Radclyffe Hall

Shelley Silas

Valerie Edmond

Kate Fleetwood

Anastasia Hille

Diane Souhami

Full cast

Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

The pioneering novel of lesbian love and attraction brought to life by a full cast. Includes exclusive content. A baby girl named Stephen Gordon, is born to well-to-do parents. She grows from a young tomboy into a thoughtful woman who feels 'different'. Stephen is understood by her father but alienated from her mother. Bucking against the conventions of society she turns down an offer of marriage and forms a passionate attachment to an American woman. Gradually, Stephen realises she will never fall in love with a man – but will she be an outcast? In pursuit of love and experience, Stephen takes herself to bohemian Paris, a far cry from the strict confines of British society. She joins the ambulance corps in the First World War. It’s here she meets Mary and, when they become lovers, she takes a fatal step in deciding their future. First published in 1928, Hall’s novel has become a classic, telling the story of one woman’s desperate attempt to be loved and to love against all odds.To complement this stunning adaptation, writer Shelley Silas, in The Trial of the Well of Loneliness, tells the gripping story of how Hall’s pioneering novel, though not sexually explicit, became the centre of a 1928 obscenity trial. This original drama explores how the novel remains an iconic portrayal of lesbian relationships and contains the passionate plea: "Give us also the right to our existence."This download edition also features an exclusive edition of The Essay: Journeys to the Grave. A reflective, restorative and often playful journey in search of the final resting place of a literary hero.Diana Souhami steps into Radclyffe Hall’s tomb in London’s Highgate Cemetery, where the author resides with her lover, her lover’s husband and their dog Tulip – an aptly unconventional set-up in death as in life.©2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2024 BBC Studios Distribution LtdCast and creditsThe Well of Loneliness Dramatised by Sarah WoodsWritten by Radclyffe HallDirected by Melanie HarrisMusic composed and played by Odaline de la MartinezViolinist - Janet FoustCellist - Andy WardaleStephen - Valerie EdmondYoung Stephen - Alexandra BatemanMary/Collins/Angela - Amanda RootAnna/Valerie - Roberta KerrPuddle - Sarah ParkMartin - Paul WarrinerJamie/Violet - Katy CavanaghBrockett - Malcolm HebdenPhilip - Rob Pickvance 
Colonel Antrim - Russell Dixon 
Young Violet - Sara Kaplan 
Young Roger - Thomas Hudson 
Ralph - Martin ReeveFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 May 1999The Trial of the Well of Loneliness Written by Shelley SilasDirected by Emma HardingRadclyffe Hall - Kate Fleetwood 
Una, Lady Troubridge - Anastasia Hille 
Stephen Gordon - Laura Christy 
Gilchrist Thompson - Will Kirk 
Sir Chartres Biron - Neil McCaul 
Eustace Fulton - Clive Hayward 
Norman Birkett - Rick Warden 
James Melville - Tony Turner 
Desmond McCarthy - Greg Jones 
Court Clerk - Adam Courting 
Court Actress - Scarlett Courtenay 
Puddle - Jessica TurnerAdditional research documents courtesy of Morris Ernst Papers, Harry Ransom Center and the University of Texas at AustinFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, January 2020The Essay: Journeys to the GraveWritten and presented by Diana SouhamiFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 June 2022

Shelley Silas

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