The Elder Son

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Drama: The Elder Son (Part 1)

The Elder Son (Part 1)

Drama on 4

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The Elder Son (Part 1)

An elaborate hoax goes wrong on a cold Russian night.

On a cold Russian night, two tricksters con a family into giving them shelter by concocting an elaborate lie that one of them is the family's lost lost elder son.

By Alexander Vampilov
Translated from Russian by Jan Butler
Adapted for radio by Tom Wainwright

It's the cold Russian winter and two tricksters have missed the last train home and now need a roof over their heads for the night. They concoct an elaborate lie that involves one of them posing as the lost lost elder son of a local family. So far, so good. But what this 'elder son' fails to anticipate is that he will soon be unable to extricate himself from the lie. 

The Elder Son (1967) by Alexander Vampilov is a classic of Russian theatre and has been adapted in two parts for BBC Radio. 

During his lifetime, Vampilov was considered the hero of the 'new wave' of Russian dramatists and regularly compared to Anton Chekhov. His plays present a devastating and hilarious portrait of life in Brezhnev's Russia. At one time, The Elder Son ran in 44 theatres simultaneously in the Soviet Union. It was also filmed several times. Tragically, Alexander Vampilov died at the age of 34 following a boating accident in Lake Baikal.

Volodya . . . . . . Stewart Campbell
Silva . . . . . Ian Dunnett Jnr
Sarafanov . . . . . Tony Turner
Nina . . . . . Elinor Coleman
Vasya . . . . . Aaron Gelkoff
Natasha . . . . . Lauren Cornelius
Neighbour . . . . . Nicholas Murchie

Music arranged and performed by Ian Dunnett Jnr.

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko

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