J. B. Priestley – A BBC Radio Drama Collection – J. B. Priestley Free Audiobook

Written by J. B. Priestley
Read by Full Cast
Format: Mixed
Bitrate: Mixed
Dramatization

Four feature length adaptations of stage plays and one dramatisation of a short story.

This is by no means all of the productions of Priestley’s works that the BBC broadcast, but I’m only interested in the spooky stuff or the twist in the tail stories, so here they are.

All my recordings from BBC Sounds.

1934 – Dangerous Corner

1937 – I Have Been Here Before

1937 – Time and the Conways

1945 – An Inspector Calls

1953 – The Grey Ones

DANGEROUS CORNER

A happy gathering of friends begin to probe events which happened in the past and discover that the relationships they have with each other aren’t what they seem: “truth is like skidding round a corner at sixty”.

Stars Martin Jarvis as Robert Caplan, Stephanie Turner as Olwen Peel, Heather Stoney as Freda Caplan and Helen Worth as Betty Whitehouse.

Directed by Alfred Bradley.

First broadcast on Radio 4 in 1984.

I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE

A group of people thrown together by chance when they decide to stay at a remote Yorkshire inn, discover that they’re so inter-dependent that a decision taken by any one of them is likely to have a profound effect on the lives of the others. Have they lived through the experience before? Is there a chance to make different decisions this time?

One of JB Priestley’s trio of ‘Time’ plays – inspired by the concept of whatever happens has already taken place many times over and will do so again…

Sally Pratt…. Lesley Nichol
Sam Shipley …. George A. Cooper
Dr Gortler…. Geoffrey Banks
Walter Ormund … Ronald Baddiley
Janet Ormund …. Susan Tracy
Oliver Ferrant… Alan Rothwell

Director: Alfred Bradley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1984.

TIME AND THE CONWAYS

J.B. Priestley’s well-known play from 1937 which toys with the idea of time, telling the story of one family in several scenes set over 19 years.

One of Britain’s leading writers of the inter-war years, Priestley was fascinated by the concept of time and was inspired by the theories of J.W Dunne and his book An Experiment With Time.

A World War has just ended. The Conway family gather to celebrate daughter Kay’s 21st birthday party. But 19 years later we see that the future is far from the one they imagined.

Mrs Conway …… Harriet Walter
Kay …… Anna Madeley
Alan …… Rupert Evans
Carol …… Amaka Okafor
Hazel …… Eleanor Howell
Robin …… Harry Hadden-Paton
Madge …… Heather Craney
Joan …… Clare Corbett
Ernest Beevers …… Tony Bell
Gerald Thornton …… Clive Hayward
JB Priestley …… Michael Bertenshaw

Director …… David Hunter
Pianist …… Colin Guthrie

Sun 14 Sep 2014 at 22:00 on BBC Radio 3.

AN INSPECTOR CALLS

The Birlings are celebrating the engagement of their daughter Sheila when a police Inspector calls. Each member of the family is questioned about their relationship with a young woman, Eva Smith. And they each have to face up to their role in her tragic story.

Inspector Goole … Toby Jones
Arthur Birling….David Calder
Sibyl Birling…Frances Barber
Sheila Birling … Morvern Christie
Eric Birling … Sam Alexander
Gerald Croft …Geoffrey Streatfeild
Edna… Vineeta Rishi

Directed by Jeremy Mortimer.

Sat 29 May 2010.

THE GREY ONES

A patient fears evil is at work in the shape of a sinister conspiracy. Will his psychiatrist be able to help?

JB Priestley’s creepy tale dramatised by Patricia Mays.

Patson …… Tony Britton
Dr Smith …… Jack May.

Producer: Derek Hoddinott
Director: Martin Williamson

First broadcast on the BBC World Service in July 1983.