Showing results by narrator "John Moffatt" in All Categories

BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot. When Poirot arrives in France, following an urgent appeal for help, he finds he is too late. His client, a South American millionaire, has been stabbed to death and his body flung into a freshly dug open grave on the golf course adjoining the property. Meanwhile the millionaire's wife is found bound and gagged in her room. Poirot launches an investigation and the baffling mystery begins to unfold.

Gordon Cloade is killed in a London air raid, and his vast fortune passes to his young wife Rosaleen. Five of his relatives are desperate to get their hands on Cloade's money, and Rosaleen begins to fear for her life. The prospects for the Cloades improve when they discover that Rosaleen had a previous husband who perished mysteriously in Africa. Then a mysterious stranger appears in the village, saying that he has something to communicate to her, but the following morning he is found dead.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot, the great Belgian detective. Elinor Carlisle and Roddy Welman are the model English couple, perfect companions set for a life of ease when they inherit Aunt Laura's considerable fortune. But a poison pen letter begins a chain of events which is to end in tragedy.

John Moffatt stars as the famous Belgian detective in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of one of Christie's most popular novels. Linnet Ridgeway has led a charmed life. Blessed with beauty, enormous wealth, and a devoted husband, she has everything anyone could wish for. But as the happy couple set out on an idyllic honeymoon cruise on the Nile, storm clouds are gathering. Linnet's former friend, Jacqueline de Bellefort, follows her and Simon wherever they go and Linnet senses she is in danger.

Step into the exquisite miniature world of the mice of Brambly Hedge in this beautiful new edition of the classic book. It was summer and Primrose woke knowing that it was going to be a very special day. The sun was already warm and a light breeze stirred the leaves and branches of Brambly Hedge. It was a perfect day for an adventure. Leaving the hedge behind, Dusty, Poppy, Primrose, and Wilfred set off downstream in Dusty's boat, the Periwinkle, on a journey that would take them all the way down to the sea.

Crime sleuth Hercule Poirot returns in a thrilling BBC Radio 4 dramatisation. Amy Leatheran has never felt the lure of the mysterious East, but when she travels to an ancient site deep in the Iraqi desert to nurse the wife of a celebrated archaeologist; events prove stranger than she could ever have imagined. Her patient’s bizzarre visions and nervous terror seem unfounded, but as the oppressive tension in the air thickens, events come to a terrible climax - in murder...

It is Midwinter's Eve and the mice of Brambly Hedge are very busy. This evening, after dark, they will all be gathering round a blazing fire for the traditional midwinter celebrations. A grand entertainment is planned and Primrose and Wilfred have chosen to recite a poem. They go up to the attics to rehearse in peace and quiet but there are so many things to look at and places to explore, it is hard to concentrate. And when they stumble upon a dusty staircase, all thoughts of practising are put aside….

Can you imagine writing to Father Christmas and actually getting a reply? Every year, the children of J.R.R. Tolkien would write to Father Christmas, and the letters they received told wonderful stories of his adventures at the North Pole. These humorous tales are brought to life by Derek Jacobi as Father Christmas, John Moffatt as Polar Bear, and Christian Rodska as Ilbereth the Elf, complete with specially composed music.

John Moffatt stars as the great Belgian detective in a BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation. Famous crime novelist Ariadne Oliver, visiting her friend Judith Butler in the little town of Woodleigh Common, is invited to a Hallowe'en Party put on by society hostess Mrs Rowena Drake for the local teenagers. During her preparations for the party, the conversation turns to Ariadne's grisly novels....

Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, like some monstrous swollen Buddha, sat the corpse of Mrs Boynton. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist was the only sign of the fatal injection that had killed her. With only 24 hours available to solve the mystery, Hercule Poirot recalled a chance remark he'd overheard back in Jerusalem: 'You see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?' Mrs Boynton was, indeed, the most detestable woman he'd ever met.

‘Monsieur Poirot, somehow or other I’ve just got to get rid of my husband!’ No sooner had she uttered the words than Lady Edgware’s husband was dead, brutally stabbed in the neck. The evidence against her is overwhelming, the case cut and dried. But what was the truth behind it all? What enemies lurked in the background of the victim’s life? Hercule Poirot is on the case, intrigued once more, ready to investigate murder in the library...

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring John Moffatt as the great Belgian detective with Simon Williams and Philip Jackson. Alice Ascher, a poor, elderly shopkeeper, is murdered in Andover. Betty Barnard, a young waitress, is strangled with her own belt at Bexhill-on-Sea. Next comes Carmichael Clarke, collector of Chinese art, clubbed to death in Churston. Only in Doncaster does the pattern vary: the man found stabbed in the Regal Cinema is called George Earsfield.

As Hercule Poirot sifts through his post one particular morning, he alights upon a letter from an elderly and (as it transpires), exceedingly rich spinster - Miss Emily Arundell. She is clearly in great distress and seeking his help, but doesn’t say why. Her only specific mention is ‘the incident of the dog’s ball’. However, what intrigues Poirot is the date of the communication - it was written two months ago. He persuades Captain Hastings that they must visit the lady with all haste.

Sir Claud Amory has discovered the formula for a new powerful explosive, which is stolen by one of the large household of relatives and friends. Locking everyone in the library, Sir Claud switches off the lights to allow the thief to replace the formula on the table, no questions asked. When the lights come on, however, he is dead.

A blizzard has hit England. In the tiny village of Sittaford, on the fringes of Dartmoor, a party of six is gathered in Sittaford House, home of Captain Trevelyan. He has rented the house out for the winter and is staying in a nearby village. As evening draws in, a seance is proposed. But it reveals more than they had anticipated - TREVELYAN DEAD, spells out the board. Slowly the table begins to rock again, spelling out the word M-U-R-D-E-R. Is it true? And who would kill a man who doesn’t have an enemy in the world?

It was the middle of winter and very, very cold. The mice of Brambly Hedge forecasted snow. And they were right. In the morning they awoke to find their doors and windows hidden behind deep drifts. There hadn't been snow like this for years. "There's enough for a Snow Ball!" cried the mice with glee, and set to work in the time-honoured way to make an Ice Hall for the festivities. The little mice watched wide-eyed as all the preparations were made. Then at last everything was ready, and the Ball could begin.…

These four works show Samuel Beckett at his most penetrating. Both Krapp's Last Tape (1958) and Not I (1972) are among the most striking pieces written for the theatre in the 20th century. An old man sits at a table, playing back old tapes made when he was younger, mixed glimpses of past feelings. In Not I, we have just a mouth expressing memories and torment in a torrent of words.

It is the very end of autumn and Flax and Lily are busy making blankets for the voles in the High Hills. Mr Apple has to deliver the blankets to them before the cold weather sets in and Wilfred Toadflax is eager to go along. He is convinced there is gold to be found in the hills beyond Brambly Hedge and this is his chance to discover it. Everything goes to plan until Wilfred scrambles up a rock face and can't get down. The mist begins to rise and soon Mr Apple and Wilfred are engulfed in a thick white fog, unable to find their way home.…

Here are some of the finest narrative poems in the English language, dating from an age of rich inspiration.

Maggie Smith and Jonathan Pryce star in William Wycherley’s raunchy Restoration comedy. Considered too obscene to be staged in its original form for nearly 200 years, William Wycherley’s bawdy comedy tells the tale of Mr Horner, a notorious rake who spreads the false rumour that he is impotent in order to gain free access to other men’s wives. When he meets the young, innocent Margery Pinchwife, the ‘country wife’ of the title, the scene is set for scandal.