Audiobooks Narrated by Michael Gambon

Caryl Churchill: Top Girls, The Skriker, Serious Money, A Number and more: 13 BBC Radio Full-Cast Productions

"A collection of dramatisations and original radio plays by the award-winning playwright - plus bonus documentary Caryl Churchill is one of Britain's most innovative and influential dramatists. Versatile and prolific, she has written over 50 plays for stage and screen and is renowned for her revolutionary theatrical techniques and themes of feminism, social politics and the abuse of power. This box set brings together some of her best-known theatre plays, adapted for BBC radio with full casts. It opens with her landmark 1982 drama Top Girls, exploring the price women pay for success in a man's world. Serious Money satirises the corporate venality that followed the 1986 Big Bang; while The Skriker blends naturalism, horror and magical realism to tell a story of love, loss and revenge. Also included are A Number, a powerful look at human cloning and identity; Escaped Alone, a tale of four septuagenarian friends, afternoon tea and catastrophe; and Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, focussing on the millennial movements that erupted during the English Civil War in the 1640s. Churchill also wrote a number of original plays specially for BBC radio in the 1960s and '70s, seven of which are included here: her first professional audio drama The Ants; Identical Twins; Abortive; Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen; Schreber's Nervous Illness; Perfect Happiness and Henry's Past. Among the stellar cast in these superb dramas are Daniel Craig, Maxine Peake, Lesley Manville, Hattie Morahan, Michael Gambon, Tobias Menzies, Bertie Carvel, Deborah Findlay, Kenneth Haigh, Prunella Scales, Monica Dolan, Dinsdale Landen and Clive Merrison. Concluding our collection is a bonus edition of Meridian, taking an in-depth look at Churchill's extraordinary oeuvre. NB: Contains strong language Production credits Written by Caryl Churchill Text copyright © Caryl Churchill 1962 (The Ants), 1968 (Identical Twins), 1971 (Abortive, Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen), 1972 (Schreber's Nervous Illness, Henry's Past), 1973 (Perfect Happiness), 1976 (Light Shining in Buckinghamshire), 1982 (Top Girls), 1987 (Serious Money), 1994 (The Skriker), 2002 (A Number), 2016 (Escaped Alone) All rights reserved Content List Top Girls Serious Money The Skriker A Number Escaped Alone Light Shining in Buckinghamshire The Ants Identical Twins Abortive Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen Schreber's Nervous Illness Perfect Happiness Henry's Past Meridian: Caryl Churchill ©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Caryl Churchill (Author), Bertie Carvel, Daniel Craig, Deborah Findlay, Dinsdale Landen, Full Cast, Lesley Manville, Maxine Peake, Michael Gambon, Prunella Scales, Tobias Menzies (Narrator)

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Ben Hur: A BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation

"A thrilling adaptation of Lew Wallace's epic biblical tale of betrayal, destiny and redemption. Judea, 26 AD. Two men's lives run almost in parallel. One is a prince of Jerusalem. The other is known as 'He that is born King of the Jews'... When Judah Ben Hur visits his childhood playmate Messala, now a Roman tribune, he hopes to rekindle an old friendship. But their meeting has devastating consequences. Betrayed and falsely accused of attempted murder, Judah's property is confiscated and his family arrested - and he himself is sent to the galleys. En route to the sea, he meets a carpenter's son, who gives him water - and looking into the man's eyes, he almost loses his desire for vengeance. Freed from slavery years later, Judah travels to Antioch, where he hears of a King who will lead the Jewish people, and vows to go and fight for him. He also encounters his former friend Messala once more, and seizes the opportunity to crush him in a high-stakes chariot race. Emerging victorious, he journeys back to Jerusalem to find his lost mother and sister, and raise a resistance force against Rome. But as his life intersects with that of the King he champions, he comes to realise that Jesus of Nazareth is not a warrior, but a saviour - and that the path to his kingdom lies through forgiveness. First published in 1880, Ben Hur was famously adapted as a 1959 blockbuster starring Charlton Heston, which won a record 11 Oscars. This spectacular, cinematic dramatisation boasts a stirring score by award-winning composer Wilfredo Acosta, and is brought to life by a stunning cast including Julian Glover, Samuel West and Michael Gambon. Production credits Written by Lew Wallace Dramatised by Catherine Czerkawska Directed by Glyn Dearman Music and sound design by Wilfredo Acosta Iras' song sung by Elizabeth Mansfield Cast Judah Ben Hur - Jamie Glover Messala - Samuel West Angel/Esther - Deborah Berlin Amrah - Phyllis Calvert Mother - Margaret John Arrius/Man 2 - Derek Waring Tirzah/Maid - Natasha Pyne Chief of Rowers/Man 1 - Don McCorkindale Man 1/Servant/Roman 1/Man at Inn - Joshua Towb Thord/Man 2/Passenger/Servant - Michael Tudor Barnes Man in Boat/Malluch - Gavin Muir Simonides - Bernard Hepton Sheik Ilderim - Freddie Jones Balthasar - Michael Hordern Drusus - Ian Masters Iras - Becky Hindley Jesus/Man 3 - Peter Yapp Pilate/Guide/John the Baptist - Neville Jason Assassin - Oliver Senton Man 4 - Peter Whitman Michael Gambon reads from the Bible First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 March - 9 April 1995 © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Lew Wallace (Author), Full Cast, Jamie Glover, Michael Gambon, Samuel West (Narrator)

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Grandpa’s Great Escape

"Grandpa’s Great Escape, from Children's author David Walliams. Jack’s Grandpa… *wears his slippers to the supermarket *serves up Spam à la Custard for dinner *and often doesn’t remember Jack’s name But he can still take to the skies in a speeding Spitfire and save the day…"

David Walliams (Author), Michael Gambon, Nitin Ganatra (Narrator)

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Alan Bennett Three Plays

"Clever, funny and poignant, Alan Bennett’s masterful plays are rightly regarded as modern classics. Kafka’s Dick is Bennett’s brilliantly clever comedy drama that examines the relationship between life and art, and asks what was Kafka’s embarrassing little problem... Alison Steadman, Richard Griffiths and Nigel Anthony star in this BBC Radio 4 adaptation, described by the Daily Telegraph’s Gillian Reynolds as ‘Pure joy’. Forty Years On stars Alan Bennett in the production of his own acclaimed satirical comedy about a headmaster of Albion House who is retiring and takes part in the end-of-year entertainment for the last time. It also stars Robert Bathurst and Eleanor Bron. An Englishman Abroad stars Michael Gambon and Penelope Wilton as Guy Burgess and Coral Browne in this BBC Radio full-cast drama based on a real-life chance encounter in 1958 between the world famous spy and a Shakespearean actress."

Alan Bennett (Author), Alan Bennett, Alison Steadman, Eleanor Bron, Full Cast, Michael Gambon, Nigel Anthony, Penelope Wilton, Richard Griffiths, Robert Bathurst (Narrator)

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