Audiobooks by Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett: Diaries: Read by Alan Bennett

"Classic memoirs from the acclaimed English actor, author, playwright, and screenwriter Alan Bennett is one of the country's most celebrated and best-loved authors. This unmissable collection of diaries and memoirs brings together for the first time Telling Tales, Diaries: 1980-1990, the autobiographical section of Untold Stories, which covers the period 1997-2004, and Keeping On Keeping On: The Diaries 2005-2014. In his earliest collection of diaries, Alan Bennett offers a fascinating insight into his life in the eighties, working on location for his early films and enjoying life at home in Camden. In the diaries of Untold Stories, he enjoys the simple pleasures of nature and wonders about the state of religion and politics at the end of the twentieth century. In Keeping On Keeping On, he looks back at a busy decade that saw him write four highly acclaimed plays, reflects on his life with his partner, Rupert Thomas, and considers his lately found status as 'kindly, cosy and essentially harmless'. Telling Tales, meanwhile, provides ten childhood snapshots and reminiscences about his early years-charting his development from a schoolboy in Leeds to a doubtful agnostic teen, as well as his undergraduate life at the University of Oxford. With wit, wisdom, sharp social commentary and perceptive impressions, Alan Bennett's memoirs and diaries are a joy to discover, and a delight to hear again. For those who want to listen to Alan Bennett read Untold Stories in its complete form, Alan Bennett: Untold Stories is also available from BBC Audio. Originally broadcast on Radio 4: 4 June - 15 June 2001 (Telling Tales) 10 October - 14 October 1994 (Diaries 1980-1990) 10 October - 14 October 2005 (Untold Stories) 24 October - 4 November 2016 (Keeping On Keeping On: The Diaries, 2005-2014) Production credits Read by Alan Bennett Music by George Fenton Produced by Liz Allard (Telling Tales) Abridged by Pat McLoughlin Produced by Gillian Hush (Diaries 1980-1990) Abridged and produced by Gordon House (Untold Stories) Abridged and produced by Gordon House (Keeping On Keeping On: The Diaries, 2005-2014) © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Alan Bennett (Author), Alan Bennett (Narrator)

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Alan Bennett: Untold Stories: Read by Alan Bennett

"The complete collected edition of the award-winning writer's unforgettable Untold Stories Over the course of his distinguished entertainment career, Alan Bennett has received multiple awards and honours, including two BAFTAs, four Laurence Olivier Awards, two Tony Awards, an Academy Award nomination for his film The Madness of King George, and a British Book Award for Author of the Year in 2006. In this four-part collection of his remarkable Untold Stories, the acclaimed writer considers his childhood, career, and the current state of the world with his customary blend of wit and poignancy. Part 1: Stories is a moving family memoir recalling his parents' marriage, the lives and deaths of his aunts, and the revelation of a long-held family secret. Part 2: The Diaries covers Alan Bennett's celebrated diaries for 1997-2004, in which he celebrates the joys of nature and comments on the state of the arts and politics with humour and sharp observation. Part 3: Written on the Body is a reflection on youth and a meditation on writing itself, with a look at Alan's schooling in Leeds, the growing pains of puberty, and a window into his creative process. Part 4: A Common Assault harks back to a mugging incident in Italy, a glimpse into his own schooldays that became the inspiration for The History Boys, and a light note on his thoughts on the Honours System. Funny, thoughtful, and fascinating, this wonderful series of essays and stories read by the author offers an extraordinary journey into an exceptional career. For those who want to hear Alan Bennett narrate more of his memoirs, Alan Bennett: Diaries is also available from BBC Audio. Extracts originally broadcast on Radio 4: 10 October - 14 October 2005 20 November - 24 November 2006 Production credits Read by Alan Bennett Produced by Gordon House © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Alan Bennett (Author), Alan Bennett (Narrator)

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Getting On: A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama

"A BBC Radio 4 full-cast production of one of the earliest plays by Alan Bennett The 1970s are a time of change, but Labour MP George Oliver feels stuck in one place: distrusting the ‘mawkish mentality’ of the young and fearing the encroaching life of the middle-aged, with little to look forward to but the imminent end of a not-very-interesting road. Ten years into his second marriage, he is world-weary and dissatisfied with his social position and the public he deals with on a regular basis (‘He’s a socialist, but he doesn’t like people’ observes his wife Polly). In his self-absorption, he cannot see that his wife is having an affair, his mother-in-law is dying and his friends and neighbours regard him as a joke. With his trademark wry observational humour, Alan Bennett renders his plight at once poignant and comic. This bittersweet drama won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of 1971, and was described by the Sunday Times as ‘a small jewel of bewilderment and regret’. Keith Barron stars as George in this radio adaptation, with a supporting cast including David Rintoul, Emily Richard and Margaret Courtenay."

