SATURDAY 06 FEBRUARY 2016

SAT 00:00 Eric Pringle - Dancing With Jaques (b06zjdjy)
London 1959: A young woman begins her first night "working the streets".

It ends in a ghostly encounter with a man with a wind-up gramophone who calls himself Jaques.

Written by Eric Pringle

Jackie ...... Alice Arnold
Jaques ...... John Evitts
Alice ...... Thersa Streatfeild
News Vendor ...... John Church

Director: Adrian Bean

First broadcast in Thirty Minute Theatre on BBC Radio 4 in May 1993.


SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b0076md4)
Series 4

Bach's Concerto in D minor for Two Violins

So little is known about the life of J S Bach, yet his music opens up a world of imagination. His Concerto in D minor is often described as being like a conversation between two lovers.

David Gregory of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, rock guitarist Steve Hackett, and Terry Waite CBE, are among those moved by the music of the two violins as they imitate, interrupt and overlap each other in one of Bach's most sublime creations.

Taking part:

Mr and Mrs David Gregory
Terry Waite
Simon Heighes
Fionnaigh McKenzie
Steve Hackett
Lara St John
Gillian Teadley

Producer Kate McAll

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2004.


SAT 01:00 John Mortimer - Rumpole (b007k4l3)
The Rotten Apple

Rumpole recalls a suspicious case of bribery in the police force.

"The Splendours And Miseries Of An Old Bailey Hack". Starring Maurice Denham as ageing London barrister-at-law Horace Rumpole and Margot Boyd as Hilda Rumpole

With Michael Spice as Guthrie Featherstone, Robert Harris as Justice Vosper and Brian Carroll as Erskine-Brown.

Originally a TV series created by writer and barrister John Mortimer, Rumpole hit the BBC radio airwaves in 1980. Case-by-case, Rumpole recalls his work at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.

Director: Ian Cotterell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1980.


SAT 01:30 Mayhem at the Ritz (b00sjrv4)
In the 1960s, demand to see the latest music sensation was so high there were insufficient British venues to meet the demand for tickets. The ABC Gaumont and Rank/Odeon cinema chains saw a money-making opportunity. Andrew Collins revisits this unique time to hear how staff coped with thousands of hysterical teenagers, and to reveal an era when health and safety issues were not a concern, but having a good time was the priority.

A small but dedicated band of workers were able to switch working procedures to embrace the new era of the pop package tours. We meet chief projectionist Robert Phillpot, press-ganged into working the curtains, liaising with tour mangers and roadies while making frantic notes about lighting sequences and spotlight cues.

We also find out about the 1963 Beatles tour that kicked off at The Bradford Gaumont. Manager James Whittell recalls escorting the Beatles around the cinema, pointing out the art decor. And hear how rock n' roll legend Little Richard quizzed the manager about where to go in Bradford, as the star stood abandoned outside the empty Gaumont after the show.

Listen out for extracts from a rare interview The Beatles recorded backstage at the ABC Market Street, for the Huddersfield Tape Recording Society. As Beatle Historian Mark Lewisohn confirms, it still makes compelling listening.

Producer: John Sugar
A Sugar production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 02:00 Tea Obreht - The Tiger's Wife (b00zt611)
Episode 5

Hattie Morahan reads Tea Obreht's evocative debut novel set in a Balkan country scarred by war, and where Natalia, a young doctor, is struggling to understand the mysterious circumstances of her grandfather's death. A tattered copy of The Jungle Book which her grandfather kept with him always provides an unlikely clue, sending her on a quest that leads to the extraordinary stories of the deathless man and the tiger's wife. Today, Natalia evokes her grandfather as a nine year old boy, and the day the men of his village set off to hunt the tiger.

Tea Obreht is on "The New Yorker's Top Writers under 40 Fiction Issue" (June 2010), and at 24 was the youngest on the list. 'The Tiger's Wife' is one of the Waterstone's 11 - the best debuts that they have picked for 2011. Her short story, "The Sentry", appeared in the "Guardian Summer Fiction Issue", alongside stories by Hilary Mantel and David Mitchell.

