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Neverwhere
1st Broadcast 16th March 2013 to 22nd March 2013 on BBC Radio 4
Contents
Director
Producer
Written By
Adaptation by
Produced By
A Perfectly Normal production Ltd
Synopsis
Richard Mayhew, a Scot living in London, encounters an injured girl named Door on the street one night. Despite his fiancée's protests he decides to help her, but that unfortunately also means that he suddenly ceases to exist for regular people and becomes real only to the denizens of 'London Below', whose inhabitants are generally invisible and non-existent to the people of 'London Above'. He loses his house, his job and nearly his mind as he travels London Below in an attempt to make sense out of it all, find a way back, and help Door survive as she is hunted down by hired assassins.
In London Below the various familiar names of London all take on a new significance: for example Knightsbridge becomes "Night's Bridge", a stone bridge whose darkness takes its toll in human life; The Angel, Islington is an actual angel. London Below is a parallel world in and beneath the sewers. Its inhabitants are the homeless, but also people from other times, such as Roman legionaries and medieval monks, as well as fictional and fantastical characters.
Cast
Richard Mayhew James McAvoy
Door Natalie Dormer
The Marquis de Carabas David Harewood
Hunter Sophie Okondo
The Angel Islington Benedict Cumberbatch
Mr Croup Anthony Head
Mr Vandemar David Schofield
Old Bailey Bernard Cribbins
Jessica Romola Garai
Earl of Earl's Court Sir Christopher Lee
Tooley Andrew Sachs
Abbot George Harris
Fulingous Don Gilet
Ruislip Don Gilet
Blackfriar Don Gilet
Sable Abdul Salis
Sump Abdul Salis
Clarence Abdul Salis
Homeless Man Abdul Salis
Gary Paul Chequer
Guard 2 Paul Chequer
Lord Ratspeaker Johnny Vegas
Sylvia Karen Archer
Old Woman Karen Archer
Dream Hawker Karen Archer
Mother Karen Archer
Varney Stephen Marcus
Homeless man Stephen Marcus
Letting agent Stephen Marcus
Guard 1 Stephen Marcus
Anaesthesia Yasmin Paige
Tenant 2 Yasmin Paige
female Yasmin Paige
Match girl Yasmin Paige
Lamia Lucy Cohu
Figgis Neil Gaiman
The Fop With No Name Neil Gaiman
Lord Portico Jon Glover
Stockton Jon Glover
Production Crew
Not Known
Recorded at
The Soundhouse Ltd London, England UK
Recorded on
21st November 2012
Music Composed & Arranged
Not Known
Comment by Dirk Maggs
None yet
Comment by David Williams
None Yet
Running Time
Episode 1 London Below
Episode 2 Earl's Court
Episode 3 The Angel Islington
Episode 4 The Black Friars
Episode 5 Market Afloat
Episode 6 The Key
6 Episodes 30 minutes long
Characters & Cast
Richard Mayhew - a young businessman, who discovers the world of London Below one day after helping the injured Door recover in his flat.
Door – A young woman from London Below, the daughter of a noble family who were all murdered shortly before the beginning of the story. She possesses her family’s innate ability to “open” things (and not just doors).
The Marquis de Carabas – The Marquis is arrogant, cunning and very self-confident. Though very much the trickster, he is a loyal friend of Door and her family. This character was inspired by Puss in Boots. Gaiman stated this as the starting point for the character, and imagining "Who would own a cat like this?"
Mr. Croup – The talkative half of the pair of assassins, the Messrs. He is short, fat, and speaks in a pompous and verbose manner. Like his partner, Mr. Vandemar, he seems to be able to simply move from one place to another very quickly despite his ungainly appearance. He is the brains of the pair and seems be the one calling the shots, and he apparently has a taste (literally) for fine china. Much of the imagery used to describe him is that of a fox.
Mr. Vandemar – Dull-witted, tall, and gangly, Vandemar is Croup’s polar opposite. He does not speak much, and when he does, his statements are often laconic and blunt. He is quite brutish and seems to enjoy nothing more than killing and destroying things (even practising his golf swing with live toads). He also has a tendency to eat live animals. The descriptive imagery likens him to a hound or a wolf, and he even howls at one point when catching up with his mark.
Old Bailey – An old friend of the Marquis, he keeps the company of pigeons on the rooftops and wears clothing made of feathers. He became indebted to the Marquis long ago, and so is charged with keeping a portion of his life safe for him.
Hunter – A warrior of London Below; her feats are legendary. Her lifelong obsession is to slay the great Beast of London. The imagery used to describe her likens her to a lioness.
The Angel Islington - An actual angel dwelling in the sewers of London Below. Its duty is to watch over London Below, though (or maybe because) it failed at its previous task: guarding the city of Atlantis
Lamia & The Velvets - Vampire-like seductresses, dressed in dark velvet, who "suck the warmth" from their victims.
The Abbott The leader of a group of armed black friars guarding a special key at Blackfriars.
What Other's have said
“The 6-part dramatisation has been adapted by Dirk Maggs (who has a solid track record in radio comic drama – Batman, Superman, Judge Dredd) and has a genuinely star filled cast including James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer, Bernard Cribbins, Sir Christopher Lee, Anthony Head and Benedict Cumberbatch.”
FORBIDDEN PLANET, 16 March 2013
“Dirk Maggs … can conjure a whole world through atmospheric music and layered sound effects. While keeping things amusing, which is a considerable achievement.”
CLARE HEAL, Sunday Express, 17th March 2013
“Without any hyperbole, I can state this is a masterpiece. The intricate layers of sound, the sumptuous orchestration and the haunting rendering of life underground bring a cinematic effect. Dirk Maggs’ sound design is a triumph … he has surpassed himself. If you listen to one thing this year, make it Neverwhere.”
JANE ANDERSON, Radio Times, 16 March 2013
“Anyone who has not read the book and doubts its appeal need only peruse the cast list for this radio version, adapted by the legendary radio writer and director, Dirk Maggs.”
SARAH VINE, The Times, 14th March 2013
“The story is good, and Dirk Maggs’ adaptation is excellent … (he) deploys voices, sound and music brilliantly … but what makes it worth listening to more than once is the way he also gets nuggets of comedy from the maners of the characters’ non-fantasy lives.”
DAVID HEPWORTH, The Guardian Guide, 16 March 2013
“I was a massive fan of Neil’s writing. And going back to the pedigree that Dirk brought from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it was a no-brainer really.”
NATALIE DORMER Press Conference, March 2013
“What is wonderful about doing it on radio is that this is the equivalent of having our 300 million budget. There’s nothing we can’t do just because we’re on radio. And with Dirk Maggs, and the sound-scape, I’m listening to it and thinking ‘this is the equivalent of the Lord of The Rings Movie’ or something.”
NEIL GAIMAN, SFX, 8 March 2013
