Terrence Rattigan: BBC Radio Drama Collection
from archive.org
Sir Terence Rattigan was one of Britain's greatest playwrights, renowned for his well-crafted dramas of upper-class manners and repressed sexuality. He was hugely popular throughout the 1940s and early 50s, and had the rare distinction of having plays running in three West End theatres simultaneously. Having fallen out of fashion in the Sixties, his work is now enjoying a revival. Included in this collection are some of his most esteemed plays, as broadcast on BBC Radio.
The Winslow Boy
"It is easy to do justice - very hard to do right". A father battles to prove the innocence of his son, accused of stealing a postal order at his Edwardian naval college. His stubborn quest sparks reverberations at the House of Commons.
Arthur Winslow ...... Michael Aldridge
Grace Winslow ...... Pauline Letts
Catherine Winslow ...... Sarah Badel
Dickie Winslow ...... Michael Maloney
Ronnie Winslow ...... John McAndrew
Violet ...... Peggy Page
Attorney-General ...... Nicholas Courtney
John Watherstone ...... David Timson
Miss Barnes ...... Margaret Robertson
Mrs Beggs ...... Gladys Spencer
Desmond Curry ...... Michael Spice
Herbert Ridgeley-Pearce ...... John Rye
1st Lord of the Admiralty ...... Patrick Barr
Sir Robert Morton ...... Aubrey Woods
Adapted and directed by Ian Cotterell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1981
The Browning Version
Teacher Andrew Crocker-Harris is on the verge of retirement - and a divorce. But he has a shot at trying to redeem his dignity when a young schoolboy gives him an unexpected parting gift...
Andrew Crocker-Harris ...... John Gielgud
Millie Crocker-Harris ...... Angela Baddeley
Frank Hunter ...... Brewster Mason
Taplow ...... Anthony Adams
Dr Frobisher ...... Clive Morton
Peter Gilbert ...... Denis Goacher
Mrs Gilbert ...... Anne Cullen
Schoolboy ...... Warren Hearnden
Adapted by Cynthia Pughe
Directed by Norman Wright
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in September 1957.
Adventure Story
The play focuses on the transformation of Alexander the Great after his conquest of Persia from a military adventurist to an uncompromising despot with a grand vision of a world empire which estranges him from his erstwhile friends. Driven by a deep-felt insecurity, he starts to kill people close to him including the father figure Cleitus. He tries to justify his actions in the name of his dreams of the world empire, but is haunted by loneliness in the end.
Alexander the Great .... Paul Daneman
The Queen Mother of Persia .... Margaret Rawlings
Hephaestion, a Macedonian officer .... David Brierley
Alexander .... Paul Daneman
A sculptor .... Michael Harbour
Philip of Macedon Alexander's father .... John Wyse
General Parmenion .... David March
Philotas his son .... Nigel Graham
The Pythia Priestess of Delphi .... Margaret Robertson
The Queen Mother of Persia .... Margaret Rawlings
Darius, King of Persia .... John Justin
Queen Statira .... Barbara Mitchell
Prince Bessus Satrap of Bactria .... Anthony Jackson
Princess Statira .... Sian Davies
Mazares, servant to Darius .... Harold Kasket
Cleitus, a Macedonian officer .... Francis de Wolff
Macedonian officer - Ptolemy .... Michael Harbour
Macedonian officer - Perdicoas .... Christopher Bidmead
Roxana .... Margaret Robertson
Adapted by Peter Watts
Produced by John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1967
Cause Celebre
The play follows the course of a sensational murder trial at the Old Bailey in 1935 concerning an elderly architect allegedly killed by his much younger wife Alma and George, their handsome odd-job boy. Centring on the trial's impact on Edith Davenport, the morally upright forewoman of the jury, who is forced to reconsider her initial condemnation of the life-affirming, morally relaxed Alma.
Joan Webster ..... Lucy Black
Francis Rattenbury .... Timothy Carlton
John Davenport .... Simon Chandler
Croom-Johnson ..... Richard Clifford
Christopher .... Oliver Coopersmith
Edith Davenport .... Niamh Cusack
Alma Rattenbury ..... Anne-Marie Duff
Montagu ..... Rory Fleck-Byrne
Tony Davenport .... Freddie Fox
Irene Riggs .... Jenny Galloway
Judge ...... Patrick Godfrey
O'Connor .... Nicholas Jones
George Wood .......Tommy McDonnell
Stella Morrison ....... Lucy Robinson
Clerk of the court .....Tristan Shepherd
Casswell ....... Richard Teverson
Wardress ....... Sarah Waddell
Sergeant Bagwell ....... Michael Webber
Coroner ....... Tristram Wymark
Directed by Thea Sharrock
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011
The Deep Blue Sea
It is post-war Britain and Hester Collyer has left her husband, an eminent judge, to be with Freddy, an ex-RAF pilot with no prospects. The passion she feels for this younger man is not returned by him, and the play opens as Hester, in a state of despair, has attempted suicide.
Mrs Elton Auriol Smith
Philip Welch .... Joseph Kloska
Ann Welch .... Joannah Tinsey
Hester Collyer .... Carolyn Pickles
Mr Miller .... Hugh Ross
William Collyer .... Anton Lesser
Freddie Page .... Tom Mison
Jackie Jackson .... Adrian Grove
Director David Timson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in February 2009
Bequest to the Nation
The play recounts the events surrounding Horatio Nelson, his mistress Emma Hamilton, and his wife Frances Nisbet in the events immediately before, during and after the Battle of Trafalgar.
Emma Hamilton .... Sian Phillips
Nelson .... Michael Bryant
Lady Nelson .... Anna Massey
Capt Hardy .... Alan Lake
George Matcham, Sr. .... Michael Spice
Katherine Matcham .... Judy Franklin
George Matcham .... David McAlister
Lord Barham .... Alan Dudley
Lord Minto .... Nicholas Courtney
Betsy .... Diana Bishop
Captain Blackwood .... Sean Arnold
Francesca .... Patience Tomlinson
Adapted by Bridget Marrow
Directed by David Johnston
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1981
While The Sun Shines
The action takes place over three acts in an apartment at Albany where the wealthy Earl of Harpenden, serving in wartime as an ordinary seaman, is about to marry his long-standing fianc?e. Complications arise, caused by the arrival of two rival suitors an American airman and a Free French officer, Harpenden's prospective father-in-law and an old girlfriend.
Harpenden .... Ronald Lewis
Mulvaney .... Warren Stanhope
Colbert .... Philippe Monnet
The Duke .... Peter Pratt
Elizabeth .... Kate Coleridge
Mabel Crum .... Margaret Wolfit
Horton .... Lockwood West
Directed by
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1969
In Praise of Love
Lydia knows she is dying, but her thoughts are for her self-centred husband and their son. If only she can bring them together ...
Sebastian Cruttwell .... Anthony Quayle
Lydia Cruttwell .... Muriel Pavlow
Mark Walters .... Robert Beatty
Joey Cruttwell .... John Bull
TV announcer .... Brian Carroll
TV actor .... Godfrey Kenton
TV actor .... Danny Schiller
Directed by Peter King
With Brian Carroll, Godfrey Kenton, Danny Schiller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1980
Flare Path
Set in a hotel near an RAF Bomber Command airbase during the Second World War, the story involves a love triangle between a pilot, his actress wife and a famous film star.
Mrs Oakes .... Gladys Spencer
Peter Kyle .... Basil Jones
Doris .... Betty Baskcomb
Sergeant Miller .... Joe Sterne
Percy .... Tim Seely
Count Skriczevinsky .... Anthony Jacobs
Flight -Lieutenant Teddy Graham .... Anthony Hall
Patricia Graham .... Jane Wenham
Maudie Miller .... Norma Griffin
Squadron-Leader Swanson .... Eric Anderson
Adapted by Kenneth Morgan
Produced by R. A. Smith
First broadcast on BBC Home Service in December 1965
The Sleeping Prince
The fairy story of a Gaiety Girl invited to supper by the Regent of Carpathia, in London for the Coronation of King George V. A casual encounter involves her not only in romance, but in the turmoil of Europe just before the First World War.
