Classic Joseph Conrad and Henry James Dramas starring Ralph Richardson, Volume 1

By: Theatre Royal, Joseph Conrad, Henry James

Narrated by: Ralph Richardson

Fully restored and remastered, Heritage Media presents the greatest of vintage artists in classic dramas of the early America’s. Here is the legendary Ralph Richardson starring in ‘The Tale’ and 'The Black Mate' adapted from the original story by Joseph Conrad and ‘The Aspern Papers’ adapted from the original story by Henry James.

Theatre Royal is a unique series of classic radio dramas produced in the 1950's by the late Harry Alan Towers. Starring the leading theatre artists of the day it is the only series of radio dramas in which Laurence Olivier ever appeared. He was joined by Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud, Orson Welles, Robert Morley, John Mills, Michael Redgrave, Trevor Howard, Robert Donut, Alec Guinness and Margaret Lockwood.

Over the Years, Theatre Royal has received a glittering array of accolades, including: “vivid, tense, and compressed.”( Classic radio)

“Craft, like character, ages well.”(Daily Telegraph)

“Great fun to listen to and, as radio history, they are unsurpassed.” (Sunday Telegraph)

“Voices like these justify the Golden Days tag. We won't hear their like again.” (Sunday Times)

“A must for archive fans. The excitement of vintage radio drama with strong storylines.” (Radio Times.)

©2011 Heritage Media Ltd (P)2011 Heritage Media Ltd

Fun to experience these dramas

The only downside is the audio quality. I’d love to hear more of them except for the disturbingly loud music.

audio quality is out of date

What would have made Classic Joseph Conrad and Henry James Dramas starring Ralph Richardson, Volume 1 better?

Be prepared to put up with a lot of 1940s-50s radio audio quality, if you can. These playlets do not translate well to what a modern listener expects, in terms of listenability. The actors and actresss were excellent but the technology to record them was not. I'd say this recording is for old-time-radio fans only.