SATURDAY 15 APRIL 2017

SAT 00:00 Douglas Hill - The Blade of the Poisoner (b007jrtt)
Episode 4
Jarral must destroy Prince Mephtik and his knife before the full moon, or he'll die. Douglas Hill's fantasy stars Eric Allen and Hugh Dixon.
SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b01qm2fw)
Series 15, She Moved through the Fair
The Irish traditional song She Moved Through The Fair is well loved and well recorded by many. To some it is a ghost story that tells of unfulfilled longings and of hopes and aspirations cut short. Sinead O' Connor and others talk about the haunting beauty of this ancient song and of why its imagery is carved into their souls.
SAT 01:00 Falco (b008m17q)
Shadows in Bronze, Episode 6
A final showdown for the Roman sleuth - but his reunion with Helena proves bittersweet.
Anton Lesser stars as Marcus Didius Falco, Lindsey Davis's witty detective, patrolling the streets of 1st-century Rome.
With Ben Crowe as Petronius, Robert Lister as Decimus Camillus, Fiona Clarke as Tullia, Anna Madeley as Helena Justina, Michael Tudor Barnes as Vespasian, Christian Rodska as Gordianus and Sean Connolly as Atius Pertinax,
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
SAT 01:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08m0kt1)
Hamlet tomorrow or next Thursday, but just not tonight!
"I'd used to trail around, waving my cloak in the air and posing with my sword and crying a lot, and I thought - I don't think that's the thing at all."
The 1929 - 31 seasons at London's Old Vic established Sir John Gielgud as a new and exciting Shakespearean performer. With John Miller.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1978.
SAT 02:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00lkk0v)
Episode 10
Moved by their plight, Leithen spends his last days helping the Canadian Indians. John Buchan's novel read by Paul Young.
SAT 02:15 Publishing Lives (b03xgslw)
Series 2, Carmen Callil
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Carmen Callil set out to change the world with her pioneering feminist publishing house, Virago Press. Arriving in London from Australia in 1960, she started as a "publicity girl", then one of the few publishing jobs available to women who did not want to be secretaries.
In 1973 she founded Virago Press to "publish books by women which celebrated women's lives, and which would, by so doing, spread the message of women's liberation to the whole population". Virago's first publication was Fenwomen: A Portrait of Women in an English Village by Mary Chamberlain. This oral history set out as Virago meant to go on, giving voice to previously silent women.
Despite some criticism from the established literary world, Virago quickly became a success. In 1978, Carmen launched the hugely influential Modern Classics series, with their distinctive green spines, celebrating and reviving the work of hundreds of often neglected female writers. Since then, the Modern Classics series has become Virago's hallmark.
Carmen left Virago to run Chatto in the 80s, and retired from publishing in 1994. The company she founded over 40 years ago has evolved and changed, yet the founding principles remain the same, to publish the best of women's writing and to celebrate women's lives thorough literature. Since 1973, women have made a significant contribution to literature, as bestsellers, as Booker Prize winners and as readers shaping the modern book trade.
Featuring Carmen Callil, Ursula Owen and Lennie Goodings.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway Production production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01nd3dy)
Heinrich Boll - The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, Episode 5
A brilliant exploration of the corrosive impact of tabloid journalism on one young woman. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum is dissects the power of the press and it's impact on individual freedom. Told in the form of an unofficial report, this intelligent and pacy story from the 1970s tackles issues of press freedom, responsibility and police tactics.
It's based on a real incident in the author's own life, when he was publicly accused of being a terrorist sympathiser and hounded by the German press. The subtitle of the book is "how violence develops and where it can lead."
Recorded on location in Berlin, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum also features a soundtrack of 1970s Krautrock from bands such as Can, Neu, La Dusseldorf and Ash Ra Tempel.
Heinrich Boll is a Nobel Prize winning writer, a giant of German 20th century literature.
Episode 5:
The fugitive Ludwig is captured and Katharina is proved innocent of any involvement with his crime. However, this does not deter the press and their headlines grow ever more lurid, blaming her for her mother's death. At last, she cracks under the pressure and reveals exactly how and why she shot Totges, the journalist responsible for the tabloid campaign against her.
Sound design: Eloise Whitmore
Broadcast assistant: Kath Willgress
Executive producer: Joby Waldman
Abridged by Helen Meller
Produced and directed by Polly Thomas
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b03bx81y)
Olivier, Episode 5
Published when the National Theatre turned 50 in 2013, Philip Ziegler's biography, based on previously unseen letters and diaries, tells the story of Laurence Olivier as he developed his craft, focusing on his career path from early school days through rep theatre to Hollywood, before returning to triumph in his greatest role ever, as the first director of the National Theatre.
Episode 5:
Olivier goes to the Royal Court to star in 'The Entertainer' which, in turn, sets him on a path to the last two great loves of his life - Joan Plowright and the National Theatre.
Reader: Toby Jones
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lky7)
30 January-3 February 1917
In the week, in 1917, when America formally broke diplomatic relations with Germany, and in Tynemouth, people are making small steps forwards.
Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Story-led by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews
Note:
This is the final omnibus of this season of Home Front, which returns to Radio 4 on 17th April 2017.
SAT 04:00 Who Goes There? (b00fj2bw)
Series 3, Episode 2
Martin Young's famous people quiz. With Francis Wheen, Fred Housego, Amanda Foreman and Maria McErlane.
SAT 04:30 Tickets Please (b00p5xc2)
Episode 4
Will the tangled web of love and lust be unpicked before arrival in Exeter St David's? With Alex Kelly. From December 2009.
SAT 05:00 Old Dog and Partridge (b007v07y)
Episode 2
As she settles back into the pub, Nicola struggles to bond with her father Jack. Stars Michael Williams. From January 1999.
SAT 05:30 Hal (b08lgdpn)
Series 2, Teenagers
The second series of the sitcom with Hal Cruttenden finds the hapless house husband still trying to cope with his mid-life crisis and doubting his every move.
His wife Sam (Kerry Godliman) is still a highly successful business woman, his two daughters Lily and Molly continue to grow into teenagers and find their dad just a little annoying, his bitter and embittered sister Pippa (Abigail Cruttenden) has inconveniently decided to stay with Hal alongside her angry teenage son Oberon, racist neighbour Penny (Ronni Ancona) proves to be a major thorn in Hal's side and best mates Fergus (Ed Byrne) and Barry (Gavin Webster) hinder rather than help Hal's goal of finding himself.
In this first episode, eldest daughter Lily is about to introduce the family to her new hip boyfriend, Bazman, and Hal's need to re-kindle his own romantic past leads to unforeseen challenges. Hal's sister Pippa has also come to stay unexpectedly after her husband decided to experiment with his sexuality.
Written by Hal Cruttenden and Dominic Holland
Produced by Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 Sophocles' Electra (b08mj47x)
Kristin Scott Thomas stars in the Greek tragedy by Sophocles, in a new version by Frank McGuinness. This classic tale of power and revenge was originally performed in an acclaimed run at The Old Vic Theatre in London in Autumn 2014, with music composed by PJ Harvey. The stage production was directed by Ian Rickson.
Electra is bound by grief following the murder of her father Agamemnon, unwilling to forgive and consumed by a desire for revenge, her anger builds. On the return of her brother Orestes, Electra's fury explodes without mercy, leading to a bloody and terrifying conclusion.
Electra was co-produced by The Old Vic and Sonia Friedman Productions.
The Servant ..... Peter Wight
Orestes ..... Jack Lowden
Electra ..... Kristin Scott Thomas
Chorus ..... Julia Dearden
Chorus ..... Golda Rosheuvel
Chorus ..... Thalissa Teixeia
Chrysothemis ..... Liz White
Clytemnestra ..... Diana Quick
Aegisthus .... Tyrone Huggins
Music composed by PJ Harvey
Directed for radio by Ian Rickson
Produced for radio by Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2015.
SAT 07:30 Tiny Tim (b0076sg9)
CP Lee tells the story of unlikely '60s pop star Tiny Tim, who warbled his way through a series of prewar songs such as 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips', accompanying himself on ukelele. He married three times, once on TV before a live audience of 45 million. From June 2005.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b040h1d7)
Dark Horse: An Alec Guinness Archive
Alistair McGowan reveals the private side of a purportedly 'retiring' artist - a man who forged one of the most stunningly successful theatrical and cinematic careers of the last century with intelligence, guile and a deep understanding of the creation of image.
One of the most extraordinary aspects of the film, television, stage and radio career that made Sir Alec the most successful British character actor of the 20th century was his apparent talent for anonymity. Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness' mentor and co-star, famously described him as 'a dark horse' in a leading article in Time Magazine.
A remarkably good mimic, Sir Alec preferred, it seemed, to define himself by the roles he played. Was he really the scholarly, unworldly artist he appeared to be? He was a diarist, raconteur, and polished Hollywood operator, who turned self-deprecation into an art-form, took pride in not being recognised and disliked showmanship.
Alistair McGowan examines the many contradictions in the life of this enigmatic man through archive of interviews with the actor himself and those who knew him well.
Producer: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 09:00 The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh (b08mj8hq)
Comedy in the 21st Century
Instead of guest Comedy Controllers, choosing their comedy favourites, it is now the turn of those who, in their own ways, have to take the blame for many of the shows often featured on Radio 4 Extra. Between them, Paul Jackson, Beryl Vertue, John Lloyd and Jimmy Mulville have well over a 150 years of gut-busting, side-aching woofers, gags and - let's be honest - the occasional horrific mistimed silence.
In front of an audience in the iconic Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House - the home of British Radio comedy - they reveal why they do it and what it was (and is) that made them laugh.
Programme 4. Comedy in the 21st Century - The Real Comedy Controllers argue whether broadcast comedy has run out of ideas... and asks where do we go for laughs today. Episodes featured include:
Over The Garden Wall
Norman Evans plays toothless Lancastrian housewife Fanny Fairbottom, later inspiring Les Dawson's homage Ada. From October 1948.
Down The Line
Hosted by the legendary Gary Bellamy, starring Rhys Thomas, Amelia Bullmore, Simon Day, Felix Dexter, Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse. With special guests Adil Ray and Arabella Weir. First broadcast in February 2011.
Museum of Curiosity
Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Sarah Millican welcome the singer, photographic playboy and failed accountant Ken Dodd; Dr Hannah Fry who took up mathematical modelling to get to grips with dating; and Greg Jenner who checks the historical accuracy of over 1,200 songs and sketches that make up Horrible Histories. First broadcast in January 2016,
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
The long-running, self-styled antidote to panel games. The Sony Award winning, 30th Anniversary edition. First broadcast in April 2002.
Series Producers: Paul Kobrak and Dixi Stewart
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
SAT 12:00 Lewis Carroll - The Hunting of the Snark (b08mjbry)
Alec Guinness reads Lewis Carroll's epic nonsense poem - a surreal odyssey in which a bizarre group of characters sets off in search of an elusive and mysterious beast.
Producer: Douglas Cleverdon
First broadcast on the BBC Third Programme in December 1963.
SAT 12:30 Benny Hill (b08m0l8d)
Star Parade
Fred Scuttle's mission to land on the Moon and how zoo monkeys perceive human visitors.
With Peter Vernon, Jan Waters, the Mike Sammes Singers and the Johnnie Spence Orchestra.
Scripted by Benny Hill.
Producer: John Browel
First broadcast in 'Star Parade' on the BBC Light Programme in August 1963.
SAT 13:00 Anne Tyler - The Amateur Marriage: Omnibus (b08mjcgl)
Episode 1
An unexpected romantic encounter over first aid hails the beginning of a turbulent partnership. Stars Julianna Jennings.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08mjfh7)
Gurinder Chadha
Film director Gurinder Chadha chooses her dad's favourite Indian film soundtrack and Labi Siffre's 'Something Inside So Strong'.
SAT 14:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kdf0)
Gloucestershire
Back in her home county on the last leg of her journey, poet Pam Ayres learns about wig curlers, celebrity longhorn steers and 'legging it'.
Series in which poet and raconteuse, Pam Ayres takes to the open road, visiting eight places in Britain to hear tales from the people who live there.
Producer: Simon Elmes
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2000.
SAT 14:45 Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe (b007jrh2)
Series 2, A Shufti at the Valleys
Carter Brandon and his Uncle continue their epic journey through Wales. Peter Tinniswood's adventures with Stephen Thorne.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b040h1d7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Sophocles' Electra (b08mj47x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Tiny Tim (b0076sg9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Mike Walker - 2025 (b00j0hbm)
Episode 2
Olivia and Irena take a step closer to gaining access to illegal genetic engineering. But who can they trust?
The conclusion of Mike Walker's two-part serial stars Alphonsia Emmanuel as Irena, Mona Hammond as Olivia, Daniela Nardini as Dr Beth David, David Yip as Henry/Mr Li, Su-Lin Looi as Anno, John Rowe as Praegar, Alastair Danson as Dr Finzey, Rachel Atkins as Kate and Ravin J Ganatra as the Shopkeeper.
Director: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
SAT 19:00 The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh (b08mj8hq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Shappi Talk (b00lk2zh)
Series 1, Unconventional Parents
Comedy series in which Shappi Khorsandi examines what it is like growing up in multi-cultural families.
Joining Shappi will be comedian John Gordillo who shares his memories of growing up in a Spanish family with a very forceful father. Shappi also chats with another 'related' guest- and also to Lenny Henry 'on location' to talk about his family.
There'll also be a chance for Shappi to chat with the audience and there'll be a song from Hils Barker.
Producer: Paul Russell
An Open Mike Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 22:30 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b01r0c5r)
Series 2, With guests Phill Jupitus and Lady Lykez
New series of the comedy show hosted by Alex Horne and his five piece band and specially written, original music. Guests across this series include Phill Jupitus, Charlie Baker, Nick Mohammed, Doc Brown, Matt Lucas and Danny Baker.
This second episode explores the theme of 'the body' including songs on shampoo, beards and catarrh. Guest starring Phill Jupitus who sings with the band and reads a poem, plus a rap from Lady Lykez.
Host .... Alex Horne
Trumpet/banjo .... Joe Auckland
Saxophone/clarinet ....Mark Brown
Double Bass/Bass .... Will Collier
Drums and Percussion .... Ben Reynolds
Piano/keyboard .... Ed Sheldrake
Guest performers .... Phill Jupitus and Lady Lykez
Producer .... Julia McKenzie.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b01p51r7)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tonight Arthur Smith chats to Tom Allen.
SAT 23:00 Rhod Gilbert's Bulging Barrel of Laughs (b00v4x0d)
Episode 6
Welsh stand-up Rhod Gilbert hosts a brand new audience comedy show featuring comedy regulars Lloyd Langford and Greg Davies (We Are Klang), along with Sarah Millican who takes a look at the last stage of Woman.
This final episode features live music from The Hoosiers, including the hit Worried About Ray, and the guest comedian is Jon Richardson. Find out what aliens know about teeth; why young people are as annoying as a nude Elton John playing the vuvuzela; and what depths Rhod would sink to become a kung fu master.