She was born in 1985 in the former Yugoslavia, and raised in Belgrade, where she spent her childhood. In 1992, her family immigrated, and in 1997 eventually settled in the United States.

The reader is Hattie Morahan.
Abridged by Sally Marmion and produced by Elizabeth Allard.


SAT 02:15 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05w8dn6)
Mirabai: I Go the Other Way

Sunil Khilnani tells the story of Mirabai, the 16th century mystic poet who is one of India's most revered saints. Mirabai was born into a conservative warrior caste in Rajastan but rejected traditional family life and became a wandering religious singer devoted to the Hindu god Krishna. "All this, of course, was scandalous behaviour," says Professor Sunil Khilnani "But Mira proved herself ungovernable in her spiritual zeal". Mirabai composed up to a hundred songs or bhajans which have been passed down through the centuries by oral tradition. Others have been added in her name over the centuries. Today some see Mirabai as a potent symbol of feminism and self-transformation, others as a passionate religious inspiration.

With field recordings by Parita Mukta and readings by Sheenu Das

Produced by Mark Savage
Researcher: Manu Pillai
Listeners can catch up with the series and see the list of remarkable Indians featured on the Radio 4 website.


SAT 02:30 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767k6)
Episode 10

It's the day of the election, and there's a showdown with Andrea and Philip's wife, Kate.

Conclusion of Stan Barstow's gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960s, dramatised by his partner Diana Griffiths.

Tom...........David Calder
Norma.............Sharon Duce
Andrea..............Deborah McAndrew
Philip................Robert Glenister
Nick........Ben Crompton
Bess............Daryl Ffishwick
Kate..............Jo-Anne Knowles
Shirley...........Ruth Herbert
Inspector Bradley..........Geoff Hinsliff

Director: Pauline Harris

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.


SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b04vqvbq)
Ian Bostridge - Schubert's Winter Journey

Episode 5

Literature, religion and the hurdy-gurdy man. Internationally acclaimed tenor Ian Bostridge concludes his exploration of Schubert's existential masterpiece Winterreise, Winter's Journey.

Strange old man,
Should I go with you?
Will you to my songs
Play your hurdy-gurdy?

Written and read by Ian Bostridge

Abridged by Laurence Wareing

Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.


SAT 03:00 Annie Caulfield - Almost Always African (b007k30r)
"Music may go or come but almost always it is African."

Gambian musician, Moses Biama is invited to London to make an album with fading English rock star, Frank.

But the recording doesn't work out the way Frank has planned...

Annie Caulfield's comedy drama about cultural cross purposes and the Music Industry.

Starring Lenny Henry as Moses, Bill Nighy as Frank, Curtis Walker as Moses' brother, Joy Elias-Rilwan as Binta, Donna Croll as Fatima, Joanna Myers as Tara, James Greene as Jack and Mark Straker as the Journalist.

Music composed by Dominique Le Gendre.
Hit single by Neil Arthur and Joe Hagan.

Director: Paul Schlesinger

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.


SAT 04:00 The 3rd Degree (b01dp52g)
Series 2

University of Northampton

Coming this week from the University of Northampton, "The 3rd Degree" is a funny, lively and dynamic quiz show aimed at cultivating the next generation of Radio 4 listeners whilst delighting the current ones. It's recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in a genuinely original and fresh take on an academic quiz. Being a Radio 4 programme, it of course meets the most stringent standards of academic rigour - but with lots of facts and jokes thrown in for good measure.

Together with host Steve Punt, the show tours the (sometimes posh, sometimes murky, but always welcoming!) Union buildings, cafés and lecture halls of six universities across the UK.

The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the 'Highbrow & Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and Lady Gaga... In addition, the Head-to-Head rounds, in which students take on their Professors in their own subjects, were particularly lively, and offered plenty of scope for mild embarrassment on both sides...

The resulting show is funny, fresh, and not a little bit surprising, with a truly varied range of scores, friendly rivalry, and moments where students wished they had more than just glanced at that reading list...

Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 04:30 Albert and Me (b048s4vy)
Series 2

Driver

Single dad Bryan takes a driving job but finds himself caught up in crime.

Stars Robert Lindsay and Pat Coombs.

The struggles of single parent Bryan Archer to find work while raising his baby son, Albert.

Bryan Archer ...... Robert Lindsay
Mum/Albert ...... Pat Coombs
Mrs Willis ...... Diana King
Terry ...... Derek Martin
Alison ...... Deidre Costello
Charlie ...... Peter Cleall
Andy ...... John Kane

Written by Jim Eldridge.

Incidental music by Max Harris.

Producer: John Fawcett Wilson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1983.


SAT 05:00 1834 (b0121lh5)
Victorian Principles

The young Queen Victoria is coming to Woolsley House for a visit. But when 21st century Jason invents the electric guitar, he unwittingly changes the course of history.....

In Jim Poyser's riotous comedy, Jason has been transported back to the 18th century as Tarquin, third son of Lord Belport with faithful valet, Ned.

Jason Slater ...... Michael Begley
Ned ...... Joe Caffrey
Hoskins ...... Kenneth Alan Taylor
Lord Belport ...... Mark Chatterton
Henry ...... James Nickerson
Queen Victoria ...... Caroline Harding

Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2003.


SAT 05:30 So Wrong It's Right (b01jhdh7)
Series 3

Episode 4

Charlie Brooker hosts the comedy panel show devoted to the art of being wrong, with leading comics and entertainers competing to give the best in wrong answers.

So Wrong It's Right sees Charlie challenge the panel's creativity and asks them to reveal their finest embarrassing stories from their lives. This week the worst experiences at a party and terrible ideas for a series of children's books are just two of the challenges faced by the panel. Will anyone beat Isy Suttie's suggestion for a 'wrong' children's book - the paperwork-themed 'Morris The Admin Mouse'?

The host of So Wrong It's Right, Charlie Brooker, also writes for The Guardian and presents BBC4's satirical series Newswipe and Screenwipe as well as Channel 4's You Have Been Watching. He won Best Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards 2009 and Columnist of the Year at the 2009 British Press Awards for his newspaper columns.

Produced by Aled Evans
A Zeppotron Production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 06:00 John Galsworthy - The Forsyte Saga (b06z0ybl)
The Forsytes

Episode 1

From the novels of John Galsworthy
Dramatised for radio by Shaun McKenna

Of all his beautiful possessions, wealthy solicitor Soames Forsyte considers his wife, Irene, the most beautiful. Why then does she want separate bedrooms?

Original music composed by Neil Brand

Produced and directed by Marion Nancarrow

The first dramatisation of all 9 books in John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga. An epic tale of sex, money and power in the lives of an upper middle-class family in London, it spans 50 years from 1886 to 1936.


SAT 07:30 Tony Hawks's Guide to the Guides (b0075vnb)
Episode 2

Comedian and writer Tony Hawks tests the guide books that claim to help us navigate our way around our holidays.

Minus his famous fridge, Tony returns to Ireland in search of the craic, spends a day at the races and plunges into Dublin's nightlife. On the west coast, people point to a tiny entry in the guides where he might just find the true meaning of the word.

Producer: Lucy Willmore

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.


SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b00y4zd1)
Decimal Day - What's That in Old Money?

Forty years ago, Britain "went decimal". Two thousand years of everyday currency history was overthrown overnight as the country woke up to "new money" on February 15th 1971 and said goodbye to coins such as the crown, the florin and the shilling.

Few economic events have affected the entire country so immediately and Peter Day delves into the archives to examine how the country prepared for and responded to D Day. It was Harold Wilson's Labour government that began the process of decimalisation in the 1960s after many years of discussion. Then cabinet minister Tony Benn recalls how changing Britain's money fitted in with the modernising ideology of the time, while former Chief Secretary to the Treasury Dick Taverne remembers the passion of the "Save our Sixpence" campaign.

Economists Peter Jay and Will Hutton discuss whether decimalisation contributed to the double-digit inflation of the 1970s alongside archive stories of price rises and "rounding up", as earnest commentators worried about how 'the housewife' would cope. Did we lose something, culturally and intellectually, when we embraced new money?

