Showing results by narrator "Nigel Planer" in All Categories

An explosive BBC Radio 4 comedy drama about two morally-polar characters, both in love with the same woman, who has just - tragically - died. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 22 March 2011. The Magnificent Andrea is the first original radio play by Nigel Planer ('The Young Ones', 'Hairspray'), in which two wonderful characters, Barry (Roger Allam) and Nigel (Nigel Planer), collide and wrestle over the memory of their shared inspirational warrior woman - and of course, her home.

Mr Wolf fancies some tasty pancakes but he doesn't know how to make them. Asking his neighbours is no use - they're a mean and horrible lot who refuse to help. Poor Mr Wolf! He has to work it out all by himself. So what happens when these nasty neighbours want to help Mr Wolf eat his delicious pancakes?

Ah, Nonsense! The English, it is often said, have a peculiar brand of humour. Along with copious cups of tea and a stiff upper lip it keeps life together in moments of difficulty and strife. One of our most-loved humourists is Edward Lear, famed throughout the world for his nonsense verse and limericks. Listen to this collection and find out why.

Mr Wolf has found a great big enormous turnip. Just the thing to make his favourite super - spicy turnip stew! But Mr Wolf needs some help. The turnip is stuck fast. Can the little frog with the sad tale help him? Nigel Planer reads this delightful fairy story with an enormous gobbling surprise. Includes story reading, soundtrack, a song, and lots of fun.

After 20 years as a struggling variety turn and then a prolific scriptwriter and television star, comic genius Marty Feldman found screen stardom with his very first Hollywood role in Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein. With his wife, Lauretta, as the power behind the throne, his rise, fall and decline is relayed through bittersweet memories of the past and intoxicated infidelities in the present.

Romanticism was a new movement in philosophy and the arts that began in the late 18th century when major political events shook the world, such as the French Revolution and American independence. It marked a distinct contrast to the prevailing Enlightenment ideals and in poetry represented a more personal intuitive, emotional and meditative expression with a back-to-nature imperative. It subsequently altered the way in which we perceive poetry and beyond as well as defining our own modern sensibilities to the arts.

Territory is the theme that unites these four humorous plays - whether that means fighting over an allotment plot, dealing with the sudden partition of a country, guarding the privacy of a garden or battling with the council over school catchment areas.

‘A dime a dozen’ as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English ‘cheap as chips’ but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit ‘A Rhyme a Dozen’ as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears.

First broadcast (with the aid of a crystal ball) in summer 1994, the Sony Award-winning show returns for a second series starring the ‘Godfather of Radio 4’, Brian Perkins, and Spitting Image impressionist Kate Robbins. This time, they turn their comic gaze on six roller-coaster years from the 21st Century: 2001, 2005, 2010, 2021, 2025 and 2099.