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´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3 today announced a new season of drama commissions including both new works and adaptations of classic texts.

As well as the previously announced Faust, by Goethe, and The White Devil, by John Webster, Radio 3's drama line-up for this autumn also includes new productions of Giovanni's Room, by James Baldwin, and Faith Healer, by renowned modern playwright Brian Friel.

The station will also be broadcasting an adaptation of The Great Game – a sequence of four plays tracing the history of the war in Afghanistan from the 1840s to the present day that were originally performed at London's Tricyle theatre to critical acclaim.

The schedule also includes a production of the 1969 experimental novel The Unfortunates, by BS Johnson, cut in 18 sections and broadcast in a random order – an idea envisaged by the original work.

Several of these new adaptations for Radio 3 have well-known names in the casts including Sir Derek Jacobi and Samuel West (Faust), Martin Freeman (The Unfortunates), Anna Maxwell Martin (Faust and The White Devil), Damian Lewis (Giovanni's Room), Greta Scacchi (Giovanni's Room) and Phil Daniels (Faith Healer).

Among the newly-commissioned works are Say Goodbye Twice, by Hackney-born writer Oladipo Agboluaje; Migrant Mother, by the multi-award-winning Michael Symmons Roberts; Social Work, by former Grange Hill writer Sarah Daniels; and Melissa Murray's Perpetual Light.

Within these new dramas is an array of themes and ideas to supplement the classic texts which make up the season. Migrant Mother aims to connect the current economic climate with the hardships endured in the Great Depression of Thirties America.

Meanwhile, Social Work saw writer Sarah Daniels spending a week embedded in a London-based social work team to discover the realities of their vocation. Perpetual Light brings a science fiction element to the season – looking at the ethics behind the possibility of keeping the deceased alive through interactive avatars.

Abigail Appleton, Head of Speech for Radio 3, comments: "Radio 3 drama is the perfect medium to engage listeners' imaginations and we're delighted to have been able to cast some outstanding actors who will do justice to these powerful stories. This year, Radio 3 is commissioning and producing over 40 dramas including many brand-new works."

Notes to Editors

Radio 3 broadcasts classical music, jazz, world music, arts programmes and drama.

Last year, Radio 3 broadcast over 600 complete concerts and operas from venues and festivals across the UK and beyond.

Radio 3 is the home of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms and broadcasts every concert live. It supports composers, writers and new young performers and last year broadcast over 40 new drama productions.

RK2