A dramatised retelling of John Reed's thrilling eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution - plus bonus documentary'Fizzy and fast, but never flippant' The New StatesmanJohn Reed's first-hand description of the October Revolution was written in early 1918 and published in the USA the following year. The veracity and impact of his dynamic, snapshot-style reportage made the book an instant bestseller, and it has since beco...

A full-cast dramatisation of Italy’s iconic novelThe Betrothed is a sweeping epic, packed with the passion of Les Misérables, the power of War and Peace and the action of Ivanhoe. Set in 17th century Italy, this is the ultimate story of love, faith, justice and power.Engaged couple, Renzo and Lucia must overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to be together. Lombardy, their region of northern Italy, is under Sp...

All twelve episodes of the absurdist series based on Steven Appleby’s comic strip – plus a Christmas Special'No one is more talented or original' Richard Ingrams, SpectatorCartoonist Steven Appleby asks where reality ends and fantasy begins, as he gives us his distinctly abnormal insights into everyday life. In these two series, he takes a look at a few of life’s fundamental topics, including Love, Death, ...

A collection of full-cast dramas and readings from the giant of travel writing – plus a bonus documentaryAuthor and adventurer Bruce Chatwin was one of the 20th Century’s most charismatic writers. His first book, In Patagonia, changed the face of travel writing and made him a literary sensation. Collected here are dramatisations and readings of some of his best-known work, as well as a bonus programme shedding light on his relationships an...

Follow the fortunes of a left-wing theatre company, written by acclaimed dramatist Doug Lucie.It’s 1985 and the Stage Left Theatre Collective is founded by a group of friends with a shared vision: Emma, the artistic manager and Robert the literary manager, director Saul, playwright Alan, and finance manager, Frank. This funny, moving and pin sharp drama follows the fate of the company and its members over the course of four decades. We catch up with the characters ...

Modern technology is terrifying. The average smartphone carries out 3.36 billion instructions per second. The average person can carry out only one instruction in that time. Stop and think about that for a second. Sorry, that's two instructions; you won't be able to do that.But what if modern technology was... literally terrifying? What if there really was a ghost in the machine? Prepare to travel through the bad gateway as acclaimed actor, writer and comedian Tom ...

A collection of some of the rockstar playwright’s finest workBrendan Behan is widely remembered as a hard-drinking, wise-cracking writer who turned up roaring drunk for interviews and cared little for authority. But he was more than just a hell-raising celebrity. His wit, expressive use of language and understanding of human nature made his writing famous around the world, and his masterpieces The Quare Fellow, Borstal Boy and The Hostage rank amo...

'The wittiest writer in Britain today' Stephen FryColumnist, critic and award-winning author Craig Brown is well known for his Private Eye parodies lampooning politicians and celebrities. He has written for numerous newspapers, both under his own name and as his alter egos Wallace Arnold and Bel Littlejohn. Collected here are Brown's four fantastic radio series, plus two bonus programmes in which he discusses his life and work.Mixi...

Series 4 of Lynne Truss's popular BBC Radio comedy thriller. It is 1957, and WWII bomb disposal hero Captain 'mad Hoagy' Hoagland, now fallen on hard times, appears at Brighton Police Station to deliver two boxes. One contains a silver truncheon; an award for valour for Sergeant Brunswick. The other contains the head of one of Mrs Groynes' old criminal accomplices. It is a warning that Mrs G's evil nemesis Adelaide Vine is back, hellbent on revenge... Plus, Mrs G and Sgt Brunswick take par...

Kieran Hodgson stars as Pliny the Younger in Hattie Naylor’s engaging drama charting the fortunes of a household in Ancient Rome.The Emperor Domitian has informers everywhere; no-one is safe. He rules Rome with a rod of iron, and is dangerously unstable and paranoid. In the snake-pit of Imperial Rome, all Pliny the Younger wants to do is get his letters ready for publication.Except if he, his mother Marcella, their Greek cook Doris (who narrowly missed out ...

Welcome to Bigipedia - the omniscient friend you know from your computer and laser watch takes over your PC for 30 minutes in a unique experiment in broadwebcasting...This is the complete first and second series featuring Martha Howe-Douglas, Nick Doody, Matt Kirshen and Pippa Evans. Launched on an unsuspecting public, Bigipedia is a massive mash-up of Google, Microsoft, Apple, Wikipedia, My Space, Yahoo and Amazon, all vying for y...