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A Stuga On the Cusp of the Orust Riviera, tucked away next to a hobbit hole in the woods.
R.U.R. by Karel Čapek
bookshelves: published-1920, play-dramatisation, sci-fi, sciences, dystopian, philosophy, fraudio, satire
Read in November, 2009
** spoiler alert ** 
BLURB - Karel Capek’s three-act play R.U.R. or Rossum’s Universal Robots was originally staged in Prague in 1920. Once it had been translated from Czech into English, it was performed in New York, before being adapted by Nigel Playfair for the English stage in 1923. The play became a massively influential work throughout the 20th Century, not least for bringing the word 'robot' to the English language (from the Czech 'robota', meaning work or labour).
This release features BBC Radio 3’s version from 1989, which utilised Nigel Playfair’s adaptation as the basis for the broadcast. This version does betray its staged origins, but this can be forgiven because of the work’s significance and also as it has a great cast with lots of recognisable voices. Simon Ward’s performance as Domain, particularly, stands out.
Presented here as the double CD release of 2008.
Cast:
Harry Domain .................................. Simon Ward
Helena Glory ........................... Tessa Peake-Jones
Alquist ....................................... Harry Towb
Dr Gall .................................... Nigel Anthony
Jacob Berman .................................... John Rye
Dr Helman .................................... Sean Barret
Fabry ........................................ Peter Craze
Emma ......................................... Joan Walker
The Robots:
Radius ................................... Ken Cumberlidge
Marius ......................................... John Bull
Sulla ...................................... Joanna Mackie
Primus ........................................ Ian Michie
Helena ....................................... Marcia King
Robot Servant ................................. Joe Dunlop
Written By Karel Kapek
Translated from the Czech by P.Selver
Adapted for the English Stage by Nigel Playfair
Directed By Glyn Dearman
BLURB - Karel Capek’s three-act play R.U.R. or Rossum’s Universal Robots was originally staged in Prague in 1920. Once it had been translated from Czech into English, it was performed in New York, before being adapted by Nigel Playfair for the English stage in 1923. The play became a massively influential work throughout the 20th Century, not least for bringing the word 'robot' to the English language (from the Czech 'robota', meaning work or labour).
This release features BBC Radio 3’s version from 1989, which utilised Nigel Playfair’s adaptation as the basis for the broadcast. This version does betray its staged origins, but this can be forgiven because of the work’s significance and also as it has a great cast with lots of recognisable voices. Simon Ward’s performance as Domain, particularly, stands out.
Presented here as the double CD release of 2008.
Cast:
Harry Domain .................................. Simon Ward
Helena Glory ........................... Tessa Peake-Jones
Alquist ....................................... Harry Towb
Dr Gall .................................... Nigel Anthony
Jacob Berman .................................... John Rye
Dr Helman .................................... Sean Barret
Fabry ........................................ Peter Craze
Emma ......................................... Joan Walker
The Robots:
Radius ................................... Ken Cumberlidge
Marius ......................................... John Bull
Sulla ...................................... Joanna Mackie
Primus ........................................ Ian Michie
Helena ....................................... Marcia King
Robot Servant ................................. Joe Dunlop
Written By Karel Kapek
Translated from the Czech by P.Selver
Adapted for the English Stage by Nigel Playfair
Directed By Glyn Dearman
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