Does anyone else listen to radio dramas/plays?

[AlpacaTheBags]

I find audiobooks are much too long for me. I know that you can increase the speed but I'm a fast reader and I can still read the book in less time than it takes to listen to them. I also prefer a full cast to one narrator.

Radio plays are perfect for me. I usually listen while cleaning or while shopping or chatting online. I particularly like horror related dramas but classics too and I'm in the middle of Ben Hur at the moment.

Does anyone else enjoy them?
And do you please have any other recommendations? Which have you most enjoyed?

TIA

I love the Curious Under The Stars series on BBC Sounds.

Yes me, I love all radio plays and anything serialised at the end of women’s hour.

I also love the hitchhikers guide I have all of those.
One of my favourites sadly is Dan Dare. I know it’s old. But they re did it a few years ago and it is really good and easy to listen to.
Last time I checked they had all of the mclevy stories on I player as well.

Also. Please remember to get a library card. They have tons for free to listen to on there as well. Won’t be without mine

I subscribed to Audible at the start of lockdown and have just finished 25 hours of 'Wives and and Daughters' by Elizabeth Gaskell. I listen while out walking 2 or 3 times a week.
I find it much easier than actually reading and have listened to some cracking stories, averaging 10 hours.

Before that (and in between starting a new audio book) I catch up with free dramas on BBC Sounds.
I can honestly highly recommend both. I love the all.

Welcome to our village is on bbc sounds at the moment on radio four extra. I love it

Love them. Did you listen to the Martin Beck ones? Loved them.

On BBC Sounds:

Charles Paris
Any Agatha Christie
Home Front-there are hours of it
GF Newman’s The Corrupted-again, hours of it.
A Small Town Murder

Tracks is excellent as pp said. I also like Julie Enfield. Some great youtube bbc plays by James Follett.

I like stumbling across one by accident. I particularly enjoy dramatisations of historical events. I heard a really good one about the Piper Alpha disaster once.

I always have an audio book on the go as well as a paperback.

I would like to get a Macbeth recording for my son, he listens to lots of audio. Can anyone recommend the best one on Audible or Sounds as there are several to choose from.

Ooh thanks for reminding me about the library card thing.

A pp mentioned ‘Spoonface’. This is Spoonface Steinberg by Lee Hall (who wrote Billy Elliot) and is hands down the most powerful piece of radio I have ever heard (and I’ve been listening to radio for a loooooooog time). You will need a box of tissues though …

One we listen to every year about this time is The Northern Shaman, which is on YouTube.
I like Curious Under the Stars too, and Hitchhikers, well as any Terry Pratchett dramatisations.

Hi OP
I listen to a lot of radio drama too. Archive.org has such a great, well, archive of stuff from all eras that you'll be spoilt for choice. They have a lot of the full cast adaptations of Agatha Christie and PG Wodehouse for example. I also enjoyed the Orson Welles Tales from the Black Museum again recently and Toby Stephen's Philip Marlowe series.
I couldn't live without stuff like this.
I get what you say about full cast over one person. I'm selective when listening to audiobooks, eg; Hugh Fraser; so marvellous reading Poirot that I can't abide anyone else, he is so adept you forget it's just him.

@CatherineCawood

I adore, and have listened to countless times 'Where this service will....' terminate, depart etc. 5 plays by Katherine Jakerson about a couple that meet on a train from London to Cornwall.

Started listening to this and loving it, thanks so much

I adore, and have listened to countless times 'Where this service will....'
Was going to say the same - brilliantly written and acted. Also love Charles Paris with Bill Nighy and Suzanne Burden.

Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister are well worth your Sufible free trial. I listen to them every few months and they are still wonderful.

Sufible? Audible...

@ClaudiusTheGod - thank you, it is “Spoonface Steinburg” that I meant. There’s another play that Lee Hall wrote, I think there might have been a number at the same time, “I love you Jimmy Spud”. Also sad, about a boy who wants to be an angel, and can only be a trainee, who wants to be able to save his dad who has cancer.

Love this thread! This is my favourite, it was on the World Service about ten years ago, it's very evocative of NYC:
www.fallingtree.co.uk/archive/spanning-the-world-brooklyn-bridge/

Ok ,I'm outing myself as an old fogey here ...can someone walk me through how to listen to podcasts/sounds etc please ?

I have a second hand 2017 Samsung phone and have only been using a smart phone for a few months . I'm on Giffgaff and I have 1 GB a month - as you can tell ,I don't know whether listening to eg BBC Sounds uses data or not .

peridito, if you download the Sounds app (do all your downloading using WiFi) and find a play you want to listen to, you can choose to download it and then you can listen to it offline

It will use data but if you are at home you will be on wifi, if you have it.

You need to download the BBC Sounds app. So go to the apps on your phone and there will be one called 'PLAY' its logo is a multicoloured arrow. Open that and in the search bar at the top put bbc sounds. Choose the BBC sounds app and download it. It is free. Once you have done that open the sounds app. You will need to sign in with your BBC account/ create a BBC account.

Then search for what you want to listen to. I highly recommend the 'Where This Train Will....' series of 5 plays. Pure escapism, comedy/drama.

Enjoy!

Also what @groundcontroltomontydon said is right, if you have wifi download what you want at home to listen without using data on the move. Sorry I should have said that too!

CatherineCawood
I adore, and have listened to countless times 'Where this service will....' terminate, depart etc. 5 plays by Katherine Jakerson about a couple that meet on a train from London to Cornwall.

Where can I get this?!

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/m0005289
Where this service will ...