"Hangover Square" - BBC Radio 4 Saturday Night Theatre adaptation - by Patrick Hamilton

Support the Archive - Buy Me A Coffee ☕ https://buymeacoffee.com/jr_the_old_r... Preserving classic radio drama, one story at a time. Classic Old Time Radio, vintage radio shows, the Golden Age of radio, BBC Radio, murder, mystery, drama, comedy, sci-fi, westerns. ========================================== The BBC Radio adaptation of Patrick Hamilton's novel "Hangover Square" is a brooding psychological drama set in Earl's Court, London, in 1939, on the cusp of World War II. The adaptation was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as "Saturday Night Theatre" in 1994 and 1995. The story centers on **George Harvey Bone**, a melancholic and somewhat lost soul, who is consumed by an intense and delusional obsession with **Netta Longdon**. Netta is a beautiful but shallow and manipulative "bit-part actress" who belongs to a fast-living, morally ambiguous crowd of pub-crawling hangers-on. She cynically exploits George's devotion for money, drinks, and connections, while showing him no genuine affection. George suffers from "dead moods," a kind of dissociative state where he becomes an automaton, and during these episodes, he harbors a chilling, compulsive desire to murder Netta for the way she treats him. When he comes out of these fugue states, he has no memory of his murderous impulses. The play captures the oppressive atmosphere of pre-war London, where a sense of impending doom hangs over the frivolous and self-absorbed lives of the characters. As war looms, George's internal struggle intensifies, pushing him closer to the edge. The narrative skillfully draws the listener into George's tortured mind, exploring themes of unrequited love, mental instability, and the decline of society. The BBC Radio version, often starring actors like Nicholas Farrell as George Bone and Amanda Redman as Netta, brings to life Hamilton's gritty depiction of a lost world and a man spiraling into madness, set against the backdrop of a world about to plunge into war. 🕯️ *Hangover Square* — BBC Radio 4 Saturday Night Theatre (1994) *Adapted from the novel by:* Patrick Hamilton *Dramatised by:* Sam Boardman-Jacobs *Directed by:* Sue Wilson *Starring:* Nicholas Farrell as George Harvey Bone, Amanda Redman as Netta Longdon Set in *Earl’s Court, London, 1939**, just before the outbreak of World War II, *Hangover Square follows the troubled and lonely **George Harvey Bone**, a man afflicted by dissociative fugue states he calls “dead moods.” In these episodes, George becomes detached from reality, driven by a chilling compulsion: to murder **Netta Longdon**, the manipulative actress he obsessively loves. Netta and her fast-living circle exploit George for drinks, money, and connections, while mocking his devotion. As George’s mental state deteriorates and the world teeters on the edge of war, the line between fantasy and violence blurs. The drama explores themes of **unrequited love, psychological breakdown, and societal decay**, painting a haunting portrait of a man spiraling toward tragedy.