Noel Streatfeild: Ballet Shoes & More

A BBC Radio 4 Children’s Drama Collection

By: Noel Streatfeild

Narrated by: Holliday Grainger, Charles Edwards, Abigail Thaw, Lia Williams, Rosemary Leach, Ann Rye, Norman Bird, Nicholas Courtney, Keeley Hawes, Malcolm Hebden, Victoria Shalet, Emily Fleeshman, Wendy Richard, Joan Matheson, full cast

Length: 4 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Full-cast dramatisations of three of Noel Streatfeild's classic children's books

Rising to fame with her 1936 novel Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfeild soon became one of the most popular authors of her day. She was one of the first winners of the Carnegie Medal and was awarded an OBE in 1983. She died in 1986, but her stories continue to captivate children today. Included here are three of her very best - Ballet Shoes, The Growing Summer and When the Siren Wailed.

Ballet Shoes - Adopted by Great Uncle Matthew on his archaeological expeditions, Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil grow up as sisters, and vow to make their name famous. When they enrol at the Children's Academy of Dancing, the Fossil girls share a future of a dazzling life onstage, where their dreams and fears will soon come true.... Rosemary Leach, Alexandra Mathie, Victoria Shalet and Lucy Curtis star in this delightful dramatisation.

The Growing Summer - It is 1965, and the young Gareth children's lives are about to change for ever. When their father falls dangerously ill, they are sent to Ireland to stay with their eccentric Great-Aunt Dymphna for the summer. There, in her crumbling mansion on the west coast, they face dangers and adventures they could never have imagined... Starring Ann Rye, Holly Grainger, Will Haigh, Emily Fleeshman and Paul Herriott.

When the Siren Wailed - When World War Two breaks out, Laura, Andy and Tim Clark are evacuated to the countryside. Brought up in poverty, they find a happy, comfortable home with the Colonel - but then tragedy occurs, and the children decide to run away back to London. Caught up in an air raid, can they make their way through the blackouts and bombed-out streets to find their mother? Narrated by Wendy Richard, this gripping, moving adventure story stars Norman Bird, John Church, Nicholas Courtney and Keeley Hawes.

Text copyright © Noel Streatfield 1936 (Ballet Shoes), 1966 (The Growing Summer), 1974 (When the Siren Wailed)

Copyright © Beneficiaries of Noel Streatfeild 1986

Cast and credits

Written by Noel Streatfeild

Ballet Shoes

With Rosemary Leach, John Ringham, Alexandra Mathie, Victoria Shalet, Lucy Curtis, Lia Williams, Charles Edwards, Abigail Thaw, Alison Skilbeck, Olivia Breeze, Max Digby, Jonathan Dryden Taylor and Miriam Berry

Adapted by Ellen Dryden

Directed by Don Taylor

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27-31 Dec 1999

The Growing Summer

With Ann Rye, Holly Grainger, Will Haigh, Emily Fleeshman, Paul Herriott, James Caplin, Catherine Keane, Vincent Patrick

Dramatised by Julie Wilkinson

Directed by Sue Sutton Mayo

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 Aug 2000

When the Siren Wailed

Narrated by Wendy Richard

With Norman Bird, John Church, Nicholas Gatt, David Goudge, Keeley Hawes, Joan Matheson, Marc Murphy, Judy Parkin, Christopher Scott, Joan Walker, Melinda Walker, Howard Ward, Nicholas Courtney, Malcolm Hebden and Eva Stuart

Dramatised by Richard Pinner

Produced by Mary Kalemkarian

Researcher: Lis Roberts

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 Jan-19 Mar 1989

©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Not just for kids!

I have loved the books of Noel Streatfeild since my first reading of Ballet Shoes at the age of ten years old, it instantly became one of my favorite books and even as an adult I read it every few years with the result that I know it so well I can quote whole pages/anticipate the next sentence. This adaptation of Ballet Shoes is the only adaptation that doesn't annoy me by unnecessary changes to the plot (unlike the abomination that is the 2008 film), all of the actors sound exactly how I have imagined their characters all these years and the script has only been tweaked slightly to tighten the plot.

I am not as familiar with The Growing Summer or When the Siren Wailed since my library discarded both books shortly after I read them for the first time and neither book is readily available for purchase in the USA but both dramatizations are very fun and feature child actresses who grew up to have internationally recognized careers.