The Midwich Cuckoos: Classic Radio Sci-Fi

Driving back from a weekend in London, Richard and Janet Gayford are surprised to find the village of Midwich sealed off because of 'army manoeuvres'. There are no birds singing, the air seems thick and there is a strange sort of music in the air. It soon becomes clear that there is an invisible wall around the village, and everyone within the perimeter is unconscious. When the barrier lifts, the strange occurrence is put down to a gas leak. The villagers seem to have suffered no adverse effects from their 'day out' - until, some months later, there is an epidemic of pregnancies among the women. All the babies are born on the same day, all have golden eyes - and they can all communicate with… more » each other telepathically. As they grow older and their powers grow stronger, the people of Midwich begin to feel threatened...Bill Nighy and Sarah Parish star in this unsettling tale of a village taken over by terrifying, inhuman children.

This CD release also includes a detailed sleeve note recounting the making of the radio dramatisation, written by Andrew Pixley.

This 2003 radio production of John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos stars Bill Nighy as Richard (whose character also serves as the narrator) and Sarah Parish.

Set in the remote village of Midwich the story tells of a series of unexpected pregnancies and subsequent births which all occur on the same day. Each child the ability to communicate telepathically, a power which gets stronger as the children grow older.

The story is split into two episodes, the first deals with the discovery of the pregnancies with the second picking up the story a few years later when the children are grown and the villagers are beginning to feel threatened.

Of the two the second episode best conveys the fear and paranoia of the Midwich residents at the knowledge that their village is now home to a generation of immacuately conceived children.

Despite the recentness of the production it retains a lot of the feeling of classic 1950's sci-fi. Stylishly directed the dramatisation is especially noteworthy for Nighy's understated performance which is a world away from his often cartoonish TV and movie turns. « less