Voice Work

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Radio

In the early 1970s, Alun Armstrong had small parts in several unidentified Radio 4 dramas recorded in Leeds. There may be other radio roles missing from this section as well. Thanks to www.radiolistings.co.uk for much of the information here.

1990:

The Sit Crom
Series Overview	An English Civil War comedy by Sue Limb, featuring spies and sinful vegetables.
Role	Captain Arise Higgs Supporting role in all episodes except #5.
Also Starring	Joss Ackland as Sir John Firebasket; Denise Coffey as Lady Anne; Clive Merrison as Tobias Thynne; Miriam Margolyes as Mercy aka Melissa; Nickolas Grace as Father Francis and Old Thomas; Chris Emmett as King Charles and Slow Ned; Jack Klaff as Gazebo Fogg; Bert Parnaby as Cromwell; Nicky Henson as Posthumous; Jane Whittenshaw as Lettice
My Rating	5 out of 5 stars. Clever and funny. I especially liked the New Model Army's songs and Tobias chastising the naughty vegetables.
Availability	Available to listen to on FilesTube.
Episode 1		"The Secret Knocke"
Airdate	6 October 1990
Firebasket Hall in Warwickshire, 1646. Mercy the scullery maid brings a custard to Father Francis, who is hiding in a priest hole. Mercy reveals that she is really Melissa Fortescue Bottomley, a lady whose family was ruined by the Cromwellians, and that she is now a spy for the King. In the village, the Puritan steward Tobias Thynne lectures on the danger of lascivious vegetables to an audience of none. Sir John Firebasket enjoys a drink and some bawdy songs in the tavern but is interrupted by the arrival of Captain Arise Higgs, leading a platoon of the New Model Army. Sir John offers to let the soldiers sleep in his barn, to the dismay of his wife Lady Anne. Mercy is expecting a visit from her contact, William, but instead is given a cryptic message from Gazebo Fogg, posing as an onion seller. Her orders are to kill Captain Higgs.
Episode 2	"The General Inspection"
Airdate	13 October 1990
Mercy frets about her mission. Captain Higgs prepares his men for a visit from General Cromwell. Alarmed by the news, Father Francis borrows one of Lady Anne's nightgowns and pretends to be a ghost, hoping to scare Cromwell away. Mercy persuades the "apparition" to depart. Cromwell becomes suspicious of her ability to communicate with the dead and decides to interrogate her.
Episode 3	"Thick Fog in All Areas"
Airdate	20 October 1990
Mercy has avoided detection under interrogation and Cromwell has departed. Gazebo tries to glean information from a starving Ranter couple, Lettice and Posthumous - who has lost his beloved sister. Tobias chastises the parsnips for their wicked ways and is inspired to avoid temptation by living on grass like a sheep. A thick fog descends on the heath. Posthumous hopes to catch a sheep to eat, while Lettice is amazed to hear the sheep speak. Mercy decides to take the Ranters some victuals accompanied by Gazebo, and they encounter Sir John and the Ranters in the fog. Meanwhile the New Model Army embroider vests for the coming winter, and Lady Anne invites Captain Higgs into her bedchamber to practice threading a needle.
Episode 4	"A Draught Of Malmsey"
Airdate	27 October 1990
With Tobias out grazing, the household is in need of a steward. Lady Anne is desperate for someone, anyone, to bring her a draught of malmsey from the cellar. Captain Higgs receives intelligence that a priest is hiding at Firebasket Hall. Mercy comes up with the idea of having Father Francis pretend to be the new steward. Captain Higgs greets him without suspicion, and after finishing his search of the Hall he brings Lady Anne a drink. Gazebo reveals that the King is expected tomorrow.
Episode 5	"Night Exercises"
Airdate	3 November 1990
Captain Higgs and his platoon are away on night exercises just as the King - or Gnik, in code - is expected to arrive. Mercy reflects upon Gazebo's rugged and somewhat striking Hibernian countenance. Sir John has a few drinks with Posthumous. Awakened in the night by a call of nature, Posthumous stumbles into Lady Anne's bedchamber and is mistaken for the King. The real King arrives, having asked directions to the Hall from Captain Higgs. He recognises Mercy as the daughter of one of his former courtiers. Mercy brings him to Lady Anne, who won't believe he's the King until she compares him to a sovereign coin. Sir John hears voices in his wife's bedchamber and comes in shooting, but luckily the King ducks in time. Mercy realises that Posthumous is her long-lost brother Rupert. As the platoon returns, the King proposes to disguise himself as the steward and Mercy steels herself to complete her mission to kill Captain Higgs.
Episode 6	"The Wasps' Nest"
Airdate	10 November 1990
Mercy regrets that she is unable - for reasons she cannot recall - to reveal her true identity to Gazebo. Captain Higgs thinks the new steward, Mr Smith, is vaguely familiar and is reminded of their meeting on the road. He tells Mr Smith to be on the lookout for the King, who resembles the steward, though he would of course have shaved his beard as a disguise. Lady Anne is troubled by a wasps' nest in her bedchamber. Captain Higgs volunteers to smoke them out. Mercy hopes to complete her task by coating Captain Higgs in jam to attract the wasps but is unsuccessful. Captain Higgs accidentally sets fire to the Hall but rescues Sir John and Mr Smith and then carries Lady Anne to safety. Gazebo is worried about Mercy and is relieved to find her alive. She reveals that she is of gentle birth as they profess their feelings for each other. Tobias Thynne is restored to sanity. Captain Higgs is summoned to Saffron Walden for a promotion for razing the nest of traitors at Firebasket Hall to the ground.

