Here's a direct link to the first episode of the BBC's new two-part radio drama of Hard Times. I listened to it this week and enjoyed it very much. Of course, cuts have been made to the story to fit it into two hourlong episodes. Also, it feels as if some of the sharper edges have been sanded off Dickens's characters and situations -- Mrs. Gradgrind doesn't say "Go and be somethingological directly," Mr. Bounderby doesn't go on and on about being born in a ditch, Louisa's spells of sharpness and sullenness are pretty much gone. Sleary doesn't even lisp! Yet for all that, adapter Graham White takes the story seriously and tells it simply and movingly, foregrounding the domestic scenes, to which the strong cast brings a sense of both intimacy and urgency. Even with some of the beloved Dickensian trimmings pared away, this adaptation shows the strength of Dickens's storytelling and the timeless appeal of his characters.
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