This week we continue our feature of three lives intertwined by cheap labor in India… an exploration of the undertow of modern globalism and a test of the theory of degrees of separation… Penned by seasoned field recording radio dramatist John Dryden, here is Severed Threads, originally commissioned by BBC Radio 4.

Play write-up:

Second part of John Dryden’s epic story of inter-connected lives, set on three continents.

When journalist Prem Sharma rescues a child working in a textile factory outside Delhi, seven thousand miles away in Minnesota, Jim Nostrand, proprietor of church-owned clothing firm Cheap Threads, becomes the scapegoat. Meanwhile, in a private boarding school in England, troubled twelve-year-old Ben seems obsessed with school-shootings and vengeance.

Cast:
Jim ….. Brian d’Arcy James
Prem ….. Ameet Chana
Ben ….. Hugo Docking

US Cast:
Ruth ….. Marsha Dietlein
Faith ….. Amanda Scot Ellis
Pastor McGiven ….. Tom Tammi
Kyle ….. Matt Bennett
Sheila ….. Janet Foster
News Anchor ….. John Leonard Thompson
Billy ….. Jacob Knoll
Harry ….. Craig Bockhorn
Casey/Waitress ….. Felicity Jones
Prison Priest ….. Miles Chapin

India Cast:
Rahul ….. Ankur Vikal
Amit …..Vijay Yadav
Amit’s mother ….. Ayesha Raza
Amit’s brother ….. Sagar Shinde
Welfare Officers ….. Veruschka Menon, Pushan Kripalani
Dr Khunna …… Shaikh Sami Usman
Factory Owner ….. Kenneth Desai
Factory Workers ….. Rupa Kasbe, Jyoti Reddy, Shabana Sheikh,
Rita John, Neeta Chavan, Eisy T. John, Pramod Yedke

UK Cast:
Fiona …. Natasha Little
Timms ….. Henry Goodman
Elgood ….. Francois Testory
Jones ….. Gethin Anthony
Psychologist ….. Kate Fitzgerald
Travel Agent ….. Joanne Ferguson
Heyward ….. Daniel Bridle
Boy …..Callum Francis

Production Team:
India Line Producer ….. Nadir Khan
Assistant Director ….. Tasneem Fatehi
India Sound ….. Ayush Ahuja

US Producer ….. David Rapkin
US Line Producer ….. Kim Moarefi
US Casting ….. Janet Foster
US Sound ….. Frederick Greenhaigh

UK Broadcast Assistant ….. Sarah Tombling
UK Production Assistant ….. Lucy Howe
Music ….. Sacha Puttnam

Producer/Director: John Dryden
A Goldhawk Essential Production for BBC Radio 4.

Our Captain Radio review this week is the immersive and innovative audio experience The Realm Unseen, an interactive story that might remind you of those wonderful “Choose Your Own Adventure” books.