15 Audio-Plays That Will Be Your New Obsession If You Love Audiobooks & Podcasts

The BBC offers a whole slew of audio dramas for free on their website, including this quintessentially British comedy series. The Inimitable Jeeves follows the adventures of wealthy, awkward Bertie Wooster and his brilliant valet Jeeves as they solve mysteries and get in and out of various scrapes.

If you missed the original, Tony-winning production of M. Butterfly back in the day, you can still listen to the audio adaption online right now. Starring John Lithgow and B.D. Wong, M. Butterfly is based on the true romance between a French diplomat and a Beijing opera singer, exploring gender, race, and some very tricky espionage.

You'll need to use that free Audible trial for this one, but it will definitely be worth it. Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys follows "Fat Charlie" Nancy as he comes to terms with the karaoke-induced death of his spider-god father, and the sudden appearance of his strange, handsome, long lost brother.

This graphic novel adaptation includes performances from Haley Joel Osment, Tatiana Maslany, Kate Mulgrew and the author Stephen King. So, you know, no big deal. Locke & Key is the disturbing tale of the Locke family, who are forced to leave their California home for the "safety" of their ancestral estate in Lovecraft, Massachusetts... but, as you can imagine, Lovecraft turns out to be anything but safe.

A Raisin in the Sun is an absolute classic of American theatre. Lorraine Hansberry's play first opened on Broadway in 1959, chronicling the story of the Younger family and their life on the south side of Chicago. Her family drama about competing dreams and coming to terms with identity is still all-too relevant today, though, and you can listen to it right now.

I'm going to commit book nerd sacrilege here, and claim that The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series is even better than the books. Or at least, it's every bit as hilarious, dismaying, and thought provoking, with the addition of brilliant voice acting and some very, very silly sounds effects.

Look. Sometimes, you just want to be carried off to the genteel, romantic countryside of Regency England. The audio play recording of Pride and Prejudice can do that for you. It's a delightfully romantic adaption of a classic story that brings the characters to life right before your ears.

If you're looking for more of a long-form audio drama, The Bright Sessions is a great place to start. This series follows an unusual group of therapy patients in their sessions with the mysterious Dr. Bright. Each patient seems to be coming to terms with some supernatural, singular ability as this sublimely strange story unfolds.

Yes, in edition to writing books and writing and starring in her own TV show, the multi-talented Issa Rae is the creator of Fruit. This audio drama follows X, a football player coming to terms with his sexuality in the hyper-masculine world of professional sports.

Crumbs from the Table of Joy is a modern classic by Pulitzer prize winner Lynn Nottage. Following the death of his first wife, Godfrey Crump finds new meaning in religion and moves himself and his two teenage daughters from Florida to Brooklyn. Dragged away from everything they've known, young Ernestine and Ermina immerse themselves in dreams of far off Hollywood to escape the tension of their father's new life and his new, German wife.

Mysteries always seem to lend themselves well to an audio format. The Hound of the Baskervilles is perhaps the best known mystery from the best known fictional sleuth, and you can now accompany Sherlock and his pals as they solve a dog-based crime in far off England.

From the creators of Welcome to Nightvale, Alice Isn't Dead is a surreal adventure that follows one trucker on her quest to find her missing wife, Alice. On her travels she encounters all manner of strange and inexplicable horrors in the small, often forgotten towns of America.

The Message is an audio drama in several parts, telling the bizarre story of a modern-day cryptography consultant group, Cipher Centers For Communication. The team of cryptographers are attempting to decode what may be an extraterrestrial message, but cracking the code may put their very lives at risk.

Of course, what's the fun of talking about audio plays if you leave out the original horror podcast? The War of the Worlds is a radio play infamous for freaking people out in a major way, and convincing Americans that they were under attack by Mars. Take a listen for yourself, and see if it still sounds like it could be for real.