Beneath the streets of London there is another London. A subterranean labyrinth of sewers and abandoned tube stations. A somewhere that is Neverwhere.
An act of kindness sees Richard Mayhew catapulted from his ordinary life into a subterranean world under the streets of London. Stopping to help an injured girl on a London street, Richard is thrust from his workaday existence into the strange world of London Below.
I've been really getting into audiobooks and audio dramas lately, mostly listening to them on my work commute. From the free audio books from the public domain by Librivox, and unabridged adaptations of some of my favourite books, to the old BBC dramatisations of The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, and of course not forgetting the classic NPR broadcasts of the original Star Wars trilogy. So when it was first announced that the BBC were going to do a six part adaptation of Neil Gaiman's 'Neverwhere' (one of my favourite Neil Gaiman books) I was really looking forward to hearing it.
With a cast list that includes James McAvoy (Richard Mayhew), Natalie Dormer (Door), David Harewood (Marquis De Carabas), Sophie Okonedo (Hunter), Anthony Head (Mr Croup), David Schofield (Mr Vandemar), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Angel Islington), Bernard Cribbins (Old Bailey), George Harris (The Abbot Of The Black Friars) and Christopher Lee (The Earl Of Earl's Court) and produced by Dirk Maggs, who wrote and directed the 2003 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy' radio series, the potential for a quality adaptation was there. It's safe to say I wasn't disappointed!
You are definitely drawn into Richard Mayhew's descent from his world of London Above to the realm of London Below. The acting is top notch, with a cast like they have I wouldn't have expected anything less, and it's well written too with not too much of the original story cut due to time restrictions, given that the whole radio play is just over three hours (I'd recommend the Neil Gaiman narrated audiobook for the complete experience, and the original six part 1996 BBC TV series isn't bad either).
Although the series has now concluded, the hour long first chapter is now available on iTunes and available as Drama Of The Week for this week only, and then part 2 will be available.
I really enjoyed listening to 'Neverwhere' and can certainly recommend this audio drama if you're a fan of Neil Gaiman and the original book. I hope they do more Sci-Fi, Fantasy audio dramas off the back of this adaptation!
***** out of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment