuffed with cotton wool, Debra isn't having the easiest of days. And then she meets Dale. A curious tale of dentistry, stalking and poetry.
By Anna Towers, read by Claire Foy.
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 04:15 Drama (b0076x8q)
Longus - Daphnis and Chloe
The ancient story of two young lovers, beset by pirates but aided by the power of love. Adapted by Hattie Naylor, stars Lyndsey Marshal and Ben McKay.
SAT 05:00 King Street Junior Revisited (b00jnlsk)
Series 3
Half-Term Blues
Half-term is a time for King Street’s teachers to catch their breath within a busy Autumn term. If only...
School comedy created and written by Jim Eldridge. Ten series of this King Street Junior ran between 1985 and 1998. King Street Junior Revisited ran from 2002 to 2005.
Stars Carolyn Pickles as Mrs Devon, Marlene Sidaway as Miss Lewis, Michael Cochrane as Mr Maxwell, Paul Copley as Mr Long, Teresa Gallagher as Miss Featherstone, Jacqueline Beatty as Miss Reid, Janice Acquah as Mrs Khan, Pax Baldwin as Rajesh, Daryl Moore as Wayne, Ruby Williams as Kirsten and Jessica Hill as Dawn.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2004.
SAT 05:30 Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me (b0076h7l)
Series 1
Let's Face the Music
Will musicians Roy and George live up to the billing at their comeback gig? Stars Ram Jam Holder. From October 2003.
SAT 06:00 Franz Kafka - The Trial (b04k6p4c)
Joseph K. is an unexceptional man. He lives a quiet life and works in a bank. But one ordinary morning he is woken by two men and finds himself under arrest. What is his crime? From that moment on, Joseph K. enters a strange, bewildering world of nightmare. Mike Gwilym stars as Joseph K. with Miriam Margolyes as Leni, a nurse who becomes his lover.
Dramatised for radio by the award-winning writer and dramatist Hanif Kureishi.
The story of The Trial epitomises something that is 'Kafkaesque', a world of little hope, much despair and small men pitted against the power of a state. Written in German, Kafka always called the book Der Process, but it was changed to The Trial in translation. It was written in 1914 but not published until a year after his death in 1925. Kafka used his own exhausting experiences of a legal case to inform the novel.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1982.
SAT 07:30 Yes Yes Yes (b007kvvg)
Series 2
When Grey Turned to Gold
John Rawling recalls the tale of champion racehorse Desert Orchid competing for the Cheltenham Gold Cup of 1989. From January 2001.
SAT 07:55 Inheritance Tracks (b010gj9c)
Andrea Levy
Author Andrea Levy inherits 'Magic Moments' by Perry Como and passes on 'London Is the Place for Me' by Lord Kitchener.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b01p2vtz)
Great Spy Books: Fact or Fiction?
Peter Hennessy, the leading expert on state secrecy, asks how close the great British spy novels come to reality and explores what they reveal about intelligence and security. By drawing on official papers and what were once top secret intelligence documents, and by interviewing former diplomats and former officers in MI5 and MI6, he compares and contrasts fiction with real espionage.
Much of the appeal lies in their apparent authenticity. But how much do James Bond or George Smiley resemble real spies? And is fact sometimes stranger than fiction?
Peter Hennessy shows that spy books in the early 1900s made a big impact, influencing Britain's first secret service bureau, the forerunner of MI5 and MI6. He traces the development of spy fiction from its early days to the more nuanced spy stories of Somerset Maugham in 'Ashenden' and of Eric Ambler's 1930s' novels. Their more subtle approach is echoed by Graham Greene and John le Carre, whereas Ian Fleming's hero, James Bond, is part spy, part assassin. Cold War novels reflect the deep fear of nuclear war and of betrayal by double-agents ('moles'), but can modern spy fiction achieve the same degree of intrigue and suspense?
Producer: Rob Shepherd.
SAT 09:00 Shakespeare: Thereby Hangs A Tale (b01ghgjn)
A Celebration of the Swan of Avon presented by actor and broadcaster Simon Russell Beale CBE.
A collection of programmes from the BBC archives inspired by and about the glover's son from Stratford. In true Shakespearian style, there will be comedy, tragedy and history:
* Great Lives – William Shakespeare (BBC Radio 4, 2011)
Matthew Parris, TV producer and novelist Daisy Goodwin and Shakespeare director Dominic Dromgoole discuss what we know, and don't know, about Will's life.
* Macbeth or Unlucky For Some (BBC Radio 4, 1979)
John Wells stars in a mini-Macbeth from the Edinburgh Festival of 1979.
* Lenny and Will (BBC Radio 4, 2006)
Comic-turned-Shakespearian Lenny Henry goes in search of the Bard in a programme which indirectly led to him playing Othello. With Dame Judi Dench and Sir Peter Hall.
* Mrs Shakespeare (BBC Radio 4, 1998)
Radio dramatisation of Robert Nye's raunchy novel inspired by Shakespeare's will: "Item: I gyve unto my wief my second best bed with the furniture." Stars Maggie Steed and Kenneth Cranham as William and Anne.
* Shakespeare Stories – Romeo & Juliet (BBC Radio 4, 2005)
Professor Carol Rutter explores Shakespeare's use of literary sources for his plots.
* Hark! (clip) (BBC Radio 3, 2008) attempts to uncover the sounds of Shakespeare's London.
* Desmond Olivier Dingle's Compleat Life and Works of William Shakespeare (BBC Radio 4, 1995)
Comedy featuring the National Theatre of Brent, which brings its 'unique' vision to Julius Caesar, with a little help from guest stars Juliet Stevenson and Harriet Walter.
There's also readings of Shakespeare's sonnets, enhanced with music and effects, featuring Sir Ian McKellen.
Producer: Nick St. George.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in April 2012.
SAT 12:00 The Pillow Book (b04k6p4f)
Series 7 Omnibus
Robert Forrest's thriller set in 10th-century Japan. In a labyrinth of caves, the Emperor and Yukinari find themselves at the mercy of wolves.
SAT 13:15 Dickens Confidential (b01msgzw)
Series 2
The Man Who Robbed the Bank of England
Mourning his reporter, Charles Dickens discovers an unexpected ally also wants justice in a cunning plot. Stars Dan Stevens.
SAT 14:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00qt2hk)
Series 2
Episode 6
Young inventors, 1930s vintage musical 'Adam and Eve' and Private Eye Mike Spanner is on the case...
More quick-fire sketches, terrible puns, humorous songs plus TV and cinema parodies.
Stars Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Written by Les Lilley, Chic Jacob, Graeme Garden, Johnnie Mortimer & Brian Cooke and Bill Oddie.
Originating from the Cambridge University Footlights revue 'Cambridge Circus', ISIRTA ran for 8 years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a cult following.
Songs by Bill Oddie and Jean Hart with music by Dave Lee.
Producer: Humphrey Barclay
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in November 1965.
SAT 14:30 Doctor in the House (b007m680)
Women and Wine
Medic Simon Sparrow's efforts to get a date for the hospital ball turn to chaos.
The misadventures of student doctor Simon Sparrow - adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's novel 'Doctor in the House' published in 1952.
Starring Richard Briers as Simon Sparrow, Geoffrey Sumner as Sir Lancelot Spratt, Ray Cooney as Tony Benskin, Edward Cast as Taffy Evans, Norma Ronald as Matron/Vera and Joan Young as Lady Spratt.
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1968.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b01p2vtz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Franz Kafka - The Trial (b04k6p4c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00wlf1c)
Series 6
Citizens' Advice
Count Arthur Strong - one-time Variety Star and now sole proprietor and owner of Doncaster's Academy of Performance - is a show-business legend, raconteur and lecturer extraordinaire. In each episode of this sixth series we hear, as ever, a confused, muddled and often challenging day-in-the-life of Count Arthur - with his mixed-up delivery of words and forthright self-delusion.
When Arthur attempts to return an item of clothing to a local shop, things don't quite go to plan - leading him to take some 'legal' advice at the Citizen's Advice Bureau. With an ever-increasing list of complaints, plus the possibility of having to acquire a puppy (or puppies) to boot, Arthur's day doesn't go quite as he'd hoped.
The occasion does give him a chance to take a trip down memory lane however, re-living an acting moment in a legal TV drama - which of course enables Arthur to give some sound advice of his own!
Cast:
Count Arthur Strong ..... Steve Delaney
Announcer, Shop Worker, Mr Smith & Wilf ..... Alastair Kerr
Geoffrey, Jack, Person and Advisor ..... Dave Mounfield
Sally, Brillo and Receptionist ..... Mel Giedroyc
Producers: Richard Daws, Mark Radcliffe and John Leonard
A Komedia Entertainment Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 18:00 Franz Kafka - Metamorphosis (b007jwnt)
Episode 1
Gregor Samsa wakes one day to find himself hideously transformed into a monstrous insect. His family react with horror at his bizarre transformation but this slowly turns to revulsion - and then monstrous indifference - as he is left to quietly waste away in his bedroom.
First published in 1912, Benedict Cumberbatch reads Franz Kafka's classic novel in four parts.
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) ranks among the 20th century's most acclaimed writers. He is often cited as the author whose works best evoke the concerns and preoccupations of modern life. The world in his stories is portrayed as one in which the fantastic is entirely normal, the irrational is rational, and the unreasonable seems reasonable. As Ernst Pawel wrote in his biography of the writer, "Kafka articulates the anguish of being human."
