Simon Russell Beale has narrated 25 audiobooks on Listento.it by 12 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 183 ratings. The most-rated is The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas.
The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas
Summary
The complete collection of acclaimed BBC Radio dramas based on John le Carré's best-selling novels, starring Simon Russell Beale as George Smiley. With a star cast including Kenneth Cranham, Eleanor Bron, Brian Cox, Ian MacDiarmid, Anna Chancellor, Hugh Bonneville and Lindsay Duncan, these enthralling dramatisations perfectly capture the atmosphere of le Carré's taut, thrilling spy novels. 'Call for the Dead' is the first Smiley novel, which sees him looking into an apparent suicide only to uncover a murderous conspiracy; 'A Murder of Quality' finds Smiley investigating a murder in a private school; 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' introduces Alec Leamas, a British intelligence officer whose East Berlin network is in tatters; 'The Looking Glass War' features former spy Fred Leiser, lured back from retirement to investigate a claim that Soviet missiles are being installed close to the West German border; 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' is the first book in the Karla trilogy, and sees Smiley searching for a mole who has infiltrated the Circus; 'The Honourable Schoolboy' sees Smiley determined to destroy his nemesis, Karla, and his spy networks; 'Smiley's People' finds George Smiley called out of retirement to exorcise some Cold War ghosts from his clandestine past; and 'The Secret Pilgrim' sees Smiley invited to dine with the eager new recruits at the Circus. He offers them his thoughts on espionage and, in doing so, prompts a former colleague to re-examine his own eventful secret life. Duration: 19 hours.
©2016 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2016 BBC Worldwide Ltd
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Dramatised)
Summary
Simon Russell Beale stars in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of John le Carré's novel, which introduced his most famous character, George Smiley.
It is 1962: the height of the Cold War and only months after the building of the Berlin Wall. Alec Leamas is a hard-working, hard-drinking British intelligence officer whose East Berlin network is in tatters. His agents are either on the run or dead, victims of the ruthlessly efficient East German counter-intelligence officer Hans-Dieter Mundt.
Leamas is recalled to London where, to his surprise, instead of being washed up and consigned to a desk he's offered a chance to have his revenge by becoming a pawn in a brilliantly-conceived plot to destroy Mundt. But in order to do so he has to stay out in the cold a little longer...
Starring the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Smiley, and with a distinguished cast including Brian Cox as Alec Leamas, this tense, compelling dramatisation perfectly captures the atmosphere of le Carré's taut, intricate thriller.
©1962 David Cornwell (P)2009 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Hamlet: The Arkangel Shakespeare
Summary
Shakespeare's most famous play is one of the greatest stories in the literature of the world. Distressed by his father's death and his mother's over-hasty remarriage, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is faced by a specter from beyond the grave bearing a grim message of murder and revenge. The young prince is driven to the edge of madness by his struggle to understand the situation he finds himself in and to do his duty. Many others, including Hamlet's beloved, the innocent Ophelia, are swept up in his tragedy. Hamlet is played by Simon Russell Beale. Imogen Stubbs plays Ophelia, Jane Lapotaire is Gertrude, and Bob Peck is Claudius. Polonius is played by Norman Rodway.
Public Domain (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Dramatised)
Summary
Smiley, wrestling with retirement and disillusionment, is summoned to a secret meeting with a member of the Cabinet Office. Evidence has emerged that the Circus has been infiltrated at the highest level by a Russian agent. 'Find the mole, George. Clean the stables. Do whatever is necessary.' Reluctantly Smiley agrees, and so embarks on a dark journey into his past a past filled with love, duplicity and betrayal.
Starring the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Smiley, and with a star cast including Anna Chancellor, Alex Jennings, Kenneth Cranham, and Bill Paterson, this epic dramatisation brilliantly depicts the complicated moral dilemmas of those who practice post-war espionage and illuminates the murky corners of le Carré's classic spy thriller - the first in the Karla trilogy.
©1974 le Carre Productions (P)2009 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
War and Peace
Summary
Paterson Joseph, John Hurt, Lesley Manville and Harriet Walter are among the cast of BBC Radio 4's epic full-cast dramatisation. Adapted for radio by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Leo Tolstoy's epic story follows the fortunes of three Russian aristocratic families during the Napoleonic War. First broadcast on New Year's Day 2015, the drama also features Alun Armstrong, Natasha Little, David Calder, Phoebe Fox, Sam Reid and Joanna David. Duration: 10 hours approx.
