Life And Fate

David's new Radio 4 drama Life & Fate is on Radio 4 next week. It's airing across all of it's drama slots (Woman's Hour Drama, Classic Serial, Afternoon Play & Saturday Play), but to help you keep up we've got the schedule here:

Life and Fate: Viktor and Lyuda
Sunday 18 September 3:00pm - 4:00pm BBC Radio 4
1/13
Mike Walker dramatises Vasily Grossman's epic Second World War novel, set during the Battle of Stalingrad. Nuclear physicist Viktor Shtrum and his family flee Moscow in October 1942. However, he and his wife Lyuda are driven apart by news of the death of their son - and Viktor finds himself drawn to Marya, the wife of one of his colleagues. Starring Kenneth Branagh, Greta Scacchi and Harriet Walter.
Cast
Viktor - Kenneth Branagh
Lyuda - Greta Scacchi
Nadya - Ellie Kendrick
Alexandra - Ann Mitchell
Pyotr - Nigel Anthony
Marya - Harriet Walter
Leonid - Ralph Ineson
Sister - Elaine Claxton
Anna - Alex Tregear
Soldier - Gerard McDermott
Soldier - Jonathan Forbes
Soldier - Henry Devas

Life and Fate: Krymov & Zhenya - Lovers Once
Monday 19 September 2:15pm - 3:00pm BBC Radio 4
3/13 - Note that part 2 will be on Woman's Hour
By Vasily Grossman, and dramatised by Jonathan Myerson. A woman is evacuated from Moscow to Kuibyshev in October 1942, and sets about tackling Soviet bureaucracy for a residence permit. However, she struggles to forget her ex-husband - a commissar posted hundreds of miles away. Starring David Tennant and Raquel Cassidy.
Cast
Nikolai - David Tennant
Zhenya - Raquel Cassidy
Jenni - Eleanor Bron
Gen Rodimtsev - Bruce Alexander
Maj Byerozkin - Sam Dale
District Inspector Grishin - Peter Polycarpou
Limonov - Adrian Scarborough
Seryozha - Freddie Fox
null - Elaine Claxton
null - James Lailey
null - Gerard McDermott
null - Simon Bubb
null - Alun Raglan
null - Jonathan Forbes
null - Carl Prekopp
null - Katie Angelou

Life and Fate: Anna's Letter
Monday 19 September 7:45pm - 8:00pm BBC Radio 4
2/13
By Vasily Grossman, and dramatised by Mike Walker. Viktor's mother, Anna, writes him a farewell letter in September 1941. As a Jew in Berdichev, in Nazi-occupied Ukraine, she has been forced into a ghetto and understands what will come next. Starring Janet Suzman. Broadcast earlier as part of Woman's Hour.
Cast
Anna*Janet Suzman

Life and Fate: Journey
Tuesday 20 September 2:15pm - 3:00pm BBC Radio 4
5/13
By Vasily Grossman. Dramatised by Mike Walker. Sofya, a Jewish doctor, is taken prisoner and ejected from Stalingrad. Meanwhile, in Poland, German SS officer Liss oversees the building of gas chambers at concentration camps, and reveals to Eichmann why he believes the Nazi and Soviet systems are more similar than either of their followers would like to believe. Starring Sara Kestelman and Samuel West.
Cast
Sofya Levinton - Sara Kestelman
Liss - Samuel West
Adolf Eichmann - John Sessions
Mostovskoy - Peter Marinker
David - Laurence Belcher
Musya - Christine Kavanagh
Lyusia - Deeivya Meir
Khmelkov - Henry Devas
null - Adeel Akhtar
null - Sean Baker
null - Sam Dale
null - Sally Orrock

Life and Fate: Vera and Her Pilot
Tuesday 20 September 7:45pm - 8:00pm BBC Radio 4
4/13
By Vasily Grossman. As the Battle of Stalingrad rages, a pregnant Vera is stranded in the city with her father Stepan. She longs to be reunited with her pilot boyfriend Lenya, who is away on a mission in northern Russia, and watches the planes pass over her home in the hope of catching sight of him. Drama, starring Luke Treadaway and Morven Christie. Broadcast earlier as part of Woman's Hour.
Cast
Lenya Viktorov - Luke Treadaway
Vera Spiridonov - Morven Christie
Pavel Andreyevich - Malcolm Tierney
Stepan Spiridonov - Kenneth Cranham
Skotnoy - Jonathan Forbes
Solmatin - Carl Prekopp
Mukhin - Simon Bubb
Zakabluka - Gerard McDermott

Life and Fate: Building 6/1 - Those Who Were Still Alive
Wednesday 21 September 2:15pm - 3:00pm BBC Radio 4
7/13
By Vasily Grossman, dramatised by Jonathan Myerson. A tale of family and war in Soviet Russia, set in October 1942. A former apartment building in the centre of Stalingrad is being held by a rag-tag band of Soviet soldiers in the face of the German advance. The men inside become legends to the Russian people, but the arrival of a commissar to tackle subversion leads to resentment among the group and divided family loyalties. Drama, starring David Tennant and Joseph Millson.
Cast
Capt Grekov - Joseph Millson
Commissar Krymov - David Tennant
Vasya - Stephen Hogan
Katya - Kate Angelou
Lyakhov - Carl Prekopp
Polyakov - Peter Polycarpou
Seryozha Shaposhnikov - Freddie Fox
Batrakov - James Lailey
Zubarev - Gerard McDermott
Bunchuk - Jonathan Forbes

Life and Fate: Abarchuk
Wednesday 21 September 7:45pm - 8:00pm BBC Radio 4
6/13
By Vasily Grossman and dramatised by Mike Walker. Although imprisoned in the Russian labour camp of Gulag, Lyuda's ex-husband Abarchuk is still a staunch believer in the Party. In November 1942, he assumes his son Tolya is fighting for their homeland, and pens a letter to him about his beliefs. Drama, starring Malcolm Storry and Peter Polycarpou. Broadcast earlier as part of Woman's Hour.
Cast
Abarchuk - Malcolm Storry
Rubin - Peter Polycarpou
Barkhatov - Alun Raglan
Magar - Sean Baker
Mishanin - Jonathan Forbes
Prisoner - Simon Bubb
Prisoner - James Lailey
Prisoner - Stuart Mcloughlin
Prisoner - Daniel Rabin

Life and Fate: Novikov's Story
Thursday 22 September 2:15pm - 3:00pm BBC Radio 4
9/13
By Vasily Grossman, dramatised by Mike Walker. Tank commander Novikov prepares troops for Operation Uranus in November 1942, a campaign which will prove to be the Battle of Stalingrad's turning point. He visits his lover Zhenya, who is torn between him and Krymov, and an anecdote about Trotsky leads to betrayal. Drama, starring Don Gilet, Philip Jackson, Peter Wright and Raquel Cassidy.
Cast
Pyotr Pavlovich Novikov - Don Gilet
Getmanov - Philip Jackson
Nyeudobnov - Peter Wright
Zhenya - Raquel Cassidy
Nicky - Simon Bubb
Vershkov - Stuart Mcloughlin
Galina - Jane Whittenshaw
Mashuk - Peter Polycarpou
Zhakarov - Sean Baker
null - Jonathan Forbes
null - James Lailey
null - Daniel Rabin
null - Alun Raglan

Life and Fate: Lieutenant Peter Bach
Thursday 22 September 7:45pm - 8:00pm BBC Radio 4
8/13
By Vasily Grossman, dramatised by Jonathan Myerson. German officer Peter Bach is wounded and treated at a military field hospital in November 1942, where the respite from fighting gives him time to contemplate his secret affair with Russian girl Zina. However, when confronted about the relationship, he denies it ever took place. Drama, starring Geoffrey Streatfield, Lloyd Thomas and Jessica Raine. Broadcast earlier as part of Woman's Hour.
Cast
Lt Peter Bach - Geoffrey Streatfeild
Gerne - Lloyd Thomas
Fresser - Michael Shelford
The Goalkeeper - Tony Bell
Zina - Jessica Raine
Hospital Sister - Christine Kavanagh
Hospital Orderly - David Seddon

Life and Fate: Krymov in Moscow
Friday 23 September 2:15pm - 3:00pm BBC Radio 4
11/13
By Vasily Grossman, and dramatised by Jonathan Myerson. Nikolai Krymov is taken to Lubyanka prison in Moscow after being denounced and arrested, while his ex-wife Zhenya arrives in the city to face the consequences of her actions. Drama, starring David Tennant and Raquel Cassidy.
Cast
Commissar Krymov - David Tennant
Viktor - Kenneth Branagh
Lyuda - Greta Scacchi
Zhenya - Raquel Cassidy
Marya - Harriet Walter
Nadya - Ellie Kendrick
Katsenelenbogen - Ewan Bailey
NKVD interrogator - Elliot Levey
null - Simon Bubb
null - Elaine Claxton
null - Jonathan Forbes
null - James Lailey
null - Gerard McDermott
null - Chris Pavlo
null - Peter Polycarpou
null - Carl Prekopp
null - Alun Raglan
null - Susie Riddell

Life and Fate: A Hero of the Soviet Union
Friday 23 September 7:45pm - 8:00pm BBC Radio 4
10/13
By Vasily Grossman, and dramatised by Jonathan Myerson. In November 1942, Nikolai Krymov denounces Grekov as an enemy of the state, and after speeches marking the 25th anniversary of the Revolution, he meets Stepan Spiridonov and recalls his experiences of 1917. Drama, starring David Tennant and Kenneth Cranham. Broadcast earlier as part of Woman's Hour.
Cast
Krymov - David Tennant
Stepan - Kenneth Cranham
Pryakhin - Gerard McDermott
Pavel - Malcolm Tierney
Ogibalov - Carl Prekopp
Makuladze - James Lailey

Life and Fate: Fortress Stalingrad
Saturday 24 September 2:30pm - 3:30pm BBC Radio 4
12/13
By Vasily Grossman, dramatised by Jonathan Myerson. The Russian tanks encircle Stalingrad but Hitler refuses to allow his army to surrender, and Spiridonov leaves the power station to join his daughter Vera and her baby on a barge frozen into the Volga, where they begin to consider their future. Starring Kenneth Cranham and Morven Christie.
Cast
Stepan - Kenneth Cranham
Vera - Morven Christie
Pavel - Malcolm Tierney
Gen Von Paulus - Matthew Marsh
Gen Schmidt - Elliot Cowan
Col Adam - Jonathan Cullen
Lt Peter Bach - Geoffrey Streatfeild
Sgt Eisenaug - Michael Shelford
Zina - Jessica Raine
Maj Byerozkin - Sam Dale
Alexandra - Ann Mitchell
Natalya - Alison Pettit
Sergeyevna - Christine Kavanagh
Hitler's orderly - David Seddon
Stalin's secretary - Tony Bell
Petenkoffer - Lloyd Thomas
Driver - Jude Akuwudike