BBC Drama Collection: Five BBC Radio Full-Cast
Dramatisations
This collection contains almost ten hours of first-class
radio ranging from the 1975 Radio 4 adaptation of Conan Doyle’s Lost World to the 1989 Radio 3 presentation
of Czech writer Karel Čapek’s 1921 play Rossum’s
Universal Robots (R.U.R.) and the 2007 Radio 4 dramatisation of Polish
author Stanisław Lem’s 1961 novel Solaris.
It is a great pity that the 1941 BBC radio version of R.U.R. is lost, but then so much classic radio has gone forever
(perhaps to be picked up only in a distant galaxy).
R.U.R. and Solaris are unique, thought-provoking
pieces, important culturally and from a literary point of view. I would like to
see these issued as standalone productions, perhaps with an introduction from a
Braggian team of commentators.
Frankenstein and The Time Machine are relatively recent
BBC Radio productions (1994 and 2009 respectively) and display all the great
acting and technical presentation skills that modern stereo production brings
to radio. DAB and Internet Radio quality is superb and these CDs deserve to be
listened to through good headphones rather than in the car.
Perhaps the most interesting play from the point of view of
the radio enthusiast is Conan Doyle’s Lost
World. This too might well have deserved publication on its own. The three
CDs have a cast representing the best of BBC radio drama from the 1970s, with
Francis De Wolff, Kevin McHugh, Carleton Hobbs and Gerald Harper (of BBC
television’s Adam Adamant fame). The music and special effects from the BBC
Radiophonic Workshop are especially good and, of course, the drama itself is one
of Conan Doyle’s best creations.
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