Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For Wright's reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1979, and the presenter was Roy Plumlee. On our Desert Island this week is a great actor, Sir Rafe Richardson.

Oh, Sir Rafe, could you endure solitude, do you think?

I don't know. I don't know that I could people go mad if they're alive perhaps I'm mad already

but do you mean to say that it's your 1500 yes and you invented this program didn't you yes I did You haven't been playing it every week. Oh not every week. No, it's been

rested from time to time. But what year did you invent it? It came on the air first in January 1942 well that's wonderful I think

I'm very very flattered to be asked to take part in this and very happy returns

for many congratulations of having such a wonderful invention.

We are delighted to have you with us.

I think it's about time we started talking about records.

Is music an important thing in your life?

Well it has become an important thing but not when I was young. I didn't come from a

musical or a theatrical family with a Quaker family and we didn't seem to play very much music

at all, nor did I ever go to the theatre.

When I did go into the theatre, I did go to the theater. When I did go into the theater I did have a gramophone for

ten years more than that I toured all over the country different place every week

and I always kept this little grammar phone with me and it was a great pleasure to me.

And then when I became, first of all, introduced as it were to music is when I went to the old Vic.

And there I played with John Gilgit. I can't remember the year. I think it was nine. I can't quite remember the year.

We were playing playing rehearsing the

tempest and we were speaking about the music that might go with the

...