Noel Streatfeild: Ballet Shoes & more

Synopsis

Full-cast dramatisations of three of Noel Streatfeild's classic children's booksRising to fame with her 1936 novel Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfeild soon became one of the most popular authors of her day. She was one of the first winners of the Carnegie Medal and was awarded an OBE in 1983. She died in 1986, but her stories continue to captivate children today. Included here are three of her very best - Ballet Shoes, The Growing Summer and When the Siren Wailed.Ballet Shoes - Adopted by Great Uncle Matthew on his archaeological expeditions, Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil grow up as sisters, and vow to make their name famous. When they enrol at the Children's Academy of Dancing, the Fossil girls share a future of a dazzling life onstage, where their dreams and fears will soon come true.... Rosemary Leach, Alexandra Mathie, Victoria Shalet and Lucy Curtis star in this delightful dramatisation.The Growing Summer - It is 1965, and the young Gareth children's lives are about to change for ever. When their father falls dangerously ill, they are sent to Ireland to stay with their eccentric Great-Aunt Dymphna for the summer. There, in her crumbling mansion on the west coast, they face dangers and adventures they could never have imagined... Starring Ann Rye, Holly Grainger, Will Haigh, Emily Fleeshman and Paul Herriott.When the Siren Wailed - When World War Two breaks out, Laura, Andy and Tim Clark are evacuated to the countryside. Brought up in poverty, they find a happy, comfortable home with the Colonel - but then tragedy occurs, and the children decide to run away back to London. Caught up in an air raid, can they make their way through the blackouts and bombed-out streets to find their mother? Narrated by Wendy Richard, this gripping, moving adventure story stars Norman Bird, John Church, Nicholas Courtney and Keeley Hawes.Text copyright © Noel Streatfield 1936 (Ballet Shoes), 1966 (The Growing Summer), 1974 (When the Siren Wailed)Copyright © Beneficiaries of Noel Streatfeild 1986Cast and creditsWritten by Noel StreatfeildBallet ShoesWith Rosemary Leach, John Ringham, Alexandra Mathie, Victoria Shalet, Lucy Curtis, Lia Williams, Charles Edwards, Abigail Thaw, Alison Skilbeck, Olivia Breeze, Max Digby, Jonathan Dryden Taylor and Miriam BerryAdapted by Ellen DrydenDirected by Don TaylorFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27-31 Dec 1999The Growing SummerWith Ann Rye, Holly Grainger, Will Haigh, Emily Fleeshman, Paul Herriott, James Caplin, Catherine Keane, Vincent PatrickDramatised by Julie WilkinsonDirected by Sue Sutton MayoFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 Aug 2000When the Siren WailedNarrated by Wendy RichardWith Norman Bird, John Church, Nicholas Gatt, David Goudge, Keeley Hawes, Joan Matheson, Marc Murphy, Judy Parkin, Christopher Scott, Joan Walker, Melinda Walker, Howard Ward, Nicholas Courtney, Malcolm Hebden and Eva StuartDramatised by Richard PinnerProduced by Mary KalemkarianResearcher: Lis RobertsFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 Jan-19 Mar 1989© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd