To mark the 400th anniversary of John Milton's birthday, author Philip Pullman reads a short extract from the celebrated epic poem

Christopher Ravenscroft (The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Henry V) plays the master politician Menenius. Reading the part of Volumnia, Coriolanus’s mother, will be Susan Penhaligon, best known for her roles in A Bouquet of Barbed Wire and A Fine Romance. Joining her to play Coriolanus’s nemesis, Tullus Aufidius, is Anthony Howell (Foyle’s War), who previously appeared in Primavera’s production of Jingo: A Farce of War.