SUNDAY 16 APRIL 2017

SUN 00:00 Mike Walker - 2025 (b00j0hbm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Anne Tyler - The Amateur Marriage: Omnibus (b08mjcgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08mjfh7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kdf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 02:45 Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe (b007jrh2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b040h1d7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Sophocles' Electra (b08mj47x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Tiny Tim (b0076sg9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum: Omnibus (b01ngr9x)
After she meets a man at a party, a young woman experiences the corrosive impact of tabloid journalism. By Heinrich Boll.
SUN 07:15 Jonathan Swift - Satirical Verse (b08mjkhx)
18th century writer Jonathan Swift's poems were overshadowed by his biting prose.
Donald Wolfit reads a selection of Swift's caustic verse.
Selected and Introduced by DG Bridson.
First broadcast on the BBC Third Programme in January 1960.
SUN 07:30 My Teenage Diary (b04vkgls)
Series 6, Alex Horne
Comedian Alex Horne's teenage diary focuses on his 1997 gap year, which he spent teaching English in China. But looking back, Alex wishes he'd spent more time teaching grammar, and less time worrying about girls and sampling the local nightlife.
Produced by Harriet Jaine
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 The Frankie Howerd Variety Show (b007jr1c)
From 10/10/1978
Titters galore as Frankie Howerd introduces stars from the world of entertainment - Sweet Substitute, Charlie Chester, Carl Wayne and Les Dennis.
Music from the Max Harris Orchestra
Scripted by Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville, Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran.
Producer: Richard Willcox
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 1978.
SUN 09:00 David Jones: Engraver, Soldier, Painter, Poet - Omnibus (b08mjssr)
4 Extra Debut. Thomas Dilworth's illuminating biography of visual artist, poet and neglected Modernist, David Jones. Read by Nicholas Farrell.
SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08mjsx3)
William Boyd
Screenwriter and novelist William Boyd inherits 'Nature Boy' by Nat King Cole and passes on 'Beautiful' by Stephen Sondheim.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b08mk21z)
Honoured Actors, Eileen Atkins
4 Extra Debut. From Schumann to the Rolling Stones. Actress Eileen Atkins makes her castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From November 1998.
SUN 11:00 TED Radio Hour (b08mk2mp)
Series 4, Headspace
Guy Raz explores the powerful feelings of stress, depression and despair, with people who challenge assumptions about emotion.
A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.
SUN 11:55 The Listening Project (b04pshgh)
Mike and Philip - A Love of the Railway
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between two volunteers on the historic Talyllyn narrow-gauge steam railway, who compare notes on how working on it benefits them personally.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
SUN 12:00 The Frankie Howerd Variety Show (b007jr1c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 13:00 The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum: Omnibus (b01ngr9x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Jonathan Swift - Satirical Verse (b08mjkhx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Sarah Perry - The Essex Serpent: Omnibus (b08mk5q8)
Episode 2
Cora seeks help from her London friend, Dr Luke Garrett. Her friendship with Will is tested. Read by Ruth Gemmell.
SUN 15:45 Snapshots in the Dark (b0075qf8)
Jacob A Riis - Police Lodging Room, Church Street Station, 1895
Colin Ford explains how Riis's photographs of the New York slum had an immediate and extraordinary impact on society. From December 1999.
SUN 16:00 Ronald Frame - Greyfriars (b00pd7d2)
With petty thieves at work in the high street and a gang of ruthless house breakers at work in both the Old and New Town area of Edinburgh, new police recruits John Gray and his faithful dog have their work cut out.
John Gray served as an Edinburgh policeman for several years in the 1850s and, like other officers on the beat back then, he had to provide his own police dog: the faithful Skye terrier that came to be known as Greyfriars Bobby.
Ronald Frame's Victorian thriller written for radio stars Crawford Logan as Greyfriars Bobby, Paul Young as John Gray. Kenny Blythe as Aeneas Cairncross, Simon Tait as Lachlan Cairncross and Gayanne Potter as Bridie.
Produced in Glasgow by David Ian Neville.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b08mk6wz)
Fine Lines - Tony Harrison and Sean O'Brien
BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with 'Fine Lines' featuring Tony Harrison and Sean O'Brien.
Poets Tony and Sean are in conversation with Christopher Cook in Newcastle.
Fine Lines was a series looking at contemporary poetry,
Producer: Susan Roberts
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
SUN 17:30 My Teenage Diary (b04vkgls)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 The Price of Fear (b007jmty)
Not Wanted on the Voyage
Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale of the despotic Henrietta Forsythe's sway over her secretary and new husband.
Stars Margaret Courtenay as Henriette Forsythe, Sandor Eles as Carlos Mendoza, Henry Stamper as The Captain and Sheila Grant as Evelyn.
Scripted by William Ingram.
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1983.
SUN 18:30 A Sting in the Tale (b0076jwx)
Ghosting
By Gregory Evans. Young novelist Michael ghost-writes supermodel Vita's autobiography, but her life is dangerously seductive. Stars Jimi Mistry.
SUN 19:00 TED Radio Hour (b08mk2mp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 19:55 The Listening Project (b04pshgh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:55 today]
SUN 20:00 Howard Brenton and David Hare - Pravda (b08mkbtx)
Lambert Le Roux is a media tycoon of tremendous power. He's also a monster manipulating all, including Fleet Street.
Howard Brenton and David Hare's stage comedy adapted for radio and directed by Richard Wortley.
Starring Anthony Hopkins as Lambert Le Roux, Bill Nighy as Eaton Sylvester, Robert Glenister as Andrew May, Suzanne Burden as Rebecca Foley, Frederick Treves as Eliot Fruit Norton, Garard Green as Sir Stamford Foley and Stephen Tompkinson as Bill Smiley.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 1990.
SUN 22:00 My Teenage Diary (b04vkgls)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Jo Caulfield's Speakeasy (b037sdys)
Episode 1
Jo Caulfield hosts some of the best writers and comedians in the UK as they take to the stage at The Scottish Storytelling Centre to share a true story with us.
Lloyd Langford tells us about his rather unusual first day at work; Nathan Caton has a story about middle-class assumptions and middle-class prejudice; Scottish playwright Keir McAllister gets the tables turned on him by a young woman dressed in black; Jo tells us how a crossword puzzle nearly started a riot on a train; and there's a life-affirming story about love and hope from Jason Cook.
Created by Jo Caulfield and Kevin Anderson
Producer: Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08n8pr2)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tonight Arthur Smith chats to Tom Allen.
SUN 23:00 The In Crowd (b06h87lz)
Series 4, Episode 6
Naming children and computer dating. Manchester sketch show with Kate Ward, Smug Roberts and Robin Ince. From July 2004.
SUN 23:30 Bussmann and Quantick Kingsize (b00757wk)
Episode 1
Sketches, monologues and weird soup, written and performed by Jane Bussmann and David Quantick. With Peter Serafinowicz. From April 1998.

MONDAY 17 APRIL 2017

MON 00:00 The Price of Fear (b007jmty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 A Sting in the Tale (b0076jwx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum: Omnibus (b01ngr9x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Jonathan Swift - Satirical Verse (b08mjkhx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Sarah Perry - The Essex Serpent: Omnibus (b08mk5q8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Snapshots in the Dark (b0075qf8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Ronald Frame - Greyfriars (b00pd7d2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b08mk6wz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 My Teenage Diary (b04vkgls)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jprs)
Series 1, A Case of Making Good
A rich woman receives a mysterious parcel of tenners and the past unfolds like a flower. Can redundant pitman turned discrete private investigator, Stephen J Blackburn solve the case?
One of five cases for the ex-pitman turned investigator and his government scheme-funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Fine Time Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan.
With Rita May, Vanessa Rosenthal, Lorraine Peters, Lucia Laratonda and Robin Polley.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby
Directed for BBC North East by Dave Sheasby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1989.
MON 06:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mkjbp)
Time For Everything
"I think the English are so good at practical jokes, or they used to be - of course, the Edwardians were mad about practical jokes."
Harley Granville-Barker and Gordon Terry were directors who left a lasting impression on the actor.
Sir John Gielgud talks to John Miller about his distinguished acting career.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation. He played every major Shakespearean role, including King Lear, Hamlet, Richard II and Prospero. His Hollywood supporting role as a butler in 'Arthur' won him his only Oscar in 1982.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1978.
MON 07:00 Mr Finchley Takes the Road (b007k0zf)
Episode 2
In deepest Kent, Edgar meets an unlikely teller of salty tales. And could someone be following him? Stars Richard Griffiths.
MON 07:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b08lgq9j)
Series 18, Episode 2
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
John Finnemore, Henning Wehn, Lou Sanders and Miles Jupp the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as names, Germany, secrets and nudity.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 08:00 Not in Front of the Children (b08mkkrz)
Series 2, Country Style
The Corner family are excited to learn that their home may become famous...
Starring Wendy Craig as Jennifer Corner, Francis Matthews as Henry Corner, Wallas Eaton as Mr Widdicombe, Bettina Dickson as Mrs Everett, Dave Tate as Mr Manners, Eva Haddon as Miss Girling and Martin Friend as Mr Prentice.
The second series of comedy mishaps of the Corner family: Jennifer and Henry and their three children Trudi, Amanda and Robin. Not in Front of the Children originally ran for four series from 1967 to 1970 on BBC TV. Richard Waring adapted his own scripts for this radio version, now fully restored from the original reel-to-reel tapes.
Wendy Craig won a Best Actress BAFTA award for the TV version of Not in Front of the Children in 1969. This was the first of several housewife roles that Wendy Craig was to play on television. Later series included And Mother Makes Three/Five and Butterflies.
Music by Ronnie Hazlehurst
Producer: Trafford Whitelock.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1970.
MON 08:30 Dad's Army (b007jmp0)
Series 2, Don't Forget the Diver
Enlisting the additional services of a bird warbler, a scarecrow and a flock of sheep, Captain Mainwaring's Home Guard platoon mount a river attack on Captain Square's HQ.
Starring Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson, Clive Dunn as Corporal Jones, Ian Lavender as Private Pike, John Laurie as Private Frazer and Arnold Ridley as Godfrey.
Adapted for radio from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's TV scripts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1975.
MON 09:00 Booked (b08mkkxr)
Series 5, Episode 3
Ian McMillan chairs the literary quiz with Helen Lederer, Roger McGough, Miles Kington and David Stafford. From December 1998.
MON 09:30 The World As We Know It (b00fy2qt)
Donna's Leaving Do
Will the housemates finally discover what caused the end of the world? Stars Meera Syal and Simon Greenall. From June 1999.
MON 10:00 Herman Melville - Bartleby the Scrivener (b007jx95)
A law firm's copyist 'prefers' not to do parts of his job, but then his list of things to avoid turns sinister. Stars Ian Holm.
MON 11:00 Brian Friel Stories (b01r746w)
The Skelper
An outsider in Beannagreaghan instigates a poaching contest to ingratiate himself with town locals. Read by Adrian Dunbar.
MON 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b0090rcf)
Kathryn Simmonds - Poetry for Beginners
Comedy drama by Kathryn Simmonds.
During a residential writing course deep in the Shropshire countryside, poetry gives rise to lustful urges, ruthless artistic ambition and simmering rivalries.
Celia ...... Joanna Tope
Fran ...... Emma Currie
William ...... Crawford Logan
Moira ...... Ann Scott Jones
Nick ...... Nick Farr
Directed by David Jackson Young.
MON 12:00 Not in Front of the Children (b08mkkrz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jmp0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jprs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mkjbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b03lpc0d)
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, A Typical Man about Town
Blake Ritson reads a classic Jeeves and Wooster story from P G Wodehouse, one of the masters of comic fiction.
'Mr Wooster,' he said, 'you are a typical young man about town.'
'Oh thanks,' I responded, for it sounded like a compliment, and one always likes to say the civil thing.
Bertie Wooster has been overdoing the metropolitan life a little, so on doctor's orders, finds himself retiring to the quiet hamlet of Maiden Eggesford to 'sleep the sleep of the just and lead the quiet Martini-less life'. Only the presence of his irrepressible Aunt Dahlia shatters the rustic peace as an imbroglio develops - destined to be famous down the long years as the 'Maiden Eggesford Horror' or 'The Case Of The Cat Which Kept Popping Up When Least Expected' - which involves a stolen cat, an over-sensitive racehorse, and some star-crossed lovers. Wooster's quick-thinking butler Jeeves, as always, comes to the rescue.
In the first episode: 'A typical man about town' - on discovering some alarming spots, Bertie Wooster heads off to his quack, but on the way bumps into a former fiancee turned firebrand, her jealous paramour, and a very unwelcome adversary from the past.
The author of almost a hundred books and the creator of Jeeves, Blandings Castle, Psmith, Ukridge, Uncle Fred and Mr Mulliner, P G Wodehouse was born in 1881 in Guildford, Surrey. He was created a Knight of the British Empire in 1975 and died on St. Valentine's Day in the same year at the age of ninety-three. Jeeves and Wooster were perhaps his best-known creations; 'Aunts Aren't Gentlemen' was published in 1974, and was the last novel to feature the literary duo.
Reader: Blake Ritson is an acclaimed stage an screen actor, who first gained recognition for his role in Tom Stoppards 'Arcadia', and more recently for his TV roles in 'Emma', 'Upstairs Downstairs' and 'Mansfield Park'.
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
MON 14:15 Our Dreams: Our Selves (b03bddcr)
Morpheus Descending: Gods and Ghosts in the Ancient World
Puzzling over the nightly drama of our dreams is one of the most enduring of all human endeavours. We suspect that our dreams are meaningless, and yet we can't resist the urge to interpret the most vivid, transporting or troubling of them. The way dreams have been understood tells us a great deal, both about long dead dreamers, and the worlds in which they lived.
Over the course of this week, Lucy Powell explores the history of dreams and what we think they mean, a hundred years after Sigmund Freud's great work 'The Interpretation of Dreams' appeared in English.
She'll be exploring medieval mystics, renaissance dreamers, Romantic nightmares and the latest findings in neuroscience, but today she returns to the gods and ghosts of the ancient Greeks.
Freud described psychoanalysis as a kind of archaeology of the mind, a search for buried pieces of the past that the analyst must carefully retrieve, pull up to the light, and unlock to reveal their hidden meanings. And on Freud's desk, in his north London study, are real archaeological treasures: figures from ancient Greece, Rome, and Mesopotamia, part of the collection of over 2000 antiquities he collected during his lifetime - statues and frescos and strange, goggle-eyed gargoyles. He called them his 'old and grubby gods' who aided him in his work. They make of Freud's study a strange kind of dream-scape, filled with fragments of the past. Because in seeking to forge a new theory of dreams, Freud reached right back to the earliest dreams in Western history.
Producer: Jane Greenwood.
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b2grv)
Episode 1
An unexpected obstacle sparks a beguiling adventure for diplomat George Darrow. Stars Jodhi May, Sian Thomas and Ben Miles.
MON 14:45 Charles Chaplin - My Autobiography (b08mkprs)
Episode 1
Charlie Chaplin (1889-1975) rose from a destitute childhood to become perhaps the greatest comedian and filmmakers of them all.
At the start of his story, however, a sad fate awaits...
First published in 1964, Nigel Hawthorne reads the extraordinary story of how Sir Charlie Chaplin became a silent cinema comedy legend renowned for his on-screen slapstick. Abridged in ten parts by Donald Bancroft.
Producer: Gerry Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
MON 15:00 Herman Melville - Bartleby the Scrivener (b007jx95)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Booked (b08mkkxr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 The World As We Know It (b00fy2qt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Mr Finchley Takes the Road (b007k0zf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b08lgq9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch (b0076ph0)
Gas
"Katherine felt tired and cold. It was only nine o'clock. The dentist entered silently, breathing an antiseptic welcome ..."
An eerie journey on the way home from the dentist. Read by Tamara Kennedy.
The Scottish author Dorothy K Haynes (1918-1987) was a prolific writer of short stories who specialised in the supernatural and the unsettling.
The first of five readings taken from her award-winning collection, Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch - first published in 1949 with illustrations by Mervyn Peake.
Produced by David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
MON 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b037gxxv)
Chronicles of Ait - The Lotos Effect, Episode 1
In The Lotos Effect, Linus Scott is a General Practitioner dealing with the normal range of ailments when he is called to the home of a young woman struggling with a recurring nightmare. But after a second teenager independently reports the same dream, something happens which moves events into a more sinister dimension.
A man called Linus Scott, a woman called Alice Pyper and a remote East Coast village called Ait - these are the only ingredients of this returning series which remain constant. In all other respects, each story from the Chronicles of Ait is discrete from the others, though the prevailing mood is always one of mystery.
Cast:
Linus Scott...............Greg Wise
Alice Pyper................Amanda Drew
Maggie.....................Susan Wooldridge
Mrs Wright...............Suzanne Burden
Stella Wright............Gina Abolins
Mrs Warren/Sue.......Poppy Miller
Charlene Warren.....India Harl
Matt.........................Joe Claflin
Len/Paul..................Richard Hope
Written by Michael Butt
Produced and Directed by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0076jf0)
Stephen Frears and Sarah Waters
Sue MacGregor and her guests - film director, Stephen Frears and novelist, Sarah Waters - discuss books by Angela Carter, Arthur Ransome and Roddy Doyle. From 2003.
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Publisher: Vintage
Swallows And Amazons by Arthur Ransome
Publisher: Red Fox
The Snapper by Roddy Doyle
Publisher: Vintage.
MON 19:00 Not in Front of the Children (b08mkkrz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Dad's Army (b007jmp0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jprs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mkjbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Brian Friel Stories (b01r746w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b0090rcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b08lgq9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 The Consultants (b007k32d)
Series 3, Episode 1
Chesney fixes the alphabet, which has a leaky 'e'. Cerebral sketch show with Neil Edmond and Justin Edwards. From December 2004.
MON 23:00 The Now Show (b08lk546)
Series 50, 14/04/2017
Steve Punt presents the week in news through stand-up and sketches.
MON 23:30 A-Z of the British Countryside (b007k38g)
Award-winning comics Howard Read and Josie Long are joined by Chris Chantler on a 'road movie for radio.' From March 2007.

TUESDAY 18 APRIL 2017

TUE 00:00 Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch (b0076ph0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b037gxxv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0076jf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jprs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mkjbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b03lpc0d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Our Dreams: Our Selves (b03bddcr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b2grv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Charles Chaplin - My Autobiography (b08mkprs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Herman Melville - Bartleby the Scrivener (b007jx95)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Booked (b08mkkxr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 The World As We Know It (b00fy2qt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Mr Finchley Takes the Road (b007k0zf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b08lgq9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jps6)
Series 1, A Case of Parma Violets
Trailing a distinctive perfume, Betty Shuttleworth turns to private investigator Stephen J Blackburn when she suspects her husband's having an affair...
One of five cases for the ex-pitman turned investigator and his government scheme-funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Fine Time Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan.
With Rita May, Christine Cox, Gerry Kersey and Anne Rye.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby
Directed for BBC North East by Dave Sheasby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1989.
TUE 06:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mnjz6)
Alarums and Excursions
"He was very set on playing Malvolio in his particular way, which was very amusing but to me a little bit extravagant."
Memories of directing Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh in a production that "didn't work".
The actor in conversation with John Miller.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in Decemberr 1978.
TUE 07:00 Control Group Six (b08mnkyz)
Series 2, Episode 2
Can Heaven find a wife soon enough to satisfy a suspicious Bishop? And if he does, will she smell enough like his mother?
The second series of the bizarre four-part comedy - half sketch show and half psychological thriller. Written and performed by Richard Bean, Andrew Clifford, Clive Coleman and Colin Swash. With Geraldine Fitzgerald.
Producer: Jon Rolph
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
TUE 07:30 The Missing Hancocks (b08lh7dg)
The Three Sons
The Missing Hancocks recreates those episodes of the classic Radio Show Hancock's Half Hour that have been wiped or lost from the archive. Not heard since then, this is a real piece of comedy history.
The first modern sitcom, Hancock's Half Hour made stars of Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams and launched Ray Galton and Alan Simpson on one of the most successful comedy-writing partnerships in history. But 20 episodes of the show are missing from the BBC archives. Now, after two highly successful series, another five of those episodes have been lovingly re-recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.
Tonight's episode: The Three Sons. This modern morality tale tells the story of old Ebidiah Hancock and his three sons, all of whom are played by Hancock
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and with the classic score newly recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, the show stars Andy Secombe, Kevin Eldon, Simon Greenall, Robin Sebastian and Susy Kane. The Three Sons was first broadcast on the 21st June, 1955.
Produced by Neil Pearson & Paul Sheehan.
Written by Ray Galton & Simpson
Music recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Levon Parikian.
A BBC Studios Production.
TUE 08:00 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00h4lnm)
From 05/04/1971
An odd romantic tryst and the life of a great Englishman.
A sequential entertainment for radio starring Ronnie Barker.
With Terence Brady and Pauline Yates. Pianist: Gordon Langford.
Written by John Graham, David Nobbs, David McKellar and Peter Vincent, Donald Monat and June Dixon, Miles Rudge and Ted Dicks, Pete Spence, Alan Scott and Chris Bryant, and Gerald Wiley.
Producer John Fawcett-Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1971.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b00y2xmy)
French Cricket
The hapless duo set out to sell the national game overseas.
A weekly tribute to all those who work in government offices and to all the others who spend their days there as well.
Stars Wilfrid Hyde White and Richard Murdoch.
With Norma Ronald, Roy Dotrice, David Graham and Betty Marsden.
Written and produced by Edward Taylor.
'The Men from the Ministry' ran for 14 series between 1962 and 1977. Deryck Guyler replaced Wilfrid Hyde-White from 1966. Sadly many episodes didn't survive in the archive, however the BBC's Transcription Service re-recorded 14 shows in 1980 - never broadcast in the UK, until the arrival of BBC Radio 4 Extra.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1962.
TUE 09:00 The Now Show (b08lk546)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 Tracy Aston - Mad Man Blue (b0113060)
Roy Hudd's comic monologue as the unassuming but irrepressible Bloomer. Will a feud with his neighbour leave him unscathed?
TUE 10:00 Saturday Drama (b00kwfbd)
Hattie Naylor - J'Accuse
By Hattie Naylor. Dramatisation inspired by a newspaper article written by Emile Zola in response to the Dreyfus Affair of the 1890s, when a Jewish army officer was persecuted and wrongly imprisoned by the French military and judicial establishment. Louis Gregori gives a right-wing and nationalistic perspective on the events that led him to believe that the murder of the guiltless Dreyfus was the correct and only action.
Louis ...... Mark Heap
Dominique ...... Kathryn Hunt
Arnaud ...... Graeme Hawley
Zola ...... Conrad Nelson
Eugene/Dreyfus ...... Paul Mundell
Gustav ...... Jonathan Keeble
Directed by Pauline Harris.
TUE 11:00 Brian Friel Stories (b01r7bm7)
My True Kinsman
Tom Burke's surprise encounter with his garrulous, forbidden grandfather sparks an unexpected connection. Read by Adrian Dunbar.
TUE 11:15 Peter Wolf - Ghost on the Moor (b00sr5qc)
Haunted by a painful break-up, moors recluse Graham begins an unexpected relationship. Romantic drama starring Robert Glenister.
TUE 12:00 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00h4lnm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b00y2xmy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jps6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mnjz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b03lph96)
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, The Quiet, Martini-less Life
Blake Ritson reads a classic Jeeves and Wooster story from P G Wodehouse, one of the masters of comic fiction.
'Mr Wooster,' he said, 'you are a typical young man about town.'
'Oh thanks,' I responded, for it sounded like a compliment, and one always likes to say the civil thing.
Bertie Wooster has been overdoing the metropolitan life a little, so on doctor's orders, finds himself retiring to the quiet hamlet of Maiden Eggesford to 'sleep the sleep of the just and lead the quiet Martini-less life'. Only the presence of his irrepressible Aunt Dahlia shatters the rustic peace as an imbroglio develops - destined to be famous down the long years as the 'Maiden Eggesford Horror' or 'The Case Of The Cat Which Kept Popping Up When Least Expected' - which involves a stolen cat, an over-sensitive racehorse, and some star-crossed lovers. Wooster's quick-thinking butler Jeeves, as always, comes to the rescue.
Today: 'The quiet, Martini-less life' - man-about-town Wooster finds himself, on doctor's orders, sampling the quiet life in the sleepy village of Maiden Eggesford. But then, best laid plans....
The author of almost a hundred books and the creator of Jeeves, Blandings Castle, Psmith, Ukridge, Uncle Fred and Mr Mulliner, P G Wodehouse was born in 1881 in Guildford, Surrey, in 1881. He was created a Knight of the British Empire in 1975 and died the same year at the age of ninety-three. Jeeves and Wooster were perhaps his best-known creations; 'Aunts Aren't Gentlemen' was published in 1974, and was the last novel to feature the literary duo.
Reader: Blake Ritson
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
TUE 14:15 Our Dreams: Our Selves (b03bds40)
Mystics and Melancholia: Radical Dreamers in the Middle Ages
Over the course of this week, Lucy Powell explores the history of dreams and what we think they mean, a hundred years after Sigmund Freud's great work 'The Interpretation of Dreams' appeared in English.
As well as investigating the impact of that book, she'll be exploring renaissance dreamers, Romantic nightmares, and the latest findings in neuroscience, but today she returns to the great mystical dreamers of the Middle Ages.
At no time in Western history have dreams been so divinely inspired, or as highly revered as in the Middle Ages. Our earliest literature is studded with transcendent, celestial dreams. They had the power to precipitate wars and reroute the fate of nations. They could confer extraordinary freedoms on ordinary medieval people. But they could also precipitate what seem to us intolerable physical restrictions.
Lucy visits the cell of Julian of Norwich, who chose to spend her life bound by four walls, contemplating the meaning of her divinely-inspired dreams. But while Julian's visions drove her to the complete seclusion of a contemplative, her Norfolk contemporary Margery Kempe, was propelled across the globe by her visions of Christ.
Producer: Jane Greenwood.
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b2qv8)
Episode 2
Diplomat George Darrow is determined to give Sophie a few days of happiness in Paris. Stars Jodhi May, Sian Thomas and Ben Miles.
TUE 14:45 Charles Chaplin - My Autobiography (b08mnr8r)
Episode 2
Charlie Chaplin explains how he became a cinema legend. Surviving a school for destitute children. Read by Nigel Hawthorne.
TUE 15:00 Saturday Drama (b00kwfbd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (b007jrcc)
Episode 1
It ran for 10 series on Channel 4 and found success in America, but the hit TV improvisation game actually started life on BBC radio.

