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British New Wave season

An overview of the British New Wave season of dramas on Radio 4.

In the late fifties and early sixties something extraordinary happened in theatre, film and writing: a different creative energy, with vibrant unheard voices didn’t so much replace the old guard, as swept it away.

The British New Wave season celebrates the fiction that became iconic films of the Sixties and the figures who became icons themselves. Angry Young Men and dynamic modern women were giving a voice to the working classes and rebelling against the established order – the likes of Alan Sillitoe, Nell Dunn, David Storey, Margaret Forster, and, of course, John Osborne, led the charge that changed the face of British writing utterly.

Programmes


by David Storey, dramatised by Andrew Lynch

Johnny Vegas directs a feature-length radio reversioning of This Sporting Life - marking the 50th anniversary of the classic Lindsay Anderson film which starred the young Richard Harris.

Cast includes: James Purefoy, Emily Watson and Sheridan Smith
Producer: Sally Harrison
Saturday 31st August at 2.30pm

Paul Allen uses the archive to explore the social changes that led to the British New Wave.

Presenter: Paul Allen
Producer: Julian May
Saturday 31st August at 8pm

by Alan Sillitoe, dramatised by Robert Rigby

Robert Rigby's dramatisation of Alan Sillitoe's seething novel set in 1958 Nottingham.

Cast includes: Joe Dempsie and Shirley Anne Field (who played Doreen in the original film).
Producer: Lucinda Mason Brown Director: Carl Prekopp
Sunday 1st & 8th September at 3pm


by Margaret Forster, dramatised by Rhiannon Tise

Rhiannon Tise dramatises Margaret Forster's tale set in the swinging London of 1965.

Cast includes: Lucy Speed, Paul Ready and Ella Smith
Producer: Tracey Neale
Monday 2nd - Friday 6th September at 10.45am & 7.45pm


by Stephen Wakelam

Stephen Wakelam's drama charts the first meeting between John Osborne and George Devine.

Cast includes: Samuel Barnett, Jonathan Coy
Producer: David Hunter
Monday 2nd September at 2.15pm


by Nell Dunn, dramatised by Georgia Fitch

Zoe Tapper and Lacey Turner star in Nell Dunn's Sixties classic set in Battersea.

Cast includes: Zoe Tapper, Lacey Turner and Alex Lanipekun.
Producer: Lucy Collingwood
Tuesday 3rd September at 2.15pm

More from The British New Wave

  • A selection of programmes and clips from the Radio 4 and 3 archive.

  • Including previews of the dramas and the first pages of the books.

  • See pictures from the recording sessions of British New Wave on Radio 4.