Evelyn Waugh Decline and Fall


(4.6 stars; 17 reviews)

Decline and Fall A six-part adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's dazzling first novel. Adapted by Jeremy Front 1: Theology undergraduate Paul Pennyfeather is thrown out of Oxford and forced to take a post in an eighth-rate public school.   Paul: Alistair McGowan Grimes: Jim Broadbent Prendergast: Andrew Sachs Potts: Daniel Strauss Peter: Richard Pearce Dr Fagan: Edward Hardwicke Postlethwaite: Peter Penry Jones Sniggs: Sean Arnold Philbrick: Jonathan Kydd Flossie: Emma Fielding Dingy: Siriol Jenkins Producer Lissa Evans Wed 22nd Apr 1992 12:25 on BBC Radio 4 FM 2: Llanabba School sports day is arranged in 24 hours flat, and Paul Pennyfeather falls in love....   Paul: Alistair McGowan Peter: Richard Pearce Grimes: Jim Broadbent Prendergast: Andrew Sachs Fagan: Edward Hardwicke Philbrick: Jonathan Kydd Lady Circumference: Margaret Courtenay Margot: Joanna David Wed 29th Apr 1992 12:25 on BBC Radio 4 FM 3: In which Paul Pennyfeather exchanges the primitive horrors of Llanabba school for the futuristic nightmare of King's Thursday    Paul: Alistair McGowan Grimes: Jim Broadbent Prendergast: Andrew Sachs Dr Fagan: Edward Hardwicke Margot: Joanna David Peter: Richard Pearce Otto: Daniel Strauss Wed 6th May 1992 12:25 on BBC Radio 4 FM 4: Paul Pennyfeather becomes engaged to a member of high society and Grimes turns up again. Paul Pennyfeather: Alistair McGowan Margot: Joanna David Grimes: Jim Broadbent Maltravers: John Church Peter: Richard Pearce Potts: Daniel Strauss Jane: Theresa Streatfeild Wed 13th May 1992 12:25 on BBC Radio 4 FM 5: Paul Pennyfeather travels from Marseilles to gaol, via the Ritz.   Paul Pennyfeather: Alistair McGowan Margot: Joanna David Peter: Richard Pearce Potts: Daniel Strauss Philbrick: Jonathan Kydd Panther: Peter Gunn Prendergast: Andrew Sachs Prison Doctor: John Church Wed 20th May 1992 12:25 on BBC Radio 4 FM 6: The wheel turns full circle and Paul Pennyfeather starts all over again.   Paul Pennyfeather: Austair McGowan Grimes: Jim Broadbent Prendergasl: Andrew Sachs Lucas Dockery: James Grout Philbrick: Jonathan Kydd Lunatic: Kenneth Colley Margot: Joanna David Peter: Richard Pearce Panther: Peter Gunn Otto: Daniel Strauss Wed 27th May 1992 12:25 on BBC Radio 4 FM Expelled from Oxford for indecent behaviour, Paul Pennyfeather is oddly unsurprised to find himself qualifying for the position of schoolmaster at Llanabba Castle. His colleagues are an assortment of misfits, including Prendy (plagued by doubts) and captain Grimes, who is always in the soup (or just plain drunk). Then Sports Day arrives, and with it the delectable Margot Beste-Chetwynde, floating on a scented breeze. As the farce unfolds and the young run riot, no one is safe, least of all Paul. Taking its title from Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Evelyn Waugh's first, funniest novel immediately caught the ear of the public with his account of an ingénu abroad in the decadent confusion of 1920s high society. 

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.

Chapters

Episode 1 28:00
Episode 2 29:37
Episode 3 29:41
Episode 4 27:57
Episode 5 28:19
Episode 6 29:07