William Shakespeare — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

Find a castaway Most requested Browse the archive About Report a fault

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desert is.land

“And if you could take only one…” — a semantic wireless tuned to the Desert Island Discs archive.

The listing

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Transmission

Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
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Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

William Shakespeare — Composer · desert is.land

desert is.landest. 1942

Find a castaway Most requested Browse the archive About Report a fault

Composer

William Shakespeare

26 episodes

Chosen over the decades

26

Total castaways

1970s

Peak decade

5

Decades seen

Castaways who chose this

Adrian Noble
Antal Dorati
A S Byatt
Barry Norman
Bernard Levin
C P Snow
Dame Harriet Walter
Dame Joan Bakewell
Dame Joan Plowright
David Niven
David Shepherd
Gyles Brandreth
Judi Dench
Mary Ellis
Peter Quennell
P L Travers
Princess Grace of Monaco
Robert McCrum
Robert Stephens
Sir John Betjeman
Sir Michael Hordern
Sir Robin Butler
Sir Thomas Allen
Thelma Holt
more

Dame Harriet Walter
Harriet Walter on the summer holiday that threw her into chaos
Castaway · 26 June 2011Kirsty Young
Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Brandreth on applying to become an MP the day his youngest daughter became a teenager
Castaway · 9 January 2011Kirsty Young

desert is.land

“And if you could take only one…” — a semantic wireless tuned to the Desert Island Discs archive.

The listing

Find a castaway
Most requested
Browse the archive
About

Transmission

Broadcasting since 1942
Long wave 198 kHz
An unofficial archive companion
Report a fault

Not affiliated with the BBC · Built for the love of the long wave · Made by Daniel Hails

Dame Joan Bakewell

Joan Bakewell on the shock of seeing her affair dramatised in Harold Pinter's Betrayal

Castaway · 9 August 2009Kirsty Young

Dame Joan Plowright

10°09′S 068°18′W

Dame Joan Plowright

Joan Plowright on the night Laurence Olivier tried to be a nanny

Castaway · 27 August 2006Sue Lawley

Sir Thomas Allen

22°05′S 056°35′W

Sir Thomas Allen

Thomas Allen on getting a call to sing Figaro with 45 minutes' notice

Castaway · 3 June 2001Sue Lawley

09°23′S 113°00′W

Adrian Noble

Adrian Noble on the funeral hymns that were the sound of his childhood

Castaway · 26 March 2000Sue Lawley

18°25′S 140°24′W

Robert McCrum

Robert McCrum on crawling downstairs after his stroke

Castaway · 5 March 2000Sue Lawley

07°37′S 122°17′W

David Shepherd

David Shepherd on being told to ‘go and drive a bus’ by the Slade School of Art

Castaway · 17 January 1999Sue Lawley

18°08′S 150°43′W

Judi Dench

How seeing King Lear at Stratford led Judi Dench to become an actor

Castaway · 12 April 1998Sue Lawley

15°05′S 127°03′W

Thelma Holt

Thelma Holt on rescuing the Roundhouse with 40 rock concerts

Castaway · 23 November 1997Sue Lawley

Sir Robin Butler

02°44′S 156°01′W

Sir Robin Butler

Robin Butler on why he couldn't bring himself to become a lawyer

Castaway · 21 February 1993Sue Lawley

13°19′S 091°26′W

A S Byatt

A S Byatt on feeling an immense space after her mother's death

Castaway · 16 June 1991Sue Lawley

16°47′S 179°13′W

Bernard Levin

Bernard Levin on how being forced to learn the violin nearly poisoned him for music

Castaway · 25 October 1987Michael Parkinson

Sir Michael Hordern

12°48′S 066°47′W

Sir Michael Hordern

Michael Hordern on being compared to an Armenian carpet seller

Castaway · 15 February 1987Michael Parkinson

19°11′S 079°16′W

Mary Ellis

Mary Ellis on being inspired by Madam Butterfly at age 12

Castaway · 25 December 1982Roy Plomley

20°53′S 037°59′W

Thomas Allen

Thomas Allen on being told he'd be a bloody fool not to pursue opera

Castaway · 6 November 1982Roy Plomley

Princess Grace of Monaco

13°19′S 019°56′W

Princess Grace of Monaco

Grace Kelly on being turned down by a college because of returning GIs

Castaway · 18 April 1981Roy Plomley

06°13′S 132°47′W

Antal Dorati

How a hateful meeting at the Musicians' Union made Antal Dorati leave Germany

Castaway · 13 September 1980Roy Plomley

09°25′S 046°11′W

Barry Norman

Barry Norman on being hurled into a racial maelstrom as a 19-year-old journalist

Castaway · 25 August 1979Roy Plomley

Robert Stephens

01°48′S 070°47′W

Robert Stephens

Robert Stephens on the worst film ever made

Castaway · 3 February 1979Roy Plomley

10°36′S 126°09′W

P L Travers

P L Travers on learning to live with the Disney Mary Poppins

Castaway · 21 May 1977Roy Plomley

02°18′S 166°26′W

David Niven

How being rude to a general helped David Niven leave the army

Castaway · 30 April 1977Roy Plomley

16°02′S 033°36′W

Peter Quennell

Peter Quennell on being sacked from the fire service for smoking on a fire

Castaway · 25 September 1976Roy Plomley

19°38′S 028°47′W

C P Snow

C P Snow on conceiving his novel series at 8.30pm on 1 January 1935

Castaway · 2 August 1975Roy Plomley

Sir John Betjeman

07°36′S 141°06′W

Sir John Betjeman

John Betjeman on reciting his poetry in the bath

Castaway · 12 April 1975Roy Plomley

05°57′S 086°09′W

Tony Britton

Tony Britton on being saved from the sack by a part in The Firstborn

Castaway · 6 January 1973Roy Plomley