The House of the Spirit Levels: A Full-Cast BBC Radio Comedy

An epic six-part comedy saga with a star cast, from master storyteller and satirist Nick Revell

When Tony Hardstaff breaks the bank playing ‘Snap!’ at the St Petersburg Casino, he is swept up in a maelstrom of romance and adventure. Seduced by the sultry Natassia Fillipovna Karamazov – a woman with curves so perfect they could make a geometry professor spontaneously combust – Tony is caught in flagrante by the Russian mafia, and flees for his life.

Taking the first plane out, Tony returns to his ancestral home in Grimesdale, and to the bosom of the family he left a decade earlier. But the prodigal son is not welcomed with open arms. His ruthless 183-year-old father Obadiah is less than thrilled to see him, his sister Jane is so shocked, she suffers a nosebleed, and his mother Alice is so upset, she drops dead on the spot.

To cap it all, Tony’s Brontë-obsessed ex-sweetheart has gone round the bend, his best mate Dave is now leader of the Morris Dancing Survivalist Militia, and the town he grew up in is under threat… Forced to grapple with wandering corpses, canine spirit guides, old flames and eastern European heavies, Tony goes on the run once again. But can he escape the clutches of the past?

Magical realism meets Northern family saga in this surrealistic comedy, told in flashback and travelling between Venezuela, Russia and west Yorkshire. Written by and starring Nick Revell as Tony, it features a stellar cast including Morwenna Banks, Alistair McGowan, Peter Serafinowicz, Alison Steadman and Claire Skinner.

NB: Contains some dated attitudes and language

Production credits Written by Nick Revell Produced by Paul Schlesinger Music composed by Paul Mottram

Cast Tony – Nick Revell Natassia Fillipovna – Morwenna Banks/Tracy-Ann Oberman The Narrator – Alistair McGowan Mrs Yepanchin/Mrs Womersley – Joanna Brooks Ivan – Jonathan Kydd Sergei/Jeff – Peter Gunn Kropotkin/Dave/Carl – Peter Serafinowicz Vladimir/Elder/Shrink – Chris Pavlo Obadiah – David Swift Alice – Maggie Steed Jane – Alison Steadman Joanna – Natalie Walter Emily – Claire Skinner

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 1 May-5 June 1997

© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

© 2025 BBC Digital Audio (Lydbog): 9781529949025

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Lydbog: 16. januar 2025