Howard Fast The Hessian

(5 stars; 5 reviews)

Dramatised by Ramsay Williams With Derek Jacobi, Patricia Gallimore and Ian Hogg.
 Set in 1781, on the Connecticut Ridge. The American War of Independence has now moved south, but a detachment of Hessian soldiers land from a British frigate off the Sound and cause old wounds to reopen. Squire Hunt convenes the militia and seeks total revenge, leaving Evan Feversham with the question 'Is war merciless - or are men merciless Pastor?'
'There are times when the circumstances of life become implacable and then vou have the feeling that no force or argument or plea can alter them. One event moving in the tracks of another with the mindless, plodding motion of a great ox.' Directed by Vanessa Whitburn, BBC Birmingham. CAST: Evan Feversham:……..Derek Jacobi Alice Feversham:……..Patricia Gallimore Squire Hunt:…….Ian Hogg Sarah Heather:……..Hedli Niklaus Raymond Heather:……..Steve Hodson Sally Heather:……..Kathryn Hurlbutt Jacob Heather:…….Shaun Ley Hans Pohl/Saul/Clamberham:………Kerry Shale Rodney Stephan/Colonel St August:…….Blain Fairman John Dorset/Hessian Officer:………John Livesey General Packenham:……..Noel Johnson Salem Alan:……..Ston Probert Jenny Perkins/Annie Heather:……..Liza Ross F. Hessleman / Bosley Crippitt:………..Harry Towb Billy/Jeb:……..Jonathan Owen Abigail Hunt:……..Shirley Stelfox Hessian Sergeant:……..Crawford Logan Saturday-Night Theatre: The Hessian Sat 31st Oct 1981, 20:30 on BBC Radio 4 FM The Hessian tells the story of the capture, trial, and execution of a Hessian drummer boy by Americans during the Revolution. At the heart of the story is a Quaker family, who hide the boy after his landing party has been killed in an ambush. Because the captain of the Hessians had ordered the hanging of a local whom he thought might be a spy, the town militia lay in wait, massacred the Hessians, and hunted down the only survivor, Hans Pohl. His capture and trial provide an opportunity to explore the difficult moral position that war presents, complicated by the presence of the Quaker family. The story is told from the point of view of Evan Feversham, a doctor who has seen enough of death, and an outsider in the narrow world of Puritan New England. Based on a true event.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.