AuthorAlan Bennett
NarratorAlan Bennett
Duration1h 44m
CategoriesAdult Fiction, Plays and Dramatisations
PublisherBBC Audiobooks
VersionAbridged
Alan Bennett stars in a new production of his own acclaimed satrical comedy, thirty years after its original West End debut. The Headmaster has been at Albion House for fifty years, man and boy. Now he is retiring and takes part in the end-of-year entertainment for the last time. Entitled Speak For England, Arthur, it weaves together a multi-generational story of England: the glorious era at the turn of the century, when the summers were always golden; the fast-living inter-war years peopled by the Bloomsbury Group; and the growing cynicism of a country going to war twice in so many decades. Tongue-in-cheek, the play-within-a-play prompts an outraged response from the Headmaster, who can only see his beloved standards being mocked. Yet within the parody lies an almost-painful nostalgia for a more peaceful age and the timeless misunderstanding of one generation by another. Clever, funny and poignant, Alan Bennett's masterful play is rightly regarded as a modern classic.
Author: Alan Bennett
Author Alan Bennett
Narrator Alan Bennett
Duration 3h 52m
Two unexpected tales written and read by the bestselling author of 'The Uncommon Reader', 'Untold Stories' and 'The History Boys'. In 'The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson', Mrs. Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on the shores of widowhood after a marriage that had been much like many others: happy to begin with, then satisfactory a...
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Author: Alan Bennett
Author Alan Bennett
Narrator Alan Bennett
Duration 47m
On the Margin was a six part BBC 2 TV British satirical comedy sketch show written and performed by Alan Bennett and a regular cast including John "Strictly Come Dancing" Sergeant. produced by Sydney Lotterby of Yes Minister and Porridge fame. Each instalment featured a mixture of sketches (some foreshadowing Bennett's subsequent television dramas,...
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Author: Alan Bennett
Author Alan Bennett
Narrator Alan Bennett, Thora Hird
Duration 2h
Until the time of her death in 2003, actress Thora Hird worked regularly with the playwright Alan Bennett. In this audiobook, Bennett recalls his work and friendship with Thora, and introduces three examples of their collaboration.
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Author: Alan Bennett
Author Alan Bennett
Narrator Full Cast
Duration 1h 12m
Three classic Alan Bennett adaptations, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and released on CD for the first time.
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Author: Alan Bennett
Author Alan Bennett
Narrator Alan Bennett
Duration 50m
To mark their thirtieth anniversary, the Medici String Quartet asked composer George Fenton and writer Alan Bennett to collaborate on a piece for performance at the Harrogate International Festival. The result was 'Hymn', a meditative piece, in which Bennett looks at the part which music played in his childhood. George Fenton's score, which accompa...
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Author: Alan Bennett
Author Alan Bennett
Narrator Alan Bennett
SeriesAlan Bennet's Untold Stories, Book 2
Duration 2h 34m
Untold Stories, Alan Bennett's first major collection of prose since his bestselling Writing Home, brings together the finest and funniest of his writing over the last ten years. Part 2: The Diaries Alan Bennett's diaries from 1997-2004 are an erudite collection of witty yet poignant recollections told in his own unique voice. Whether appreciating...
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Author: Alan Bennett
Author Alan Bennett
Narrator Alan Bennett
Duration 8h
Alan Bennett, master storyteller, reads four of his highly-acclaimed stories. The Lady in the Van - An eccentric old lady and her van are told to move on by the council, but a kind homeowner invites her to live in his garden. In this bizarre tale, the homeowner is Alan Bennett and the woman stays for fifteen years. As heard on BBC Radio 4, this edi...
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Alan Bennett At the BBC: Highlights of His BBC Career
Author: Alan Bennett
Author Alan Bennett
Narrator Alan Bennett
Duration 2h 35m
A unique anthology of Alan Bennett's radio and television work featuring extracts from his diaries and readings, tributes to friends Russell Harty and Peter Cook plus commentary and specially recorded links by Bennett himself.
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Author: Alan Bennett
Author Alan Bennett
Narrator Alan Bennett
SeriesAlan Bennet's Untold Stories, Book 4
Duration 2h 24m
lan Bennett reads three further chapters from Untold Stories, his major collection of new writings. Untold Stories, Alan Bennett's first major collection of prose since his bestselling Writing Home, brings together the finest and funniest of his writing over the last ten years. After Untold Stories: Part 1: Stories, Part 2: The Diaries and Part 3:...
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Author: Alan Bennett
Author Alan Bennett
Narrator Various
Duration 3h 15m
Performed by the author and five of Britain's leading actresses, Alan Bennett's tales are full of quirky, insightful detail and wry observation. This audiobook contains the following monologues: 'A Chip in the Sugar' with Alan Bennett; 'A Lady of Letters' with Patricia Routledge; 'Bed Among the Lentils' with Anna Massey; 'Soldiering On' with Stepha...
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