BBC Radio 3 has just aired Bring Me The Head of Philip K. Dick. Here’s the summary:
“Gregory Whitehead’s dark, surreal and satirical drama, set in contemporary America, centres on a deadly futuristic weapon in the shape of the android head of science-fiction writer Philip K Dick. Invented by a shadowy research unit inside the Pentagon, the head – which believes it actually is Dick himself – is wreaking havoc on society and must be stopped before it finds its body.”
Credits:
Cryptica Scriptura …… Elizabeth Aspenlieder
Cathy Nebula …… Karen Beaumont
Reverend Darkleigh …… George Bergen
Nancy Robinson …… Hilary Deely
Philip Dooley …… Richard Jackson
Tiffany Splenda …… Karen Lee
The Potato Man …… Jon Swan
Perky Pat …… Anne Undeland
The Patriot …… Gregory Whitehead
Written, produced and directed by Gregory Whitehead.
Music by Laura Wiens and Nick Zammuto.
Poem by Jon Swan
[via TOTAL DICK HEAD]
UPDATE:
So over the past few days I’ve been playing with a cool piece of new software called RADIO DOWNLOADER, it’s a bit tricky to figure out (perhaps because it looks so uncomplicated) but the software works!! It brought me Bring Me The Head of Philip K. Dick – I love that!
Posted by Jesse Willis
Definitely outside the box. NOT your average “radio drammer” to be sure –which is good (!) because it shows how much most audio drama only scratches the surface.
Odd “story”, somewhat non-linear in a way, which is of course impossible in a linear medium, but the way it was done, interviews and accounts, affords different points of view in time.
Good actor performances –I wish the folks who make videogames with modern characters would listen to stuff like this. Interesting music and interesting USE of music for an audio play. Very. Brilliant sfx and audio production in general. Really fresh and meticulous and innovative.
I liked it, though I thought it was overlong. Still, the music interludes add to the length, and I wouldn’t want to lose them for the sake of cutting a couple of minutes. They’re terrific.
3 1/2 stars out of 4 from me –but this play is not for everyone. It’s too darn weird. : ) But for everyone else, I bet you’ll dig it.