The Magnificent Andrea

Bolstered by a breakfast of egg on toast and two glasses of red wine, embittered newspaper columnist Barry Fox sets off for the funeral of his estranged wife, the domineering Andrea, a collage artist whose name was prefixed magnificent "because of her equine physique and teeth". Andrea had ditched Barry and replaced him in the marital home with Nigel, a marathon-running, sex-in-the-morning naturopath (or "onanistic pinko with homespun homilies", depending on your point of view), so Andrea's send-off crackles with jealous recrimination and confrontation. The dialogue is meaty, witty and at times deliciously twisted, with slivers of Latin profundity, and Roger Allam as boozy, belligerent Barry attacks the part with the relish of a lurcher with a rabbit pie. This is Nigel Planer's first original radio drama and it's, well, magnificent.