Niamh Cusack has narrated 12 audiobooks on Listento.it by 15 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 41 ratings. The most-rated is Hour of Need.
Twelfth Night
Summary
Shakespeare's most sophisticated comedy is a riotous tale of hopelessly unrequited passions and mistaken identity. Duke Orsino is in love with the noblewoman Olivia. She, however, has fallen for his servant Cesario, who is actually Viola, a woman disguised as a man, who loves Orsino: Confusion is rife. Meanwhile, Olivia's arrogant steward Malvolio is cruelly tricked by her uncle Sir Toby Belch, his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and the maidservant Maria into believing his mistress loves him. Niamh Cusack is Viola, Jonathan Firth is Orsino, Amanda Root plays Olivia, Dinsdale Landen plays Sir Toby Belch, and Julian Glover is Malvolio.
Public Domain (P)2014 Blackstone Audio
Hour of Need
Summary
A 2015 Daphne du Maurier Award finalist from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.While fighting in Afghanistan, Major Grant Barrett receives devastating news: his brother and sister-in-law have been murdered in Scarlet Falls, the sleepy suburb of Grant’s youth. Emotionally scarred from war, the career soldier returns home on emergency leave to temporarily care for his orphaned nephew and niece. But when someone tries to kidnap the kids and their teenage babysitter, Grant knows it’s not a random act…and neither were the murders.Already devastated by her neighbors’ violent deaths, Ellie Ross is shattered by the attempted abduction of her teenage daughter so she desperately turns to Grant for help. As they navigate a deadly search for the truth, they struggle with growing feelings for each other and Grant’s impending return to Afghanistan.But time is running out. The killer is growing bolder by the hour, and Ellie and Grant must find him before the children become his next victims.Bestselling author Melinda Leigh delivers another gritty mystery simmering with spine-tingling passion in this first Scarlet Falls novel.
©2014 Melinda Leigh (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved
The Comedy of Errors
Summary
Chaos and confusion mount to a crescendo in a wild and fast-paced comedy of mistaken identity, one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. Young Antipholus of Syracuse is searching the world for his identical twin brother, separated from him at birth. With him is his servant Dromio, who lost his twin brother at the same time. The pair arrive in Ephesus where, unbeknownst to them, their twins are living. Antipholus of Syracuse is played by David Tennant, Antipholus of Ephesus by Brendan Coyle. Alan Cox and Jason O'Mara are the two Dromios, while Niamh and Sorcha Cusack play Adriana and Luciana.
Public Domain (P)2014 Blackstone Audio
As You Like It
Summary
This pastoral comedy is one of Shakespeare's best loved, owing to its delightful heroine - the wise, witty, and virtuous Rosalind. Rosalind, daughter of the deposed Duke Senior, is exiled from the court by her wicked uncle. Disguising herself as a young man and accompanied by her cousin Celia, she takes refuge in the Forest of Arden. In the forest Rosalind meets Orlando with whom she is in love, but her male disguise complicates matters, especially when Rosalind finds she has unwittingly attracted the shepherdess Phebe. But out of the confusion comes reconciliation and forgiveness, and all ends happily. Rosalind is played by Niamh Cusack, Orlando by Stephen Mangan. Victoria Hamilton is Celia, and Gerard Murphy is Jaques.
Public Domain (P)2014 Blackstone Audio
The Blackwater Lightship
Summary
Set in Ireland in the 1990s, Colm Tóibín's The Blackwater Lightship tells the story of the Devereux family. Dora Devereux, her daughter Lily and her granddaughter Helen have come together after years of strife and reached an uneasy truce. Helen’s adored brother, Declan, is dying. Two friends join him and the women in a crumbling old house by the sea, where the six of them, from different generations and with different beliefs, must listen to and come to terms with one another.
©1999 Colm Toibin (P)2018 Audible, Ltd
Maeve Binchy: Collected Stories
Summary
A collection of full-cast dramatisations and readings from the best-selling author.
Maeve Binchy was one of Britain's best-loved storytellers, and this compilation of her finest fiction, as heard on BBC Radio, demonstrates all the warmth, wit and compassion that made her so popular.
Firefly Summer is a moving, humorous novel about a sleepy Irish town facing monumental change, dramatised in six parts, with a full cast including David Soul and Lorcan Cranitch.
No Nightingales, No Snakes features full-cast dramatisations of five Maeve Binchy short stories, with a distinguished cast including Niamh Cusack, Sam Dale and Harry Towb.
