An Unlikely Pilgrimage: The Radio Dramas of Rachel Joyce

A BBC Radio Collection of 15 Full-Cast Dramatisations and Readings

De: Rachel Joyce

Narrado por: Anna Massey, Anton Lesser, full cast, Niamh Cusack

Collected radio plays and short stories by Rachel Joyce

Rachel Joyce captured the hearts of millions with her best-selling debut novel, which told the moving tale of an ordinary man, Harold Fry, who embarks on an epic journey to deliver a message and save a life. But Harold’s story began its life on radio, in the award-winning play which opens this collection: To Be a Pilgrim, starring Anton Lesser, Anna Massey and Niamh Cusack.

Here, too, is an adaptation of the companion novel, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, with Sophie Thompson as Queenie, as well as a collection of linked Christmas tales, A Snow Garden and Other Stories, read by the author herself.

Also featured here are 11 more superb radio productions, each showcasing Joyce’s characteristic empathy, compassion and understanding of the human heart. Including a dark modern fairy tale set in Baghdad, a Brief Encounter-style romance and the heartbreaking story of the Lindbergh baby, they are: Painting Mrs Jones, Feather, Kissing Shadows, Talking, Take One Night, The Porter and the Three Ladies, The Art of Balance, Little Lower Than the Angels, The Wall and The Memory Thief.

Life-affirming, touching and redemptive, these magical dramas explore themes of friendship, connection, the role of memory in our lives and the true nature of happiness. Among the star casts are Lindsay Duncan, Sophie Thompson, Shaun Dooley, Kenneth Cranham, Stephen Tompkinson and Lia Williams.

This special edition also features Rachel Joyce in conversation with Niamh Cusack.

©2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Anton Lesser fans - he's not one of the actors.

I bought this because I enjoy BBC Radio dramatizations, and because my favorite actor, Anton Lesser, was in the credits. While I enjoyed these stories and the acting was good, the actor in the first story is *not* Anton Lesser, but another gentleman named Anton (Rodgers?). He did a fine job, but he's no Anton Lesser.