Listen - broadcast works by Stephen Wakelam
Update January 2024: Nine of Stephen's radio plays now available via the BBC here
Radio play - Answered Prayers (45 mins)
In the aftermath of the First World War two men meet in the English countryside - one a monk, hoping to build a community, the other a young man living in the wild. Gillian Reynolds in the The Daily Telegraph described this as a 'very beautiful, moving play.' And the Observer as a 'two handkerchief play.' Cast: Walter Kenneth Cranham, Francis Stuart McQuarrie, Rector John Rowe, Ordinand Ioan Meredith, Carter Philip Fox. Broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on 15 March 2004. Director Janet Whitaker.
In the aftermath of the First World War two men meet in the English countryside - one a monk, hoping to build a community, the other a young man living in the wild. Gillian Reynolds in the The Daily Telegraph described this as a 'very beautiful, moving play.' And the Observer as a 'two handkerchief play.' Cast: Walter Kenneth Cranham, Francis Stuart McQuarrie, Rector John Rowe, Ordinand Ioan Meredith, Carter Philip Fox. Broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on 15 March 2004. Director Janet Whitaker.
Radio play - What I think of my Husband (in five episodes totalling 75 mins)
In the first decade of the last century, a young woman comes down to Dorset to interview the most famous novelist of his day. The play is an account of the relationship between Thomas Hardy and his second wife Florence. The Times described the play as 'unusually authentic'. Cast: Hattie Morahan, Nigel Anthony and Marcia Warren. Broadcast as a five-part serial by BBC Radio 4 starting on 31 March 2008. Directed by David Hunter.
In the first decade of the last century, a young woman comes down to Dorset to interview the most famous novelist of his day. The play is an account of the relationship between Thomas Hardy and his second wife Florence. The Times described the play as 'unusually authentic'. Cast: Hattie Morahan, Nigel Anthony and Marcia Warren. Broadcast as a five-part serial by BBC Radio 4 starting on 31 March 2008. Directed by David Hunter.
Hattie Morahan
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Radio play - Two men from Delft (73 mins)
In 1675, at the time of the death of his close friend Johannes Vermeer, Antony Van Leeuwenhoek made an astonishing discovery. He was the first person to identify bacteria. The Sunday Times called this play 'quiet, evocative and lovely'. The Independent: 'A brilliant drama about art, feuding families and the dawn of a new science.' Cast Stephen Tompkinson (Antony Van Leeuwenhoek), Alex Jennings (Christiaan Huygens), Emma Noakes (Maria Van Leeuwenhoek), Alex Tregear (Elisabeth Vermeer). Music by Sylvia Hallett. Viol played by Vanessa Coode. Directed and produced by Jeremy Mortimer. Broadcast on 4 February 2007 on BBC Radio 3
In 1675, at the time of the death of his close friend Johannes Vermeer, Antony Van Leeuwenhoek made an astonishing discovery. He was the first person to identify bacteria. The Sunday Times called this play 'quiet, evocative and lovely'. The Independent: 'A brilliant drama about art, feuding families and the dawn of a new science.' Cast Stephen Tompkinson (Antony Van Leeuwenhoek), Alex Jennings (Christiaan Huygens), Emma Noakes (Maria Van Leeuwenhoek), Alex Tregear (Elisabeth Vermeer). Music by Sylvia Hallett. Viol played by Vanessa Coode. Directed and produced by Jeremy Mortimer. Broadcast on 4 February 2007 on BBC Radio 3
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Radio play - The Adulteries of a Provincial Wife
(57 mins) About one of the most famous and scandalous of novels, 'Madame Bovary'. Who was the inspiration for Emma Bovary and how did Flaubert's own life become embroiled in his writing?... 'A very clever play': Sunday Times. Cast Robert Glenister (Gustave Flaubert), Daniel Evans (Louis Bouilhet), Anastasia Hille (Louise Colet). Directed by Sally Avens. First broadcast on 2 September 2006. |
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Radio play - A Dose of Fame
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E M Forster
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The Jinx Element
Fenella Woolgar stars as Edith Wharton in this 2013 Radio 4 play, directed by Sally Avens.
Listen here
Fenella Woolgar stars as Edith Wharton in this 2013 Radio 4 play, directed by Sally Avens.
Listen here
The Journal of a Joskin
Ralph Ineson stars as Yorkshire farm labourer and aspiring writer Fred Kitchen, in Stephen Wakelam's adaptation of Fred's journals (2015).
Ralph Ineson stars as Yorkshire farm labourer and aspiring writer Fred Kitchen, in Stephen Wakelam's adaptation of Fred's journals (2015).
Radio play - The Pattern of Painful Adventures (90 minutes: available via Amazon as a download)
Antony Sher portrays William Shakespeare. It's 1607 and the playwright is at the peak of his powers - and at a turning point. In his day to day life, there are a number of pressing problems - not least his younger brother who has a sick, illegitimate child and is in need of a job. The play marries real life events in Shakespeare's life with surprising developments in his work. First broadcast by BBC Radio 3, November 30, 2008 and repeated in 2010. Cast: Antony Sher, Will Keen, Helen Longworth, Stephen Critchlow, Chris Pavlo, Robert Lonsdale, Joseph Kloska. Directed by Jeremy Mortimer.
Antony Sher portrays William Shakespeare. It's 1607 and the playwright is at the peak of his powers - and at a turning point. In his day to day life, there are a number of pressing problems - not least his younger brother who has a sick, illegitimate child and is in need of a job. The play marries real life events in Shakespeare's life with surprising developments in his work. First broadcast by BBC Radio 3, November 30, 2008 and repeated in 2010. Cast: Antony Sher, Will Keen, Helen Longworth, Stephen Critchlow, Chris Pavlo, Robert Lonsdale, Joseph Kloska. Directed by Jeremy Mortimer.
Tolstoy
Radio play - Mrs Tolstoy (68 minutes - is available via Amazon as a download)
With Haydn Gwynne and Ian McDiarmid
With Haydn Gwynne and Ian McDiarmid
Radio play - Lying Low - has cropped up (audio only) on YouTube here.
Radio play - Waiting for the Boatman - is no longer available on the BBC but has appeared here. "It was the director, Sasha Yevtushenko, who suggested to me - maybe three years ago - the idea for a play about the painter Caravaggio. The anniversary of his death was coming up: 1610. I'd read the Helen Langdon biography and had been knocked out by an exhibition of his late canvases in 2005 at the National Gallery, so didn't need much encouragement."