Peter Redgrove Dracula In White

(3 stars; 1 reviews)

Afternoon Theatre: Dracula in White Wed 7th Mar 1984, 15:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM The Spine-Chillers By Peter Redgrove Prisoners up and down the country seem to be disappearing mysteriously from Her Majesty's prisons. Joanna, a television journalist, suspects that they have been used as guinea-pigs in some unspeakable experiments, and sets out on a perilous course to verify her suspicions....   Directed by Brian Miller BBC Bristol Cast: Joanna:…..Maggie McCarthy Dr Exeter-White:…..Benjamin Whitrow Sam Mellish:…..Jerold Wells Toby/Cooper:…..Tim Meats Ron/Governor:….John Linstrum Judge:….Paul Nicholson Mrs Petit/Wardress:…..June Barrie Other parts played by Richard Curnow This play was the fourth in a series of five broadcast under the heading “The Spine-Chillers”. It begins in mid-conversation between two people who, we gradually learn,are an investigative television journalist, Joanna, and an ex-convict, Sam. The ex-convict is in the shady business of artificially aging objects in order to sell them as antiques. Joanna hears from Sam that at his last prison there were some strange and possibly frightening practices involving a meat processing and canning factory within the prison. Joanna embarks on an investigation which leads her to meet again a double Noble prize winning scientist, nick-named Dracula in White by the prisoners. She had tackled this scientist on one of her programmes about his advocacy of the need for the state to stockpile food for “when the bomb drops”; the play is very much of the Cold War period. Partnered by Sam and with the help of organized crime bosses concerned about the mysterious events leading to prisoners disappearing, Joanna conceals herself inside a prison. Redgrove is fond of paradox and gives us the lovely line: “We’ll have to break into prison”. In the prison we find out just what the government (with the help of Dracula in White) have been doing and are planning to do. I have no wish to spoil the plot further… The play is a sort of 'Jonathan Swift meets Dr Strangelove', with echoes of Swift’s satire “A Modest Proposal” and the Dracula in White character as the scientist tool of the government following a terrifyingly inhuman logic. [SuttonElms]

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.