Author:Madame de Lafayette,Melody Grove,Liam Brennan,Candida Benson,Full Cast
Madame de Lafayette's classic tale of intrigue and love, ‘La Princesse de Clèves’, dramatised for BBC Radio 3 and originally broadcast in the ‘Drama on 3’ slot on 28 February 2010. Set in the 16th Century, the play follows the life of a beautiful young lady newly presented to Court. It's the reign of Henri II and Mary Queen of Scots is safely ensconced in France. It's a time of dangerous liaisons when one step out of line could ruin a woman and her family. Quickly married off, the naïve Princess finds herself admired and taunted by those around her. And, whilst they gossip cruelly, she becomes helplessly and dangerously caught up in matters of love. Playfully adapted, this BBC Radio 3 dramatisation offsets the Princess’ painful conflict between duty and love with characters who delight in the wickedness of their world. ‘La Princesse de Clèves’ stars Melody Grove as La Princesse, Candida Benson as her mother and Liam Brennan as Clèves. Also featuring in the cast are Robin Laing, Laurie Brown, Meg Fraser, Irene MacDougall, Ralph Riach and Crawford Logan. Translated and dramatised by Jo Clifford and directed by Kirsty Williams.
Smith’s performance is exactly as I’ve come to expect from him – flawless and exuberant when playing the Doctor, and inventive when it comes to breathing life into new characters
—— http://www.doctorwhoreviews.co.ukSmith and Corbett prove an excellent match when it comes to reading the narrative and portraying the various protagonists... writer James Goss has succeeded in creating... one of the strongest audio stories in the range
—— http://www.huntspost.co.ukStephen Fry is one of the great originals ... This autobiography of his first twenty years is a pleasure to read, mixing outrageous acts with sensible opinions in bewildering confusion ... That so much outward charm, self-awareness and intellect should exist alongside behaviour that threatened to ruin the lives of innocent victims, noble parents and Fry himself, gives the book a tragic grandeur and lifts it to classic status
—— Financial TimesHe writes superbly about his family, about his homosexuality, about the agonies of childhood ... some of his bursts of simile take the breath away ... his most satisfying and appealing book so far
—— ObserverThis is one of the most extraordinary and affecting biographies I have read . . . Stephen is . . . painfully honest when trying to grapple with his ever-present demons, and often, as you might expect, very funny
—— Daily MailThe writing is rhapsodic, intoxicated and very touching
—— Mail on Sunday[A] wonderful, self-lacerating autobiography
—— Humphrey Carpenter, Sunday TimesHe has produced a remarkable autobiography . . . It makes gripping, sometimes unbearably sad, sometimes confusing reading . . . exhilarating, humane, zany, literary
—— SpectatorNo one can make you feel quite like Stephen Fry can . . . Funny and tormentedly frank
—— Time OutHugely enjoyable . . . compulsively readable . . . Fry is excellent on the details of memory, too, and always able to embellish them with effortless erudition . . . this engaging, engrossing read is as honest a portrait of a young liar as one could hope to read
—— ScotsmanHe is bubbly, funny and charming, and he gives his fans plenty of material if they want to speculate on why he is both so gifted and so wayward
—— The TimesThe jokes . . . transcend the complexes of the joker, turning the Stephenesque into a national as well as a family treasure
—— GuardianNot so much an autobiography, more a way of life; discursive, funny, sometimes almost unbelievably sad, opinionated, nostalgic and very infectious
—— Claire Rayner, New StatesmanFry can be funny about anything
—— Good Book GuideSo charming and so acute that one cannot help forgiving him
—— Daily ExpressYou need to read this - period
—— Fact