Showing results by narrator "Prunella Scales" in All Categories

Power, excess and betrayal are played out in these tragedies that continue to hold modern resonance. Performed by an incredible array of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Marlowe alumni including Ian McKellen, Diana Rigg, Derek Jacobi and Prunella Scales can be heard in these recordings.

Arriman the Awful, Wizard of the North, is tired of being the most evil wizard in the world so he decides he must get married and have a son to take over. His wife must be a witch with awesome powers but the organised contest has awful consequences.

Lovers lives are complicated by city law, feuding faerie royalty, and, yes, love. Sir Ian McKellen, Prunella Scales, Frank Duncan, and Joan Hart perform Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Reporters Charlie Palmer and Moog Johnson are supposed to be exploring the galaxy in search of unimaginable news. But the beauty of an infinite universe is that if everything possible happens somewhere, there's no need to actually go there to check. So they may as well stay where they are - parked on Clapham Common disguised as a hedge - and simply make up their stories instead. Unfortunately, their terrifying boss at Inter-Galactic News, Korg, is on to them and won't tolerate their fake news any longer.

After an insult from the French Dauphin, King Henry V of England invades France to claim the throne he believes should be his. Henry stops an assassination plot, gives powerful speeches and wins battles against the odds. In the end, he woos and marries the princess of France, linking the two nations....

Complete and unabridged version of Shakespeare's comedy performed by a full cast including Derek Godfrey, Prunella Scales, and Diana Rigg.

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in these two thrilling dramas featuring the wily magician of the Old Bailey at his implacable best. Rumpole takes up the cause of young Bertie Timson, whose sole ‘crime’ seems to be playing football in the street. As he endeavours to defend our ancient freedoms, he becomes uneasy about exactly what his wife Hilda is up to in her continuing friendship with a high court judge.

Algernon Moncrieff, a bachelor-about-town, has invented an invalid friend called Bunbury in order to get out of tiresome family engagements. At the same time, his friend, Jack Worthing, has invented a wicked brother called Ernest to disguise his own misdemeanours. When Algernon poses as Ernest to win the heart of Cecily Cardew, confusion reigns, and it takes the discovery of an old black handbag to reveal the truth.

Mark Antony, one of three rulers of Rome, is in love with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Antony is summoned back to Rome, where he clashes with another ruler, Octavius, before returning to Cleopatra in Egypt. Now in battle with Octavius, Antony and Cleopatra suffer losses and miscommunication and both eventually commit suicide.

Kate and George Starling are just beginning their lives as young newlyweds and are already experiencing the frustrations, as well as the joys, of marriage. But although they have their ups and downs, their mutual love and mistrust gets them through.

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.

The ghosts of Craggyford Castle have been happy for 500 years. But outside the world is changing. Soon there will be nothing left of their old haunts, with new factories and houses as far as a ghost can see. So they set out to find a new home.

Mystery, power and malevolence are present in these plays, all of which subvert the happy endings that one would expect in a comedy and the tragic effect one would expect in a tragedy, to pose deeper moral questions that echo modern society. Performed by an incredible array of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Marlowe alumni including Roy Dotrice, Prunella Scales, Ian McKellen, Michael Hordern and Derek Jacobi can be heard in these recordings.

How do any of us really know who we are? A man arrives in a strange town only to find that everyone knows his name, but thinks he’s someone else. A woman wonders why her husband is not the man he was, but starts to rather like it. Confusion mounts as everyone uncouples from themselves. Will they ever find themselves again? And do they really want to?

Alex McBuff doesn't want to sell the family castle. An orphan, its ghosts have been like a family to him. But it is falling to pieces through lack of money. A Texan billionaire offers Alex $500,000, but on condition that it is ghost free.

Power, tragedy and hubris are played out in this quartet, all of which are set in the febrile political atmosphere of ancient Rome. Performed by an incredible array of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Marlowe alumni including Ian McKellen, Prunella Scales, Patrick Wymark and William Devlin can be heard in these recordings.

Born to elegant but frivolous parents, Harriet grows up ignored and unguided, and retains a curious innocence that neither her marriage to Freddie Lytton, nor her friendship with the beautiful Tessa can dispel. Freddie is far older than she is - a companion rather than a lover - and slightly disapproving of Tessa and her irresponsible, attractive husband, Jack. Yet all four are bound together: by their backgrounds, their children, by Harriet’s unspoken feelings for Jack and by the tragedy that lies in wait for all of them.

An overlooked middle daughter destined to be a spinster. A handsome rejected naval officer. A family on the brink of financial ruin. Anne Elliot has never forgotten about the man to whom she was persuaded out of an engagement by her family. When he returns to Anne's life eight years later, will she be able to secure a second chance? Reinvigorated by the incredible narration of Prunella Scales, Persuasion is a story of missed opportunities, of family and class systems, love and heartache.

Helen heals the king of France, and the king grants her permission to marry Bertram, the man she loves. Bertram rejects her and leaves a list of tasks that she must do to have him acknowledge their marriage. She follows him to Italy, completes all the tasks and Bertram accepts her as his wife.

This hilarious full-cast series reveals the afterlife of some famous characters from children's fiction. George from Enid Blyton’s Famous Five reflects on her life - and reveals the fate of other members of the adventurous group of children - Julian, Dick, Anne and their dog Timmy. Cinderella's siblings speak out, giving their version of what happened after the ball, and the naive, golden-haired, Little Lord Fauntleroy is revealed as a grown-up, evil scoundrel.