Midsummer Dreaming

From sunset until sunrise on the solstice, Verity Sharp presents a special dream-like night of radio documentaries from Radio 3's archives.

A special celebration of the vast imaginative possibilities of the radio and Between the Ears - Radio 3’s own strand of adventurous feature-making - and of Radio 3's predecessor The Third Programme.

Midsummer Dreaming features radio signals bouncing off the moon, documentaries woven from our dreams and dancers performing in duet with their younger selves, interspersed with a specially chosen playlist of music and field recordings to fit this magic moment of each year.

21:32
Knoxville: Summer of 1995 (1995)
Produced by Alan Hall

22:08
When Silence Sings (2008)
Produced by Dinah Bird (Loftus Media)

22:40
Portraits in Absentia (1999)
Composed by Jocelyn Pook
Produced by Marilyn Imrie

23:08
Dancing on Air (2026)
Produced by Eleanor McDowall and Alan Hall

23:58 Inventions for Radio: The Dreams (1964)
By Barry Bermange with Delia Derbyshire
Produced by David Thomson

00:43
Disequilibrium (2012)
Made by Lisa Gee and Nick Ryan
Produced by Jeremy Mortimer

1:16
The Leaves (2016)
Produced by Jaye Kranz

1:33
Everything, Nothing, Harvey Keitel (2013)
Produced by Pejk Malinovski

2:00
Heartsong (1998)
Written by Sarah Woods
Directed by Claire Grove
Produced by Sara Conkey

2:54
Space Ham ((2013)
Produced by Rose de Larrabeiti (Whistledown)

3:34
Private Dreams and Public Nightmares (1957)
Produced by Donald McWhinnie

4:00
Omay (2018)
Produced by David Waters (Phantom Productions)

4:39
Sight-Reading (2023)
Produced by Jon Tjhia

5:00
Nightingales of Berlin (2021)
Produced by Jeremy Grange

5:30
Aubade - a selection of music for a midsummer morning.

Produced by Alan Hall and Eleanor McDowall
Exec produced by Phil Smith from Reduced Listening
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 3