Dramas that are not audiobooks

[Velvian]

Does anyone have this issue with BBC Sounds? I really like radio/podcast dramas with a cast, but I don't like abridged novels with a narrator.

BBC Sounds puts them both under Drama with no way of differentiating.

I've really enjoyed all the Lovecraft dramas (silly as they are) and a lot of the afternoon dramas, but struggle to look through to find new ones that meet my criteria.

I'm also a fan of Charles Paris and the 1960s Paul Temples.

Any suggestions dramas that are harder to find? Thank you. 😊

The 3 Aldrich Kemp series are by the same writer as Lovecraft Investigations. If anything even sillier but a lot of fun.

Limelight is the "brand-name" for new serialised drama not adapted from anything, normally with a thriller-ish bent.

I'd also recommend the series of dramas called "where this service will..."

I don't mind a reading but I see what you mean, that filing them all under drama is messy.

I really enjoyed Eleanor rising, a drama about Eleanor of Aquitaine , it sounds as though it could be a bit dry but it really wasn't, I accidentally caught the second episode in the car and was so hooked in I went back and started it from the beginning on sounds.

There are some great older dramas with a cast - I love the bbc adaptations of Cadfael, Falco and Wimsey. Unfortunately they're only periodically on Sounds so I've ended up having to buy them on Audible but it's worth keeping an eye out for them. The Dark is Rising is another great one for this time of year and that one is on Sounds at the moment I think.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I've listened to all the Limelight and Aldrich Kemp and like those, so thanks for that 😊.

I didn't list everything I've listened to as there are so many (I listen while WFH). added to that, i have a terrible memory! Im here for the suggestions though. Thanks

I also listen to The Archers (for my sins 😅).

Dark is Rising and Eleanor Rising are both permanently available on Sounds, I know because I've got them lurking in my downloads pile, but haven't got around to them, so thanks for the recommendations.

I really enjoyed November Deadlist and also This thing of Darknest (v long but I thought excellent esp first series)

There are also lots of BBC radio dramas on Spotify

Also if u like crime drama:
The interrogation
Craven
Stone
Craven and stone have a significant back catalogue
I'd advise listening in order to- especially Stone as personal life plays a significant part towards the end.

Thanks November Deadlist is one I haven't listened to. I've just listened to Up in Smoke on Spotify and would recommend that.

Gimlet media do some good dramas too.

If anyone has a trick for sniffing out the dramas from the narrated stories (aside from going in and looking for a cast list), I would be grateful. 😊

Not on BBC sounds but Undertow from Realm has some good dramas, if you like Lovecraft.

Have you tried Tracks on BBC sounds?

Have you tried the modern Sherlock adaptation - Sherlock & Co?

Have you listened to The White Vault?

Thanks for the Undertow and White Vault recommendation. I like Sherlock and Co and loved Tracks, but was put out when it was Tara Fitzgerald for 1 series (nothing against her).

Thought I'd listened to the whole Internet, so I'm really pleased there's some stuff to try. 😂

I've got in the habit of checking the Radio 4 Extra schedules, especially the Whodunnits strand. Annoyingly they don't make the whole series available at one time, just releasing one episode a day, even though everything they're broadcasting is old, and often shown several times before. I've found that some things are available in full on Archive.org or on YouTube.

Anyway, I enjoyed a very recent one - Lady in a Fog, 8 x 30 minute episodes. The BBC website mistakenly says it was first broadcast in 1958 but it was actually more like 1947, according to something I found online, with quite a number of follow up serials and a film adaptation, all of which have sunk without trace. This series was unearthed from someone's private archive a few years ago and restored. I think the writer had been reading a lot of Raymond Chandler, a favourite author of mine, so this British series is none the worse for that. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m0017l6s

Not on BBC Sounds but if you liked the Lovecraft Investigations I would highly recommend the Magnus Archives. There are 200 episodes but they are quite short once you fast forward past the advert. It starts off as one narrator reading creepy supernatural accounts but there is an overarching story which is slowly added in along with other cast members. By the end it is pretty mindblowing

Former BBC sounds devotee here, been delighted by home many series are available in full on YouTube.

Omg - just tried to listen but it seems every start and finish is padded with 3 mins of ads?! Even a tiny 15 second trailer had 6 mins of ads 💀 I'm intrigued but is it really worth fast forwarding that much?

Omg - just tried to listen but it seems every start and finish is padded with 3 mins of ads?! Even a tiny 15 second trailer had 6 mins of ads 💀 I'm intrigued but is it really worth fast forwarding that much?

It is really annoying, especially for the trailers. But there is consistently about 6 minutes at the start of every episode and a long theme tune, so it is quite easy to fast forward and there are no adverts during the show, so I would say that it is worth it

@Agapornis forgot to tag you in my reply above, sorry!

Some good dramas currently on Sounds (mixture of crime, classic and spooky):

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Julie Enfield investigates (crime starring Imelda Staunton)
Raffles
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
Mill on the Floss by George Elliott
Children of the Stones
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

I thought Precipice was excellent but that's a reading rather than acted drama

So good to get recommendations!

I really enjoy listening to radio dramas and listen on my Apple phone.

I tend to find Apple Podcasts easier to navigate but they can be dominated by horror which isn’t my favourite genre and you are at the mercy of how popular the podcast is. Adverts do not bother me as you can often skip them.
bbc Sounds dramas are on Apple Podcasts too.

I have been lucky enough to find and enjoy…

Red Valley, Dark woods, Cold Tapes, The Sisters, Malevolent, Blackout, mockery manor, the road of shadows and haunted the audio drama (interesting plots but the acting can be terrible/hilarious).

some super audio dramas on audible; originals and BBC ones but which no longer appear on bbc sounds.

I've just finished the Julie Enfield series! It was fab!
Following this thread with interest...

I love a good radio drama. Limelight is my go to.

Not BBC sounds, but the Department of Midnight is newish and fantastic if you like Lovecraft.

Audible has just released a new Poirot with Peter Dinklage which was very good, and has led me to buy 15 hours worth of old BBC adaptations in a bundle - I am very happily working through them. Audible also have ‘temporal’, again by the people who did Lovecraft which I enjoyed. The sound production is outstanding.