I’ve been lucky enough to get the chance to listen to London After Midnight, a full-cast audio drama based on the 1927 silent movie of the same name, which starred Lon Chaney and was directed by Tod Browning.

Adapted by Lance Roger Axt and Kenton Hall, this 56-minute production sees Art Malik (The Living Daylights, True Lies, The Little Mermaid) stepping into Chaney’s role as Burke, a skeptical inspector from Scotland Yard who is brought in to investigate the apparent suicide of one Roger Balfour.

The interplay between Malik’s Burke and his good friend Sir James Hamlin (voiced by Dan Starkey), who strongly feels that something more sinister and supernatural is afoot, provides many of the highlights here, with both voice actors clearly having a lot of fun with the slightly melodramatic dialogue.

The audio medium is well utilised throughout, from the mood-setting background music to the restrained use of sound effects. For me, some of the  voice actors’ work is notably better than others, which gives some of the scenes a slightly disjointed feel to them, but for the most part the narrative flows smoothly.  And, as I mentioned above, the main characters – including Beth Eye’s Lucy – all do a fantastic job with the script.

I’ll fully confess to not being familiar at all with the source material, but I thoroughly enjoyed the journey I was taken on here. The pace is rapid-fire throughout and kept me engaged for the entire hour, leading to a conclusion that definitely wasn’t the one I was expecting.  I’m not going to delve into the specifics here, but I will say that if you want a quick, spooky listen this Halloween, London After Midnight is well worth your time.

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London After Midnight can be ordered on digital, CD and Limited Edition Double Vinyl formats at www.londonaftermidnight.co.uk

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CAST:

Art Malik as Inspector Burke
Dan Starkey as Sir James
Beth Eyre as Lucy
Kenton Hall as Hibbs
David K Barnes as Murphy
David Bickerstaff as McInroy
Jack Bowman as Sgt Browning
Cliff Chapman as Colonel Yates
Sarah Dorsett as Doris
Karim Kronfli as Williams
Abi McLoughlin as Miss Smithson

All other parts played by members of the cast

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The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
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