Mary .... Millicent Martin
The Regent .... Peter Wyngarde
Peter Northbrook .... Aubrey Woods
Producer .... Ronald Herdman
Laura .... Olga Lindo
The King .... Brian Hewlett
Grand Duchess .... Fay Compton
The Countess .... Anna Burden
Major domo .... Ronald Herdman
The Baroness .... Anna Burden
The Archduchess .... Olga Lindo
The Princess .... Julie Stevens
Adapted for radio by Gerry Jones
Produced by Guy Vaesen
First broadcast on BBC Home Service in January 1967
Man and Boy
The play is set in 1934 in a small, shabby apartment in Greenwich Village, home of bar pianist Basil Anthony. Powerful financier Gregor Antonescu, "The greatest financier in the world" and "the man who rescued Europe" in 1926, visits his estranged son, Basil, at his apartment in an attempt to extricate himself from the most catastrophic disaster of his career.
Gregor .... Alan Bates
Carol .... Catherine Cusack
Vassily .... John Light
Sven .... David Bradley
Herris .... James Laurenson
Beeston .... Nick Waring
Countess .... Alan Carroll
Directed by John Dove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1998
Separate Tables - Table by the Window
Separate Tables is a vital portrait of post-war Britain in flux. Here, in a small, shabby hotel in Bournemouth, a brutal clash of generations is playing out. Beneath a veneer of respectability lies a modern world of desire, deception and violence.
Separate Tables comprises two linked one-act plays: Table By The Window and Table Number Seven. In this play, Table By The Window, Anne arrives from London, and she and her ex-husband John must confront their painful past.
John Malcolm ..... Shaun Dooley
Anne Shankland ..... Naomi Frederick
Miss Cooper ..... Nathalie Armin
Mrs Railton-Bell ..... Susan Brown
Lady Matheson ..... Ruth Everett
Mabel ..... Alexandra Hannant
Charles ..... Matthew Durkan
Jean ..... Marilyn Nnadebe
Miss Meacham ..... Rebecca Crankshaw
Mr Fowler ..... Neil McCaul
Directed by Anne Isger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2022
Separate Tables - Table Number Seven
Separate Tables is a vital portrait of post-war Britain in flux. In a small, shabby hotel in Bournemouth, a brutal clash of generations is playing out. Beneath a veneer of respectability lies a modern world of desire, deception and violence. Separate Tables comprises two linked one-act plays: Table By The Window and Table Number Seven. In this play, Table Number Seven, a newspaper reveals Major Pollock's long-held secret. Will the other residents cast him out for good?
A note on the play: This drama uses the 'alternative version' of Rattigan's text, which was only discovered after Rattigan's death, and never performed during his lifetime. In this version, the Major's 'crime' is one of homosexuality, whereas in the originally performed version, the Major was accused of assaulting women. It's generally accepted that the avoidance of reference to homosexuality was as a result of censorship of theatres at the time imposed by the Lord Chamberlain. Rattigan himself said 'I had in fact appealed over the head of the Lord Chamberlain to the sensibilities and particular awareness of an English audience. I was in fact saying to them "Look, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Lord Chamberlain has forced me into an evasion, but you and I will foil him. Everybody in the play is going to behave as if there were no evasion at all and as if the more important and serious theme were still the issue."'
Major Pollock ..... Adrian Scarborough
Sibyl Railton-Bell ..... Chloe Pirrie
Mrs Railton-Bell ..... Susan Brown
Miss Cooper ..... Nathalie Armin
Lady Matheson ..... Ruth Everett
Mabel ..... Alexandra Hannant
Charles ..... Matthew Durkan
Jean ..... Marilyn Nnadebe
Miss Meacham ..... Rebecca Crankshaw
Mr Fowler ..... Neil McCaul
Directed by Anne Isger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2022
NB: Some of the plays in this collection contains language and attitudes that reflect the era in which they were written. The audio quality is variable on some of the older recordings.
- The Winslow Boy (80.6Mb)
- The Browning Version (53.8Mb)
- Adventure Story (77.4Mb)
- The Deep Blue Sea (99.7Mb)
- Flare Path (80.7Mb)
- Bequest to the Nation (77.7Mb)
- The Sleeping Prince (79.3Mb)
- Man and Boy (75.2Mb)
- While the Sun Shines (82.7Mb)
- Cause Celebre (107Mb)
- In Praise Of Love (79.6Mb)
- Separate Tables: Table by the Window (52Mb)
- Separate Tables: Table Number Seven (52Mb)
MP3 files hosted by archive.org.