When it began in January 1988, this show adopted a format with two regular team captains - Fry and Sessions and two guests each week, with Colin Sell at the piano.

In this first edition of the pioneering series, John Sessions, Dawn French, Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry are tasked to improvise by series chairman Clive Anderson.

Rounds include ghastly guests at a party and Goldilocks and the Three Bears performed as never before.

Devised and compiled by Mark Leveson. Additional material by Martin Booth.

Producer: Dan Patterson.
TUE 16:30 Tracy Aston - Mad Man Blue (b0113060)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Control Group Six (b08mnkyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 The Missing Hancocks (b08lh7dg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch (b0076phk)
The Gay Goshawk
An injured knight hopes for help from his trained hawk. From Dorothy K Haynes' 1949 story collection. Read by Finlay Welsh.
TUE 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b037jpc2)
Chronicles of Ait - The Lotos Effect, Episode 2
In The Lotos Effect, Linus Scott is a General Practitioner dealing with the normal range of ailments when he is called to the home of a young woman struggling with a recurring nightmare. But after a second teenager independently reports the same dream, something happens which moves events into a more sinister dimension.
A man called Linus Scott, a woman called Alice Pyper and a remote East Coast village called Ait - these are the only ingredients of this returning series which remain constant. In all other respects, each story from the Chronicles of Ait is discrete from the others, though the prevailing mood is always one of mystery.
Episode 2:
Linus Scott begins to investigate the circumstances surrounding Charlene's mysterious death.
Written by Michael Butt
Produced and Directed by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 How Tickled Am I? (b007jt2k)
Series 3, Norman Evans
Mark Radcliffe looks back at the life and career of northern comic Norman Evans, famed for his sketches over the garden wall.
TUE 19:00 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00h4lnm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b00y2xmy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jps6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mnjz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Brian Friel Stories (b01r7bm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Peter Wolf - Ghost on the Moor (b00sr5qc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 The Missing Hancocks (b08lh7dg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Cowards (b0079nt1)
Series 1, Episode 3
Packing cases and breaking vows in the bizarre world of Tom Basden, Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key and Lloyd Woolf. From May 2007.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08n8pr6)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tonight Jon Holmes chats to Katy Brand.
TUE 23:00 Concrete Cow (b0076k1x)
Series 1, Episode 6
Email problems in ancient Rome, in this sketch comedy starring Robert Webb, Olivia Colman and Sally Hawkins. From September 2002.
TUE 23:30 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b01bm0pr)
Series 4, Episode 1
Comedian-activist Mark Thomas and his studio audience consider policy proposals for a People's Manifesto.
This week's agenda:
1) Excluding Non-Doms from free access to the NHS
2) Every citizen to be given £10,000 in quantitative easing vouchers, to be spent in the next 6 months
And
3) Proportional voting rights for MPs based on the size of their majorities
"Any Other Business" policies are also taken from the studio audience throughout the show.
Written and presented by Mark Thomas
Produced by Colin Anderson.