Oxford Professor of Mathematics Marcus du Sautoy considers whether "thinking in tens" is really the best way to go about things. And Peter visits The Kings' Head pub in North London where the landlord's tills charged in pounds, shillings and pence for some three decades after D-Day. He also talks to Sir Patrick Moore - patron of the Metric Martyrs campaign - about his love of imperial measures.

Britain may have been successful in decimalising its currency in 1971 but why was the movement towards full metrication - begun at the same time - never completed? Finally Peter asks, if you're old enough to remember, is it still possible to think in "old money"?

Producers: Simon Jacobs and Phil Smith
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 09:00 Dad's Army (b007jw4r)
Permission to Speak, Sir!: Dad's Army on Radio

They don't like it up 'em!

After winning their frontline TV offensive, how did the Home Guard win the war of the ears with a rear-guard action for radio?

Legendary comedy producer Harold Snoad and actor Michael Knowles reveal how they went about adapting the classic BBC TV hit series for radio – as the writers Jimmy Perry and David Croft were too busy to do it themselves.

Over three hours, enjoy six Dad's Army episodes made for radio:

* The Enemy Within the Gates: Captain Mainwaring's platoon try to capture Germans for a reward. From February 1974.

* Don't Forget the Diver: The platoon don crazy camouflage in a drill to attack Captain Square's HQ. From February 1975.

* The Day the Balloon Went Up: Captain Mainwaring gets carried away with the platoon's war effort. From June 1975.

* When Did You Last See Your Money?: Corporal Jones panics when he misplaces £500 collected for the servicemen's canteen. From May 1975.

* If the Cap Fits: Captain Mainwaring promotes fractious Private Frazer, with unexpected results. February 1975.

* Put That Light Out: Captain Mainwaring's platoon causes havoc in Walmington-on-Sea during an air-raid. From February 1975.

Snoad and Knowles reflect on how the cast took to re-recording the shows without cameras and discuss the changes that had to be made to make the TV scripts work.

The duo's association with Dad's Army continued with their spin off radio comedy series, It Sticks Out Half A Mile.

Producer: Martin Dempsey

Made for BBC 7 and first brodcast in November 2005.


SAT 12:00 The Senses (b06zhjpj)
Hearing

An affair conducted via tape cassette-recorded messages conjures up a few problems with the sense of hearing.

Opening episode starring Celia Imrie and John McGlynn.

Heather ...... Celia Imrie
Tony ...... John McGlynn
Audrey ...... Francesca Brill
Edith ...... Eva Stuart
Mr Polglaze ...... Daniel Moynihan
Postman ...... Norman Bird

Senses is a six-part comedy drama boasting a stellar list of star names, including Joan Sims, Charles Gray, Alex Jennings, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Geoffrey Palmer, Lynda Bellingham, Brian Murphy, Rodney Bewes, Liz Fraser, Rory McGrath and Maurice Denham.

As writer Bob Sinfield explains: "The six half-hour plays dealt respectively with the five obvious senses plus the er...other one".

Producer: Neil Cargill

First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in 1990.


SAT 12:30 The Right Time (b0076m76)
Series 4

Episode 1

From nudism and reflexology to top-shelf magazines.

Sketch show about life, written and performed by people who've lived a bit.

Stars Eleanor Bron, Dudley Sutton , Roger Blake , Clive Swift and Paula Wilcox.

With guest star Arthur Smith.

Written by Colin Bostock-Smith, Jill Brodie, John Pidgeon, Mike Haskins, Jan Etherington, George Poles, Arthur Smith, Alan Stafford, Chris Thompson and Petr Reynolds.

Script editors: Ed Dyson and George Poles.

Music by Ronnie & The Rex.

Producer: Katie Marsden

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2004.


SAT 13:00 John Galsworthy - The Forsytes: Omnibus (b06zyxfg)
An epic story of sex, money and power in an upper class family across 50 years. Starring Jessica Raine and Juliet Aubrey. Episodes 2 to 6.


SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b06zyxpk)
Simon Callow

The celebrated actor chooses 'The Overture to Tannhauser' by Wagner and 'Die Fledermaus' by Johan Strauss II.


SAT 14:15 Drama (b010dq74)
Amelia Bullmore - The Bat Man

by Amelia Bullmore.

When his wife died three years ago, Christopher fled London for a simpler existence in Cornwall, where he has settled on bat protection as his mission. Colette and her noisy daughters rent the holiday cottage next door and disturb the peace - both his and that of his beloved bats.

Stars Bill Nighy as Christopher, Katherine Parkinson as Colette, Jenny Agutter as Biddy and Sean Baker as Rory.

directed by Mary Peate.


SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b00y4zd1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


SAT 16:00 John Galsworthy - The Forsyte Saga (b06z0ybl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SAT 17:30 Tony Hawks's Guide to the Guides (b0075vnb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SAT 18:00 Planet B (b00yhwsx)
Series 3

Doing Time

Held in the world's toughest jail, can Kip escape prison brutality? Virtual reality saga by Nick Perry. Stars Lloyd Thomas.


SAT 18:30 Ghost Zone (b007jx3g)
Episode 3

Dr Beth Granger sifts through clues to the devastation in Inchbrae, but becomes the focus of a hostile presence instead...

And why does time in the Highland village seem to be breaking into different 'layers'?

Sci-fi thriller written by Marty Ross.

Stars Simon Tait as Dan Collins, Gayanne Potter as Jill Logan, Joanna Tope as Dr Beth Granger, Sandy Neilson as Captain Cairns, Lesley Hart as Heather Logan, Stevie Hannan as Lt. Hopridge and Finlay McLean as PC McBain.

Producer: Bruce Young

Made for BBC 7 by BBC Scotland and first broadcast in 2004.


SAT 19:00 Dad's Army (b007jw4r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


SAT 22:00 Richard Herring's Objective (b016wzrz)
Series 2

The Golliwog

'The golliwog' has been the cause of much controversy.

Richard debates whether it's an object we should reclaim, or consign to the dustbin of history?

Series in which Richard Herring tries to see whether controversial objects we've grown to hate can be reclaimed.

With Emma Kennedy and Ava Vidal.

Producer: Tilusha Ghelani

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.


SAT 22:30 Alun Cochrane's Fun House (b01rlnhp)
The Kitchen

Comedian Alun Cochrane has a 25 year mortgage which he can only pay off by being funny. In this series he takes us on a room by room, stand up tour of his house.

He has a fridge that beeps at him when he doesn't move quickly enough and a fire alarm he can't reach. His relationship with his house is a complicated one.

A hoarder of funny and original observations on everyday life, Alun invites us to help him de-clutter his mind and tidy his ideas into one of those bags that you hoover all the air out of and keep under your bed. This show will help Alun and his house work through their relationship issues and prevent a separation that Alun can ill afford; at least not until the market picks up anyway.

Performers: Alun Cochrane and Gavin Osborn

Writers: Alun Cochrane and Andy Wolton

Producer: Carl Cooper.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2013.


SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b070hyhc)
The best in contemporary comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats again to Tony Law.


SAT 23:00 Pleased to Meet You (b007k2kz)
Series 1

Episode 1

90-something good-time girl Dora Dale spills the beans on her many celebrity friends. And how did the Rat Pack get its name?

Betraying confidences and breaking unwritten rules galore, the friend of the stars reveals some surprising and salacious secrets.

Written by and starring Martin Kelner and Jake Yapp.

Made for BBC7 and first broadcast in July 2006.


SAT 23:30 The Big Booth (b007k3g2)
Series 2: The Big Booth Too

Episode 4

Boothby and friends share scary tales of the railway and dramas at sea.

More guitar-flavoured songs and surreal laughs from Boothby Graffoe.

With Stephen Frost, Vivienne Soan, Big Al, io Forcione, Jim Sweeney and Neil Innes.

Written by Boothby Graffoe and Dave Thompson.

Producer: Lucy Armitage

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2001.