Kafka, although Czech and living in Prague, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, spoke fluent German and Czech and actually wrote in German and thought it his mother tongue. The tensions between those who spoke German and those who spoke Czech were a direct reflection of the rise of nationalism and the quest for national identity.
Metamorphosis was translated by Richard Stokes. Abridged and produced by Gemma Jenkins.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2006.
SAT 18:30 William Gibson - Burning Chrome (b007jqrf)
Episode 1
Two cyberpunks go for their big score by hacking a vicious criminal. Adam Sims reads the novel that coined the term 'cyberspace'. Read by Adam Sims.
When not jacking into the matrix to hack corporate mainframes for shady clients, Bobby Quine and Automatic Jack are hanging out in the Gentleman Loser trying to figure out a way of pulling off that one big score that will make them rich. But industrial espionage is a dangerous business, especially when they decide to rip off Chrome, the most ruthless figure in the local mob subsidiary.
Described as the father of cyberpunk fiction, William Gibson's 1982 story still influences modern sci-fi.
Producer: Eugene Murphy
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2003.
SAT 19:00 Shakespeare: Thereby Hangs A Tale (b01ghgjn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Detective Sergeant Nick Mohammed (b018xtw1)
Series 1
Episode 4
Uh oh, not another bank Heist... Kerching! Join Nick and co. as they attempt to solve something akin to that bit at the start of The Dark Knight.
Written and performed by Nick Mohammed, with Anna Crilly & Colin Hoult.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd.
SAT 22:30 Les Kelly's Britain (b017mws9)
Episode 4
Les Kelly (Kevin Bishop) hosts a magazine show from hell. Les is a cross between Jeremy Kyle and a slap in the face. He claims this is the only radio show for 'normal, decent people'. 'If you aren't normal or decent, this is not the show for you,' says Les.
This week Les talks to Britain's only male nun, a man who only speaks using sound fx and answers the question: what is the world coming to?
Written by Bill Dare with Julian Dutton.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b04jv5m3)
For two hours, six nights a week, the Comedy Club offers the best comedy around. Simon Munnery chats to Josie Long.
SAT 23:00 Tina C Goes Down Under: The Aborogynal Monologues (b00dshmq)
Alice Springs
Country music icon and 2008 presidential hopeful Tina C looks at the Australian obsession with country music and the relationship with the indigenous owners of the land. Tina visits the little people of this vast continent which is damn big and kinda empty.
Written and performed by Christopher Green
Additional voices by Julia Morris
Music production by Duncan Walsh Atkins.
Director Claire Grove.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2008.
SAT 23:15 What to Do If You're Not Like Everybody Else (b014610b)
Series 2
Special Occasions
Andrew Lawrence explores the peculiar ways in which we choose to celebrate special occasions like weddings, birthdays, anniveraries, and religious holidays.
Series two of short comedic monologues taking a light-hearted look at various aspects of conventional living and the pressure we feel to conform to social norms and ideals.
Written by Andrew Lawrence.
Producer: Jane Berthoud
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2011
SAT 23:30 Ida Barr: Artificial Hip Hop (b00v72r5)
Diversity
Ida Barr is a music hall singer who has embraced hip hop and rap, reflecting the cultural diversity of London's East End, where she has been living in retirement for several decades.
With her genuine love of talking to people, Ida sets out investigate a new topic in each episode, creating a unique brand of music hall, hip-hop fusion with beat boxer Shlomo.
Ida’s subject this time is "Diversity".
Written by and starring Christopher Green as Ida Barr.
Producer: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2010.
SAT 23:45 iGod (b00wwc1r)
Robot
iGOD is a highly original and funny new late-night comedy series for Radio 4. It stars Simon Day (The Fast Show) and David Soul (Starsky & Hutch) and is written by one of the head writers of the BAFTA award-winning The Thick Of It, Sean Gray and produced by Simon Nicholls (Ed Reardon's Week / News At Bedtime).
We all worry about the end of the world, as economists and environmentalists speak in apocalyptic terms everyday. iGOD says that trying to predict the end of the world is as pointless as moisturising an elephant's elbow.
In each episode, an unnamed, all-seeing narrator (David Soul - Starsky and Hutch) shows us that it is stupid to be worrying, as he looks back at some of the most entertaining apocalypses on parallel Earths. Each week our case study is a normal bloke called Ian (Simon Day) who manages to accidentally initiate the apocalypse of a different parallel world through a seemingly harmless single act (telling a lie, being lazy, cooking some lambshanks). A succession of comic vignettes ensue that escalate to the end of a parallel world.
With a full-range of sound effects and wonderfully funny and surreal twists, iGOD will be a true aural extravaganza.
Writer: Sean Gray
Producer: Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.