 

1991:

The Shape of Things to Come
Episode	Episode 8: "Tiger! Tiger!"
Airdate	14 September 1991
Role	Gully Foyle Lead role
Also Starring	Miranda Richardson as Olivia; Siobhan Redmond as Robin Wednesbury; Lesley Manville as Jisbella McQueen
A dramatisation of The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. Marooned in outer space after an attack on his ship, Gulliver Foyle lives to obsessively pursue the crew of a rescue vessel that intended to leave him to die.

 

GIGO
Airdate	10 October 1991
Role	Lead role
A computer addict's obsession with acausal connections - such as the dates of lunar eclipses and the incidence of swine fever in the UK during a 12-month cycle - starts to take over his life in disturbing and hilarious ways. Is he living in a quantum dream or is the dream living him?
Notes	Winner of Radio Times Drama Award for best play. GIGO means Garbage In, Garbage Out.

  

1994:

When We Are Married
Airdate	10 September 1994
Role	Albert Parker Co-starring role in an ensemble.
Also Starring	Alan Bennett as Herbert Soppitt; Gwen Taylor as Annie Parker; Brenda Blethyn as Clara Soppitt; Michael Jayston as Joe Helliwell; Nicola Pagett as Maria Helliwell; Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs Northrup; Peter Woodthorpe as Ormonroyd
In J.B. Priestley's play, three eminently respectable Yorkshire couples - the Soppitts, the Parkers and the Helliwells - are in the midst of their joint silver wedding celebrations when they receive a rude shock: they are not legally married. The newly ordained reverend who performed the ceremony had not completed the proper forms to authorise him to marry people. The three men learn this from the new chapel organist whom they were planning to discipline for his improper behaviour with a lady (actually Joe Helliwell's niece, a fact unknown to them). The three women hear the news from Mrs Helliwell's disgruntled housekeeper Mrs Northrup who was listening at the door. Despite this, Mrs Helliwell proceeds with her intention to sack Mrs Northrup, who goes down to the pub with her news. Also on the scene is a drunken newspaper photographer assigned to cover the silver anniversary. Confronted with the revelation, the couples face a host of personal dilemmas. Albert Parker believes he's been a good husband but is startled to learn that his wife Annie thinks he's dull and stingy. When he assures her that he'll marry her legally, she replies that she'd rather not; she wants to live for herself and have fun. Maria Helliwell also decides to leave her husband when another woman turns up - informed by Mrs Northup - claiming that Joe Helliwell said he'd marry her if he was ever free from his wife. Ormonroyd the photographer reveals that his wedding was performed by the same reverend. Ormonroyd was looking for a way out of his marriage, but unfortunately for him he discovered that a registrar was present at the chapel, making the ceremony legal after all. The three couples resolve their differences: Joe tells Maria he loves her; Albert says he'll try to be more fun; and the henpecked Herbert Soppitt stands up to his wife Clara.
My Rating	4 out of 5 stars. The varied reactions to the news were well done, but the resolution after they realised they really were married was a little too neat. Great ensemble, not too hard to follow who's who.
Review	"Alun Armstrong immerses himself in the role of Albert Parker giving a delightful portrayal of an old fashioned pompous Yorkshire man who has no time for change or "La De Da" people from the city. The grand Yorkshire setting of the story give this drama a sense of earthy realism, delightfully echoed through the character portrayals of the ensemble cast." - Andy Howells, Suite 101
Availability	Available on CD Audiobook from Amazon UK and Amazon.