WEDNESDAY 19 APRIL 2017

WED 00:00 Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch (b0076phk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b037jpc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 How Tickled Am I? (b007jt2k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jps6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mnjz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b03lph96)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Our Dreams: Our Selves (b03bds40)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b2qv8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Charles Chaplin - My Autobiography (b08mnr8r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Saturday Drama (b00kwfbd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (b007jrcc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Tracy Aston - Mad Man Blue (b0113060)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Control Group Six (b08mnkyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 The Missing Hancocks (b08lh7dg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpsn)
Series 1, A Case of Brotherly Love
Private investigator Stephen J Blackburn hunts for a Canadian's long-lost brother, decades after their cruel separation....
One of five cases for the ex-pitman turned investigator and his government scheme-funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Fine Time Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan.
With John Graham Davies, Norman Mills, Ray Ashcroft and Bill Rodgers.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby
Directed for BBC North East by Dave Sheasby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1989.
WED 06:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mnzyf)
Juliet in a Pink Bath
"It was the only time I've ever appeared in a music-hall."
Sir John Gielgud tells John Miller about important collaborations with gifted performers like Dame Peggy Ashcroft.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1978.
WED 07:00 The Attractive Young Rabbi (b007k3rr)
Series 3, Crime Wave
It all begins with a disappearing car and a little old lady. Stars Tracy-Ann Oberman and David De Keyser. From March 2002.
WED 07:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b04jm36p)
Series 3, About Bad Boys
ABOUT BAD BOYS
In a mix of stand-up and re-enacted family life - Nathan Caton tries to be a good role model for his younger brother Tyree.
Written by Nathan Caton and James Kettle
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing is a series about young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who after becoming the first in his family to graduate from University, opted not to use his architecture degree but instead to try his hand at being a full-time stand-up comedian, much to his family's horror and disgust. They desperately want him to get a 'proper job.'
Each episode illustrates the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his disapproving family as he tries to prove himself.
The series is a mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.
Janet a.k.a. Mum is probably the kindest and most lenient of the disappointed family members. At the end of the day she just wants the best for her son. However, she'd also love to brag and show her son off to her friends, but with Nathan only telling jokes for a living that's kind of hard to do.
Martin a.k.a. Dad works in the construction industry and was looking forward to his son getting a degree so the two of them could work together in the same field. But now Nathan has blown that dream out of the window. Martin is clumsy and hard-headed and leaves running the house to his wife (she wouldn't allow it to be any other way).
Shirley a.k.a. Grandma cannot believe Nathan turned down architecture for comedy. She can't believe she left the paradise in the West Indies and came to the freezing United Kingdom for a better life so that years later her grandson could 'tell jokes!' How can her grandson go on stage and use foul language and filthy material... it's not the good Christian way!
So with all this going on in the household what will Nathan do? Will he persevere and follow his dreams? Or will he give in to his family's interference? Or will he finally leave home?!
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b007jnz5)
The Case of the HGM Mark 5
Senior officers aboard HMS Troutbridge fear the worst when they're summoned to the Admiralty.
Starring Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as the Commanding Officer, Richard Caldicot as Captain Povey, Heather Chasen as Rita, Tenniel Evans as Bonzo, Michael Bates as the Admiral, April Walker as Wren Barrett and Pete Murray as Himself.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman and George Evans.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1976.
WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007yntz)
Series 5, The Male Suffragettes
The lad says women are holding men back, so he forms a group to re-establish male superiority.
Stars Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1958.
WED 09:00 Dilemma (b03w0j4d)
Series 3, Episode 4
Sue Perkins presents a third series of Dilemma, the panel show where she puts four guests through the moral and ethical wringer by posing a series of finely-balanced dilemmas and then cross-examining them on their answers.
This week, Sue is joined by comedians Nick Doody and Angela Barnes, who confront issues regarding horses and awkward family situations; award-winning actor Cush Jumbo reveals a real-life dilemma about identity; and journalist Dominic Lawson helps an audience member with affairs of the heart.
The show was devised by the actor and award-winning comedian Danielle Ward.
"A non-irritating, hilarious panel show" (Radio Times)
Presenter ... Sue Perkins
Devised by ... Danielle Ward
Producer ... Ed Morrish.
WED 09:30 Up the Garden Path (b0082g3d)
Series 2, On the Side of the Angels
Izzy faces confusion when fiance Charles takes her to home to the family mansion. Stars Imelda Staunton. From November 1988.
WED 10:00 Susan Hill - Chances (b08mp2kf)
Dame Judi Dench and Dame Peggy Ashcroft perform two-interlinked monologues by Susan Hill.
In 'The Girl' with Judi Dench - a practical Irish maid ponders her life at a seaside hotel - sharing her thoughts on the people she meets, the bible and her life...
In 'The Woman' with Peggy Ashcroft - a guest remembers better days and higher standards at the same hotel - and sadly looks back over the way her life has turned out...
Producer: Richard Wortley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 1981.
WED 11:00 Brian Friel Stories (b01r7ml8)
Everything Neat and Tidy
Driving his mother-in-law to the clinic each week allows Johnny Barr to grieve for the ambitions of his youth, while Mrs Mac struggles to escape her own grief.
WED 11:15 Peter Tinniswood (b036y49b)
The Sitter
Bulldog is 82 when a new visitor inspires memories of his death-defying flights and exotic love affairs. Stars Maurice Denham.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b007jnz5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007yntz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mnzyf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b03lrzjt)
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, Has He Brought It Yet?
A classic Jeeves and Wooster story from P G Wodehouse, one of the masters of comic fiction.
'Mr Wooster,' he said, 'you are a typical young man about town.'
'Oh thanks,' I responded, for it sounded like a compliment, and one always likes to say the civil thing.
Bertie Wooster has been overdoing the metropolitan life a little, so on doctor's orders, finds himself retiring to the quiet hamlet of Maiden Eggesford to 'sleep the sleep of the just and lead the quiet Martini-less life'. Only the presence of his irrepressible Aunt Dahlia shatters the rustic peace as an imbroglio develops - destined to be famous down the long years as the 'Maiden Eggesford Horror' or 'The Case Of The Cat Which Kept Popping Up When Least Expected' - which involves a stolen cat, an over-sensitive racehorse, and some star-crossed lovers. Wooster's quick-thinking butler Jeeves, as always, comes to the rescue.
Today: 'Has he brought it yet?' - the tribulations of the star-crossed lovers and a disappearing cat are tempting Bertie away from the quiet, Martini-less life.
The author of almost a hundred books and the creator of Jeeves, Blandings Castle, Psmith, Ukridge, Uncle Fred and Mr Mulliner, P G Wodehouse was born in 1881 in Guildford, Surrey, in 1881. He was created a Knight of the British Empire in 1975 and died the same year at the age of ninety-three. Jeeves and Wooster were perhaps his best-known creations; 'Aunts Aren't Gentlemen' was published in 1974, and was the last novel to feature the literary duo.
Reader: Blake Ritson
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
WED 14:15 Our Dreams: Our Selves (b03bdw8k)
Renaissance Dreamers: Witches, Demons and the Troubles of Eros
Over the course of this week, Lucy Powell explores the history of dreams and what we think they mean, a hundred years after Sigmund Freud's great work 'The Interpretation of Dreams' appeared in English. She traces the shadowy, circuitous and often surprising history of dreams, from the oldest works of Western literature to the very forefront of neuroscience, and finds out where dreams have taken us in the past, and where they might transport us next.
In this programme, she explores the dreams of the Renaissance.
Nowhere do we feel as safe and shielded from the world as in our beds. They are witness to the most significant events of our lives, from birth to death. And our beds are also the theatres in which the nightly drama of our dreams plays out. But for the people of the Renaissance, the bed and the dreams that arrived in them were also sites of very real danger.
Lucy eavesdrops on Renaissance dreamers including Oliver Cromwell's grandmother and Samuel Pepys, to uncover the potential dangers of the erotic and the political dream. And she visits the great house of Knole in Kent to find out how Shakespeare used the dream to disguise dangerous statements about power and politics in Renaissance England.
Producer: Jane Greenwood.
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b32bz)
Episode 3
George Darrow arrives at Givre in his pursuit of Anna, but they're soon quibbling. Stars Jodhi May and Julian Ovenden.
WED 14:45 Charles Chaplin - My Autobiography (b08mp415)
Episode 3
Charlie Chaplin explains how he became a cinema legend. His actor father is forced to take care of him. Read by Nigel Hawthorne.
WED 15:00 Susan Hill - Chances (b08mp2kf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Dilemma (b03w0j4d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Up the Garden Path (b0082g3d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 The Attractive Young Rabbi (b007k3rr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b04jm36p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch (b0076pj7)
Pentecost - a Flashback
Series of 5 stories by Scottish author Dorothy K Haynes, originally published in 1949. 3: Pentecost - a Flashback. A prayer meeting in wartime Glasgow is rudely interrupted, and the life of the hall caretaker is changed forever. Read by Tamara Kennedy.
WED 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b037jbtg)
Chronicles of Ait - The Lotos Effect, Episode 3
In The Lotos Effect, Linus Scott is a General Practitioner dealing with the normal range of ailments when he is called to the home of a young woman struggling with a recurring nightmare. But after a second teenager independently reports the same dream, something happens which moves events into a more sinister dimension.
A man called Linus Scott, a woman called Alice Pyper and a remote East Coast village called Ait - these are the only ingredients of this returning series which remain constant. In all other respects, each story from the Chronicles of Ait is discrete from the others, though the prevailing mood is always one of mystery.
Episode Three:
After Len's son Matt appears to have had the same nightmare as the dead Charlene, Linus makes a disturbing discovery about Alice Pyper.
Written by Michael Butt
Produced and Directed by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b00wlgjc)
I Don't Know
"I don't know" - three little words so hard to say nowadays. Doubt and uncertainty are out, confident assertions are in. Opinions, even received ones, are the order of the day. The temptation is always to bluff our way with some kind of response, however little we know about the subject in hand. Phil Hammond is a doctor and Kathy Sykes is a science professor. John Harris is a journalist whose job is to express opinions. Are they able simply to admit: "I don't know"? Dominic Arkwright presides over new writing and straight-to-the-point discussion.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b007jnz5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007yntz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mnzyf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Brian Friel Stories (b01r7ml8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Peter Tinniswood (b036y49b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b04jm36p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Births, Deaths and Marriages (b037smxl)
Series 2, The Safe Room
Births, Deaths and Marriages - returning for a second series - is the sitcom set in a Local Authority Register Office where the staff deal with the three greatest events in anybody's life.
Written by David Schneider (The Day Today, I'm Alan Partridge), he stars as chief registrar Malcolm Fox who is a stickler for rules and would be willing to interrupt any wedding service if the width of the bride infringes health and safety. He's single but why does he need to be married? He's married thousands of women.
Alongside him are rival and divorcee Lorna who has been parachuted in from Car Parks to drag the office (and Malcolm) into the 21st century. To her, marriage isn't just about love and romance, it's got to be about making a profit in our new age of austerity.
There's also the ever spiky Mary, geeky Luke who's worried he'll end up like Malcolm one day, and ditzy Anita who may get her words and names mixed up occasionally but, as the only parent in the office, is a mother to them all.
In the fourth episode, Malcolm's unhappy that a change in the law, allowing marriages to take place out of office hours, means he has to do a late night Halloween themed wedding. Lorna is delighted as it means more business for the office and she's also agreed to do a birth registration at a charity power walk for her new flat mate. Mary is teasing Luke who is being superstitious about Halloween, while Anita tries hard to be more decisive.
Producer: Simon Jacobs
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08n8prb)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tonight Jon Holmes chats to Katy Brand.
WED 23:00 Elis James's Pantheon of Heroes (b03ny89d)
Series 3, Creators
Comedian Elis James compares key figures in Welsh history to determine Wales's ultimate heroes, aided by Nadia Kamil and Benjamin Partridge.
WED 23:30 The Rita Rudner Show (b01rl5r6)
Are We There Yet?
American comedian Rita Rudner stars as herself in a new four-part sitcom where she returns to the UK with her husband, played by Martin Trenaman.
The series has been written by Rita and her real life husband Martin Bergman. As she tries to re-establish herself in the UK, things go from bad to worse as she's joined by a group of colleagues who try and make her return as successful as possible. Not helped by her inept management, her eccentric hotel owner and her bizarre cockney comedy opening act - her visit doesn't go to plan!
In this opening episode, Rita and her husband Martin have an unexpectedly lengthy flight to London and find the hotel they're staying in is unusual to say the least - encapsulated by it's odd owner Mrs Harrison (the wonderful Phyllida Law). They realise their UK management haven't quite realised who Rita is and she is forced to work with a failing comedian who's been chosen as her support act.
With a supporting cast that includes Michael Fenton Stevens, co-writer Martin Bergman, Mike Wilmot and Vivienne Avramoff, the series mixes sitcom with classic stand up routines from Rita.
Producer: Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4.

