BBC Radio Drama Collection - Barry Hines

Category: Full Cast, Literature, Radio Productions
Language: English
Keywords: BBC Drama Full Cast Radio 4

Written by Barry Hines
Read by Arthur Lowe, Ronald Baddiley, Sharon Duce, Colin Edwynn, Bernard Gallagher, Juliet Cooke, Peter Bell, Stephen Tompkinson, Charles Booth, Chris Brailsford, Gillian Waugh, Gerry Kersey, Robin Polley, Fu
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 128 Kbps
Dramatization

Barry Hines: Kes, Billy’s Last Stand & more: A BBC Radio Drama Collection
By: Barry Hines
Narrated by: Arthur Lowe, Ronald Baddiley, Sharon Duce, Colin Edwynn, Bernard Gallagher, Juliet Cooke, Peter Bell, Stephen Tompkinson, Charles Booth, Chris Brailsford, Gillian Waugh, Gerry Kersey, Robin Polley, Full Cast
Release date
16-04-2026
Language
English
Format
Unabridged Audiobook
Length
4 hrs and 21 mins
Publisher
BBC Digital Audio
Categories
Literature & Fiction

Three dramas by Barry Hines and an abridged reading of his classic Kes (A Kestrel for a Knave)

Yorkshire-born author Barry Hines is renowned for his 1968 novel A Kestrel for a Knave (later turned into Ken Loach’s award-winning film Kes) and for scripting the BAFTA-winning BBC TV film Threads. The titles in this collection explore his signature theme – working-class life in Northern England – and include a trio of radio dramas alongside an abridged version of Kes, read by Stephen Tompkinson.

Billy’s Last Stand – Casual labourer Billy makes his living shovelling coal into people’s sheds and cellars. It’s a one-man job: until the parasitic Darkly turns up, offering him a business partnership. Arthur Lowe and Ronald Baddiley star in Barry Hines’ darkly comic debut play.

Two Men from Derby – Elbow-deep in domestic chores, miner’s wife Freda is visited by Joe and George, two scouts from Derby County FC who want to sign her husband as a professional footballer. But Dick is nowhere to be found… Regarded by Hines as the best thing he ever wrote, this slow-burn drama stars Sharon Duce, Colin Edwynn and Bernard Gallagher.

Looking at the Sun – When redundant miner Stewart lands a job at a nuclear power station, he has high hopes for a new beginning. But his wife Lisa’s concerns about the plant put their marriage under increasing strain. Starring Chris Brailsford as Stewart and Gillian Waugh as Lisa.

Kes – Neglected at home and bullied at school, Billy’s sole comfort is the wild bird of prey he has trained from a fledgling. But his newfound happiness is short-lived… Stephen Tompkinson reads this adaptation of Hines’ heartbreaking coming-of-age tale of a boy and his kestrel.

Text copyright © Barry Hines 1965 (Billy’s Last Stand), 1968 (A Kestrel for a Knave), 1976 (Two Men from Derby), 1992 (Looking at the Sun)

Production credits

Written by Barry Hines

Billy’s Last Stand

Billy – Arthur Lowe

Darkly – Ronald Baddiley

Two Men from Derby

Freda – Sharon Duce

Joe – Colin Edwynn

George – Bernard Gallagher

Winnie – Juliet Cooke

Stanley – Charles Booth

Looking at the Sun

Stewart – Chris Brailsford

Lisa – Gillian Waugh

Mr Ellis – Gerry Kersey

Clayton – Robin Polley

Janice – Belinda Chapman

Melanie Lee – Barbara Dryhurst

Japanese photographer – Fenella Norman

Sharland – Christopher Kent

Martyn – Peter Bell

Colin – Nick Spurr

Kevin – Colln Meredith

Alison – Caitlin Smith

Kes

Read by Stephen Tompkinson

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