 

1997:

Insignificance
Airdate	15 June 1997
Role	The Professor (Albert Einstein) Lead role
Also Starring	Frances Barber, Tom Mannion, Colin Stinton
In 1953, Albert Einstein receives an unexpected visit to his hotel room from Marilyn Monroe, who shows a surprising interest in the Professor and his Theory of Relativity. Senator Joseph McCarthy and baseball legend Joe DiMaggio - to whom Marilyn was briefly married - also turn up to further complicate matters.
Notes	Alun Armstrong and Frances Barber starred in a stage production of Insignificance by Terry Johnson in 1995 and again reprised their roles in 1999 as part of the National Theatre's One Hundred Plays of the Century Platform.

 

1998:

Stolen Time
Airdate	28 February 1998
Role	Unknown
Also Starring	Stephen Boxer, Jenny Lee, David Graham
In 1752, pressure to Europeanise forces a move from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, consigning a superstitious population to an 11-day limbo of non-time. It is during this period that poet Thomas Gray meets a ghost from his past.

 

2000:

In the Heart of the Sea
Series	Book of the Week
Airdates	15 May 2000; 16 May 2000; 17 May 2000; 18 May 2000; 19 May 2000
Role	Reader
Alun Armstrong reads Nathaniel Philbrick's real-life tale of the whaling disaster that inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick. In 1821, the Essex was sunk in the Pacific by an enraged sperm whale. Its 20-man crew drifted for three months. Only eight lived, deranged and near death, having survived on the flesh of their dead companions. Abridged in five parts by Keith Darvill.

 

2001:

Buried by Glass
Series	Afternoon Play
Airdate	15 February 2001
Role	Unknown (Jay or Mark, presumably)
Also Starring	Robert Portal, Indira Varma
When Jay, Mark and Sara meet for lunch at Jay's house in the country, they all have something to hide. But somewhere beneath their words lurks the truth.

 

23 Years
Series	Friday Play
Airdate	2 March 2001
Role	Joseph Kaye Lead role
Also Starring	Danny Webb, Struan Rodger, Janice Acquah, Pip Torrens
Joseph Kaye visits an old lady who dies of natural causes, but a pathologist concludes that the cause of death was a blow to her face. Kaye is convicted of a crime he didn't commit, and he must fight to clear his name. Based on the true story of Patrick Nicholls who was imprisoned for 23 years in a miscarriage of justice.

 

The Little World of Don Camillo
Series Overview	Dramatisation by Peter Kerry of Giovanni Guareschi's comic novel about a priest in a small town in northern Italy a few years after World War II who occasionally chats with God about his rivalry with the town's communist mayor and other matters.
Role	Don Camillo Lead role
Also Starring	Shaun Prendergast as Peppone; Joss Ackland as God; John Moffatt as the Bishop
Notes	Alun Armstrong was replaced by Ian Hogg for the subsequent series 2-5.
My Rating	5 out of 5 stars. Delightful.
Availability	The series is periodically rebroadcast, most recently in August & September 2011 on Radio 4 Extra.
Series 1, Episode 1		"Lenin"
Airdate	19 March 2001
Don Camillo refuses to baptise the baby of the communist mayor Peppone with the name Antonio Libero Lenin. Matters escalate when Peppone retaliates by putting firecrackers in the church bells, and Don Camillo bashes Peppone's fenders with his cricket bat. Peppone also has trouble with his political opponent Silvano who claims the election was rigged. When Silvano burns down the house of one of Peppone's men, Peppone goes after Silvano with a Tommy gun. Don Camillo follows at the request of Peppone's wife. While Peppone stops to relieve himself in a river, Don Camillo pushes him into the water and takes his bicycle and gun. Don Camillo then tracks down Silvano's gang and teaches them a lesson with his cricket bat. Don Camillo is summoned by the Bishop who orders him to baptise Peppone's son. Because Don Camillo prevented Peppone from committing murder, Peppone's wife persuades her husband to change the baby's name to Antonio Libero Camillo. But Don Camillo says he will use the name Libero Camillo Lenin, since Camillo will cancel Lenin out.
Series 1, Episode 2	"Building the Buildings"
Airdate	26 March 2001
Don Camillo has been trying for months to raise funds for a community centre, but all the local businessmen have turned him down. He is shocked when Peppone tricks him into attending a ceremony that turns out to be the unveiling of a cornerstone for a new People's Palace. Peppone claims he already has the 10 million lire to build it. Don Camillo tries to get the local police chief to investigate the source of this undoubtedly illegal money but he refuses. God also refuses to reveal the source of Peppone's money, and he suggests Don Camillo take a trip into the city to take his mind off it. But while in Turin, Don Camillo recognises his cab driver as Paolo, a partisan from Peppone's band during the war. The only problem is, Don Camillo gave Paolo last rites and presided over his burial. Don Camillo realises that Paolo's grave really contained German money found by the partisans in the building of a collaborator which they commandeered as a hospital. The priest threatens Peppone with his own Tommy gun and reminds him how he got it (see Episode 1). Peppone is persuaded to give 3 million of the money for the church community centre and attend the laying of the cornerstone.
Series 1, Episode 3	"A New Priest or a Miracle"
Airdate	2 April 2001
Don Camillo is once again summoned by the Bishop after his fight with Peppone's men in a pub reaches the ears of the Cardinal. Don Camillo explains that it all began when a bigshot communist party leader came to town. Annoyed by the man's speech, Don Camillo interrupted him by ringing the church bells. Peppone responded by luring his parishioners away from mass with a fair. Don Camillo bested Peppone in a test of strength in the boxing booth, landing a blow that registered 1,000 and rang the bell. Peppone's men then painted the rectory wall with a misspelling of Don Camillo's name likening him to a navvy. The priest went after the culprits and daubed them with their red paint, leading to an all-out pub brawl. The Bishop decides to send Don Camillo away to a church in a mountain village to spend some time in quiet reflection. Don Camillo is dejected when no one sees him off, but he is pleasantly surprised when his parishioners stop the train down the line, saying Peppone forbade them to come to the station. Even more surprisingly, the train is stopped again by Peppone himself who wishes Don Camillo a speedy recovery. Peppone goes to the Bishop to complain about Don Camillo's replacement who is no match for his rival. Don Camillo returns home and the Bishop decides he needs a holiday himself.
Series 1, Episode 4	"Opening the Buildings"
Airdate	9 April 2001
The church community centre and the People's Palace are finished and due to be opened on the same day - but the Bishop can't be in two places at once, and he has an audience with the Pope in the afternoon. He decides it's his duty to open the church centre, but Peppone has other ideas. He starts a road work project to divert traffic away from the church centre to the People's Palace, and the Bishop who is short on time is forced to officiate at Peppone's opening instead. Meanwhile, Don Camillo challenges Peppone to a football match between their followers. Peppone accepts and wagers a box of cigars against a cheese. God reminds Don Camillo that gambling is a sin, but the priest replies that the honour of the village is at stake. Don Camillo urges his congregation to victory with a St Crispin's Day speech, but they lose. He blames the referee and feels the urge to punch someone, but God suggests boxing instead. At the boxing match celebrating the People's Palace opening, the regional champion knocks out Peppone's contender with one punch and Peppone suffers the same fate, but when Don Camillo steps into the ring he defends the honour of the village and beats the champ. Peppone pays him a visit and they share the cigars and cheese, and when they start bickering about the football match, Don Camillo decides to take God's advice and give it a rest.

 

2003:

Counting Stars
Series	Afternoon Reading
Overview	A collection semi-autobiographical stories by the award-winning writer David Almond set in the 1960s near Newcastle.
Role	Reader
Episode 1		"Counting the Stars"
Airdate	27 October 2003
A small boy revels in testing the advice of the old Irish priest until his father falls seriously ill.
Episode 2	"The Middle of the World"
Airdate	28 October 2003
A group of small children go off in search of the middle of the world, but find themselves accosted by Daft Peter en route.
Episode 3	"Where Your Wings Were"
Airdate	29 October 2003
A young boy confesses his dreams of girls and women to his priest. While he tries to ward off these nightly visitations, he finds himself visited instead by an angel.
Episode 4	"The Kitchen"
Airdate	30 October 2003
An impossible place, an impossible afternoon when everyone is together all at once - the living and the dead - telling stories of the day when a small girl appeared in the surf.
Episode 5	"Jack Law"
Airdate	31 October 2003
A little boy from Carlisle Street loses his voice in the winter snow.

 

2004:

Portugal
Series	Drama on 3
Airdate	8 August 2004
Role	Landlord
Also Starring	Bertie Carvel; Pearce Quigley; Philip Fox; Sheridan Smith; Jon Glover; Darryl Clark; Sally Rogers
In a pub in a rural village in Hungary, the regulars are looking forward to the annual funfair and the prospect of a visit by a famous football team. Instead Nick, a stranger from Budapest on his way to Portugal, appears and triggers mayhem, capturing the heart of the landlord's daughter and provoking intense jealousy in Turnip, her "fiancé." The little world of Ergacs is turned upside-down.

