I, Claudius: A Full-Cast BBC Radio Drama

A full-cast dramatization of Robert Gravess brilliant account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome, starring Tom Goodman-Hill as Claudius and Derek Jacobi as Augustus. The wickedly entertaining inside story of the lives and deaths of the imperial dynasty from Augustus to Nero is told by their obscure relation, Claudius. In public, Claudius is a stammering, drooling weakling, whose reputation as an idiot keeps him safe from office and assassination. But in private, hes as sharp as they come, and keeps a secret history of everything he discovers. Until one day, as one of the few of his family left alive, hes proclaimed Emperor against his will. Can he save Rome from the corruption hes grown to detest? Featuring Derek Jacobi as Augustus, and with a star cast including Harriet Walter and Tim McInnerny, this gripping dramatization perfectly evokes the atmosphere of decadence and vice in the imperial courts of ancient Rome.