Audiobooks narrated by Penny Downie

Dinner: A full-cast production of the acclaimed black comedy

A deliciously black satirical comedy about the dinner party from hell. The fastidious host, Paige, decides to throw a dinner party in honour of her husband Lars, who is celebrating the success of his pop psychology book, Beyond Belief. She carefully plans a surprise menu that will mark the occasion, and anxiously checks with the waiter she has employed to make sure that everything is perfectly prepared. Her lucky guests include a post-feminist vegetarian artist, a distinguished microbiologist, a TV journalist and an uninvited guest who ends up staying for dinner. But it soon becomes apparent that the meal may contain some rather nasty surprises... Moira Buffini's outrageous comedy Dinner started life in the National Theatre's Loft in 2002, and became her first West End smash. In this production, adapted by the writer for BBC Drama on 3, Harriet Walter returns to the role she created: Paige, the hostess and architect of an evening which her guests will never forget. Two other original leads, Nicholas Farrell and Penny Downie, and four new cast members join her in this viciously black chamber piece about appetite, which will make you think twice about ever accepting another invitation to dinner.Moira Buffini was nominated for an Olivier Award for Dinner in 2003, and won the Olivier in 2014 for her play Handbagged.CastPaige........................Harriet WalterLars........................Nicholas FarrellWynne........................Penny DownieHal........................Paul BazelySian........................Pippa Bennett-WarnerMike........................Peter McDonaldWaiter........................David HounslowProduced and directed by Jonquil Panting

Moira Buffini (Author), David Hounslow, Harriet Walter, Harriet Walters, Nicholas Farrell, Paul Bazely, Penny Downie, Peter Mcdonald, Pippa Bennett-Warner (Narrator)

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King Lear

This shattering drama of isolation and loss is one of the greatest tragedies in world literature. King Lear of Britain has three daughters: the hard-hearted Goneril and Regan, and the good and gentle Cordelia. He determines to divide his kingdom between them, giving the largest share to she who can say she loves him the best. Lear’s tragic lack of judgement and self-knowledge is paralleled by the blindness of the loyal Gloucester who is persuaded to reject his virtuous son Edgar in favor of the villainous Edmund. Lear is played by Trevor Peacock and Gloucester by Clive Merrison. Penny Downie is Goneril, Samantha Bond is Regan, and Julia Ford is Cordelia. Edgar is played by David Tennant, Edmund by Gerard Murphy, and the Fool by John Rogan.

E.A. Copen, Pierre Arthur Laure, Robert T. Kiyosaki, Tom Wheelwright, William Shakespeare (Author), A Full Cast, Clive Merrison, David Tennant, Gerard Murphy, John Rogan, Julia Ford, Penny Downie, Samantha Bond, Trevor Peacock (Narrator)

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The Merry Wives of Windsor

It is said that Queen Elizabeth gave Shakespeare two weeks to write this play that showcases her favorite comedic character, Sir John Falstaff. The dissolute Falstaff plans to seduce Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, two “Merry Wives of Windsor,” thereby gaining access to their husbands’ wealth. The two women have the old rogue’s measure, however, and Falstaff’s plots lead only to his own humiliation. But the merry wives themselves fall prey to plotting as their plans to prevent Mistress Page’s daughter Anne from marrying the young man she loves are frustrated in their turn. Dinsdale Landen is Falstaff. Sylvestra Le Touzel plays Mistress Ford and Penny Downie is Mistress Page. Nicholas Woodeson is Ford, Phillip Jackson is Page, and Clive Swift plays Justice Shallow. “At the request of the Queen, Shakespeare wrought this farce starring Sir John Falstaff…Director Clive Brill has orchestrated a rousing production that concentrates on clarity…this is a delightful addition to Arkangel’s series of the complete, uncut Shakespeare plays.”—AudioFile

E.A. Copen, Pierre Arthur Laure, Robert T. Kiyosaki, Tom Wheelwright, William Shakespeare (Author), A Full Cast, Clive Swift, Dinsdale Landen, Nicholas Woodeson, Penny Downie, Philip Jackson, Sylvestra Le Touzel (Narrator)

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Barbara Pym: A BBC Radio drama collection: Some Tame Gazelle, No Fond Return of Love, Crampton Hodne

Dramatisations and a reading of selected novels by Barbara Pym - plus bonus material Barbara Pym is one of the 20th Century's wittiest, and most underrated, novelists. Her perceptive comedies of manners, centred around the domestic lives and loves of unassuming middle-class Englishwomen, won her many devoted readers and saw her hailed as a modern-day Jane Austen. Yet she spent 15 years out of print in the 1960s and '70s, until Philip Larkin championed her work in the Times Literary Supplement. Her seventh novel was subsequently shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and writers from Jilly Cooper to Alexander McCall Smith continue to laud her talent today. Included in this collection are the BBC Radio dramatisations of some of her most beloved books, including her debut Some Tame Gazelle; her second novel Crampton Hodnet, published posthumously in 1985; and its sequel Jane and Prudence. Alongside them are her fifth and sixth novels, A Glass of Blessings and No Fond Return of Love; and a comic spy thriller, So Very Secret. Adapted by actress and writer Elizabeth Proud, they feature stellar casts including Miriam Margolyes, Hannah Gordon, Samantha Bond, Rebecca Front, Joanna David, Penny Downie and Amanda Root. Her best-known novel, Excellent Women, about a clergyman's daughter whose life is disturbed by anthropologists and a handsome naval officer, is read by One Foot in the Grave star Annette Crosbie. It is followed by a bonus biographical drama, The Resurrection of Miss Pym, starring Penelope Wilton and Bill Wallis and telling the story of Barbara Pym's warm friendship with Philip Larkin, her years in the publishing wilderness, and her eventual triumphant rediscovery. And in the fascinating radio talk Finding a Voice, we hear from the author in her own words as she analyses her inspiration, influences, literary style and why she kept on writing 'even in the face of discouragement'. Cast and credits Written by Barbara Pym Copyright © Barbara Pym 1950 (Some Tame Gazelle), 1953 (Jane and Prudence), 1958 (A Glass of Blessings), 1961 (No Fond Return of Love), 1987 (So Very Secret) Crampton Hodnet copyright © Barbara Pym, Hilary Walton 1985, Hazel Holt 2004 With thanks to the British Library for the sourcing of Crampton Hodnet Contents Some Tame Gazelle Crampton Hodnet Jane and Prudence A Glass of Blessings No Fond Return of Love So Very Secret Excellent Women The Resurrection of Miss Pym Finding a Voice ©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

BBC Radio (Author), Amanda Root, Annette Crosbie, Hannah Gordon, Miriam Margolyes, Penelope Wilton, Penny Downie, Rebecca Front, Samantha Bond (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Penny Downie