Tales of the City: Series 1 and 2

Two BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations

By: Armistead Maupin

Narrated by: full cast, Kate Harper, Lydia Wilson

Lydia Wilson and Kate Harper star in these BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations of the first and second novels in Armistead Maupin's acclaimed Tales of the City series.

Set against the 1970s San Fransisco skyline, Maupin's Tales of the City introduces the unconventional tenants of 28 Barbary Lane, the domain of the eccentric, marijuana-growing landlady Anna Madrigal.

Mary Ann Singleton, a naive young woman newly arrived from Cleveland, Ohio, moves into an apartment there and soon becomes friends with other tenants of the building: the hippyish bisexual Mona Ramsey; the strange Norman Neal Williams; and Michael Tolliver, a sweet and personable gay man known to his friends as Mouse. Beyond the house, lovers and friends guide Mary Ann through her San Franciscan adventures....

In More Tales of the City, landlady Anna Madrigal reveals her secrets to her tenants, but they are preparing to flee their cosy nest for adventures further afield.

Dramatised by Barbara Lavery, this is both a sparkling comedy of manners and a portrait of a free and easy era.

Cast:

• Anna Madrigal.....Kate Harper
• Mary Ann.....Lydia Wilson
• DeDe.....Nancy Crane
• Mona.....Buffy Davis
• Edgar.....Lou Hirsch
• Frannie/Binkie/Mucca.....Bernice Stegers
• Beauchamp.....John Guerrasio
• Michael.....Jos Slovick
• Jon/Brian.....Simon Lee Phillips
• D'Or/Betty.....Valerie Cutko
• Siegel/Hampton-Giddes/Norman/Bruno.....Kerry Shale
• Burke.....Trevor White

Produced and directed by Susan Roberts.

©2017 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2017 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Missed iconic moments

The performance is good, but it misses some of the greatest iconic moments from this story. Major focus on telling the most simple points of the story, but misses the true heart of this fabtastic tale.

Dreadful

A complete waste of money. Terrible adaptation, performances overly theatrical, and confusing for those who don't already know the books. I can't even get beyond the first chapter. Just terrible.

Nice radio play

This is a nice short version of the first two books in the Tales of the City series. Great cast and good music that fits this.