Dr Andrea Smith
@audioandrea.bsky.social
Shakespeare, drama, radio. Often all at the same time. Lecturer in English and Creative Writing at University of Suffolk. Formerly BBC producer. My views. https://linktr.ee/audioandrea
Fancy some summer listening? Five, 15-minute bursts of archive and chat between the actor Samuel West and myself, now available as a playlist on Spotify: The Beeb and the Bard Hear all about how #Shakespeare has sounded on radio over the last century 📻 #AudioDrama 💀🎧 open.spotify.com/playlist/4CQ...
August #AudioDrama recommendation: Doctor Faustus 🔥🔥🔥 @emmaharding.bsky.social's adaptation of Marlowe's play really shows how to use the medium. Catch it on #BBCSounds for the next month and a bit - it's due to disappear in mid September. #RadioDrama #DramaOn3 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Have you read our latest blog post from @sallymclean.bsky.social on their #BSASmallGrants funded podcast?! 'Musing on the Bard: a podcast for the Shakespeare curious' delves into performing, directing and adapting Shakespeare with an international cohort of Shakespeare Republic ensemble members 🎧
Musing on the Bard: A Podcast for the Shakespeare Curious - British Shakespeare Association
Sally McLean writes about her podcast project, which received support from a BSA Small Grant award. I felt as if I had hit peak Shakespeare project immersion in 2025. My series Dark Arcadia was windin...
britishshakespeare.ws
#WSC2026 underway in style in the stunning #Verona! What a SITE for a Shakespeare conference!! For anyone in search of a #relevant FREE BOOK my new Cambridge Element is available online until 23 July, and pairs perfectly with an aperol spritz 🥂 cup.org/4pjI8R6
Site-Specific Shakespeare
Cambridge Core - Renaissance and Early Modern Literature - Site-Specific Shakespeare
cup.org
Delighted to be involved in the #IpswichBookFestival again this year - including hosting this event with #BBCLookEast legend Stewart White. My 20+ years at the #BBC overlapped with his - although he outstrips me by 15 years. Book tickets here: www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/events/stewa...
With all this fuss about #TheOdyssey I think it's worth letting you know about a great three-part audio version currently available on #BBCSounds Fab cast, dramatisation by Simon Armitage. Do have a listen 🎧 Link to part one below 👇 #BBCRadio4 #AudioDrama #RadioDrama www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The Odyssey by Homer - 1. Marked Men - BBC Sounds
Can Trojan War hero Odysseus return home before his wife is forced to marry again?
bbc.co.uk
With all this fuss about #TheOdyssey I think it's worth letting you know about a great three-part audio version currently available on #BBCSounds Fab cast, dramatisation by Simon Armitage. Do have a listen 🎧 Link to part one below 👇 #BBCRadio4 #AudioDrama #RadioDrama www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The Odyssey by Homer - 1. Marked Men - BBC Sounds
Can Trojan War hero Odysseus return home before his wife is forced to marry again?
bbc.co.uk
Count Binface has worldwide appeal, evidenced by his appearance on Network 10’s ‘Have You Been Paying Attention’ in Australia. Today the world… tomorrow Clacton!
Have you noticed the weather is changing at last? It’s almost as though an icy wind is blowing across the country. Only Connect returns, tonight at 8 pm on BBC Two.
My recommended #AudioDrama for July is Lucy Prebble's The Effect. It takes us inside a clinical drugs trial and is funny, thought-provoking & disturbing. Listen on headphones to get the full sense of what the characters are experiencing #DramaOn3 #RadioDrama #BBCSounds www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
Heard this fascinating play from #BBC a few weeks ago. 'Beethoven Can Hear You'. Highly recommended. #BBCSounds #DramaOn3 #RadioDrama
Dr Andrea Smith@audioandrea.bsky.social · 3mo agoLatest #AudioDrama suggestion: May: Beethoven Can Hear You You don't need to know/like Beethoven to enjoy this two-hander with Peter Capaldi & Sophie Stone. Music by deaf composer Lloyd Coleman. Transcript available on the BBC website. #RadioDrama #DramaOn3 #BBCSounds www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Two great conferences this week. Theatrical Voice Research Centre conference at the Guilford School of Acting: I talked about the relationship between radio and the stage. Women's Broadcasting Histories Conference at UEA: to highlight the work of women radio producers on Shakespeare's plays.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) – New Wolsey Theatre – Guest Review A Guest Review by Alan Stafford The Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC, for short!) have been presenting their distinctive brand of bite-sized Bard ever since their 1981 debut in California. Their frenetic…
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) – New Wolsey Theatre – Guest Review
A Guest Review by Alan Stafford The Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC, for short!) have been presenting their distinctive brand of bite-sized Bard ever since their 1981 debut in California. Their frenetic forays through the First Folio have enlivened many an Edinburgh Fringe (where I first encountered them) and they subsequently enjoyed a West End residency of nine years. Now a fresh new trio of actors, under the direction of founder RSC writer/performer Adam Long, stop off for a week in Ipswich in a touring production originating from The Theatre Chipping Norton (which sounded so made-up I had to check it was real).