 

Kepler
Airdate	11 August 2004	With Benedict Cumberbatch
Role	Tycho Brahe Co-starring role
Also Starring	Benedict Cumberbatch as Kepler
An exploration of the clash between two of the 17th century's leading astronomers - the assured, prickly and self-mocking Johannes Kepler, and the aristocratic, overbearing and secretly insecure Danish nobleman, Tycho Brahe. Leaving Graz because of religious tensions, Kepler accepts an invitation from Brahe to work at his new observatory at Benátky in Bohemia. Kepler's wife is offended by their poor accommodations and treatment, while Kepler is frustrated by Brahe's refusal to share all his data. When Kepler finds fault with Brahe's theory of planetary motion, Brahe demands a written apology. Kepler bets Brahe 100 florins that he can work out the orbit of Mars in a week, and while he fails to do so in the allotted time, Kepler eventually realises that Mars and the other planets travel in ellipses - rather than circles as previously believed - with the sun at the centre. Brahe sadly observes that his own system will be forgotten in the wake of this discovery. Brahe suffers a fatal bladder infection, brought on because he thought it would be impolite to leave his host's dinner table to relieve himself. Before he dies, he entrusts Kepler with all his research to finish the star charts commissioned by the Emperor.
Review	"The cast includes a show-stealing turn from Alun Armstrong as Brahe." - Maxton Walker, The Guardian
My Rating	4 out of 5 stars. Excellent interplay between the two scientists.
Availability	Available to listen to on Youtube, Part One and Part Two.

 

Ghost Stories
Series Overview	Short stories from Nocturnes by John Connolly read by various actors.
Episode	Episode 3: "Some Children Wander by Mistake"
Airdate	27 October 2004
Role	Reader
When the circus comes to town, a young boy's curiosity about clowns leads him deeper behind the scenes than he would have liked.

 

2005:

The Madness of King George III
Series	BBC World Service Play of the Week
Airdate	9 July 2005
Role	Dr Francis Willis Supporting role, mostly in the second part.
Also Starring	Jim Broadbent as King George III; Cheryl Campbell as Queen Charlotte; Adam Godley as The Prince Of Wales; Nicholas Farrell as William Pitt; Geoffrey Whitehead as Lord Furlowe
In 1788, King George III succumbs to a bout of madness. As his behaviour becomes more bizarre and erratic, the supporters of Charles James Fox hope to install the Prince of Wales as Regent and thereby oust the King's Prime Minister, William Pitt. Doctors are brought in - at 30 guineas a visit - and they treat the King with a variety of unsuccessful methods including purging and blistering. Lady Pembroke recommends Dr Willis, a former clergyman who has a farm in Lincolnshire where mental patients perform manual labour as part of their treatment. Dr Willis is able to get through to the King by encouraging him to behave and strive for his own recovery, and restraining him in a chair and straightjacket when he does not. The King recovers sufficiently to avoid a Regency at that time (though many years later he succumbs again).
My Rating	4 out of 5 stars. Perhaps having seen the movie, I didn't find this as successful as an audio-only performance, but the cast is excellent.
Availability	Available on CD Audiobook from Amazon UK and Amazon and as an audio download from Audible.com.

 

2006:

Playing the Salesman
Airdate	11 February 2006
Role	Interviewee
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a great tragedy of an ordinary man, and all over the world people identify with Willy Loman. As part of Radio 4's commemoration of Miller a year after his death, Christopher Bigsby hears from four great actors - Dustin Hoffman, Warren Mitchell, Brian Dennehy and Alun Armstrong - about playing the role. They, along with John Malkovich and Marjorie Yates, who played Biff and Linda, and the directors Michael Rudman, David Thacker and Bob Falls, recall working with the author on the play, and in recordings made before he died a year ago, Miller reflects on the Everyman he created.
Notes	Alun Armstrong played Willy Loman in a National Theatre production of Death of a Salesman in 1996-97.

 

2007:

Blake's Doors of Perception
Series overview	Short stories marking the 250th anniversary of William Blake's birth, each inspired by a quote from the great poet.
Episode	Episode 5: "May Malone"
Airdate	30 November 2007
Role	Reader
There are stories that May keeps a monster in her house. Young Norman Trench becomes fascinated by the noises he hears with his ear pressed to May's back wall. Fascination gives way to fear as she invites him in to see her monster. By David Almond, inspired by Blake's "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell."

