Hemlock and After, by Angus Wilson,
dram. Michelene Wandor
Dramatised in 2 parts by Michelene Wandor.
Broadcast 8 and 15 November 1998, Classic Serial
"Hemlock and After" explores liberty, power and authority in many forms throughout the play. It begins with Bernard Sands, having had a successful literary career, he now plans to pursue the establishment of a haven for young writers at Vardon Hall, an 18th-century estate located not too far from London in the small English village of Vardon. He faces considerable local and bureaucratic opposition, not least because he wants to give his protégés the freedom to self-manage the organisation.
Meanwhile, all is not well at the Sands home. Ella, Bernard's wife, has long suffered from an isolating depression; daughter Elizabeth cynically uses her mindless job at a woman's magazine to conceal her sense of emptiness; Sands' son, James, is a social-climbing Tory candidate; and Bernard himself is struggling to negotiate the demands of his lately discovered homosexuality....
"Hemlock and After" turns the pastoral idyll of English village life inside out as it tells a tale of corruption and deceit, of sexual abuse and blackmail.
Dramatised in two parts by Michelene Wandor from Angus Wilson's first novel, "Hemlock and After", published in 1952 in England, "Hemlock and After"was considered so shocking that his American publisher refused to accept it.
Producer Chris Wallis.
A Watershed Production for BBC Radio 4
1) Part 1 of 2 (Sunday 15th November 1998 @ 3:00 p.m.)
Bernard's triumph at setting up a writers' centre in the small pastoral village of Vardon is soon clouded by difficulties in his personal life.
With Derek Jacobi [Bernard Sands], Anna Massey [Ella Sands, Bernard's Wife], John Rowe [Hubert Rose, M.A.], June Watson [Mrs. Curry, the Sands' Neighbour], Jonathan Keeble [James Sands, Bernard's Son], Liz Whiting [Sonia Sands, James' Wife], David Tennant [Eric Craddock, London Bookshop Proprietor], Nicholas Boulton [Ron Wrigley, Works for Mrs. Curry], Stella Tanner [Mrs. Wrigley, Ron's Mother], Rod Arthur [Bill Pendlebury, Ella's Brother], Emily Raymond [Elizabeth Sands, Bernard's Daughter], Irene Sutcliffe [Isobel Sands, Bernard's Sister; a Professor of English Literature], Frances Jeater [Celia Craddock, Eric's Mother], Andrew Hesker [Alan Craddock, Eric's Brother], Hugh Fraser [Sherman Winter, a 'Friend' of Terence's], and Paul Rhys [Terence Lambert].
Other parts were played by members of the cast
2) Part 2 of 2 (Sunday 22nd November 1998 @ 3:00 p.m.)
Bernard's heart attack causes a re-evaluation of his life which has interesting consequences at the grand opening of his haven for young writers at Vardon Hall.
With Derek Jacobi [Bernard Sands], Anna Massey [Ella Sands, Bernard's Wife], Nicholas Boulton [Ron Wrigley, Works for Mrs. Curry], Stella Tanner [Mrs. Wrigley, Ron's Mother], John Rowe [Hubert Rose], David Tennant [Eric Craddock, London Bookshop Proprietor], Frances Jeater [Celia Craddock, Eric's Mother], Jonathan Keeble [James Sands, Bernard's Son], Emily Raymond [Elizabeth Sands, Bernard's Daughter], June Watson [Mrs. Curry, the Sands' Neighbour], Hugh Fraser [Sherman Winter, a 'Friend' of Terence], Paul Rhys [Terence Lambert], Liz Whiting [Sonia Sands, James' Wife], Rod Arthur [Bill Pendlebury, Ella's Brother], Irene Sutcliffe [Isobel Sands, Bernard's Sister; a Professor of English Literature], Ben Crowe [Reporter from 'The Gazette'], and Harry Myers [Leo].
Other parts were played by members of the cast
Jim
