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Season 3, Episode 5 18:39 running time

Across the Centuries

This episode links events that happened in different eras; two actors perform Othello 100 years apart, two musical geniuses live next door, two centuries apart, and one murder leads to ghostly apparitions for over a century.

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Hosted by

Neil Fleming

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Sound Editing

Will Jacob

Listen now:
  • Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

The Golden Earrings

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Written by

Milo Harries

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Performed by

Stephen Fry

About this story

19th-Century Ira Aldridge and 20th-Century Paul Robeson. Both actors, both Black Americans, both playing Shakespeare in London. But what’s the link?

Delve Deeper

Want to know more? Try starting here:


Bernth Lindfors’ book_ Ira Aldridge: The Early Years, 1807-1833_ (University of Rochester Press, 2011) is a useful reference. Art UK has an article with portraits of Ira Aldridge. The Guardian website has an article on Robeson’s Othello. The New Yorker has an article about Amanda Aldridge.

  • 40 South Moulton Street, London
  • 25 Brook Street, Mayfair, London

It’s the Messiah

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Written by

James Rampton

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Performed by

Neil Fleming

About this story

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970). Two great musicians who happened to live next door to each other when they moved to London - just in very different centuries.

Delve Deeper

Want to know more? Try starting here:


The Handel Hendrix House website has details about the house, its history and its opening times. The National Portrait Gallery has several portraits of Handel. YouTube has many versions of Handel’s Messiah, and an official Jimi Hendrix channel. Read more about Hendrix on his own website.

  • Stage Door The Adelphi Theatre, 18-20 Maiden Lane, London
  • Covent Garden Tube Station, London

193 Steps

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Written by

Robbie Stamp

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Performed by

Kate Reid

About this story

In 1897 actor William Terris is brutally murdered outside a theatre stage door. Its not the end, but the start of a haunting across over a century…

Delve Deeper

If you like this story and want more information, here are some suggested links:


London Lore: The legends and traditions of the world's most vibrant city, by Steve Roud, published by Random House 2008. Jack the Ripper Tour has a YouTube video about Terris’s murder. It also has an article about the incident.