Copyright 1996
60 minutes
Radio Thriller/Stage Reading


Synopsis: Listeners are transported back to St. James Hall, Piccadilly, first to eavesdrop backstage on a heated discussion between George Dolby, Dickens’ road manager, and his physician, Dr. Beard, about whether the Chief should be allowed to go on stage to perform yet again another strenuous reading of his murder scene, which although popular, is now poising a grave risk to the Chief’s own health. For Dickens, these performances have become something of an obsession.

The listener is then given a front row seat to enjoy this superb performance, powerfully recreated by George Harland, exactly as it was done by Dickens over a century ago.

(From the annotated reading script, Berg Collection, New York Public Library. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.)