Showing results by narrator "Richard Lyon" in All Categories

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1950, Life with the Lyons was the first UK 'situation comedy'. More than 11 million listeners tuned in to the hilarious fictional misadventures of real-life Hollywood stars Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyons and their two children, Barbara and Richard, as well as Scottish housekeeper Aggie and next-door neighbours Florrie and Mr Wimple. Such was its popularity that the series ran for 11 years, spawning a TV spin-off, a West End play and two feature films.

But by the Chance of War is reminiscent of the great Greek and Roman works. Each of the four parts ranges in setting from Ancient India to Colonial America, to battlefields of modern Europe and to a conjectured scene in the contemporary Middle East. Throughout the animated and lyrical writing, Mr. Lyons examines our impulses toward combat and encourages the listener to contemplate the seemingly inexplicable dynamic toward destruction, despite our conscious knowledge of war’s ultimate futility.