Earthsea & The Left Hand Of Darkness

Ursula Le Guin’s groundbreaking fantasy sagas form the basis of these two BBC Radio full-cast dramatisations

Earthsea is based on the first three books in the Earthsea cycle. It tells the stories of Ged and Tenar, inhabitants of a vast archipelago where magic is part of life. Young wizard Ged releases a terrible shadow into the world and must risk everything to restore the balance. Meanwhile, Tenar is taken from her home and family to become Arha, priestess
and guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan …

Based on Ursula Le Guin’s award-winning masterpiece, The Left Hand of Darkness is set on Gethen, a world in the grip of an ice age whose people are ambigendered – both male and female, and neither. Genly Ai has been sent from Earth on the biggest mission of his life: to persuade the people of Gethen to join the Ekumen, a union of planets. But his task is fraught with danger.

Ursula Le Guin is one of the most influential SF writers of the 20th century, and these two dramatisations of her seminal novels will immerse you in magical worlds rich with wizards, dragons, endless snow plains and perilous ice sheets. Among the cast are Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey) and Toby Jones (Dad’s Army). Also included is Ursula Le Guin at 85, featuring the author in conversation with Naomi Alderman.

Earthsea
ADAPTED BY Judith Adams
ORIGINAL MUSIC BY Jon Nicholls
SOUND DESIGN BY Caleb Knightley
FIRST BROADCAST BBC Radio 4 Extra 27 April–5 May 2015
PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY Sasha Yevtushenko

The Left Hand of Darkness
ADAPTED BY Judith Adams
FIRST BROADCAST BBC Radio 4 12–19 April 2015
PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY Allegra McIlroy

Ursula le Guin at 85
PRODUCED BY Allegra McIlroy
FIRST BROADCAST BBC Radio 4 9 April 2015