Audiobooks by David Pownall

Assassins: A series of full-cast dramas exploring the minds of three of history’s most infamous killers

"Three full-cast dramas exploring the minds of history’s most infamous killers This powerful trilogy of radio dramas examines the motives and moral reasoning of the people who carried out some of the most culturally impactful political assassinations of the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The Virgin Knife: On 13 July 1793 Charlotte Corday, a young woman from Caen in Normandy, travelled to Paris with the sole intention of killing Jean Paul Marat while he sat in his bath. What drove her to such an extreme? Starring Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey, James Bond) as Charlotte Corday and Gerard Murphy as Jean-Paul Marat. A Mere Five Thousand Pounds: On a sunny day in May 1812, as Napoleon's armies massed on the Russian borders, Liverpudlian timber merchant John Bellingham was feeling aggrieved. He entered the House of Commons and shot dead the then prime minister Spencer Perceval. Starring David Horovitch (Miss Marple) as John Bellingham. Sic Semper Tyrannis: On Friday, April 14th 1865, thirty minutes into the performance of Our American Cousin, at the Ford Theatre in Washington, John Wilkes Booth entered US President Abraham Lincoln's State Box and shot him dead. What set of remarkable circumstances led to an event that in its time was as momentous as the assassination of J.F. Kennedy? Starring Nathan Osgood (Florence Foster Jenkins, Criminal and Homes and Watson) as John Wilkes Booth and Carlos Antonio as Davey Herold. Writer David Pownall was internationally-renowned for his work on stage, TV and radio, and is recognised as one of the UK’s most prolific and respected radio dramatists. His stage plays have been performed on Broadway, and at the National Theatre, Old Vic, Wyndham and Barbican in London, and the RSC. His many awards include the John Whiting Prize, the New York Theatre Yearbook, the London Stage Directors’ Award and two Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Awards. He also received two Giles Cooper Awards and three Sony Awards for his radio work. Cast and credits Written by David Pownall Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan The Virgin Knife Charlotte Corday - Samantha Bond Jean Paul Marat - Gerard Murphy First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25th February 1999 A Mere Five Thousand Pounds Written by David Pownall Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan John Bellingham - David Horovitch First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4th March 1999 Sic Semper Tyrannis John Wilkes Booth - Nathan Osgood Davey Herold - Carlos Antonio First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11th March 1999 ©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

David Pownall (Author), Carlos Antonio, David Horovitch, Gerard Murphy, Nathan Osgood, Samantha Bond (Narrator)

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Behind the Author's Desk: Dramas of Famous Writers' Real Lives: A BBC Radio 4 drama collection

"18 biographical dramas based on the lives and loves of celebrated writers These surprising, revealing dramas take a behind-the-scenes look at some of our best-loved authors, mingling fact and fantasy to explore their extraordinary hidden lives. From love affairs, friendships and family relationships to traumas, tragedies and journeys of self-discovery, we glimpse the unwritten worlds that shaped their unforgettable fiction. Among the star casts are Andrew Scott, Toby Jones, Richard Dormer, Glenda Jackson, Bella Ramsey, Julia Davis, Ian McDiarmid, Haydn Gwynne, David Threlfall, Alistair McGowan, Tom Goodman-Hill, Hattie Morahan, Rosie Cavaliero, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Paul Ritter and Lia Williams Jane and Tom - Writing to her sister, Jane Austen describes her love for Tom Lefroy - a love that would lead to Pride and Prejudice. When Fanny Met Germaine - A delightful romp through the passionate, scandalous friendship between two 18th Century writers: Fanny Burney and Mme de Stael. Comrade Ackland - Dorset, 1936. Newly returned from an illicit trip to Civil War Spain, Sylvia Townsend Warner and her lover Valentine Ackland have an unexpected visitor.... Tongues of Fire - 1913. When a Nobel laureate visits Dublin's Abbey Theatre, fireworks erupt between WB Yeats and Sean O'Casey. A Year at the Races - Approaching the end of his career, Groucho Marx meets a wisecracking fan determined to teach him new comedy tricks. Spike and the Elfin Oak - A comic fantasy inspired by Spike Milligan's madcap attempts in the mid-1960s to preserve a curious sculpture in Kensington Gardens. Everybody's Got Conditions - Casting Bette Davis in his play The Night of the Iguana proves the biggest mistake in Tennessee Williams' career... I Believe I Have Genius- Humble and obscure, young Charlotte Brontë travels to Brussels to study at a girls' school. Marian and George - Marian Evans (aka George Eliot) must choose between her adored brother and the love of her life... Lying Low - An intriguing drama imagining what happened to Samuel Beckett during his mysterious three weeks in Folkestone in 1961. A Terrible Beauty - WB Yeats travels to France to propose to beautiful Maud Gonne, soon after her husband's execution in the 1916 Easter Rising. The Watcher on the Wall - Dramatised from his letters, this is the story of Louis MacNeice's transatlantic love affair and the poetry it inspired. Edith Sitwell in Scarborough - Returning to her birthplace, Edith Sitwell sets out to wreak revenge. Mrs Tolstoy - A five-part drama charting the tempestuous marriage between Leo and Sofya Tolstoy. The 'B' Word - The opening night of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion causes a scandal and sparks a passionate love/hate triangle... The Rules of Palship - The young Noël Coward demanded fierce loyalty from his friends - but did he live up to his own high standards? The Lost Road - A playful tribute to the long friendship between CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien and how it influenced their respective masterpieces. Luxembourg Gardens - Re-imagined from Katherine Mansfield's stories, letters and journals, this Mansfieldesque play explores her last day in Paris, where she is dying of consumption aged 34. Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Alistair Mcgowan, Anna Linstrum, David Pownall, Elizabeth Lewis, Frances Bingham, Ian Billings, Jonathan Tafler, Judith Adam, Katie Hims, Lucy Caldwell, Mary Cooper, Robin Brooks, Sarah Wooley, Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre, Stephen Wakelam (Author), Alistair Mcgowan, Andrew Scott, Full Cast, Glenda Jackson, Hadyn Gwynne, Ian Mcdiarmid, Paul Ritter, Richard Dormer, Toby Jones, Tom Goodman-Hill (Narrator)

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Prayer Mask: A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

"Joseph Fiennes stars as the young Lieutenant Richard Burton who in 1853 disguised himself as an Afghani pilgrim and undertook an expedition to Mecca. His aim was to explore the Holy of Holies. He chronicles this journey fraught with dangers and misadventure. But can he hide his identity from his two young guides? With Akbar Kurtha, Rasmus Hardiker, Paul Rider, Roger Hammond, Inam Mirza, Jonathan Tafler and Natasha Pyne. Written by David Pownall. Directed by Peter Kavanagh."

David Pownall (Author), Akbar Kurtha, Inam Mirza, Jonathan Tafler, Joseph Fiennes, Natasha Pyne, Paul Rider, Rasmus Hardiker, Roger Hammond (Narrator)

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