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The Vicar, the Automaton and the Talking Dog

4 Extra Debut. An extraordinary day in the life of a young Alexander Graham Bell, the roots of his genius and his invention. Stars John Bell.

Using a mixture of fact and fantasy, this is an extraordinary day in the life of Alexander Graham Bell as a child.

We discover the roots of his genius, and how his mother's impending deafness helped lead him to his invention of the telephone. Aleck, with the help of his friend and brother, made an automaton that could say 'Mama' and further, he manipulated his dog's throat and mouth so he indeed had a talking dog.

Written by Lavinia Murray.

Aleck....... John Bell
Ben ..... Keir Beckwith
Reverend McReady ...... Stuart Mcquarrie
Father, Voice of the Automaton, and Trouve ...... Seamus O'Neill
Mother ..... Morag Siller
Melville ..... Stephen Fletcher

Director: Pauline Harris

First broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio 4 in 2014.

Further info:

We begin with a symphony of various telephone rings through the ages brought to us on a light Scottish breeze, and then we cut to answer machine. We see the stark difference between Bell's world of sound and his mother's world into silence. This is a drama not without humour, fascinating, illuminating and enchanting; providing a real, dramatic insight into the roots of a scientific genius, told with imagination and originality, and created especially for radio.

45 minutes

Last on

Thu 27 Jun 2019 21:15

Credits

Role Contributor
Aleck John Bell
Ben Keir Beckwith
Rev McReady Stuart McQuarrie
Father Seamus O'Neill
Voice of the Automaton Seamus O'Neill
Trouve Seamus O'Neill
Mother Morag Siller
Melville Stephen Fletcher
Writer Lavinia Murray
Director Pauline Harris
Producer Pauline Harris

Broadcasts

  • Mon 18 Aug 2014 14:15
  • Tue 26 Jul 2016 14:15
  • Thu 27 Jun 2019 11:15
  • Thu 27 Jun 2019 21:15