suffolktheatre.co.uk
Overhearing people’s work conversations on the train is a great reminder that the lives of people in offices is far more replete with drama, backstabbing and flamboyant emotional manipulation than anything in opera.
I love this crazy play - a weird mix of black comedy, domestic tragedy and true crime - and this was a brilliant discussion about it. I'm going to have to buy the book. I can also recommend an audio production on #BBCSounds... bsky.app/profile/audi... #Shakespeare #RadioDrama #AudioDrama #BBCSounds
Faculty of English, University of Oxford@engfac.bsky.social · 2mo agoThere's still time to register for our upcoming live #Shakespeare webinar on 1 June. This time Prof Emma Smith @oldfortunatus.bsky.social will be exploring ARDEN OF FAVERSHAM with guest Dr Iman Sheeha. 🗓️1 June 2026 at 6pm 📍Online via Zoom All welcome! Free but registration required.
My #DramaOn3 recommendation for June is: The Duchess of Malfi John Webster's 17th century play about the oppression of a capable, intelligent woman has never lost its resonance. It's currently on #BBCSounds in Drama on 3 - but will disappear in just over a month (1/4) www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Looking for something to listen to on a lovely sunny bank holiday weekend? I can recommend Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III. Only available for 2 more days on #BBCSounds Great performances & thoughtfully adapted for radio by @emmaharding.bsky.social #AudioDrama www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Spotlight - The Madness of George III - BBC Sounds
Elliot Levey and Reece Shearsmith star in Alan Bennett’s sparkling tragi-comedy.
bbc.co.uk
People who don't write books assume writer's block is staring at a blank page with zero ideas. In truth it's invariably the opposite. Writer's block is when a dazzling array of options become tyrannical, team up with an unwillingness to fail, mug you in a dark alley and stick a bag over your head.
The first #Eurovision Song Contest was held in Switzerland in May 1956. Only 7 countries took part, but not the UK. BBC tv broadcast just a 45 minute programme with commentary by Wilfrid Thomas. Radio coverage didn't start until 1968 when Pete Murray commentated for Radio 2
Lovely effort Lordi but you'll never beat Kenickie's version of Save All Your Kisses For Me #ESC2026 #ESC #Eurovision2026 #Eurovision
My top five: 1. #Malta 2. #Italy 3. #France 4. #Norway 5. #Belgium #ESC2026 #ESC #Eurovision2026 #Eurovision
Something about this reminds me of both Daði Freyr and Subwoolfer #Austria #ESC2026 #ESC #Eurovision2026 #Eurovision
A bit INXS maybe? With a bit of White Stripes? #Norway #ESC2026 #ESC #Eurovision2026 #Eurovision
This would be perfect in the soundtrack of #ATasteForMurder #Italy #ESC2026 #ESC #Eurovision2026 #Eurovision
Living her best life, as they say... #Cyprus #ESC2026 #ESC #Eurovision2026 #Eurovision
If this was how they did #TheMaskedSinger it would be a lot easier guessing #Sweden #ESC2026 #ESC #Eurovision2026 #Eurovision
#Lithuania appears to have recruited their singer from the Covent Garden piazza #ESC2026 #ESC #Eurovision2026 #Eurovision
Very much aiming for the Whitney/Christina/Mariah market here #Poland #ESC2026 #ESC #Eurovision2026 #Eurovision
#Finland doing a #Norway / #Ireland this year. They've come a long way since Lordi #ESC2026 #ESC #Eurovision2026 #Eurovision
