Welcome to the BBBfm 89.1 Radio Play – Shakespeare in the Wrong Hands
Shakespeare in The Wrong Hands, by playwright Bruce Kane, is a collection of short comedy plays that find some of the Bard’s most iconic characters in unexpected settings and situations.
BBBfm has adapted this play into four Acts, each presented as separate Radio Plays.
Act 1 involves Desdemona, Katherine, Juliet, the head of Anne Boleyn as well as Hecate discussing their takes on men and marriage, all set in their local tavern, The Inn of the Three Witches.
Act 1 features, in order of appearance:
- Paul Paulenas as the Narrator
- Kaz as Juliet
- Samantha McGrath as the head of Anne Boleyn
- Misia Julia as Desdemona
- Andrea Bone as Katherine
- Gorian Pax as Hecate
Act 2 introduces us to classic characters from Hamlet—including Ophelia, Gertrude, Claudius, and Hamlet— in a modern-day beauty salon run by Ruby, where their tragic entanglements are humorously reimagined through gossip, vanity, and makeover culture.
Act 2 features, in order of appearance:
- Paul Paulenas as the Narrator
- Laura Yates as Ruby
- Misia Julia as Ophelia
- Nicole Cawley as Queen Gertrude
- Christopher Martin as King Claudius/Hamlet
- Gorian Pax as Old King Hamlet’s Ghost
Act 3 is set below Juliet’s balcony, where we find Romeo being interrupted by famous womaniser Casanova. During their encounter, Casanova tutors Romeo about love, life and women while trying to evade an approaching husband.
Act 3 features, in order of appearance:
- Paul Paulenas as the Narrator
- Joshua Talbot-Smith as Casanova
- Laura Yates as Romeo
- Kaz as Juliet
- Garion Pax as a Capulet
- Nicole Cawley as a Casanova love interest
Act 4 delivers a witty, noir twist on Macbeth, starring Justin Thyme—a trench-coated private eye with a nose for trouble. As Thyme prowls across wet and windy Scotland, he uncovers a web of ambition, betrayal, and fate, narrated with razor-sharp cynicism.
This clever mash-up transforms Shakespeare’s classic into a smart, stylish, and wickedly funny tale—this is Macbeth as you’ve never heard it before.
Act 4 features, in order of appearance:
- Paul Paulenas as the Narrator
- Christopher Martin as Justin Thyme
- EV as Effie (Justin’s sectetary)
- Richard McGrath as Malcolm
- Gorian Pax as Hecate/MacDuff
- Steve Jones as Scottish Guard
- Samantha McGrath as Lady MacBeth
- David MacKinnon as MacBeth
- Sandie Simons, Kaz and Andrea Bone as the Three Witches (Latasha, Latoya & Lashana)
Original music written and performed by James Cox
These BBBfm 89.1 Radio Plays were directed by Paul Paulenas, and recorded and produced at the BBBfm 89.1 studios by Ben Edwards and Steve Jones.
Click below to relive the BBBfm 89.1 Radio Play: Shakespeare in the Wrong Hands (Act 1) first broadcast on Sunday 21st September, 2025
Click below to relive the BBBfm 89.1 Radio Play: Shakespeare in the Wrong Hands (Act 2) first broadcast on Sunday 19th October, 2025
Click below to relive the BBBfm 89.1 Radio Play: Shakespeare in the Wrong Hands (Act 3) first broadcast on Sunday 19th October, 2025
Click below to relive the BBBfm 89.1 Radio Play: Shakespeare in the Wrong Hands (Act 4) first broadcast on Sunday 16th November, 2025