Main content

Maydays. Part 3: Human Dust

David Edgar's modern theatre classic has been reworked into a powerful three part series exploring the shift of idealistic young activists from the far left to the die-hard right.

David Edgar's audio reworking of his landmark theatre play concludes. Martin has broken up painfully with his revolutionary socialist past and with fellow activist Amanda. Meanwhile Soviet dissident Pavel Lermontov has been released and is en route to London, where the lives and beliefs of the two men will collide.

Martin Glass ..... Mark Quartley
Jeremy Crowther ..... Geoffrey Streatfeild
Pavel Lermontov ..... Simon Scardifield
Amanda ..... Ellie Kendrick
Sir Hugh Trelawney ..... Oliver Ford Davies
Miklos Paloczi ..... Adrian Klein
Clara Ivanovna ..... Ruth Everett
Tanya ..... Ria Marshall
Phyllis Weiner ..... Jane Slavin
Newsreader ..... Roger Ringrose
James Grain ..... Jonathan Forbes
Phil Mandrell ..... Colin Ryan

Sound Design by Peter Ringrose
Directed by Toby Swift
A 大象传媒 Audio Production for Radio 4

Maydays was originally produced on stage by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Theatre in London in 1983, directed by Ron Daniels. The play was revived in a new version at the Other Place in Stratford in 2018, directed by Owen Horsley.

David Edgar wrote a solo show, Trying it On, which reveals the autobiographical background to Maydays. First seen on stage in 2018 in an engagingly honest performance by its author, it was then reversioned for Radio 4 and recorded in front of an audience at the Radio Theatre in London Broadcasting House in 2019. You can hear that again on Radio 4 on 4th March 2023 and then on 大象传媒 Sounds.

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Wed 1 Mar 2023 14:15

Broadcast

  • Wed 1 Mar 2023 14:15

Opening Lines

Opening Lines

John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

The Shakespeare Sessions

The Shakespeare Sessions

Immerse yourself in Shakespeare鈥檚 world