Graham Dickson

The premise of Austentatious (18 June, 7.15pm, Radio 4) is that the great novelist actually wrote hundreds of lesser-known works, any one of which can be acted out by a troupe of improvisers including Amy Cooke-Hodgson, Graham Dickson, Charlotte Gittins and Cariad Lloyd if the audience only shout out its name. The extended canon includes Strictly Come Darcy and Mansfield Shark. The first one the team essay is Married to a Cad and a Bounder; the resulting programme works by marrying the pert formality and complex exposition favoured by Austen with a more modern sensibility. Most of all, it works, thanks to the comic reflexes of all concerned.

Are improvisers just too lazy to write?

Graham Dickson sticks up for his art.