 

2008:

Snow in July
Series	Afternoon Play
Airdate	8 January 2008
Role	Maurice
Also Starring	Eileen O'Brien, Paul Copley, Peter Martin, Stephen Chapman
Maurice and Eileen are celebrating their golden wedding anniversary when Maurice falls ill. Wanting to know more, Eileen heads for the local library, where she embarks upon a journey that will change both their lives.

 

Narration

Alun Armstrong's narrative work also includes a documentary on Pan Am Flight 103 and voiceovers for a number of commericials. (He also appeared in an advert for McEwan's Best Scotch early in his career, playing a customer chatting with a barmaid, along the lines of: "How was Munich?" "Big." "How was the beer festival?" "Massive." "And how were the lasses?" "Oh give us a bag of crisps.")

1998:

Shell Shock
Overview	A 3-part documentary on the causes and effects of shell shock.
Role	Narrator
Part 1		"The Minds the Dead Have Ravished"
Airdate	8 November 1998
Looks at what causes soldiers to crack when they are faced with traumatic situations such as watching friends die, leading others to their deaths and killing.
Part 2	"Battle for the Mind"
Airdate	15 November 1998
Second World War veterans tell of the stigma of suffering from shell shock and the treatments from drugs to electro-convulsive therapy they had to endure.
Part 3	"Aftermath"
Airdate	22 November 1998
Looks at how the military has treated soldiers suffering from trauma after service in conflicts such as the Falklands, Northern Ireland and the Gulf War.

 

2000:

7 Up 2000
Airdate	13 April 2000
Role	Narrator
Following on from the original 7 Up programme shown in 1964, this new series follows the progress of 19 seven-year-olds in the year 2000 from all areas of the UK and with varied backgrounds.

 

2001:

Challenger: Go for Launch
Airdate	23 January 2001
Role	Narrator
The tragic, defining moment in the American space program was watched by millions. This film produced 15 years after that tragic day takes the viewer into the minute detail of the launch decision for the first time: the politics, the science and the human drama.
Availability	Available to watch on Google Video.

 

Extinct
Series Overview	Of all the species that have ever existed, 99.9% are now extinct. This documentary brings to life the compelling stories of these lost creatures and solves the mystery of their demise.
Role	Narrator
Availability	Available to watch on 4 on Demand from within the UK. Episode numbers differ from the original airing order.
Episode 1		"The Dodo"
Airdate	25 September 2001
Using the latest scientific research, advanced computer graphics technology and animatronics, Extinct looks at the life and demise of the dodo in the 1660s.
Episode 2	"The Sabre-Tooth Tiger"
Airdate	2 October 2001
A look at one of the most successful predators to ever walk the earth, the sabre-tooth tiger, whose territory spread across Ice Age North America and Europe.
Episode 3	"The Irish Elk"
Airdate	9 October 2001
The Irish Elk ruled over its grassland home until the end of the Ice Age. With magnificent 12-foot antlers and a thick furry coat, it was the largest deer that ever lived.
Episode 4	"The Great Auk"
Airdate	16 October 2001
A look at the life and demise of the great Auk, solving the mystery of its extinction using the latest scientific research and computer graphics.
Episode 5	"The Columbian Mammoth"
Airdate	23 October 2001
Palaeontologist Sylvia Gonzalez examines the remains of the Columbian Mammoth, which weighed twice as much as his woolly cousin.
Episode 6	"The Tasmanian Tiger"
Airdate	30 October 2001
The last Tasmanian Tiger was shot dead by a farmer in 1930, but was it man or nature that finally did for this beautifully evolved animal?

 

Audiobooks

Where Eagles Dare
Author	Alistair Maclean
One winter night, seven men and a woman are parachuted onto a mountainside in wartime Germany. Their objective: an apparently inaccessible castle, headquarters of the Gestapo. Their mission: to rescue a crashed American general before the Nazi interrogators can force him to reveal secret D-Day plans.
Notes	Audiobook originally published in 1995; reissued in 2010 with Ice Station Zebra.
Availability	Available on CD Audiobook from Amazon UK with Ice Station Zebra read by Michael Jayston. Also available as an audio download from Amazon UK and Amazon and from iTunes.

 

One Hundred Days: One Hundred Nights
Author	Christopher Bigsby
A novel about a fictional South American country where nothing is quite what it seems. Welcome to Sagrado Dios, whose history we enter in 1944 with a miracle, the beaching of a lost Nazi U-Boat and the murder of its captain, mistaken for a devil by the inhabitants of a fishing village. Here is a fictional history blended with elements of magic, sex, comedy and bizarre violence, woven into stories gathered by a mad professor exiled to his library where he is compiling a history of the novel in a country where the genre has been banned by the church for the last three centuries.
Notes	In 2007, John Shrapnel, Niamh Cusack and Alun Armstrong read extracts as part of a proposed series of readings from new works for the University of East Anglia.
Availability	Available to listen to at the University of East Anglia website; requires RealPlayer.

 

The Madness of King George III
Author	Alan Bennett
Role	Doctor Willis
Also Starring	Jim Broadbent as King George III; Cheryl Campbell as Queen Charlotte; Adam Godley as The Prince Of Wales; Nicholas Farrell as William Pitt; Geoffrey Whitehead as Lord Furlowe
In 1788, King George III succumbs to a bout of madness. As his behaviour becomes more bizarre and erratic, the supporters of Charles James Fox hope to install the Prince of Wales as Regent and thereby oust the King's Prime Minister, William Pitt. Doctors are brought in - at 30 guineas a visit - and they treat the King with a variety of unsuccessful methods including purging and blistering. Lady Pembroke recommends Dr Willis, a former clergyman who has a farm in Lincolnshire where mental patients perform manual labour as part of their treatment. Dr Willis is able to get through to the King by encouraging him to behave and strive for his own recovery, and restraining him in a chair and straightjacket when he does not. The King recovers sufficiently to avoid a Regency at that time (though many years later he succumbs again).
My Rating	4 out of 5 stars. Perhaps having seen the movie, I didn't find this as successful as an audio-only performance, but the cast is excellent.
Notes	Originally aired as a radio play on 9 July 2005. Published as an audiobook in 2008.
Availability	Available on CD Audiobook from Amazon UK and Amazon.

 

When We Are Married
Author	J.B. Priestley
Role	Albert Parker
Also Starring	Alan Bennett as Herbert Soppitt; Gwen Taylor as Annie Parker; Brenda Blethyn as Clara Soppitt; Michael Jayston as Joe Helliwell; Nicola Pagett as Maria Helliwell; Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs Northrup; Peter Woodthorpe as Ormonroyd
Three eminently respectable Yorkshire couples - the Soppitts, the Parkers and the Helliwells - are in the midst of their joint silver wedding celebrations when they receive a rude shock: they are not legally married. The newly ordained reverend who performed the ceremony had not completed the proper forms to authorise him to marry people. The three men learn this from the new chapel organist whom they were planning to discipline for his improper behaviour with a lady (actually Joe Helliwell's niece, a fact unknown to them). The three women hear the news from Mrs Helliwell's disgruntled housekeeper Mrs Northrup who was listening at the door. Despite this, Mrs Helliwell proceeds with her intention to sack Mrs Northrup, who goes down to the pub with her news. Also on the scene is a drunken newspaper photographer assigned to cover the silver anniversary. Confronted with the revelation, the couples face a host of personal dilemmas. Albert Parker believes he's been a good husband but is startled to learn that his wife Annie thinks he's dull and stingy. When he assures her that he'll marry her legally, she replies that she'd rather not; she wants to live for herself and have fun. Maria Helliwell also decides to leave her husband when another woman turns up - informed by Mrs Northup - claiming that Joe Helliwell said he'd marry her if he was ever free from his wife. Ormonroyd the photographer reveals that his wedding was performed by the same reverend. Ormonroyd was looking for a way out of his marriage, but unfortunately for him he discovered that a registrar was present at the chapel, making the ceremony legal after all. The three couples resolve their differences: Joe tells Maria he loves her; Albert says he'll try to be more fun; and the henpecked Herbert Soppitt stands up to his wife Clara.
My Rating	4 out of 5 stars. The varied reactions to the news were well done, but the resolution after they realised they really were married was a little too neat. Great ensemble, not too hard to follow who's who.
Review	"Alun Armstrong immerses himself in the role of Albert Parker giving a delightful portrayal of an old fashioned pompous Yorkshire man who has no time for change or "La De Da" people from the city. The grand Yorkshire setting of the story give this drama a sense of earthy realism, delightfully echoed through the character portrayals of the ensemble cast." - Andy Howells, Suite 101
Notes	Originally aired as a radio play on 10 September 1994. Published as an audiobook in 2011.
Availability	Available on CD Audiobook from Amazon UK and Amazon.

 

Singing

This section includes available recordings of Alun Armstrong's musical performances. See the theatre pages for more information on the productions of Les Misérables and The Baker's Wife. (Note that there is no recording of his performance in Sweeney Todd available.

Les Misérables - Original London Cast Recording
Music & lyrics	Claude-Michel Schönberg (music); Alain Boublil (French libretto); Herbert Kretzmer (English adaptation)
Role	Thénardier
Also Starring	Susan Jane Tanner as Madame Thénardier; Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean; Roger Allam as Javert; Patti LuPone as Fantine; Zoë Hart as Young Cosette; Rebecca Caine as Cosette; Frances Ruffelle as Éponine; Michael Ball as Marius; David Burt as Enjolras
Songs	"Master of the House"; "The Bargain/The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery"; "The Attack on Rue Plumet"; "One Day More" (background); "Dog Eats Dog"; "Wedding Chorale/Beggars at the Feast"
My Rating	5 out of 5 stars.
Availability	Original London Cast CD available at Amazon and at Amazon UK. Also available to download from iTunes.

 

Les Misérables - 10th Anniversary Concert
For screencaps of the concert see the RSC page
Music & lyrics	Claude-Michel Schönberg (music); Alain Boublil (French libretto); Herbert Kretzmer (English adaptation)
Role	Thénardier
Also Starring	Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier; Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean; Philip Quast as Javert; Ruthie Henshall as Fantine; Hannah Chick as Young Cosette; Judy Kuhn as Cosette; Lea Salonga as Éponine; Michael Ball as Marius; Michael Maguire as Enjolras
Songs	"Master of the House"; "The Bargain/The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery"; "The Attack on Rue Plumet"; "One Day More" (background); "Dog Eats Dog"; "Wedding Chorale/Beggars at the Feast"
My Rating	5 out of 5 stars.
Availability	10th Anniversary Dream Cast in Concert DVD available at Amazon (Region 1) and Amazon UK (Region 2). CD available at Amazon and Amazon UK. Music available to download from iTunes.
Notes	Performed at the Royal Albert Hall on 8 October 1995. Alun Armstrong also appeared in the finale of the 25th Anniversary Concert; DVD available at Amazon (Region 1) and Amazon UK (Region 2) and to buy or rent from iTunes.

 

The Baker's Wife
Music & lyrics	Stephen Schwartz (music & lyrics) and Joseph Stein (book)
Role	Aimable Castagnet
Also Starring	Sharon Lee Hill as Geneviève; Drue Williams as Dominique; Jill Martin as Denise; James Villiers as the Marquis; George Raistrick as Claude
Songs	Main songs: "Merci, Madame"; "Plain and Simple"; "Any-Day-Now Day"; "If I Have to Live Alone" Also on: "Serenade"; "Buzz a-Buzz"; "Gifts of Love (reprise)"; "Chanson (reprise)"
My Rating	5 out of 5 stars. A touching and amusing story easily followed through the songs. Alun Armstrong has quite a lovely voice, singing in a different style from Les Misérables.
Availability	The full recording of 23 songs can be downloaded from iTunes here. A single CD with highlights of the Original London Cast Recording is available at Amazon UK. Used copies of the complete 2-CD set may be found at Amazon here or here and at Amazon UK.

 

Big River, Big Songs: The Tyne
Music & lyrics	Joe Wilson	Mistress Todd & Mistress Bell
Role	Mistress Bell
Also Starring	Tim Healy as Mistress Todd
Song	"The Row upon the Stairs"
The DVD Big River, Big Songs features an array of artists - including Sting, Jimmy Nail, Mark Knopfler and many more - performing songs from Tyneside. Alun Armstrong and Tim Healy sing "The Row upon the Stairs" by Joe Wilson, which is traditionally performed by men dressed as women arguing over who keeps the cleanest house. They recorded the song at the Priory Theatre in Tynemouth in April 2011. The DVD, filmed by Geoff Wonfor, is part of the Northumbria Anthology project, collecting the songs and poems of North East England. 75% of the profits from the DVD will be donated to the Northumbria Anthology, the Sunday for Sammy, the Bobby Robson Foundation and the Rainforest Foundation.
My Rating	4 out of 5 stars. Short but sweet.
Availability	The DVD can be ordered online from Mawson & Wareham and should also be available at HMV shops in the UK.  It can also be found on the Amazon UK Marketplace, but note that the proceeds will not go to the charities.