The Complete Earthsea Series & The Left Hand of Darkness
3 BBC Radio Full Cast Dramatisations
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The Complete Earthsea Series & The Left Hand of Darkness
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About this listen
The dazzling BBC Radio adaptations of Ursula K. Le Guin's famous fantasy saga and her groundbreaking science fiction masterpiece - plus bonus material.
Ursula K. Le Guin was one of the most revered and influential writers of the 20th century. Her Earthsea books have sold millions of copies and been translated into numerous languages, while her trailblazing novel The Left Hand of Darkness was a landmark in feminist science fiction and ranks among the greatest SF novels of all time. This BBC collection brings together the magical radio retellings of both these seminal classics.
Set on an immense archipelago where magic is a part of life, Earthsea tells the stories of Ged, a young, reckless wizard, and Tenar, taken from her home as a child to become Arha, guardian priestess of the ominous Tombs of Atuan. Meeting for the first time deep within the tombs, their destinies become intertwined, and they unite to bring peace to their troubled world. Years later, their paths have diverged - but when Ged returns to Tenar's island on a dragon's back, they are caught up in an epic battle for the future of Earthsea itself. Starring James McArdle, Shaun Dooley and Robert Glenister as Ged, and Aysha Kala, Vineeta Rishi and Nina Wadia as Tenar with Toby Jones and Noma Dumezweni.
The Left Hand of Darkness takes place on an alien world in the grip of an Ice Age. Genly Ai has been sent from Earth on a mission to persuade Gethen to join a planetary union, the Ekumen. But his task is fraught with difficulty. For this is a world whose people have no fixed gender, and Genly's encounters with the natives are marked by mutual incomprehension and mistrust. In coming to terms with their otherness and their sameness Genly must let go of his fixed ideas about identity and embark on a dangerous journey across the snow plains with his only ally, First Minister Estraven. The stakes are high to save a world from war. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith stars as Genly, with Lesley Sharp as Estraven.
Also included Ursula Le Guin at 85, in which novelist Naomi Alderman interviews Le Guin, with contributions from Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell and Karen Joy Fowler.
Production credits:
Written by Ursula K.Le Guin. Adapted by Judith Adams.
Earthsea
Ged - James McArdle/Shaun Dooley/Robert Glenister, Tenar - Aysha Kala/Vineeta Rishi/Nina Wadia, Young Ged - Kasper Hilton-Hille, Young Tenar - Nishi Malde, Ogion - Paul Hilton/Michael Bertenshaw, Manan - Zubin Varla, Cob - Toby Jones, Nilgu - Noma Dumezweni
Other cast: Souad Faress, David Hounslow, Adam Thomas-Wright, Mark Edel-Hunt, Jessica Turner, Lucy Hutchinson, Stephen Critchlow, Sam Dale, Ayesha Antoine, Richard Linnell, Jack Kane, David Acton, Chris Pavlo, Will Featherstone, Jude Akudwudike, Laura Elphinstone, Rosie Boore, Elizabeth Counsell, John Lightbody, Ryan Early, Stephen Hogan, Sean Murray, Emma Handy, Lauren Cornelius, Kerry Gooderson, Ryan Whittle, Steven Robertson, Joseph Ayre, Narinder Samra, Tom Vanson, Sabrina Sandhu.
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko. Original music by Jon Nicholls. Sound design by Caleb Knightley.
First broadcast BBC Radio 4 Extra, 27th April-5th May 2015 (Series 1), 15th-22nd October 2018 (Series 2).
The Left Hand of Darkness
Genly Ai - Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Estraven - Lesley Sharp, Argaven - Toby Jones
Other cast: Louise Brealey, Noma Dumezweni, Ruth Gemmell, Adjoa Andoh, Stephen Critchlow, David Acton, David Hounslow, Rhiannon Neads, Sam Dale, Ayesha Antoine.
Directed by Allegra McIlroy. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12-19 April 2015
Ursula Le Guin at 85
Presented by Naomi Alderman. With Ursula K. Le Guin, David Mitchell, Neil Gaiman and Karen Joy Fowler. Reader: Ayesha Antoine.
Produced by Allegra McIlroy. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9th April 2015.
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution LtdListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Complete Earthsea Series & The Left Hand of Darkness
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ms. Jennifer M. Old
- 05-09-22
more of a radio play than an audio book.
great audio play but was hoping for more of a direct reading of the book so feel I missed some of the nuances. enjoyed the interview at the end
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Barking Geek
- 20-08-22
I really wanted to love it, but I cant
if you have never read the books multiple times since childhood, then this is a good flavour of the universe, but the jumping backwards and forwards, the butchering or omissions of entire sections I remember just doesn't work. The voice acting and production are good and the music is excellent, but for me this damages the Earthsea world in a way I doubt Ursula Le Guin would have appreciated.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Iracas
- 19-05-23
A Welcome story
You really feel the story, I will go on to read more of her work.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Al_ D
- 12-08-23
Beautifully performed
The audiobooks for Earthsea I tried but found the narration not very compelling. I love this. It's wonderful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gallowglass
- 26-05-24
The best adaptation of Le Guin's work at present.
Despite her undeniable influence and revolutionary contributions on the genres of fantasy and sci-fi, Ursula Le Guin has yet to receive a decent film or TV adaptation of any of her works. In Earthsea's case, we got a whitewashed miniseries and a thematically faithful yet alien in terms of story Studio Ghibli film. While we wait for the day when the start align for a decent adaptation of any of her works, this radio dramatisation does more than scratch that itch from an audio standpoint. It gives a human voice to Le Guin's prose and each actor gives an outstanding performance, though the later cast changes can be jarring in some instances (though not a deal breaker by any means). Honestly, we could do with more full radio adaptations of fantasy stories performed and written by theatre and radio regulars.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-09-23
Didn't grab me.
I felt it was abridged to the point of being little more than a summary of a good story. I gave up after chapter 3.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- largerthanlyfe
- 05-09-24
very disappointed
I was expecting the full story of the earthsea trilogy ,not snippets and af5er every chapter a break down of who it eas narrated by and who was in it and the same at yhe start ,wish I could reclaim the credit back feel mislead
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Ben Ramsden
- 17-06-24
It’s disjointed and confusing a far cry from the original
Unfortunately, I feel like it’s been completely ruined by the jumping backwards and forwards in time, missing bits out making the whole thing feel disjointed and thoroughly unenjoyable
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 05-10-22
Jumps all over the place
I've read the books before, and although I'm not the biggest fan, I thought a drama series based on them might be more up my street, First off, whoever directed this must have ADHD (like me). The chronology of the story is all over the place. There is no flow to it, with it jumping from one major event to another whether it be in the past, present, or future. I feel like they were telling one part of the story and then thought, oh it relates to this other part, so let's sidestep for 20 mins to explain that. They then go back to what they were originally discussing and it's the end of the episode. This doesn't help to imagine the world or the characters and feels like an exercise in voice acting rather than the actual telling of a story. I spent over 3 hours on it and can't listen anymore. Top work from the actors with high production value, but poor directing and script.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 11-09-23
Ruins some of the best storytelling
these are awkwardly framed annotated messes of Le Guins work and not at all what I wanted.
The interview with Ursula is entertaining, Left Hand is clunky but serviceable and Earthsea is here as well. If I'd got to this fast enough to return it I would and instead get the far better unabridged AWizard of Earthsea but unless you want a well acted horrible mess of the Earthsea Tales I would go for the unabridged recordings and let the original writing shine
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