Radio drama- my favourites

[Heathcliff]

About five years ago, I started listening to radio dramatisations of the Poirot murder mysteries on the BBC websites. Since then, audio drama has become a huge passion of mine. I've been meaning to post about this for a while- so I thought I would share five of my favourite radio dramas, as well as asking if anyone else is into this stuff.

P.S. These are all British, all BBC I think. I can't really help that- I'd be more than interested to know of similar things from elsewhere

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- 2009

I can't really express how much I like this- from the start it conjures up a world where things are bleak and grey, and something is very wrong. This is a whodunnit where the villain is in plain sight the whole time, but still it is powerful when he is finally unmasked. Simon Russell Beale's performance as George Smiley is, in my opinion, an example of how good radio drama can be.

Poirot- Sad Cypress- 1990s?

I like almost all the Poirot dramatisations, thanks to the wonderful performance of John Moffatt- to me he is Hercule Poirot. But there's something about this story of an unhappy young woman, accused of poisoning someone in a stifled, empty house, that makes it the one I always think of first.

Doctor Who- The Chimes of Midnight- 2002

Sometimes, sci-fi and fantasy works despite the limitations of radio... but here, it works because of the nature of radio. The Eighth Doctor (the beautiful-voiced Paul McGann) arrives with his companion in an Edwardian kitchen on Christmas Eve, and what follows is a mystery where everything is not quite what it seems. It creates a genuinely creepy atmosphere, as more and more of the servants in the household die (along with bizarre and funny lines like "The chauffeur was run over with the car- it's obviously suicide"). Here's a link.

Knightfall- 1994

Think comic books won't work on the radio? Well- no they won't, really. This was a very strange idea to make a Batman comic storyline into a radio drama. You could argue that comic books are a very visual medium... and if you completely remove the visuals from them, you might as well be fitting wheels to a potato. But if (like me) you like audio drama, it's interesting to see people doing something difficult like this. I still shudder with delight when I hear "I will raise you up- and... I will break you!" -CRACK- "AAAAAGH!!"

The Cazalets- 2013

Here is something I've just started listening to... in 2013 the BBC are dramatising all four of Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet novels- the saga of a wealthy family just before the Second World War. We're only up to the middle of book two, but already I feel attached to these characters- moreover, these women, because it seems at heart to be a story about women. Even in their world of privilege, we've already heard of war, affairs, rape, and child abuse, so this is not a happy story- but I'm sure I won't be able to stop listening until the whole thing has come to an end.

[Smokey]

I love listening to Audio's- especially Big Finish who produce the Doctor Who and Dorian Gray ones! I would say those are the main ones i listen to but i think there is something really special about Audio's as they can bring to life the story more so in a way then tv/film can.

[VoOs]

Oh, these sound interesting. Thanks for the recommendations! (Another radio drama fan here)

My personal favourite radio show is the sitcom Cabin Pressure. The writer John Finnemore is a master at wordplay and language-related humour, as well as creating likable, three-dimensional characters. 4 seasons x 6 episodes have been aired so far. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

[AppleBlossom]

My personal favourite radio show is the sitcom Cabin Pressure. The writer John Finnemore is a master at wordplay and language-related humour, as well as creating likable, three-dimensional characters. 4 seasons x 6 episodes have been aired so far. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

I second that! Brillant!

Oh VoOs, we have such good tastes!

[tma]

My personal favourite radio show is the sitcom Cabin Pressure. The writer John Finnemore is a master at wordplay and language-related humour, as well as creating likable, three-dimensional characters. 4 seasons x 6 episodes have been aired so far. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

I love that as well. Completely my sense of humour.

Oh.... Poirot mysteries.... dramatised?? Seriously? Those were my absolutely *favourite* books as a young teen. I've seen some movie adaptations, but radio dramatisation.... that would be *brilliant*. Any suggestions on where to find them?

Honestly, I don't know of anything Stateside with radio dramas (there are radio "drama llamas" like Rush Limbough.... but that's something different and much more frightening ).