Will is pursued by the tornado of the Dark and prepares for the final battle. Herne the Hunter, who rides for the first time in a thousand years, summons his ghostly hounds. The Old Ones gather from across the centuries as the ancient conflict between Light and Dark reaches its climax.

This four-part version, edited for BBC Radio 4, of the BBC World Service serialisation of Susan Cooper's classic, is written and recorded to take place across the Christmas holidays.

#TheDarkIsRising

Will Stanton ... Noah Alexander,
John Smith/ Paul Stanton/Mr Beaumont ... Thomas Arnold
Jamaican Old One/ James Stanton ... Danny Bailey
Stephen Stanton ... Simon Bubb
Mrs Stanton/Dr Armstrong ... Amanda Hadingue,
The Walker (Hawkin) ... Toby Jones
Narrator ... Simon McBurney
The Rider/Mr Stanton/Farmer Dawson ... Tim McMullen
Merriman ... Paul Rhys
Maggie Barnes/Mary Stanton ... Natasha Stone.
The Lady/Miss Greythorne ... Harriet Walter
Herne ... Miles Yekinni

Chorister ... Vinay Singh

Soundscape designed by Gareth Fry
Original songs by Johnny Flynn, Luisa Gerstein and Heloise Tunstall-Behrens.
Music by Josh Sneesby

The book by Susan Cooper was adapted for audio by Robert Macfarlane and Simon McBurney.

Director: Simon McBurney
Producers: Catherine Bailey and Tim Bell.
A Complicité and Catherine Bailey production for BBC World Service Show less