or do they pass off a lot of prentious bollocks as 'plays' on R4

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

I mean with iplayer anyone can listen at anytime so why are they so bloody awful most of the time. Todays was a prime example A9

PRETENTIOUS - I do know how to spell - sticky keypad issue!

Just me then

I listen to R4 plays late at night and, you're right, they don't seem to be too interesting even when they have well established actors and actresses reading the words in them.

Perhaps most Mumsnetters are dealing with other things and don't have the time to watch television listen to Radio 4. Not everyone has these gizmos - imap, iplayer. I don't even know what they are because I can live my life without them. Sorry: imap is what you look at on a long haul flight, isn't it?

Hang that coat back up!

I heard most of A9 and did think that it was particularly peculiar! They do vary quite a bit, I wondered if today's example was supposed to be deconstructing itself but got carried away and turned itself upside down and inside out???

YADNBU. Sadly I'm out of the UK so I can't get Radio 4 now, but when I did I used to find that the readings from books were excellent, but the plays often truly awful. Not just pretentious, but also had really bad acting. You know when the actors try to squeeze as much meaning into every syllable as they can and it sounds totally unnatural?

oh yes there was competitive EMOTING and SHOUTY ACTING going on today - that is why I got all knicker twisty about it - the sad thing is I really enjoy a good radio play just wish I heard more on R4. (and don't start me on R4 'comedy').

Iplayer isn't a gizmo really - if you have internet access you can watch/ listen to BBC output on it via BBC website. Tis really quite popular.

Actually even though middle class drama gets very tedious - the 'street' plays can be positively cringeworthy with overuse of 'innit' and 'bruv' to indicate the gritty realism being portrayed [shudder]

There are some outstanding dramatisations - but maybe I have been particularly unlucky in what I have listened to recently.

Ah, yes, I'm completely with you over the crap R4 plays.

Even very good actors sound horribly hammy, the content is usually rubbish and I have to turn off five minutes after they start because it is getting on my wick.

I thought A9 was brilliant...could just imagine the daughter in law posting in AIBU about her dreadful old FiL, the dopey BiL and the arselikken SiL...and the papapecked DH.

I've given up on R4 plays because they are so crap - rubbish I could write read in sententious tones. Honestly the telephone directory, read with the same pregnant pauses would be as interesting

Whenever I put radio 4 on and it's a play I groan.

They are unmitigated rubbish.