The Garden Party contains four short stories specially commissioned for BBC Radio 4, read by Niamh Cusack, Dervla Kirwan, Doreen Hepburn and Stella McCusker.
The Homecoming comprises four more stories exclusively written for BBC Radio 4, read by Sean Campion, Joanna Myers, Patricia Hodge and Kate Binchy.
Dealing with families, friendship, love, loss, sorrow and joy, these stories will delight all Maeve Binchy fans.
Duration: six hours approx.
©2017 BBC Worldwide Ltd. (P)2017 BBC Worldwide Ltd.
The Daniel Defoe BBC Radio Drama Collection
Summary
Three lively retellings of Daniel Defoe’s classic novels, plus two bonus programmes about his extraordinary life and far-reaching influence. Robinson Crusoe and His Farther Adventures An imaginative blend of the famous castaway tale and its lesser-known sequel, this thrilling drama sees Crusoe setting sail for the far north. Facing danger in the Siberian wastes, he keeps terror at bay by telling his companions campfire tales of his many adventures on his beloved island. Starring Tim McInnerney as Crusoe. Moll Flanders When Daniel Defoe meets Elizabeth Atkins in Newgate jail, she recounts her stranger-than-fiction story of a rags-to-riches life that took her from prostitution to prosperity - but culminated in destitution. Inspired, Defoe mixes fact and fiction to reinvent her as one of his most engaging characters: Moll Flanders. Starring Ben Miles as Defoe and Jessica Hynes as Elizabeth Atkins. A Journal of the Plague Year Writing a fictional journal of the Great Plague of 1665, Defoe soon comes to be haunted by the characters he is conjuring. Starring Ben Miles as Defoe. This exciting new collection of reinvented tales also includes two bonus programmes about Daniel Defoe himself: Defoe: Merchant, Writer, Convict, Spy by Philip Palmer. A biographical drama about Defoe’s life, starring Ben Miles as Defoe and Niamh Cusack as his wife, Mary. Defoe: The Facts and Fictions. A documentary by Mark Lawson exploring the far-reaching influence of the pioneering author.
©2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd
The Oresteia
Summary
The classic trilogy about murder, revenge and justice, as heard on BBC Radio 3 – plus a bonus documentary exploring Aeschylus' seminal Greek tragedy. A chilling tale of homecoming, violent death and bloody vengeance, The Oresteia dates back to the fifth century BC, but its themes still resonate today. At once a family saga, morality tale and courtroom drama, it recounts how two generations of the cursed House of Atreus become locked into a deadly cycle of atrocities. To break the chain, their private vendetta must become public, as questions of guilt and justification are decided in the first ever homicide trial.... Agamemnon The Trojan War is over, and conquering hero Agamemnon arrives home to Argos. But victory came at an appalling price – the sacrifice of his eldest daughter, Iphigenia. Now, his wife Clytemnestra is determined to take a grisly revenge … The Libation Bearers Returning from exile, Agamemnon's son Orestes vows to avenge his father’s death by murdering his killer, his own mother Clytemnestra. But where can he find the strength to carry out such a horrific deed? The Furies Having committed matricide, Orestes flees to Delphi. But the remorseless Furies, ancient deities of vengeance, are on his trail and baying for blood. Can the young gods Apollo and Athena save him from a terrible fate? Adapted by three of Britain’s most imaginative writers, Simon Scardifield, Ed Hime and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, these contemporary versions of Aeschylus’ trilogy are atmospheric, fast-moving and superbly accessible. The star casts include Lesley Sharp as Clytemnestra, Hugo Speer as Agamemnon and Will Howard as Orestes. Each of the plays is introduced by Edith Hall, Professor of Classics at Kings College London. Also featured is an episode of In Our Time, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how The Oresteia has fired the modern imagination, inspiring artists ranging from Richard Wagner to T. S. Eliot. Agamemnon The Chorus – Arthur Hughes, Philip Jackson and Carolyn Pickles Clytemnestra – Lesley Sharp Agamemnon – Hugo Speer Cassandra – Anamaria Marinca Calchas – Karl Johnson Aegisthus – Sean Murray Iphigenia – Georgie Fuller Herald – John Norton Guards – Steve Toussaint and Harry Jardine Adapted by Simon Scardifield Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists: Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley Singer: Adriana Festeu Sound design by Colin Guthrie First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 12 January 2014 The Libation Bearers Orestes – Will Howard Electra – Joanne Froggatt Clytemnestra – Lesley Sharp The Chorus – Sheila Reid, Amanda Lawrence and Carys Eleri Aegisthus – Sean Murray Cilissa – Carolyn Pickles Pylades – Joel MacCormack Servants – David Seddon and John Norton Iphigenia – Georgie Fuller Adapted by Ed Hime Directed by Marc Beeby BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists: Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley Singer: Adriana Festeu Sound design by Cal Knightley and Colin Guthrie First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 19 January 2014 The Furies Narrator – Niamh Cusack Alecto – Polly Hemingway Megaera – Maureen Beattie Tisiphone – Carolyn Pickles Orestes – Will Howard Athena – Chipo Chung Apollo – Joel MacCormack Clytemnestra – Lesley Sharp The Pythia – Priyanga Burford Girl – Carys Eleri Judge – Sean Murray Adapted by Rebecca Lenkiewicz Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko BBC Concert Orchestra Percussionists: Alasdair Malloy, Stephen Webberley and Stephen Whibley Sound design by Colin Guthrie First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 26 January 2014 In Our Time Presented by Melyvn Bragg With Edith Hall, then Professor of Greek Cultural History at Durham University; Simon Goldhill, Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge; Tom Healy, Professor of Renaissance Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London Produced by Charlie Taylor First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 December 2005
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Tales from Celtic Lands
Summary
Venture to the magical land of the Celtic peoples, where the spirits of the mountains, streams, seas, and trees are all alive. Here are songs, blessings, and folk tales.
©2008 Caitlin Matthews (P)2008 Barefoot Books
Always and Forever
Summary
What makes you who you are? Your job? Your kids? Your place in the family? For Carrickwell residents, Mel, Frankie and Cleo, the answer was once clear and their roles were firmly defined. Mel had a career. Frankie was a busy mum with a college-going son. And Cleo was ready to step into the family business once she'd finished her hotel management course. Until the landscape shifted. Now Mel's job comes second to the guilt of being a working mum-of-two. Her marriage isn't even on the page. Frankie has her mothering vocation whipped out from under her feet when her son flies the nest. She's suddenly redundant and her fractitious widowed mother thinks they now have more in common and can start doing things together, dodgy hip notwithstanding. And Cleo has to watch the family business crumble along with her relationship with family. But inspiration on how to go forward comes from the most unlikely source. And the three women find that it's not what you do that ultimately defines you. It's something more...
©2009 HarperCollins Publishers (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers
The James Joyce BBC Radio Collection
Summary
Three BBC radio productions of major works by James Joyce - plus Gordon Bowker’s fascinating biographical account of his life.
Ulysses
In this full-cast dramatisation of Joyce’s epic modernist novel, the stories of Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom combine as they meander through Dublin in the course of one day, 16 June 1904. Andrew Scott stars as Stephen, with Henry Goodman as Bloom, Niamh Cusack as Molly Bloom and Stephen Rea as the Narrator.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
An abridged reading of James Joyce's autobiographical masterpiece portraying the adolescence of Stephen Dedalus, who must question the culture and religion of his native land before he can break free to become an artist. Read by Andrew Scott.
Dubliners
This abridged collection of 15 naturalistic tales depicts an array of characters from childhood through adolescence to maturity. Stories of love, loss, friendship, marriage, politics and family combine to create a unified world and a celebration of a city. Read by Stephen Rea.
James Joyce - A Biography
Gordon Bowker’s comprehensive study explores Joyce’s years spent in exile in Europe and examines how his life shaped his genius. Read by Jim Norton, with Andrew Scott as the voice of Joyce.
©2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd
Past Secrets
Summary
Keep a secret too long and it will creep out when you least expect it... Behind the shining windows and rose-bedecked gardens of Summer Street, there are lots of secrets. There's the one that hard-working single mother, Faye, hides from her teenage daughter, Amber. And there's the one that thirty-year-old Maggie hides from herself. When fiery Amber decides to throw away her future for love, and when Maggie ends up back home looking after her sick mother, their secrets begin to bubble over. The only person on Summer Street who appears to know all the answers is their friend Christie. Wise and kind, she can see into other people's hearts to solve their problems. Except that this time, the secrets she's hidden from her beloved husband and grown up sons suddenly reappear. When the past comes alive for Maggie, Faye and Christie, they finally have to face it.
©2009 HarperCollins Publishers (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers