SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
[NOVEL]
First published in 196?, Something Wicked This Way Comes was Ray Bradbury’s novel-length
expansion on his short story “Black Ferris” (Weird Tales, 1948).
SATURDAY PLAY (RADIO 4 FM, LONDON—BBC)
[Saturday—2:30-3:30 PM]
October 29, 2011 “Something Wicked This Way Comes”
[BBC RADIO 4: “…Set in 1960s Illinois, this gem of modern Gothic
literature is the memorable story of two boys, James Nightshade and
William Halloway, and the evil that grips their small Midwestern town
with the arrival of a ‘dark carnival’, one Autumn midnight. These two
innocents, both aged 13 (Will is born one minute before Halloween, and
Jim one minute after) save the souls of the town (as well as their own).
This is a vivid variation on the eternal theme of the fight between Good
and Evil. A thrilling, chilling, richly kaleidoscopic sound world ensues, a
shimmering mirror maze that reflects your older or younger self,
depending on your desires, and a magic carousel that plays Chopin’s
Funeral March forwards—with each rotation you gain a year, and
rotating backwards—you get younger. The cast includes Kenneth
Cranham as the sinister tattooed ringmaster, Mr. Dark, and Henry
Goodman as Will’s insecure father, Charlie…”]
SCRIPT: Diana Griffiths (adapted from the novel by Ray Bradbury).
PERSONNEL: Paul Cargill (sound), Pauline Harris (producer-director), David
Paul Jones (composer).
CAST: Barbara Barnes (Miss Foley), Ethan Brooke (Jed), Amelia Clarkson
(Young Miss Foley), Kenneth Cranham (Mr. Dark), Buffy Davis (The Dust Witch),
Henry Goodman (Charlie), Theo Gregory (Will), Josef Lindsay (Jim), Gerard
McDermott (The Lightening Rod Salesman/Mr. Coogar), Taran Stanzler
(Robert).
EXTANT RECORDING