Home
/
Non-Fiction
/
Perpetual Light (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)
Perpetual Light (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)
Oct 8, 2024 6:41 AM

Author:Melissa Murray,Claire Price,Sian Thomas

Perpetual Light (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

A BBC Radio 3 Sci-Fi drama by Melissa Murray set in the very-near future. When William Hellier dies, his wife creates an avatar of him and has it uploaded onto a cyberspace memorial site. But is he software? Or is his soul trapped in the machine? ‘Perpetual Light’ was originally broadcast in the ‘Drama on 3’ slot on 5 December 2010. A new way to remember the dead has been developed. The Maken Corporation can construct an interactive avatar - a perfectly realistic representation of the deceased - in cyberspace, using all the data available on an individual. At first, this appears to be a huge comfort for the bereaved. They can see and speak to their dead. The pain of mourning is eased. But it's a controversial issue. One that divides society and divides families. When William Hellier dies suddenly, his wife Barbara and daughter Rachel, not for the first time in their lives, come into conflict. Barbara goes to Maken and has an avatar of her dead husband created. But as she begins to spend more time with William - and more money at Maken - Rachel begins to believe that the corporation is preying on the grief of the vulnerable. Her cousin Jas also has reasons to distrust Maken. He believes they have imprisoned William Hellier's soul. Can Jas persuade Rachel to destroy her father's avatar? And if he can, will Rachel go through with it once she comes face to face with the man she loved? Starring Claire Price as Rachel and Sian Thomas as Barbara. Also featured in the cast are Khalid Abdalla, Sam Dale, Adeel Akhtar, Sean Baker, Tony Bell, Claire Harry, Leah Brotherhead, Iain Batchelor and Henry Devas. Directed by Marc Beeby.

Reviews

It's a great book that retraces the history of mod culture from post-war Britain right up to skinheads. It's probably too engaging for bedtime, but it's got lots of interesting details about music and fashion and social history

—— Uncut

Simon Callow's brilliant account of the early years is the best Welles book yet

—— David Hare

Callow is not just that rare phenomenon, an actor who can write. He is a superb biographer. His description of the making of Kane is masterly... This is an extraordinary book with extraordinary insights

—— Godfrey Hodson , Independent

A knock-down, brass-bound, copper-bottomed triumph...tremendous fun to read... It is Simon Callow's triumph that at the end of this book Orson Welles comes before us just as Oscar Wilde did at the end of Richard Ellmann's superb biography

—— Keith Baxter , Daily Telegraph

Welles might seem a difficult subject for a new biography. The legend is already pretty much written in stone. Callow's achievement is threefold: he embraces his subject with such gallumphing energy that the extraordinary power of his subject is conveyed as if for the first, fascinating time; he attempts a sober reassessment, trying to get an honest measure of someone who seemed larger than life...and he provides a genuinely interesting actor's view of the actor

—— Nigella Lawson , The Times

As a writer,novelist and award-winning screenwriter and director of films such as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless In Seattle, she has had the ability to surf the zeitgeist and make whatever is on her mind... seem fascinating and cool... her book is essential reading for anyone who hopes to grow old elegantly and perhaps a little disgracefully

—— Jane Shilling , Mail on Sunday

So clear-eyed, so free of vitriol and sarcasm and artifice that we believe everything she says... If a theme runs beneath the wit and cleverness of I Remember Nothing, it is about the difficulty of coming to terms with one's mortality

—— Jane Juska , San Francisco Chronicle

Ephron's voice helped launch a whole new way of writing, and I still love to hear it

—— Mary McNamara , Los Angeles Times

Witty and carefree... She remains the neighbor we all wish we had. Someone to share a cup of coffee with. Or better yet, a glass of wine. Maybe two... Listen... If we're all headed to the old folks home, we couldn't have a better guide than Nora Ephron

—— USA Today

Rich with self-deprecating humor at its finest... so much so that you can almost hear her laughing as she pounds away at the keyboard... a full pleasure to read

—— New York Journal of Books

She can write an entertaining riff about practically anything or everybody

—— Janet Maslin , The New York Times

Fabulous... tremendously talented... She'll dazzle you with strings of perfect prose

—— Washington Post

Sophisticatedly smart, freshly wide-eyed

—— The Times

Cheerfully wry collection... It's witty and, contrary to the title, Ephron remembers much

—— Daily Express

Full of anecdotal gifts you will never forget... Ephron reflects on the early days of her career-memories of her time working as a mail girl at Newsweek and writing for Esquire-while taking every opportunity to get real about her life at the time she was penning this memoir.

—— Oprah Magazine
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved