An unusally poetic, descriptive script, read beautifully clearly, and softly by Ronan Vibert. 
     Spinner Dolphins engage in highly acrobatic, dramatic somersaults, turning up to 7.5 revolutions in 1.25 seconds. This documentary captures plenty of terrific coverage of their leaping and diving, but also includes some pretty horrific footage of trapped Spinners trying to escape tuna fishing nets; being deafened (and effectively sense-blinded) by the stun grenades thrown at them by fishermen; and sticking together even when they have the chance of escape--"the dolphin's brilliant defensive systems and group loyalty...offer them no protection, and may even work against them in the chaos for survival in the nets". It's highly effective TV, although the unusually emotive nature of the production is very different to what we as viewers have grown used to.

      Unlike the rather flat and 'omnipotent' narration and scripts which usually accompany nature documentaries, this is emotive, expressive stuff, read with lilting, soothing inflections, and excellent delivery of spoken punctuation, subordinate clauses, and key words or phrases. Vibert's delivery is considerably more varied in tone than normal narration: Kenneth Brannagh's supremely vanilla voice-overs for the BBC's Walking with Beasts/Dinosaurs do not hold up well in comparison.

Give this man an audio book to read, or better yet bring back Jackanory. He delivers the touching closing lines sounding very similar to Oliver Postgate's 'rainy Sunday, cosy bedime' voice-overs for the eternal classic Bagpuss ("and when Bagpuss went to sleep, all his friends went to sleep...a baggy old, saggy old cloth cat, but Emily loved him"). This is accompanied by music not unlike the closing Bagpuss music-- coincidence?

• "Small, energetic, intensely athletic"
• "The fluid pendulum of the sea"
• "All night they've hunted in the abyss...now their most striking feature is their silence...drifting ghostlike through the shadows"
• "Beseiged on all sides, these spinner dolphins may one day find themselves without any haven left"

BLURB TAKEN FROM THE BBC RADIO 3 WEB-SITE:
A forest encampment of summer dachas at the turn of the century is the setting  for this story of the Russian middle-class. The action focuses on the Bassovs' dacha, where Varvara eagerly awaits the arrival of the famous writer, Shalimov.  She worshipped him as a young woman and hopes that his visit will bring some stimulation and purpose to what she is gradually realising is a purposeless existence. 
  But the revelation of his banality  - and of his baldness - triggers disappointment and division within the group. Various affairs and business scandals are revealed, while a sincere relationshipbetween the middle-aged Marya Lvovna and  Varvara's younger brother is scorned by the others.  Eventually the pressures of suppressed desire and frustrated ambition have  mounted so high that something must blow - and it does.

• Nick Dear's adaptation was first performed in 1999 at the Royal National Theatre. 

Official Website: sound clips (inc song), trailer, activities

n. recorded before Antarctica