THURSDAY 20 APRIL 2017

THU 00:00 Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch (b0076pj7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b037jbtg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b00wlgjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mnzyf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b03lrzjt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Our Dreams: Our Selves (b03bdw8k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b32bz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Charles Chaplin - My Autobiography (b08mp415)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Susan Hill - Chances (b08mp2kf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Dilemma (b03w0j4d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Up the Garden Path (b0082g3d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Attractive Young Rabbi (b007k3rr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b04jm36p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpt3)
Series 1, A Case of Plagiarism
Private investigator Stephen J Blackburn is called in when writer Hartley J Newton is convinced his TV script has been pinched...
One of five cases for the ex-pitman turned investigator and his government scheme-funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Fine Time Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan.
With Gerry Kersey, Christine Cox, Peter Bell and James Tomlinson.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby
Directed for BBC North East by Dave Sheasby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1989.
THU 06:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mp88b)
Speak the Speech
"Taxi-drivers can never understand me and I gabble tremendously off the stage".
Sir John Gielgud talks to John Miller about his approach to learning lines which differed from Noel Coward's.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1978.
THU 07:00 In the Chair (b007jq8n)
Episode 6
Maverick hack George Cragge is certain he knows the killer's identity. Meanwhile, who will be the BBC's next director-general?
Mark Tavener's six-part satirical comedy thriller stars Michael Williams as George Cragge, Barry Foster as DCI Frank Jefferson, Hugh Laurie as the Prime Minister, Richard Griffiths as Crichton-Potter, John Bird as Martin, Stephen Fry as Charles Prentiss, Rebecca Front as Marcia Mallon, Kenneth Cranham as Jim Hardie, Geoffrey Whitehead as Director of Personnel, Simon Greehall as the Chancellor, Jonathan Keeble as John and Susie Brann as Caroline.
Music by Paul Mottram.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
THU 07:30 Reluctant Persuaders (b08ljxcc)
Series 2, Just Do It
Starring Nigel Havers, Mathew Baynton and Josie Lawrence. Welcome back to Hardacre's, the worst advertising agency in London, for the second series of Edward Rowett's award-winning sitcom.
This week, the team are unexpectedly in demand. The marketing manager of nutrition company Protein Team (guest star Richard Goulding) enlists their services for a huge poster campaign, aimed at selling protein shakes to women.
Yet no sooner is their ad up - featuring a slender woman, and an even more slender bikini - than Hardacre's find themselves at the centre of a media storm over misogyny, body-shaming, and the evils of advertising.
Wracked with guilt and determined to make amends, Joe (Mathew Baynton) clashes with his older and more cynical creative director Rupert Hardacre (Nigel Havers) and accounts manager Amanda (Josie Lawrence), who are convinced that sex sells and all publicity is good publicity. But in an age of Twitter storms and third-wave feminism, are they behind the times?
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 08:00 Marriage Lines (b04krq1d)
Series 1, The Threshold
Newlyweds George and Kate find themselves locked out of their new flat.
Richard Briers and Prunella Scales star as newlyweds, in the 1960's BBC comedy that brought the pair to prominence.
Originating on BBC TV, it was adapted for radio version due to its popularity. The sitcom charts their domestic and relationship trials, tribulations and stresses, in addition to George's troubles at the office and their first baby.
In this opening episode the young, newly-married couple Kate and George Starling return to their first home together.
A decade later, Richard Briers went on to play Tom Good in The Good Life and Prunella Scales went on to star as Sybil in Fawlty Towers. They remained friends until Richard Briers' death in 2013.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1965.
THU 08:30 Benny Hill (b08mpbg5)
Benny Hill Time
The master of double entendre goes Down Your Way and Fred Scuttle turns film director - with a Russian twist.
With Peter Vernon, Jan Waters, Anthony Sharp, the Mike Sammes Singers and the Johnnie Spence Orchestra.
Scripted by Benny Hill.
Producer: John Browel
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1964.
THU 09:00 Guess What? (b063r9k0)
Episode 5
Animal, vegetable or mineral? Barry Took's revised 20 questions. With Geoffrey Durham and Hattie Hayridge. From May 1998.
THU 09:30 Such Rotten Luck (b01nm0f2)
Series 1, The Little Grey Man
The ups and downs of a second-class writer. Comedy drama starring Tim Pigott-Smith and Zoe Wanamaker. From September 1989.
THU 10:00 Saturday Drama (b02xxvcv)
Mark Lawson - Suspicion for 10 Voices
Written by Mark Lawson.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, England was a protestant country standing alone against formidable European and papal enemies. Fear of a Roman Catholic fifth column was rife. But when William Byrd, Elizabeth's favourite composer, is arrested and charged with placing secret papist messages within the music of the Chapel Royal, the court is shocked and panic takes hold among the recusant community.
Byrd's dense polyphony is dissected and decoded and it seems sedition is undeniable. But the composer has a powerful protector - one whom not even Walsingham dare countermand.
Starring Simon Russell Beale as Byrd and Anton Lesser as Walsingham.
Musical Director: Neil Brand
Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 11:00 Brian Friel Stories (b01r80ry)
The Gold in the Sea
Old farmer Con's fishing trip off the Donegal coast sparks a story of a sunken ship and elusive treasure. Read by Adrian Dunbar.
THU 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b01h6463)
Roy Smiles - Dear Arthur, Love John
A comedy drama by Roy Smiles, writer of previous Afternoon Dramas Ying Tong, Good Evening and Pythonesque.
It's often assumed that it was Dad's Army that made John Le Mesurier and Arthur Lowe well known. This is not so. Arthur Lowe had come to national attention, after a long apprenticeship in theatre, as the uptight church warden Mr Swindley in Coronation Street. John had made many films and found success as the diffident Colonel in the popular sitcom George And The Dragon. But it was Dad's Army, late in their lives, that brought them fame, fortune and the oddest of friendships.
For these were strange bedfellows: Arthur was a grammar school boy made good, John a public schoolboy who'd shamed his family by going into showbusiness; Arthur was a high Tory, John a life-long fluffy liberal; Arthur had a happy and stable marriage, John notoriously difficult ones - his first wife (Hattie Jacques) had left him for a shifty car-dealer, his second wife (Joan) had left him for doomed comedian Tony Hancock.
In 1982 John writes to Arthur to say how much he misses him and, as he does, we flashback to Dad's Army: the first read through; the reaction to getting 21 million viewers; Lowe's hatred of being recognised by the public; the rivalry between John Laurie and Arnold Ridley; Lowe's hostility to Clive Dunn and socialism; the affection Le Mesurier had for them all, particularly Jimmy Beck; and how, after initial snobbery about the show, the cast came to realise it was the best time of their lives.
Producer: Liz Anstee
A CPL Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:00 Marriage Lines (b04krq1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 Benny Hill (b08mpbg5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpt3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mp88b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b03ls16c)
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, I Can Explain Everything
Blake Ritson reads a classic Jeeves and Wooster story from P G Wodehouse, one of the masters of comic fiction.
'Mr Wooster,' he said, 'you are a typical young man about town.'
'Oh thanks,' I responded, for it sounded like a compliment, and one always likes to say the civil thing.
Bertie Wooster has been overdoing the metropolitan life a tad, so on doctor's orders, finds himself retiring to the quiet hamlet of Maiden Eggesford to 'sleep the sleep of the just and lead the quiet Martini-less life'. Only the presence of his irrepressible Aunt Dahlia shatters the rustic peace as an imbroglio develops, involving a stolen cat, an over-sensitive racehorse, and some star-crossed lovers. Wooster's quick-thinking butler Jeeves, as always, comes to the rescue.
Today: 'I can explain everything' - Bertie finds himself unexpectedly betrothed, and in receipt of a missing cat.
The author of almost a hundred books and the creator of Jeeves, Blandings Castle, Psmith, Ukridge, Uncle Fred and Mr Mulliner, P G Wodehouse was born in 1881 in Guildford, Surrey, in 1881. He was created a Knight of the British Empire in 1975 and died the same year at the age of ninety-three. Jeeves and Wooster were perhaps his best-known creations; 'Aunts Aren't Gentlemen' was published in 1974, and was the last novel to feature the literary duo.
Reader: Blake Ritson
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
THU 14:15 Our Dreams: Our Selves (b03bfsz2)
Dark Romantics and Opium Dreams
Over the course of this week, Lucy Powell explores the history of dreams and what we think they mean, a hundred years after Sigmund Freud's great work 'The Interpretation of Dreams' appeared in English. She traces the shadowy, circuitous and often surprising history of dreams, from the oldest works of western literature to the very forefront of neuroscience, and finds out where dreams have taken us in the past, and where they might transport us next.
In this programme, she explores the dreams of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In this new, Enlightened era, the age-old notion that dreams might be divine emissaries or the dark nocturnal work of devilish spirits, would no longer hold cultural currency. All the demons that our dreams revealed would be our own. And yet, the Enlightenment also precipitated a scientific revolution that would see extremely powerful, psychomorphic drugs being routinely prescribed for a whole host of ailments. Crucially for dreamers, one of these was opium, which bore very particular, poetic fruits. From Coleridge's Kubla Khan to the nightmares of de Quincey and the dream which led to Frankenstein, dreams in this era proved to be both creatively inspiring and personally terrifying.
Producer: Jane Greenwood.
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b3gv2)
Episode 4
Just as Anna's life looks set to begin with George, a surprise awaits him. Stars Jodhi May, Sian Thomas and Ben Miles.
THU 14:45 Charles Chaplin - My Autobiography (b08mp7yq)
Episode 4
Charlie Chaplin explains how he became a cinema legend. Early success and failure on the stage. Read by Nigel Hawthorne.
THU 15:00 Saturday Drama (b02xxvcv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Guess What? (b063r9k0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Such Rotten Luck (b01nm0f2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 In the Chair (b007jq8n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Reluctant Persuaders (b08ljxcc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch (b0076pjr)
The Memory
A child is convinced that she witnessed an execution. From Dorothy K Haynes' 1949 collection. Read by Tamara Kennedy.
THU 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b037jfml)
Chronicles of Ait - The Lotos Effect, Episode 4
In The Lotos Effect, Linus Scott is a General Practitioner dealing with the normal range of ailments when he is called to the home of a young woman struggling with a recurring nightmare. But after a second teenager independently reports the same dream, something happens which moves events into a more sinister dimension.
A man called Linus Scott, a woman called Alice Pyper and a remote East Coast village called Ait - these are the only ingredients of this returning series which remain constant. In all other respects, each story from the Chronicles of Ait is discrete from the others, though the prevailing mood is always one of mystery.
Episode Four:
Linus finds that Alice and young Stella have become inexplicably close, and old Maggie Sandlin is the source of new revelations.
Written by Michael Butt
Produced and Directed by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 A Good Bit of Howerd (b08msgkv)
The king of titters, Frankie Howerd is telling all to DJ Pete Murray - with generous excerpts from some of Frankie's broadcasts.
Describing himself as "the sex kitten of the BBC" - Frankie reveals why he never ad-libs, the importance of good writers, assesses his singing abilities and thoughts about performing to an audience.
Producer: Bill Worsley
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1963.
THU 19:00 Marriage Lines (b04krq1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Benny Hill (b08mpbg5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpt3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mp88b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Brian Friel Stories (b01r80ry)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b01h6463)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Reluctant Persuaders (b08ljxcc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Clare in the Community (b03q98yj)
Series 9, Away Day Wey Hey
Episode Three - Away Day Wey Hey
Clare and the rest of the Sparrowhawk team are forced to take part in a team-building away day, much to Clare's disapproval.
Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.
A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.
Each week we join Clare in her continued struggle to control both her professional and private life In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
Producer Alexandra Smith.
THU 23:00 Elastic Planet (b007k399)
The Objects
What do shipwrecked objects have in common? Caron Keating features in the cosmic comedy of connections. From June 1995.
THU 23:15 The Shuttleworths (b00smbj9)
Series 5, How's Your Nan
Having recently enjoyed some of Ken's takeaway pompadom (sic), John decides to go for his first curry, but he's reserving the right to order an omelette if the food is too hot and is wearing a leisure shirt for easy washing as curry sauce can stain.
John is created and performed by Graham Fellows, and the series is produced by Dawn Ellis.
THU 23:30 The Penny Dreadfuls Present (b00gpbcx)
More Brothers Faversham, Marcus Faversham
The comedy trio's swashbuckling family romp reaches the story of Victorian Britain's greatest actor. From October 2008.

