Hard Times Episode 1
"Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life."Charles Dickens' novel - subtitled 'For These Times' - is a vivid story for our own age - a short, sharp satire of target-driven education, business, and the denial of the imagination. Headmaster Thomas Gradgrind has developed a rigid, facts-driven curriculum for his school. And at home, he raises his two children, Tom and Louisa, within a similar system of utilitarian metrics. But the human spirit has an inherent thirst for wonder and Louisa struggles inside the constraints of her education.Dramatised by Graham WhiteThomas Gradgrind…..David MorrisseyLouisa Gradgrind…..Rachel HarperTom Gradgrind…..Ike BennettJosiah Bounderby…..Shaun DooleySissy Jupe…..Janey OrchardMrs Sparsit…..Jan RavensJames Harthouse…..Will CloseStephen Blackpool…..Arthur HughesRachael…..Claire CageMrs Gradgrind/Margaret/Josephine…..Julie BarclayMr M’Choakumchild/Slackbridge/Collins…..Richard ElfynBitzer…..Aaron AnthonySleary…..Patrick RobinsonProduction co-ordinators Lindsay Rees and Eleri Sydney McAuliffeSound by Rhys Morris, Nigel Lewis and Catherine RobinsonDirected by Emma Harding, BBC Audio Wales