The Read

1. S01E01The Lonely LondonersApril 10, 2022—A creative performance reading of The Lonely Londoners that juxtaposes modern imagery and fascinating archive footage to reflect on how Sam
2. S01E02On the Black HillJune 5, 2022—A performance reading of the abridged novel On the Black Hill, by Bruce Chatwin. Identical twin brothers grow up on a farm in rural Wales an
3. S01E03The Day of the SardineNovember 6, 2022—A creative performance reading of a powerful novel of disaffection that charts a young man's uneasy passage into adulthood.
4. S01E04A Vision of LovelinessApril 2, 2023—Performance reading of A Vision of Loveliness by Louise Levene. A darkly comic novel that reveals the seedy underbelly of London in the 1960

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

1. S02E01A Kestrel for a KnaveSeptember 17, 2023—Christopher Eccleston narrates Barry Hines’s heartbreaking coming-of-age tale in this fresh take on a classic British novel.
2. S02E02Shakespeare Sonnets: A Modern Love StoryOctober 29, 2023—Some of the best-known love poems are weaved together to create a fresh contemporary story told by four lovers.
3. S02E03FrankensteinMarch 3, 2024—Alex Kingston breathes life into Mary Shelley’s timeless gothic horror story. Young, gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein unwittingly creat
4. S02E04The Remains of the Day: The Read with Steve PembertonMay 12, 2024—Heartbreak and longing are centre stage as BAFTA-winning actor Steve Pemberton narrates Kazuo Ishiguro’s contemporary classic.

Season 2 ranked & reviewed

1. S03E011984November 17, 2024—A bleak dystopian future plays out before us as Royal Television Society award-winning actor Sacha Dhawan narrates George Orwell’s profoundl
2. S03E02A Christmas CarolDecember 22, 2024—Anne-Marie Duff performs an intimate reading of Charles Dickens’s timeless classic. Can the ghostly interventions salvage Scrooge’s soul?
3. S03E03Wuthering HeightsJanuary 5, 2025—Emily Brontë’s timeless classic set against the haunting backdrop of the Yorkshire Moors and narrated by award-winning actor Vinette Robinso
4. S03E04Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with Reece ShearsmithFebruary 2, 2025—Who is the real monster? Robert Louis Stevenson’s defining gothic horror explores alter egos in this captivating narration that reimagines t

Season 3 ranked & reviewed

1. S04E01PersuasionDecember 18, 2025—Bafta and Olivier Award-winning actor Monica Dolan gives a captivating reading of Jane Austen’s much-loved novel.
2. S04E02The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeDecember 25, 2025—Steffan Rhodri (Gavin and Stacey, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) gives an enchanting reading performance of CS Lewis’s timeless class
3. S04E03The 39 Steps: The Read with John HannahFebruary 26, 2026—Murder, conspiracy and espionage are the themes of John Buchan’s gripping novel, set against the backdrop of WWI, that sees Richard Hannay,
4. S04E04The Picture of Dorian Gray with Luke ThompsonMarch 22, 2026—Oscar Wilde’s haunting tale of beauty, vanity and moral corruption, where eternal youth comes at a terrible price. Luke Thompson delivers a

Season 4 ranked & reviewed