Drama of the Week

A Pilgrim two-part special by Sebastian Baczkiewicz.

Each year at Belle Meadow Fayre, the Greyfolk meet to celebrate the burial of John Barleycorn, a ritual to mark autumn's end. But this year there’s a problem: Old Johnny John John has gone missing.

Autumn shows no sign of abating and without the sacred ceremony at Belle Meadow, winter will not come. The Greyfolk are angry. It's down to Pilgrim to find Old Johnny John John and face down his kidnapper, the rogue faerie Kara.

Pilgrim, cursed with immortality by the King of the Greyfolk, is forever forced to walk between the human world and the world of Faerie in a never-ending quest to preserve the uneasy balance between the two.

Pilgrim ….. Paul Hilton
Vass ….. Toby Jones
Kara ….. Holli Dempsey
Clemira ….. Sirine Saba
Rana ….. Shreya Lallu
Keith ….. David Hounslow
Mr Summerskill ….. Carl Prekopp
Benji ….. Nuhazet Diaz Cano
The Girl . . . . . Agnes Dromgoole

Production co-ordinator: Maggie Olgiati
Foley artist: Alison Craig
Sound design: Peter Ringrose
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko

A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4.

by Clara Glynn

It's been a year since Kirsten and Bill opened their home to a Ukrainian family. Now relationships have become strained, can mediation help them to find agreement?

Murdo ..... Liam Brennan
Kirsten ..... Kirsty Stuart
Bill ..... Michael Nardone
Larissa ..... Vera Graziadei
Mykola ..... Dmitry Everdeen

Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane

As the pressure on the UK’s courts intensifies, more and more cases are going through mediation as an alternative form of conflict resolution. In our series we present cases in which opposing versions of the truth have hardened into what seems like irreconcilable positions. The mediator has to try to find compromise, agreement and a way forward.

Series consultant - Charlie Irvine

A BBC Audio Scotland production

Daisy Johnson is a multi-award-winning short story writer whose debut novel Everything Under was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

In The Stranger she weaves a gentle romantic story beginning with an unusual flatshare to save money, then twists it into a suspenseful thriller all in the space of 14 minutes - read by Saffron Coomber.

Saffron Coomber has recently starred in Sir Lenny Henry's Windrush drama Three Little Birds, was in Small Axe by Steve McQueen, and made her West End debut as Shakespeare's muse in Emilia by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm

Written by Daisy Johnson
Read by Saffron Coomber
Produced by Allegra McIlroy

By Helen Cross.

Rose has made a fresh start in the City of Angels and life feels good. But she can't ignore the past, and now it's starting to bite.

Her ex-boss Maya is loving never getting older and has Rose to thank for that. Maya has big plans for a 'rejuvenation' spa in the California hills, but Rose suspects all is not what it seems. On top of that she's worried that someone, or something, is trying to send her telepathic messages. But are they to warn her, or frighten her?

Stylish and surprising fantasy horror with a comic twist, starring Alexandra Mardell (Coronation Street) and Demetri Goritsas (Ten Percent). With music by Dana Margolin and Sam Yardley of Mercury-nominated band, Porridge Radio.

Helen Cross wrote ‘My Summer of Love’ which won a Betty Trask award and was made into a Bafta-winning film with Emily Blunt (recently rated her best film in The Guardian top ten Emily Blunt films). Mary Ward-Lowery won Best Director in 2020 Audio Drama Awards.

Rose ... Alexandra Mardell
Maya ... Miranda Braun
Austin ... Demetri Goritsas
Siobhan ... Deirdre Mullins
Delphine ... Yasemin Özdemir
Mam ... Jane Thornton
Jack ... Tyler Cameron
Gym owner ... Don Gilet
Dakota ... Rhiannon Neads
Alina ... Kitty O'Sullivan
Englishman ... Martin Bonger
Angry Man ... Douglas Hodgson
Gully ... Bruce Casswell

Original music written and performed by Dana Margolin and Sam Yardley of Porridge Radio.

Sound design by Ilse Lademann and Mary Ward-Lowery
Assistant Producer ... Alison Crawford
Director ... Mary Ward-Lowery

By Samantha Harvey. Mum drives through the Dark Hedges, crossing a threshold into a different world. Read by Deirdre Mullins.

Topical fiction inspired by the story, in this week's news, that some of the beech trees that line the Bregagh Road in Armoy, County Antrim, have been felled amid concern for public safety. The trees, a landmark in their own right, were made more famous after featuring in the fantasy drama Game of Thrones.

Samantha won the Betty Trask Prize for her first novel The Wilderness, which was longlisted for the Man Booker, and shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Guardian First Book Award. Her work has been described by critics as 'spectacular', 'beautiful' and 'profound', and her latest novel, 'Orbital', an 'awe-inspiring and humbling love letter to Earth', has been selected by The Guardian as one of the most important books of 2023.

Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery