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Plays & Dramatisations

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The Jane Austen BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art

  • The Jane Austen BBC Radio Drama Collection

  • Six BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
  • By: Jane Austen
  • Narrated by: David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch, Julie McKenzie
  • Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 167
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    4.5 out of 5 stars 150

A collection of BBC radio full-cast dramatisations of Jane Austen's six major novels....

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • Abridged, but well done.

  • By Dean Spilias on 04-07-2016
The Oscar Wilde BBC Radio Drama Collection cover art

  • The Oscar Wilde BBC Radio Drama Collection

  • Five Full-Cast Productions
  • By: Oscar Wilde
  • Narrated by: Miriam Margolyes, Judi Dench, Diana Rigg, and others
  • Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
  • Original Recording
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A collection of the major works of Oscar Wilde, with incredible casts including Judi Dench, Martin Clunes, Michael Sheen, Miriam Margolyes, Ian McDiarmid, Joely Richardson, Penelope Keith, Martin Jarvis, Diana Rigg, Simon Russell Beale, Sheila Hancock, Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry....

The Crucible cover art

  • The Crucible

  • By: Arthur Miller
  • Narrated by: Troy W. Hudson
  • Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 9
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    4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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    4.5 out of 5 stars 8

The place is Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. Its inhabitants believe unquestioningly in their own sanctity. But that very belief will have poisonous consequences when a vengeful teenager accuses a rival of witchcraft - and then when those accusations multiply to consume the entire village....

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Respect to Proctor

  • By Anonymous User on 27-10-2018
The Oscar Wilde Collection cover art

  • The Oscar Wilde Collection

  • By: Oscar Wilde
  • Narrated by: James Marsters, Jacqueline Bisset, Alfred Molina, and others
  • Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars 12
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars 11
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 11

Four classic comedies from one of the wittiest playwrights in Western literature....

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Brilliance has a name and that name is Oscar Wilde

  • By Anonymous User on 20-11-2018

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The Plays of William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello cover art

  • The Plays of William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello

  • By: William Shakespeare
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Waters
  • Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
  • Unabridged
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Enjoy the most notable plays of William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello. Shakespeare was known for his writings on tragedies and these four works are known to be some of the finest tragedies ever written.

The Pit cover art

  • The Pit

  • By: Alexander Kuprin, Maria K. - translator
  • Narrated by: Sky Wildmist
  • Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
  • Unabridged
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Alexander Kuprin prefaced his novel The Pit about the lives of early 20th century Russian prostitutes as follows, "I know many people will find this novel amoral and inappropriate, but nevertheless I dedicated it from the bottom of my heart to mothers and young people" Indeed, the novel's publication was followed by an explosion of outrage. The "good" society accused Kuprin of slander and forever exiled him from its sitting rooms, charity auctions, and holiday balls. Progressive intellecutals winced and shuddered, but could not help admitting Kuprin had a point.

Androcles and the Lion cover art

  • Androcles and the Lion

  • By: George Bernard Shaw
  • Narrated by: Ben Stevens, Jeff Moon, Sara Morsey, and others
  • Length: 1 hr and 46 mins
  • Unabridged
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Bernard Shaw based his "religious pantomime" Androcles and the Lion on the ancient fable of the runaway slave who pulls a painful thorn from a lion's paw, thereby making a lifelong friend. This tale of a puny Greek tailor triumphing over the Roman emperor is, as always with Shaw, a commentary on the politics of his time, with the emperor standing in for the British government and, indeed, all repressive regimes. 

The Unexplored Ibsen cover art

  • The Unexplored Ibsen

  • By: Henrik Ibsen, K. G. Cross - translator
  • Narrated by: K. G. Cross, Andrew Harrington, Amanda Friday, and others
  • Length: 2 hrs and 10 mins
  • Unabridged
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This book contains two plays by Henrik Ibsen. Norma is a satirical opera designed as a dramatic parody of Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma, in which the characters are portrayed as central figures in the political life of contemporary Norway. St. John's Night is a fairy-tale comedy that takes place during a midsummer feast on a farm in Telemark. It is inspired by many sources, most notably A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, and features many of the same themes.

An Essay on Criticism cover art

  • An Essay on Criticism

  • By: Alexander Pope
  • Narrated by: Denis Daly
  • Length: 50 mins
  • Unabridged
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First published in 1711, An Essay on Criticism was one of Pope's earliest major poems. As the title suggests, it is an exploration of what Pope considered to be the essential aspects of good critical writing. 

La Vita Nuova [The New Life] cover art

  • La Vita Nuova [The New Life]

  • By: Dante Alighieri
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
  • Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
  • Unabridged
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Written in alternating prose and poetry, La Vita Nuova is a profound reflection on the nature of love, devoted to Dante's muse Beatrice. Following Beatrice's death in 1290, Dante became obsessed with the young Florentine woman, whom he only ever knew from a distance. He believed his love for her was a form of divine love and saw her as an image of salvation itself - a theme that is later explored in his masterpiece The Divine Comedy, where she guides him through heaven.