SATURDAY 10 MAY 2008

SAT 00:00 John Wyndham - The Midwich Cuckoos (b007jmh3)
Episode 3
The mysterious powers of the alien children start to become destructive...
Conclusion of the classic 1957 sci-fi novel by John Wyndam.
Bernard Westcott …. Charles Kay
Gordon Zellaby …. Manning Wilson
Angela Zellaby …. Pauline Yates
Richard Gayford …. William Gaunt
Chief Constable …. Ronald Baddiley
Coroner …. Nigel Graham
Doctor Torrance …. Peter Tuddenham
Mrs Williams …. Katherine Parr
Girl …. Rosalind Adams
Boy …. Jill Lidstone
Man …. Simon Hewitt
Dramatised by William Ingram.
Music specially composed by Roger Limb of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Director: Gordon House.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1982.
SAT 00:30 Franz Kafka - Metamorphosis (b007jwnt)
Episode 1
Gregor Samsa wakes one day to find himself hideously transformed into a monstrous insect. His family react with horror at his bizarre transformation but this slowly turns to revulsion - and then monstrous indifference - as he is left to quietly waste away in his bedroom.
First published in 1912, Benedict Cumberbatch reads Franz Kafka's classic novel in four parts.
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) ranks among the 20th century's most acclaimed writers. He is often cited as the author whose works best evoke the concerns and preoccupations of modern life. The world in his stories is portrayed as one in which the fantastic is entirely normal, the irrational is rational, and the unreasonable seems reasonable. As Ernst Pawel wrote in his biography of the writer, "Kafka articulates the anguish of being human."
Kafka, although Czech and living in Prague, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, spoke fluent German and Czech and actually wrote in German and thought it his mother tongue. The tensions between those who spoke German and those who spoke Czech were a direct reflection of the rise of nationalism and the quest for national identity.
Metamorphosis was translated by Richard Stokes. Abridged and produced by Gemma Jenkins.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2006.
SAT 01:00 Sheridan Le Fanu - Uncle Silas (b007jtsp)
Bartram-Haugh, 1865
Young heiress Maud Knollyes appears to have no choice about her future...
Starring George Cole and Teresa Gallagher.
Sheridan le Fanu's Victorian gothic horror novel.
Dramatised by Alan Drury.
Maud .... Teresa Gallagher
Silas .... George Cole
Lady Monica Knollys .... Joan Sims
Madame de la Rougierre .... Dorothy Tutin
Mary Quince ... Kathleen Byron
Mrs Rusk ... Tessa Worsley
Milly ... Jane Whittenshaw
Dudley ... Jonathan Keeble
Dr Bryerley .... John Hartley
Zamiel .... George A Cooper
Beauty ... Becky Hindley
Wyatt ... Pauline Letts
Charke's servant ... David Collings
Dr Slaithwaite .....John Evitts
Tom Brice.... Roger May
The Coachman .... Stephen Critchlow
Mr Grimston .... Geoffrey Whitehead
Pianist: Michael Haslam
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1995.
SAT 02:00 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b719j)
Episode 10
Anna has succumbed to desire, but can she ever know happiness?
Published in 1912, The Reef is one of Edith Wharton's most accomplished yet neglected novels - revealing the submerged and perilous depths beneath the surface of even the most conventional of its characters.
Concluding episode starring Ben Miles as George Darrow, Jodhi May as Sophie, Teresa Gallagher as Anna, Deborah Weston as Adelaide, Julian Ovenden as Owen and Sian Thomas as the Narrator.
Dramatised by Penny Leicester.
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
SAT 02:15 Chris Thompson - Skeggy (b007jtlr)
Three couples have their own reasons for returning to the scene of their happiest holidays in the resort of Skegness.
Part of Radio 4 Extra's Great British Seaside Staycation.
Chris Thompson's seaside drama stars Sean Connolly as Dave, Susan Brooke as Marie, Laura Chambers as Lauren, Joyce Gibbs as Sheila, Norman Bird as Charlie, Veda Warwick as Mrs Adams, Alison Carney as Jane and Tom Knight as Martin.
Producer: Peter Wild
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
SAT 03:00 The Patrick and Maureen Maybe Music Experience (b007lr4s)
Episode 4
Unhappily married Patrick and Maureen are getting on so badly that they’re forced to present their final show form separate studios.
But even that doesn't stop them quarrelling...
Starring Imelda Staunton as Maureen Maybe and Patrick Barlow as Patrick Maybe.
Special guest: Rachel Weisz
Doctor ...... Peter Jones
Cleonni ...... Carla Mendonca
Peter Davies ...... John Ramm
Written by Patrick Barlow.
Script associate: Nev Fountain
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1999.
SAT 03:30 Dial M for Pizza (b007k21r)
Series 1
Episode 6
The sketch show team tackle an odd disease - and a legal Aladdin. Stars Brenda Blethyn and Robert Bathurst. From December 1987.
SAT 04:00 Brian Appleton's History of Rock 'n' Roll (b00fvwk6)
Kajaboohoo
The Brummie musicologist reveals what he didn’t do during the ‘80s music scene.
Set in a fictitious in a college of further education in the 'Newcastle-under-Lyme area'.
Series of comic lectures, written and performed by Graham Fellows
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2001.
SAT 04:15 Hearing With Hegley (b00b7c59)
Series 1
Episode 4
The poet laureate of alternative comedy, John Hegley, presents a selection of his work.
With:
Keith Moore
Susan Norton
Andrew Bailey
Nigel Piper
Producer: Phil Clarke
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1996.
SAT 04:30 The Nick Revell Show (b007jp6w)
Series 1
Moving
Struggling writer Nick ponders moving in with his girlfriend, and which geranium is sexiest?
A sitcom for the 1990s, written by and starring comedian Nick Revell.
With Alistair McGowan, Caroline Gruber, Brian Bowles, Doon Mackichan and Alison Sterling.
Producer: Jon Magnusson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1992.
SAT 05:00 Far from the Madding Crowd (b007jldx)
Autumn
Sergeant Troy's cruel treatment of Fanny comes back to haunt him. Thomas Hardy dramatisation with Janet Maw and Tim McInnerny.
SAT 06:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00b7bd3)
Series 2
The Anniversary Blues
Tommy has big celebration plans for Sheila, but then Lewis gets involved.
30 years after sweethearts Tommy Franklin and Sheila Parr won the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest, the musical double-act are back in the big time.
June Whitfield and Roy Hudd star in Mike Coleman's sitcom.
Tommy Franklin ...... Roy Hudd
Sheila Parr ...... June Whitfield
With Pat Coombs, Julian Eardley, Edward Halstead, Paul Rogan and Tracy-Ann Oberman.
Music by Frido Ruth.
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1999.
SAT 06:30 PG Wodehouse (b00b7b0p)
What Ho! Jeeves: Joy in the Morning
Steeple Bumpleigh
Forced into a meeting he's been trying to avoid at the cottage, Bertie Wooster gets a warning.
PG Wodehouse's romp starring Michael Hordern and Richard Briers.
Adapted by Chris Miller.
Jeeves ...... Michael Hordern
Bertie Wooster ..... Richard Briers
Stilton Cheesewright ..... Michael Kilgarriff
Boko Fittleworth ..... Jonathan Cecil
Edwin the Boy Scout ..... Denise Bryer
Producer: Simon Brett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978.
SAT 07:00 Big Toe Books (b00b8qs3)
Contact us at:
Big Toe Books
BBC Broadcasting House
London
W1A 1AA
Phone: 08700 100 700 [national rates]. Email: bigtoe@bbc.co.uk.
SAT 08:00 Dad Made Me Laugh (b007k0n4)
Michael Sellers
Peter Sellers' son Michael chats to Sally Magnusson about the ups and downs of growing up with a famous funny father.
Producer: Mike Walker
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in September 2005.
SAT 08:30 Israel Horovitz - Phone Tag (b007jwb2)
A transatlantic love affair is played out on the telephone as calls are missed, messages left and confusion reigns. Stars Elizabeth Mansfield.
SAT 09:00 Somebody Laughed: Eddie Braben Brings You Sunshine (b007lm74)
The man who brought sunshine to Eric and Ernie brings some golden rays into your ears - selecting a selection of the shows what he wrote.
