Best Audio Drama: Adaptation
The winner and shortlist for the Best Audio Drama: Adaptation category at The British Audio Awards - aka the Speakies - organised by The Bookseller and The Stage
For an audio drama or multi-cast audio book adaptation of a pre-existing work. The Audio Drama categories celebrate the process from text to listener, including the work of the actors and audio production team.
Winner
Gatsby in Harlem
From the book by F Scott Fitzgerald
Adapted by Roy Williams
Nathan Freeman & Tom Billington/Granny Eats Wolf
Roy Williams’ Gatsby in Harlem is a terrifically coherent reimagining of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, one that maintains the emotional thrust and rich drama of the story, but that thoroughly and thrillingly reimagines its historical context over two long episodes, transplanting it from wealthy Long Island to lively Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s, with all the bursting creativity and social tension that encompassed. It is a remarkable achievement.
Shortlist
Default Step
Behind the Scenes at the Museum
Kate Atkinson
Katie Hims
BBC Studios Audio
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson is a darkly humorous, multi-generational family saga told by Ruby Lennox from the moment of her conception, as she uncovers buried family secrets and repressed memories in a journey of self-discovery.
Casino Royale
Ian Fleming
Archie Scotney
Jarvis and Ayres Productions/Rosalind Ayres
Published in 1953, Casino Royale is Ian Fleming’s first and most famous James Bond novel, adapted by Archie Scotney into a gripping, faithful 57-minute audio drama praised for its wit and cinematic quality. Featuring Toby Stephens as Bond alongside Hugh Bonneville and Susannah Fielding, the story follows Bond’s mission to bankrupt the villainous Le Chiffre at baccarat, blending suspense, romance, and a devastating final twist.
Gatsby in Harlem
F Scott Fitzgerald
Roy Williams
Nathan Freeman, Tom Billington/Granny Eats Wolf
A bold, reimagined audio adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby relocates the story from Long Island to 1920s Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance, highlighting the era’s cultural identity, social expression, and artistic ambition for Black Americans.
It Can't Happen Here
Sinclair Lewis
Mike Walker
John Norton
Mike Walker’s adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’s satirical novel about the rise of a populist U.S. president reimagines the story as a fake podcast by the protagonist’s granddaughter.
Our Mutual Friend
Charles Dickens
Dan Rebellato
Polly Thomas
Rebellato and Thomas’s 3-hour adaptation of Our Mutual Friend reimagines Dickens’s sprawling novel with a contemporary sound and diverse cast, using innovative location recording and immersive sound design to bring the River Thames and Victorian London vividly to life. Their approach balances the novel’s complex themes, humor, and mystery through a narrator-character and a richly textured audio landscape, making Dickens’s social critique resonate for today’s listeners.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Agatha Christie
Anna Lea
N/a
A bold, immersive reimagining of Agatha Christie’s first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, blending a modern psychological lens with groundbreaking 360° Dolby Atmos audio; set during World War I, it follows Captain Hastings and refugee detective Hercule Poirot as they unravel a murder mystery within an interactive soundscape that amplifies themes of trauma and displacement.
