Daphne du Maurier BBC Radio Collection [files not found]

NOTE: The MP3 files used by this podcast appear to be missing. They may have been removed permanently from their source location. Daphne du Maurier was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Although she is classed as a romantic novelist, her stories have been described as "moody and resonant" with overtones of the paranormal. Her bestselling works were not at first taken seriously by critics, but have since earned an enduring reputation for narrative craft. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and Jamaica Inn, and the short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now. Presented here are BBC Radio dramatisations of du Maurier's finest works, including: The Years Between In the early 1940s, Diana Wentworth's MP husband, Michael, is reported missing - presumed killed in action. Once over the shock, she builds a new life - taking over Michael's seat in parliament, and falling in love with a much more suitable man. But on the eve of their wedding, a phone call brings Diana shattering news.... Diana Wentworth .... Diana Quick Michael Wentworth .... Roger Allam Richard Llewelyn .... David Collings Robin Wentworth .... Peter England Sir Ernest Foster .... Frederick Treves The Vicar .... Derek Waring Dramatised for radio by Jill Hyem Director: Cherry Cookson First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1987 Rebecca Arriving at Manderley, the young Mrs de Winter finds the beautiful mansion and its occupants haunted by memories of Rebecca - the first wife of her new husband Maxim... Maxim de Winter .... Christopher Cazenove Mrs de Winter .... Janet Maw Mrs Danvers .... Rosalie Crutchley Jack Favell .... Nicholas Grace Colonel Julyan .... Frederick Treves Mrs Van Hopper .... Irene Sutcliffe Frith .... John Gabriel Beatrice .... Margaret Courtenay Ben .... Danny Schiller Clarice .... Elizabeth Mansfield Horridge .... Brian Miller Tabb .... John Bull Dr Baker .... Geoffrey Whitehead Dramatised by Brian Miller. Director: Cherry Cookson First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1989 The House on the Strand Richard Young experiments with a hallucinogenic drug that transports him back to fourteenth-century Cornwall, just before the onset of the Black Death. His initial encounter is so overwhelming that he knows he must repeat it, even though he suffers horrible after-effects. Ian Richardson as Richard Young Richard Hurndall as Magnus Lane Bonnie Hurren as Vita Young David March as Roger Elizabeth Morgan as Mrs Collins Brian Haines as The Vicar David Sinclair as The Caravan owner Frank Duncan as Dr Powell Judy Bennett as Teddy Vernon Joiner as Bill Julie Hallan as Diana Manny Wilson as Father Prior Adapted by Philip Leaver and Kay Patrick First broadcast on 24 November 1973 The Birds The classic horror story about the natural world turning on mankind. Nat ..... Neil Dudgeon Sue ..... Nicola Walker Maggie ..... Jade Williams Mr Trigg ..... Gerard Horan Jonathan ..... Carl Grose Newsreader ..... John Dougall Mary ..... Rachel Bavidge Music & Sound Design: David Pickvance Dramatist: Melissa Murray Director: Sally Avens First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in Apr 2010 Don't Look Now John and Laura Bennett are on holiday in Venice, trying to get over the tragic death of their daughter. They seem to be succeeding, until a blind psychic starts relaying messages from beyond the grave.... Laura Bennett ...... Anna Chancellor John Bennett ...... Michael Feast Sister ...... Colette O'Neil Elidah ...... Carolyn Pickles Policeman ...... Sean Baker Waiter ...... Ewan Bailey Porter ...... Carl Prekopp Dramatised by Ronald Frame Director: Patrick Rayner First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001 The Chamois When Stephen decides to fly to Greece, it's for one reason only. He's determined to rid himself of a secret fear - a fear so painful that he'll try anything to conquer it... Stephen .... Christopher Cazenove Stephen's Wife .... Anna Cropper The Storekeeper .... Alexis Gallnos The Storyteller .... Gabriel Woolf Zus .... Nikolas Janis Dramatised by Michael Bartlett. Producer: Derek Hoddinott First broadcast on the BBC World Service in April 1974. The Alibi To change your life in middle age can be a traumatic experience. For James Fenton, his sudden decision leads him along a strange street into a strange house - and an experience from which he'll never recover. James Fenton .... Tony Britton Anna .... Sarah Badel Edna .... Katherine Parr The Inspector .... Geoffrey Beevers The Storyteller .... Gabriel Woolf Dramatised and produced by Derek Hoddinott. First broadcast on the BBC World Service in May 1974. Ganymede The man arrived in Venice happy and contented with life. He left Venice shattered by an unusual experience destined to mark him for life. The Man .... John Le Mesurier The Boy .... Anthony Daniels The Porter/Consul .... David Gooderson The Fat Man .... John Sharp Dramatised and produced by Derek Hoddinott. First broadcast on the BBC World Service in August 1974. The Apple Tree Recently widowed George Carey has an irrational hatred for the old apple tree in his garden. He decides it must be dug up - but it's a decision he's going to regret for the rest of his life - what's left of it... Mr Carey .... Charles Gray Willis .... Douglas Blackwell Midge .... Patricia Leventon Mrs Lord .... Katherine Parr Mrs Hall .... Daphne Rogers Dramatised and produced by Derek Hoddinott. First broadcast on the BBC World Service in August 1974. Panic They met at a party and became friends. Despite their age difference, they embarked on an affair - with a trip to Paris. And so began a night of fear which led to panic... David ...Dinsdale Landen Stephen ... Christopher Cazenove Storekeeper ... Alexis Gallnos Celia ... Maureen O'Brien The Storyteller ... Gabriel Woolf Shelia ... Jane Thomson Zus ... Nikolas Janis The Wife ... Anna Cropper Dramatised and produced by Derek Hoddinott. First broadcast on the BBC World Service in September 1974. The Happy Valley The story of a young woman who dreams of an eerie wilderness and a grand old house, and echoes her most famous book, Rebecca. In the story, the young woman starts a romantic relationship with a man and finds herself walking into the real landscape she has dreamed of... Reader: Hattie Morahan Abridger: Richard Hamilton Producer: Lucy Collingwood The Doll A macabre and unsettling tale about a young man besotted by a young violinist, who in turn has a strange and haunting passion. Reader: Ed Stoppard and Sean Baker Abridger: Richard Hamilton Producer: Elizabeth Allard Tame Cat A young woman returns from finishing school in Paris anticipating a happy reunion with her mother and an introduction to adult life in London society. Unfortunately, she is oblivious to how attractive she has become and the consequences that will have for her... Reader: Morven Christie Abridger: Richard Hamilton Producer: Lucy Collingwood East Wind In East Wind the lives of a young couple are altered irrevocably when a group of beguiling strangers are shipwrecked off the shores of the Scilly Isles. Reader: Anna Madeley Abridger: Richard Hamilton Producer: Elizabeth Allard La Sainte Vierge Marie's prayers for the safety of her fisherman husband are answered by a miracle. Read by Lin Sagovsky. Produced by Elizabeth Allard First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2018 The Old Man The family shuns people. He rules the roost, speaks strangely, forever gazing out to sea. She never speaks. And one day the children vanish... Read by Anna Massey. Produced by Duncan Minshull First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1988 with thanks to prettyrandom