International Playhouse — The House by the River — By Barbara Sapergia. It's a custom at funerals not to say anything bad about the departed, publicly at least. But afterwards? Allison Ransome takes her chances and turns up at her own wake. A Canadian Broadcasting Corporation production. ABC Radio National, Friday, November 25, 8.05pm.
The Goons — The History of Pliny the Elder — In the year YLiii BC, Julius Caesar conquered England. Like a mighty octopus, the legions of Rome spread across the land. For 10 years Caesar ruled with an iron hand, then a wooden foot — and finally with a piece of string. How much more of this could Britain take? ABC Radio National, Saturday, November 26, 12noon.
Sunday Stereo Season — Cavalleria Rusticana — By Mascagni. A tale of love, deception and betrayal which reaches its climax in a duel to the death. The Australian Opera brings this classic to life in a simulcast screened on ABC TV. ABC Classic FM, Sunday, November 27, 8.30pm.
The Listening Room — Liquid Gold — A touch of spa fever is returning to the twin Victorian towns of Daylesford and Hepburn. Situated on a spur of the Great Dividing Range, they are a perfect venue for city dwellers to get away from it all. The Jajowurrong people are said to have regarded the waters as special, as do those who make their pilgrimage to this local fountain of youth today. This program is a sonic recreation by Andrew McLennan. ABC Classic FM, Monday, November 28, 9pm.
Soundstage — Whom do I Have the Honour of Addressing? — This monologue by Peter Shaffer stars British actor Judi Dench. Angela Parsons is a partner in Swift Scripts, a dull little firm which specialises in typing film and play scripts. She is a film buff and one day bumps into her Hollywood idol, Tom Prance, who offers her a job as his private secretary. But her hopes for a happier life soon turn sour. As she sits alone back in her London flat, she records her story into a cassette machine. ABC Classic FM, Tuesday, November 29, 8pm.