©2017 BBC Worldwide Ltd. (P)2017 BBC Worldwide Ltd.
Midnight for Charlie Bone
Summary
The first installment of the international best-selling series from Jenny Nimmo starring Charlie Bone. An academy for magic and special talents. A destiny unfulfilled. A secret legacy. Since his father died, Charlie Bone has lived with his mother and her mother in the house of his other grandmother, Grandma Bone. Looking at a picture of a couple with a baby and a cat, he suddenly discovers he can hear their voices. Although he tries to hide his new gift, Grandma Bone and her scary sisters soon find out and send him to Bloor's Academy. Charlie quickly finds life at Bloor's pretty tough, with its strict rules and the malevolent head boy, Manfred, set against him. When Charlie discovers that the child in the photograph is being held, hypnotised, against her will, he and his new friends with 'gifts' try to awaken her. But can they overcome Manfred's sinister hypnotic gifts?
©2002 Jenny Nimmo (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Copenhagen
Summary
Benedict Cumberbatch, Greta Scacchi and Simon Russell Beale star in Michael Frayn's award-winning play about the controversial 1941 meeting between physicists Bohr and Heisenberg. Copenhagen, Autumn 1941.
The two presiding geniuses of quantum physics, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg meet for the first time since the breakout of war. Danish physicist Bohr and his wife, Margrethe, live in Nazi-occupied Denmark; their visitor, Heisenberg, is German, the two old friends, now on opposing sides have between them the ability to change the course of history.
Frayn's Tony award-winning play imagines the three characters re-drafting the events of 1941 in an attempt to make sense of them. With Greta Scacchi as Margrethe Bohr, Simon Russell Beale as Niels Bohr and Benedict Cumberbatch as Werner Heisenberg. This new version of Copenhagen is adapted for radio and directed by Emma Harding.
©2013 AudioGO Ltd (P)2013 AudioGO Ltd
The Oscar Wilde BBC Radio Drama Collection
Summary
A sparkling collection of the major works of the ever-adored Oscar Wilde, with incredible casts including Judi Dench, Martin Clunes, Michael Sheen, Miriam Margolyes, Ian McDiarmid, Joely Richardson, Penelope Keith, Martin Jarvis, Diana Rigg, Simon Russell Beale, Sheila Hancock, Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry.
This collection includes:
The Picture of Dorian Gray: a dramatisation of Wilde’s sole novel, about the unsettling youth of Dorian Gray and the ravaged picture in his attic. Starring Jamie Glover, Ian McDiarmid, Steven Pacey.
Lady Windermere’s Fan: a comic play about a woman who suspects her husband is having an affair. Starring Joely Richardson and Penelope Keith.
A Woman of No Importance: a devastating drawing room comedy about the rakish Lord Illingworth, notorious for his skill as a seducer while his female conquests must hide their shame in seclusion. Starring Martin Jarvis, Diana Rigg and Annette Crosby.
The Importance of Being Earnest: a dazzling comedy about mistaken identities and secret engagements. Starring Judi Dench, Martin Clunes, Michael Sheen and Miriam Margolyes.
An Ideal Husband: a play about the plight of a politician desperate to hide a secret about his past. Starring Noel Johnson, Ronald Lewis and Jane Wenham.
Plus bonus programmes featuring Wilde’s letters and poetry:
De Profundis: Simon Russell Beale reads correspondence from Oscar Wilde to his lover Lord Alfred Douglas, while in Reading Gaol in 1897.
The Ballad of Reading Gaol: a live benefit performance of Oscar Wilde's celebrated poem, read by Ian McKellen, Neil Tennant, Stephen Fry, Bette Bourne, Tom Wakefield and Malcolm Sinclair.
In Extremis by Neil Bartlett: a play that reimagines Wilde’s hastily arranged sitting with a society palm reader, a week before the trial that was to cost him so much. Starring Corin Redgrave and Sheila Hancock.
©2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd
The Tempest
Summary
This haunting drama of vengeance and forgiveness crowns the group of tragicomic romances that Shakespeare composed at the end of his career. Sometimes read as his farewell to the stage, the play contains some of Shakespeare's most lyrical verse. Prospero, wise Duke of Milan, has been deposed by Antonio, his wicked brother, and exiled with his daughter Miranda to a mysterious island. But Prospero possesses supernatural powers. Aided by the spirit Ariel, Prospero uses his magical art to bring his enemies under his control. Prospero is played by Bob Peck, Ariel by Adrian Lester, Jennifer Ehle is Miranda, Simon Russell Beale is Antonio, Jamie Glover is Ferdinand, and Richard McCabe plays Caliban.
Public Domain (P)2014 Blackstone Audio
The Blue Boa
Summary
Charlie Bone is back at Bloor's Academy, where a dark secret is emerging. A boy was once lost in the attics and never seen again. Charlie Bone is intrigued, and ventures up there to see if he can find a clue about what happened to him. There he finds Ollie Sparks - but he has become invisible thanks to a hug from the legendary blue boa.... Charlie has problems of his own - Uncle Paton has disappeared, and it is up to Charlie to get him back. In addition, the rest of his interfering family are up to their old conniving tricks, and when a strange young girl appears at the school, the Children of the Red King and all who help them are in great danger.
©2004 Jenny Nimmo (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Charlie Bone and the Hidden King
Summary
When Charlie turns 12 on New Year's Eve, the Flame Cats give him a grave warning: something ancient has awoken, and Charlie must be watchful. Soon Charlie learns that the shadow from the Red King's portrait has been released, and that it will do anything to keep Charlie from finding his father. Meanwhile, pets are mysteriously vanishing from the city, and Olivia is in danger of revealing her newfound powers.
©2006 Jenny Nimmo (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group
The Decameron
Summary
The Decameron is one of the greatest literary works of the Middle Ages. Ten young people have fled the terrible effects of the Black Death in Florence and, in an idyllic setting, tell a series of brilliant stories, by turns humorous, bawdy, tragic and provocative. This celebration of physical and sexual vitality is Boccaccio's answer to the sublime other-worldliness of Dante's Divine Comedy. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2008 Oxford University Press (Translation) (P)2017 Naxos AudioBooks
Measure for Measure: The Arkangel Shakespeare
Summary
Telling his followers he is leaving the city on affairs of state, the Duke of Vienna appoints the puritanical Angelo to govern in his absence. Will Angelo prove as virtuous as he seems once power is in his hands? Roaming the city disguised as a friar, the duke looks on as Angelo's lust for the virtuous Isabella sweeps him into the corruption he has so sternly condemned in others. The duke's manipulation at last produces a happy ending for this dark comedy, with its brilliant exploration of the themes of justice and mercy. Roger Allam plays the duke and Simon Russell Beale is Angelo. Isabella is played by Stella Gonet.
Public Domain (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Honourable Schoolboy (Dramatised)
Summary
George Smiley has become acting chief of the Circus, but the credibility of the British Secret Service has been shattered. Smiley's adversary is Karla, the Soviet officer who masterminded the Circus's ruin. His battleground is Hong Kong and his choice of weapons is the Honourable Gerald Westerby.
A brand new Radio 4 full cast dramatisation of the classic George Smiley novel by John le Carre, starring Simon Russell Beale. This is the sixth in the major new series of all eight George Smiley spy thrillers on radio.
©1977 David Cornwell (P)2010 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Charlie Bone and the Time Twister
Summary
Charlie hopes that the new term at Bloor's Academy will hold no nasty surprises. But then Henry Yewbeam appears, twisted through time from the icy winter of 1916. With the scheming Yewbeam aunts on the prowl, and the Bloors out to catch him, Henry will need Charlie's help just to stay alive. Bloor's Academy can be a very dangerous place!
©2003 Jenny Nimmo (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group
The Two Noble Kinsmen
Summary
Palamon and Arcite, cousins and bosom friends, are taken prisoner by Duke Theseus of Athens. While in captivity, they spy the beautiful Emilia. Both fall instantly in love with her, and their attachment to each other turns to hate. This dark-edged tragicomedy is now widely regarded as having been written by Shakespeare in collaboration with John Fletcher. Composed sometime in 1613-14, The Two Noble Kinsmen is the final play in Shakespeare's dramatic career. Jonathan Firth plays Palamon, Nigel Cooke is Arcite, and Emilia is played by Helen Schlesinger.
