Patrick Hamilton: Rope, Gaslight, Hangover Square and more: Seven BBC Radio Full-Cast Productions

A collection of thrilling radio dramas from the celebrated novelist and playwright


Patrick Hamilton is renowned for his gritty, slice-of-life tales chronicling the hopes, dreams and obsessions of London's working class in the inter-war years. This collection brings together his key pieces, together with some lesser-known classics and a bonus 2004 documentary exploring his achievements and legacy.

Hangover Square - Earl's Court, 1939. With war looming, everyone is frantically pursuing a good time. But when composer George Bone becomes obsessed with beautiful, fast-living actress Netta, murder and madness ensue... This brooding adaptation of Patrick Hamilton's masterpiece stars Nicholas Farrell and Amanda Redman.

Rope - Believing they have committed the perfect murder, two students throw a macabre dinner party, where the guests include the victim's father. Will anyone see through their terrible vanity? Alan Rickman and Adam Baring star in this electrifying drama, famously adapted as an Alfred Hitchcock film.

Gaslight - A husband commits to driving his wealthy young wife insane in order to steal from her in this psychological drama which originated the term 'gaslighting'. Starring Barbara Jefford and Michael Kilgarriff.

Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky - Patrick Hamilton's semi-autobiographical trilogy tells a story of unrequited love amid the hardship of 1920s London, and comprises The Midnight Bell, The Siege of Pleasure and The Plains of Cement. Steven Pacey, Annette Badland, John Moffatt and Emily Morgan star.

The Governess - Ethel Fry takes a position as a governess in the Drew household, but when the family discovers their baby son has been abducted, the entire house is thrown under suspicion. Starring Margaret Wolfit and Helen Worth

To The Public Danger - A young couple fall into the company of two reckless motorists, whose drunk-driving has fatal consequences. Ivan Samson and Arthur Young star.

The Duke in Darkness - Set in the Chateau Lamorre during the 16th-century French Civil Wars, this stirring tale of imprisonment and escape stars Alec Clunes and John Moffatt.

A Portrait in Black - Biographer Nigel Jones celebrates the centenary of Hamilton's birth and his skill at conjuring up a lost world of seedy boarding-houses, third-class railway compartments, dance halls and fleapit cinemas.

Text copyright © Patrick Hamilton 1929 (Rope), 1935 (Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky), 1938 (Gas Light), 1939 (To the Public Danger), 1941 (Hangover Square), 1943 (The Duke in Darkness), 1946 (The Governess)

Cast and credits
Written by Patrick Hamilton

Hangover Square
Rope
Gaslight
Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky
The Governess
To The Public Danger
The Duke in Darkness

Extra Content:
A Portrait in Black


'If you were looking to fly from Dickens to Martin Amis with just one overnight stop, then Hamilton is your man' Nick Hornby

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