Eddie Braben penned some of Morecambe and Wise’s most famous lines. But that wasn't the only string to his bow – other beneficiaries of his strong comic writing include Ken Dodd and Jimmy Cricket.
Eddie himself also steps into the spotlight to helm his own vehicle the Worst Show on the Wireless – with Alison Steadman.
In between his selections, Eddie reminisces about radio and what it has meant to him.
Featuring:
* The Morecambe and Wise Show (December 1977)
* The Show With Ten Legs (February 1977)
* The Ken Dodd Show - Star Parade (July 1963)
* Jimmy's Cricket Team (June 1991)
* The Worst Show in the Wireless (February 1975)
* The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show (December 1977)
When Eddie Braben passed away aged 82 in 2013, Bruce Forsyth was one of those keen to pay tribute. Eddie began his writing career penning jokes on the back of paper bags on a fruit and veg stall.
Producer: Martin Dempsey
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in May 2007.
SAT 12:00 JCW Brook - The Doppelganger (b007jv9r)
Adam and Jane are off on a make-or-break second honeymoon; but at Oxford station Adam sees his possibly dead mother.
Then at the hotel he meets Beth, a 25-year-old girl with the mind of a child of seven, who looks like Jane.... "a doppelganger is your other self - your dark brother of myth, who wishes to take your place in this world..."
JCW Brook’s spine-chilling drama stars Nigel Anthony as Adam Oxton, Elizabeth Lindsay as Beth Harris, Penelope Lee as Sarah Steadman, Emily Richard as Jane Oxton, Geoffrey Collins as Ralph Steadman, Mary Wimbush as the Woman and Jack May as the Man.
Music by Paddy Kingsland of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Director: Ian Cotterell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1977.
SAT 13:30 Albert and Me (b007jsbh)
Series 1
Spanner in the Works
Single dad Bryan's son Albert is starting nursery - what could possibly go wrong?
Stars Richard Beckinsale as Bryan Archer, Pat Coombs as Mum/Albert and John Comer as Dad. With John Junkin as Harry.
Written by Jim Eldridge.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1977.
SAT 14:00 10/05/2008 (b00b8rp5)
Join all your CBeebies friends for songs, rhymes and stories on BBC7.
SAT 17:00 Garrison Keillor's Radio Show (b00b8rp7)
An American Independence celebration from the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, with special guest Meryl Streep.
SAT 18:00 Heroes: The Official Radio Show (b00c4fr3)
Series 2
Episode 3
Jon Holmes and Xanthe Fuller analyse the action from the TV series.
SAT 18:30 Terry Pratchett (b00b8rpc)
Small Gods
Episode 3
Ephebian philosophers argue violently among themselves but they're no match for Deacon Vorbis.
However one philosopher, Didactylos, is prepared to stand up to him.
Terry Pratchett's comic Discworld fantasy starring Carl Prekopp, Patrick Barlow and Alex Jennings. With Anton Lesser as the Narrator.
Narrator ...... Anton Lesser
Om ...... Patrick Barlow
Brutha ...... Carl Prekopp
Vorbis ...... Alex Jennings
Didactylos ...... Gerard McDermott
Urn ...... John Cummins
Nhumrod ...... Geoffrey Beevers
Sergeant Simony ...... Nick Sayce
Other parts played by the cast.
Dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Producer: Claire Grove
Director: Gordon House
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2006.
SAT 19:00 Dad Made Me Laugh (b007k0n4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 19:30 Israel Horovitz - Phone Tag (b007jwb2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SAT 20:00 Macbeth (b0080hlt)
BBC 7 pays tribute to Paul Scofield with this classic 1960s production of The Scottish Play. Also starring Peggy Ashcroft.
SAT 22:15 Peter Tinniswood (b007q9f4)
Anton in Eastbourne
Mr Anton arrives for a sojourn. He expects to meet a young lady with a little dog. He knows her stories well. But he doesn't yet seem to know his own.
Peter Tinniswood's last play was created as a tribute for Chekhov admirer, Paul Scofield.
Anton ...... Paul Scofield
Miss Mansfield ...... Emma Fielding
Mr Kember ...... Stephen Thorne
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
SAT 23:00 Garrison Keillor's Radio Show (b00b8rp7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 today]