Best Performance: Ensemble
The winner and shortlist for the Best Performance Ensemble category at The British Audio Awards - aka the Speakies - organised by The Bookseller and The Stage
For the ensemble performance in a multi-cast audio drama or adapted audiobook. The Speakies is looking for compelling stories, well told and excellently performed. Performers, including actors, narrators and authors, may submit themselves; publishers, agents and producers may also submit performers with their permission.
Winner
Cast of Our Mutual Friend
Charles Dickens & Dan Rebellato
Ian Fleming
Polly Thomas
Over three episodes, the multi-roling ensemble of Dan Rebellato’s adaptation of Our Mutual Friend conjures up a rogues’ gallery of 19th-century Londoners: the grieving Bella Wilfer, the kindly Noddy Boffin, the scheming Silas Wegg, the worldly Lizzie Hexam, the dastardly Alfred and Sophronia Lammle, the squealing Georgiana Podsnap, the grizzled Mr Riah, the wily Jenny Wren, the enigmatic John Rokesmith and many, many more.
Thanks to the large cast’s exaggerated and entertaining performances, the rich world of Dickens’ novel bursts into the listener’s ears. Dickens himself would have loved it.
Shortlist
Default Step
Casino Royale
Various
Ian Fleming/Archie Scotney
Jarvis and Ayres Productions
The ensemble cast of Casino Royale delivers audio drama at its most gripping. Led by Toby Stephens’ commanding Bond, with Hugh Bonneville’s electrifying Le Chiffre and Susannah Fielding’s enigmatic Vesper Lynd, the company inhabits a vast array of characters with seamless precision. Through inventive doubling and richly textured performances, they create a truly international sound world – from baccarat tables to MI6 briefings – that feels cinematic yet intimate.
Gatsby in Harlem
Various
F Scott Fitzgerald/Roy Williams
Granny Eats Wolf
The ensemble cast of BBC Radio 3’s Gatsby in Harlem delivers a cohesive, emotionally rich performance. Led by Ncuti Gatwa, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Malachi Kirby, and Chiké Okonkwo, with strong support from a skilled cast, each voice is integrated with care. Together, they reimagine Fitzgerald’s classic with vitality, making its themes of reinvention, longing, and exclusion resonate powerfully for today’s audience.
Our Mutual Friend
Various
Charles Dickens/Dan Rebellato
Polly Thomas
The ensemble cast of BBC Radio 4’s Our Mutual Friend brings Dickens’ novel to life with energy and precision, balancing drama, mystery, and comedy. Under Polly Thomas’s direction, sixteen authentically cast actors double across twenty-five roles, delivering performances both period-true and resonant today. Recorded with real-time movement at Fish Factory studio, the production has a vivid immediacy that makes Dickens’ world feel startlingly present.
Restless Dreams
Various
Dan Rebellato
Polly Thomas
The ensemble cast of Restless Dreams brings this surreal, darkly comic thriller to life with precision and energy. Led by Anton Lesser as Max Brod, with Tracy-Ann Oberman, Annie Cowan, Henry Goodman, and Guy Rhys, their dynamic, physical performances create an immersive sound world full of tension, humour, and humanity.
The Talented Mr Shakespeare
Various
Wilf Scolding
David Morley
The ensemble cast of The Talented Mr Shakespeare delivers a razor-sharp comedy of rivalries and intrigue. Tom Mothersdale’s pompous Shakespeare, Arthur Hughes’ scheming Marlowe, and Harry Kershaw’s reluctant Kemp shine alongside Renee Lamb, Mark Gatiss, Alana Ramsey, and Travis Ross. With wit, charm, and precise comic timing, they create a fast-paced, playful world where Elizabethan theatre bursts with life and hilarity.
Up in Smoke
Various
Guy Larsen, Cambria Bailey-Jones
Gabriela Jones, Guy Larsen, Cambria Bailey-Jones
The ensemble cast of Up in Smoke delivers naturalistic, emotionally charged performances that make this “true crime podcast about a fictional event” feel uncannily real. Led by Mei Mac’s layered portrayal of Kay, and featuring Adam Buxton, Allan Corduner, Tracy Wiles, Preston Nyman, and others, they create a gripping, immersive sound world that blurs documentary and drama, earning chart-topping success and critical acclaim.
