Richard Bean Of Rats And Men


(3.3 stars; 3 reviews)

Saturday-Night Theatre: Of Rats and Men Sat 21st Jan 1995, 19:50 on BBC Radio 4 FM by Richard Bean.   A psychologist ends his work with rats and designs an experiment which recreates the social dynamics of the holocaust.   The play dramatically pitches personal responsibility against expediency. Director Andy Jordan   Professor: Garrick Hagan Dr Pearce: Anton Lesser Joe Franklin: Peter Whitman Shelley Pearce: Teresa Gallagher Principal: Vincent Marzello Mary Barton: Gillian Eaton Narrator: Lewis Hancock

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.

Chapters

Of Rats and Men_ 1:14:26

Reviews

Of Rats and Men


(4 stars)

This is an excellent play. The craggy American accents are audibly stressful but authentic. We see how the experimenters are unwittingly playing out another dispassionate experiment in human behaviour. As the prof says early on in the play, all he research so far has only informed us how RATS (or other animals) behave under laboratory conditions but nothing about humans. There are some traits in common, but you can't know this until you've conducted the same experiments on humans. The last line of the play is a bit weak, though.

Thought Provoking


(5 stars)

This is a highly original drama which explores a subject I had never come across before, and as a lover of war time radio plays makes me appreciate the dramas with a new understanding. It is quite difficult to listen to at times but utterly absorbing like the novel you just can't put down which is due, in my opinion, to the 5* cast and I would urge anyone listen to it.