John Whyndham The Chrysalids

(4.3 stars; 15 reviews)

Saturday-Night Theatre:   The Chrysalids by John Wyndham   Dramatised for radio by Barbara Clegg Sat 25th Apr 1981, 20:30 on BBC Radio 4 FM   David is growing up in a society which will not tolerate any kind of mutation and ruthlessly destroys anything or anyone who deviates from the 'norm'.   His problems begin when he discovers that, although outwardly he is normal. he is different in another way. Directed By: Michael Bartlett David: Stephen Garlick Rosalind: Amanda Murray Petra: Judy Bennett Michael/Alan: Spencer Banks Katherine: Phillipa Ritcihe Rachel: Jenny Lee Anne: Kathryn Hurlbutt David a child: Susan Sheridan Sophie a child: Elissa Derwent Mrs Wender/Sealander: Jennifer Piercey Mr Wender/Spiderman: Robin Browne Mary: Elizabeth Rider Father: Peter Baldwin Mother: Sonia Fraser Axel: Michael Spice Inspector: John Rye Jacob: William Eedle Skinner: Martyn Read Sophie: Jane Knowles A world paralysed by genetic mutation. John Wyndham takes the reader into the anguished heart of a community where the chances of breeding true are less than fifty per cent and where deviations are rooted out and destroyed as offences and abominations. In a post-apocalyptic world, one society has responded to the mistakes of the past by trying to please God, interpreting this to mean maintaining absolute genetic purity. In this sinister world, anyone deemed a ‘mutant’ is punished by exclusion and worse. At the centre of the story is a group of teenagers who differ from this enforced norm in a powerful way, and must keep their secrets for fear of what will happen if they are discovered and betrayed.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.