FRIDAY 21 APRIL 2017

FRI 00:00 Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch (b0076pjr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b037jfml)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 A Good Bit of Howerd (b08msgkv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpt3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08mp88b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b03ls16c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Our Dreams: Our Selves (b03bfsz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b3gv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Charles Chaplin - My Autobiography (b08mp7yq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Saturday Drama (b02xxvcv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Guess What? (b063r9k0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Such Rotten Luck (b01nm0f2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 In the Chair (b007jq8n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Reluctant Persuaders (b08ljxcc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jptk)
Series 1, A Case of Haddock and Plaice
An elderly couple's time-share cash con sparks private investigator Stephen J Blackburn's first case abroad.
The last of five cases for the ex-pitman turned investigator and his government scheme-funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Fine Time Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan.
With Gerry Kersey, Lorraine Peters, Norman Mills, Lucia Laratonda and James Tomlinson.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby
Directed for BBC North East by Dave Sheasby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1989.
FRI 06:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08msh8s)
Life in the Movies
"I always wanted to play the old king in Henry IV"
Sir John Gielgud talks to John Miller about the growth of the film industry and working with Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1978.
FRI 07:00 Old Dog and Partridge (b007vmbx)
Episode 3
Nicola is on the verge of romance, while pub customer Andy faces being found out. Stars Michael Williams. From January 1999.
FRI 07:30 Hal (b08m9flm)
Series 2, Racists
The second series of the sitcom with Hal Cruttenden finds the hapless house husband still trying to cope with his mid-life crisis and doubting his every move.
His wife Sam (Kerry Godliman) is still a highly successful business woman, his two daughters Lily and Molly continue to grow into teenagers and find their dad just a little annoying, his bitter and embittered sister Pippa (Abigail Cruttenden) has inconveniently decided to stay with Hal alongside her angry teenage son Oberon, racist neighbour Penny (Ronni Ancona) proves to be a major thorn in Hal's side and best mates Fergus (Ed Byrne) and Barry (Gavin Webster) hinder rather than help Hal's goal of finding himself.
In this second episode, as his wife is nominated for Business Woman of the Year, Hal is interviewed on local news and inadvertently becomes an internet sensation.
Written by Hal Cruttenden and Dominic Holland
Produced by Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00rfqxx)
Series 3, Episode 1
Swinging London cockney-style - and some incredible ears. Sketches and songs with John Cleese, Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor, David Hatch and Jo Kendall. Music from Dave Lee and his band.
Now fully restored for repeat on BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Produced by Humphrey Barclay.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1966.
FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b00kjh64)
The Silver Doubloons
Neddie Seagoon must plunder a sunken Spanish galleon. Stars Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe. From January 1960.
FRI 09:00 Who Goes There? (b00fks6r)
Series 3, Episode 3
Martin Young's famous people quiz. With Francis Wheen, Carol Sarler, Fred Housego and Rachel Holmes. From January 2000.
FRI 09:30 No Commitments (b00776j7)
Series 13, Age Difference
Can Charlotte make it as a model? And why isn't Victoria happier about Emily's pregnancy? With Rosemary Leach. From April 2007.
FRI 10:00 Geoffrey Parkinson - The Annunciation (b06h1nmk)
Are mysterious messages foretelling the Second Coming?
Starring Michael Gambon as Graham, Eva Stuart as Myra and Peter Howell as the Vicar.
Graham and Myra are a childless couple in early middle-age, living a quiet, uninspiring life in a London suburb. Until one day a series of curious events commence that make Myra begin to believe that she's been chosen for something special - by God.
Written by Geoffrey Parkinson.
Directed by Cherry Cookson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1980.
FRI 11:00 Brian Friel Stories (b01r81tx)
The Death of a Scientific Humanist
When her brother Cormac is refused burial on consecrated ground, Angela Cassidy must make other plans. Read by Adrian Dunbar.
FRI 11:15 Frances Byrnes - An Unchoreographed World (b01pr7s5)
Dancer Margot Fonteyn and her lover are trapped in Holland during the German invasion of May 1940. Stars Sophie Jerrold.
FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00rfqxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b00kjh64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jptk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08msh8s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b03lsdh5)
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, Trying to Brazen It Out
A classic Jeeves and Wooster story from P G Wodehouse, one of the masters of comic fiction, read by Blake Ritson.
'Mr Wooster,' he said, 'you are a typical young man about town.'
'Oh thanks,' I responded, for it sounded like a compliment, and one always likes to say the civil thing.
Bertie Wooster has been rather overdoing the metropolitan life, so on doctor's orders, finds himself retiring to the quiet hamlet of Maiden Eggesford to 'sleep the sleep of the just and lead the quiet Martini-less life'. Only the presence of his irrepressible Aunt Dahlia shatters the rustic peace as an imbroglio develops, involving a stolen cat, an over-sensitive racehorse, and some star-crossed lovers. Wooster's quick-thinking butler Jeeves, as always, comes to the rescue.
Today: 'Trying to brazen it out' - Bertie is still trying to extricate himself from a very unwelcome betrothal, while avoiding the terrifying Pop Cook. Must he rely again on his quick-thinking butler, Jeeves?
The author of almost a hundred books and the creator of Jeeves, Blandings Castle, Psmith, Ukridge, Uncle Fred and Mr Mulliner, P G Wodehouse was born in 1881 in Guildford, Surrey, in 1881. He was created a Knight of the British Empire in 1975 and died the same year at the age of ninety-three. Jeeves and Wooster were perhaps his best-known creations; 'Aunts Aren't Gentlemen' was published in 1974, and was the last novel to feature the literary duo.
Reader: Blake Ritson
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
FRI 14:15 Our Dreams: Our Selves (b03bg4vr)
Science and Psychoanalysis: the Recurring Dream of Sigmund Freud
Lucy Powell explores the history of dreams and what we think they mean, a hundred years after Sigmund Freud's great work 'The Interpretation of Dreams' appeared in English. She traces the shadowy, circuitous and often surprising history of dreams, from the oldest works of western literature to the very forefront of neuroscience, and finds out where dreams have taken us in the past, and where they might transport us next.
It's hard to imagine now just how radical 'The Interpretation of Dreams' was a century ago. For his contemporaries, dreams were just froth - 'trauma sind schaume'. But Freud accorded them meaning. The men and women who once lay on his couch came to Freud with disturbing symptoms that mainstream medical science couldn't cure. He decided to look, not at their bodies for the source of their malaise, but at their minds. In particular, he delved into the darkest reaches of their dreams. Freud's extraordinary claim was that dreams are 'the royal road to the unconscious'.
Lucy explores Freud's greatest work, and talks to Mark Solms, a neuroscientist at the cutting edge of research into dreams. She asks if Freud was right.
Producer: Jane Greenwood.
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b3zz3)
Episode 5
George Darrow tries persuading Sophie to leave Givre, but complications set in. Stars Jodhi May and Sian Thomas and Ben Miles.
FRI 14:45 Charles Chaplin - My Autobiography (b08msmq3)
Episode 5
Charlie Chaplin explains how he became a cinema legend. The fate of his father. Read by Nigel Hawthorne.
FRI 15:00 Geoffrey Parkinson - The Annunciation (b06h1nmk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Who Goes There? (b00fks6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 No Commitments (b00776j7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Old Dog and Partridge (b007vmbx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Hal (b08m9flm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch (b0076pkb)
Windfall
A woman sells her trinkets to a passing salesman. From Dorothy K Haynes' 1949 collection. Read by Mark McDonnell.
FRI 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b037jn88)
Chronicles of Ait - The Lotos Effect, Episode 5
In The Lotos Effect, Linus Scott is a General Practitioner dealing with the normal range of ailments when he is called to the home of a young woman struggling with a recurring nightmare. But after a second teenager independently reports the same dream, something happens which moves events into a more sinister dimension.
A man called Linus Scott, a woman called Alice Pyper and a remote East Coast village called Ait - these are the only ingredients of this returning series which remain constant. In all other respects, each story from the Chronicles of Ait is discrete from the others, though the prevailing mood is always one of mystery.
Episode Five:
Linus's fears for Alice's safety become intense when, after Charlene's funeral, he is unable to find her.
Written by Michael Butt
Produced and Directed by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 Richard Baker Compares Notes (b08msn9v)
Patrick Moore talks about his musical life with Richard Baker.
Patrick Moore (1923-2012) was a well-known as an astronomer and long-term TV presenter of the BBC's 'The Sky at Night'.
But he was also a pianist, a virtuoso xylophonist and the composer of two operas, and once accompanied the violin-playing of Albert Einstein.
Producer: Michael Emery
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00rfqxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b00kjh64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jptk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08msh8s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Brian Friel Stories (b01r81tx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 Frances Byrnes - An Unchoreographed World (b01pr7s5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 Hal (b08m9flm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 That Mitchell and Webb Sound (b03kqg03)
Series 5, Episode 3
Pedantic 'Gardener's Question Time' and an enchanted stationery cupboard. Stars David Mitchell and Robert Webb. From December 2013.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08n8prj)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tonight Arthur Smith chats to Tony Law.
FRI 23:00 Bleak Expectations (b00d3rm9)
Series 1, An Adolescence Utterly Trashed
Young Pip aims to escape school, with a crone's help. Mark Evans' Dickensian spoof stars Richard Johnson. From August 2007.
FRI 23:30 Little Britain (b008m9f5)
Series 2, Episode 1
Back where it started out. Matt Lucas and David Walliams' oddball TV smash hit, without the cameras. From February 2002.