Public Domain (P)2014 Blackstone Audio
Midnight for Charlie Bone
Summary
Charlie doesn't want to believe it when he discovers that he can hear people in photographs talking. But his horrible aunts are delighted: it means that he is one of the chosen and must attend Bloor's Academy for gifted children. Once there, Charlie realizes that some of his classmates have equally mysterious powers, and soon Charlie is involved in uncovering the mysterious past of one of them.
©2002 Jenny Nimmo (P)2003 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, An Imprint Of Random House Audio Publishing Group
A Poem for Every Day of the Year
Summary
A Poem for Every Day of the Year is a magnificent collection of 366 poems compiled by Allie Esiri, one to share on every day of the year. The collection is passionately narrated by Helena Bonham Carter and Simon Russell Beale, with introductions read by Allie Esiri and contributions from Damian Lynch and Peter Forbes. Reflecting the changing seasons and linking to events on key dates - funny for April Fool's Day, festive for Christmas - these poems are thoughtful, inspiring, humbling, informative, quiet, loud, small, epic, peaceful, energetic, upbeat, motivating and empowering! Perfect for listening to with all the family, this audiobook is bursting at the seams with familiar favourites and exciting new discoveries. T. S. Eliot, John Betjeman, Lewis Carroll, William Shakespeare and Christina Rossetti sit alongside Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Carol Ann Duffy and Kate Tempest. This soul-enhancing audiobook is the perfect gift that will last the whole year, with a little bit of magic to hear every day. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the Track Listing and Acknowledgements can be found on a supplementary PDF which is available to download in your Library section along with the audio on our desktop site.
©2017 Allie Esiri (P)2017 Macmillan Digital Audio
The Georgette Heyer BBC Radio Drama Collection
Summary
BBC Radio adaptations of three of Georgette Heyer’s sparkling Regency romances and a classic comedy thriller. The acknowledged ‘queen of Regency romance’, best-selling author Georgette Heyer, also penned a dozen delightful mystery novels. Included here are dramatisations of four of her finest stories from both genres, full of her characteristic wit, charm and period detail. Regency Buck Pretty but shrewd Judith Taverner gallops in from the provinces and daringly defies the gaming, drinking and brawling world of Regency London to claim her rights, her fortune - and who knows, perhaps her happiness? Starring Elizabeth Proud as Judith Taverner and Simon Shepherd as Peregrine Taverner. Friday’s Child ‘I’m going back to London! And I’m going to marry the first woman I see!’ is the cry of young Lord Sheringham when his proposal of marriage is rejected by Isabella, the Incomparable. True to his word, he takes the even younger Hero Wantage as his bride.... Starring James Frain as Viscount Anthony Sheringham and Elli Garnett as Hero Wantage, with Simon Russell Beale as Jasper Tarleton. Faro’s Daughter Deborah Grantham’s position in a gaming house makes her utterly unsuitable as a wife for a nobleman, so Max Ravenscar determines to rescue his cousin from her clutches. But the bribe he offers does not go down well and a battle of wits commences.... Starring Sylvestre Le Touzel as Deborah Grantham and Nathaniel Parker as Max Ravenscar, with Anna Massey as Lady Bellingham. Envious Casca An English country Christmas in the 1930s, a Tudor manor house decked with holly, a family gathered for seasonal cheer - and a murder. Inspector Hemingway is on the case, but can he shake off amateur sleuths Toby and Jane French? Starring Peter Kelly as Inspector Hemingway, James Fleet as Toby and Helen Baxendale as Jane.
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors
Summary
Back in Bloor's Academy, Charlie's power takes on a new dimension. He meets a new gallery of characters, including Mr. Pilgrim's replacement, Tantalus Ebony, and the mysterious new student Joshua Tilpin, who appears to be magnetic. But not all is well. Billy has been adopted by the O'Gres, a child-hating couple, who carry with them a gray bag of oaths wherever they go, seducing Billy to sign an oath of obedience, before locking him up behind a force field in an odd place called The Passing House.
©2005 Jenny Nimmo (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Rnadom House Audio Publishing Group