NPR Playhouse is a program series produced by the Cultural Programming division of National Public Radio. Programs are mostly purchased from independent production groups, or the BBC. Each week they uplink to the Public Radio Satellite four half-hours of more-or-less contemporary radio theater, or short story reading programs. Individual stations may carry only part of the Playhouse programs, may air them in a different order than they are numbered below, and many don't carry any of it at all. This listing gives only the order of the satellite feeds. Please call your local NPR station and urge them to run NPR Playhouse. Many thanks to Andy Trudeau, Senior Producer of Cultural Programming at NPR, for the information contained here. The NPR Playhouse satellite feeds are each Tuesday, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, EST. Stations will likely air them at some other time during the week.
NPR Playhouse III - Sci-fi / Mystery / Adventure Based on Amanda Foreman's award-winning biography of Lady Georgiana Spencer, a remarkable and controversially powerful woman of late 18th Century England. This 1999 BBC production stars Juliet Aubrey as Georgiana with a strong supporting cast headed by Judi Dench, Michael Williams, Maggie Steed, and John Rowe. Other cast members include: Emilia Fox, Julian Wadham, Sophie Thompson, Julian Rhind-Tutt, David Troughton, and Douglas Hodge. The story was dramatised for radio by Jennifer Curry and directed by Cherry Cookson and Janet Whitaker.
An inspirational woman of her time, there are many aspects of the character and experiences of Lady Georgiana Spencer which are equally relevant to the lives of contemporary women. Her successful entry into the male-dominated world of politics, her relationship with the press, her stuggle with addiction, and her determination to forge her own identity are material for a rich and fascinating production. Her friends and contemporaries formed a "who's who" of late 18th Century English society, and included royalty, politicians, writers, wits, connoisseurs, gamblers and rakes. All this is played out against an intriguing historical backdrop: the American War of Independence, the Regency Crisis of George III's reign, the French Revolution, the Irish Uprising, and the resulting shift in political and social ideals. Georgiana documented all these things in her letters, journals, poem and plays, which along with detailed press reports, contribute to form a detailed picture of both her and her times. Eight new programs. Cassettes not available.
Thanks to Mike Kennedy for sending this schedule which appeared on the web. It was listed on a website which cautions that "although the information included here comes from NPR, this is NOT an official NPR Web site. I have no connection with NPR except as a listener."(April 3) Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire
"Society Wedding, 1774" - "Virgin Bride, 1774"(April 10) Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire
"Fashion's Favourite, 1775" - "School for Scandal, 1777"(April 17) Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire
"The Minister of Macaroni, 1777" - "Queen Bess, 1778"(April 24) Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire
"A Passionate Politician, 1783" - "A Woman of Great Importance, 1784"(May 1) Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire
"Menage a Trois, 1784" - "The Vortex of Dissipation"(May 8) Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire
"True Love, 1790" - "Exile, 1792"(May 15) Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire
"A New Beginning, 1792" - "The Death of Beauty, 1796"(May 22) Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire
"The Final Triumph, 1800"