Alan Bennett (Author), Charles Simpson, David Rintoul, Emily Richard, Ian Targett, Keith Barron, Margaret Courtenay, Pauline Letts, Susan Sheridan (Narrator)

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Alan Bennett: Stories: Read by Alan Bennett

"A unique collection of eight Alan Bennett stories, read by the author. Alan Bennett is one of Britain's best-loved authors and an acclaimed storyteller. Poignant, compassionate, wise and witty, this compilation includes eight of his best tales: His celebrated, iconic memoir The Lady in the Van; as well as two fascinating autobiographical accounts of his family and childhood. Uncle Clarence sees Bennett visiting the grave of a relative who died in Flanders in 1917; while in Hymn he joins forces with composer George Fenton and the Medici String Quartet to explore his musical memories. Bennett's incisive, acute observations shine through in his fiction too, with wry, moving and darkly humorous meditations on death (Father! Father! Burning Bright and The Laying On of Hands), sex (The Shielding of Mrs Forbes) and middle-age ennui (The Clothes They Stood Up In). His gift for affectionate satire reaches its pinnacle in The Uncommon Reader, a delightful tale in which the Queen discovers the pleasures of literature. This collection includes: - The Lady in the Van (tracks 1-2) - Uncle Clarence (track 3) - The Clothes They Stood Up In (tracks 4-5) - Father! Father! Burning Bright (tracks 6-7) - Hymn (tracks 8-9) - The Laying On of Hands (tracks 10-11) - The Uncommon Reader (track 12) - The Shielding of Mrs Forbes (track 13) ©2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Alan Bennett (Author), Alan Bennett (Narrator)

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Alan Bennett: Plays: BBC Radio dramatisations

"12 full-cast BBC Radio productions of Alan Bennett’s beloved plays, starring Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton, Judi Dench, John Gielgud, Alex Jennings, Patricia Routledge, Thora Hird, Prunella Scales and many more Over the course of his distinguished career, Alan Bennett has received multiple awards and honours, including two BAFTAs, four Laurence Olivier Awards, two Tony Awards, an Academy Award nomination, and a British Book Award for Author of the Year in 2006. This collection includes: - Forty Years On (tracks 1-4) - A Visit from Miss Prothero (track 5) - Say Something Happened (track 6) - Kafka's Dick (tracks 7-8) - Two in Torquay (track 9) - The Last of the Sun, with a special introduction by Alan Bennett (tracks 10-12) - The Madness of George III (track 13- - The History Boys (track 15-16) - An Englishman Abroad (track 17-18) - A Question of Attribution (track 18) - The Lady in the Van (track 19-20) - Cocktail Sticks (track 21) ©2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Alan Bennett (Author), Full Cast, John Sir Gielgud, Maggie Smith, Patricia Routledge (Narrator)

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The Lady in the Van: A BBC Radio 4 adaptation

"Maggie Smith stars in this BBC radio adaptation of Alan Bennett's highly acclaimed autobiographical stage play An eccentric old lady moves into a quiet street in Camden Town. There she remains, installed in her van in glorious self-sufficiency, until the council instructs her to move on. Then a kind homeowner invites her to move her van into his garden – where she stays for the next fifteen years. This is the fascinating story of the genteel vagrant who found a unique place in Alan Bennett's life and writing. But the drama is as much about the author himself as Miss Shepherd. Why did Alan Bennett let her commandeer his driveway? Was he acting out of kindness, weakness, or hidden guilt over not spending enough time with his own mother? Did he always subconsciously plan to exploit Miss Shepherd for literary profit? Thought-provoking and moving, The Lady in the Van tackles profound questions about social responsibility, homelessness and mental illness with a lightness of touch characteristic of Bennett the master storyteller. With a full cast including Adrian Scarborough, Marcia Warren and Alan Bennett, this bitter-sweet comic tale stars Maggie Smith as Miss Shepherd. Now a major BBC feature film, starring Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings."

Alan Bennett (Author), Alan Bennett, Full Cast, Maggie Smith (Narrator)

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The Complete Talking Heads: The classic BBC Radio 4 monologues plus A Woman of No Importance

"The complete audio collection of Alan Bennett’s celebrated monologues, published together for the first time and performed by some of Britain’s best actors The Talking Heads monologues are widely regarded as one of Alan Bennett’s finest dramatic achievements. First broadcast on BBC TV and BBC Radio 4 in the 1980s and 1990s, they won a host of awards and huge popular acclaim, and remain among his most admired works today.This collection includes all twelve Talking Heads, plus the precursor of that series, A Woman of No Importance. Beautifully crafted and full of compassion and wry observation, each tale is ripe with the quirky, insightful detail that has become Bennett's trademark. The monologues are:A Woman of No Importance (Patricia Routledge); A Chip in the Sugar (Alan Bennett); A Lady of Letters (Patricia Routledge); Bed Among the Lentils (Anna Massey); Soldiering On (Stephanie Cole); Her Big Chance (Julie Walters); A Cream Cracker Under the Settee (ThoraHird); Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet (Patricia Routledge); The Hand of God (Eileen Atkins); Playing Sandwiches (David Haig); The Outside Dog (Julie Walters); Nights in the Gardens of Spain (Penelope Wilton) and Waiting for the Telegram (Thora Hird). Intensely moving, deeply engrossing and highly entertaining, these spellbinding soliloquies are essential listening."

Alan Bennett (Author), Alan Bennett, Patricia Routledge (Narrator)

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Cocktail Sticks: A Full-Cast BBC Radio Production

"A radio adaptation of Alan Bennett's short autobiographical play, originally directed by Nicholas Hytner for the National Theatre. Alan looks back on his early life with affection and sadness, revisiting some of the themes and conversations of his memoir 'A Life Like other People's'. Both he and his mother are seduced by the idea that other people's lives are much richer and fulfilling than their own. But when they do, finally, have cocktail parties, they are not at all what his mother would have envisaged.... Alan is played by Alex Jennings and Alan Bennett, supported by the original National theatre cast of Gabrielle Lloyd, Jeff Rawle, Sue Wallace and Derek Hutchinson."

Alan Bennett (Author), Alan Bennett, Alex Jennings, Full Cast (Narrator)

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Smut: Two Unseemly Stories: The Greening of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding of Mrs Forbes

"Two unexpected tales written and read by the best-selling author of The Uncommon Reader, Untold Stories and The History Boys. 'The Greening of Mrs Donaldson' - Mrs Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on the shores of widowhood after a marriage that had been much like many others: happy to begin with, then satisfactory and finally dull. But when she decides to take in two lodgers, her mundane life becomes much more stimulating… 'The Shielding of Mrs Forbes' - Graham Forbes is a disappointment to his mother, who thinks that if he must have a wife, he should have done better. True, her own husband isn’t all that satisfactory either. Still, this is Alan Bennett, so what is happening in the bedroom (and in lots of other places too) is altogether more startling, perhaps shocking, and ultimately more true to people’s predilections"

Alan Bennett (Author), Alan Bennett (Narrator)

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Alan Bennett's: On The Margin

"On the Margin was a six part BBC TV satirical comedy sketch show written and performed by Alan Bennett, with journalist and TV presenter John Sergeant and actor Virginia Stride. It was first broadcast in 1966 and was such a critical success that it was repeated twice the following year. Although Alan Bennett - already famous due to Beyond the Fringe - took swipes at contemporary Britain, his love of his country’s cultural heritage always remained. Besides Bennett, the series also featured Yvonne Gillan, Madge Hindle and Roland MacLeod. However, On the Margin sadly became one of the notorious casualties of the BBC’s tape-recycling policies and the series was completely wiped after its final broadcast. Lost audio recordings of the show were rediscovered in 2014, but so far this release is the only existing compilation of On the Margin..."

Alan Bennett (Author), Alan Bennett, John Sergeant, Various, Virginia Stride (Narrator)

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The Madness Of George III

"Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent stars as ‘mad’ King George III in the title role of this adaptation of Alan Bennett’s award-winning play, which co-stars Cheryl Campbell, Nicholas Farrell and Alun Armstrong. The King is losing his mind. Doctors are brought in as his eccentric behaviour becomes more bizarre and erratic, while his son, the Prince Regent, waits – and plots. Combining Jim Broadbent’s ‘heartbreaking portrayal of the batty old monarch’ (Observer) with Alan Bennett’s trademark dark humour this full-cast drama was first heard on the BBC’s World Service. The Madness of George III was filmed as the Oscar-winning The Madness of King George, starring Nigel Hawthorne and Helen Mirren."

Alan Bennett (Author), Alun Armstrong, Cheryl Campbell, Full Cast, Jim Broadbent (Narrator)

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The History Boys

"After a sell-out national tour and an extended stage run, Alan Bennett’s phenomenally successful play transferred to BBC Radio 3, with Richard Griffiths, Clive Merrison and Frances de la Tour starring as part of the National Theatre cast. At a boys’ grammar school in Sheffield, eight boys are being coached for the Oxbridge entrance exams. It is the mid-eighties, and the main concern of the unruly bunch of bright sixth-formers is getting out, starting university – and starting life. At the heart of The History Boys are four characters, each with contrasting outlooks on teaching and school: Hector, an eccentric English teacher with no interest in exams; Irwin, a young supply teacher who sees history as ‘entertainment’; Mrs Lintott, a traditionalist, who teaches ‘history, not histrionics’; and a Headmaster obsessed with results. Described as ‘the richest play Bennett has ever written’ (Financial Times), staff-room rivalry and the anarchy of adolescence collide in an intensely moving and thought-provoking play. Winner of the Olivier, Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle and South Bank Show Awards for Best New Play. ‘A superb, life-enhancing play’ – Guardian."

Alan Bennett (Author), Clive Merrison, Frances De La Tour, Full Cast, Richard Griffiths (Narrator)

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Audiobooks by Alan Bennett

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