Why is it so hard to write refreshing radio drama?
Still, its slickly produced, with strong and credible performances from Rowan, Kelly, and in particular Iain de Caestecker as Alex, the friend who draws Jake into this dark world. If Leechs cult seems a little implausible, there is a reason for this, as the coming weeks will reveal. If you cant wait, the full series is already available on BBC Sounds. (I binged the lot in one day.) I enjoyed both The System and The Last of England, yet couldnt ignore a niggling frustration with just how familiar they both felt, coyly nodding towards old stories. I wanted a thrilling leap into the unknown, and found it in The Essay: In Albania (Radio 3, Monday-Friday). We all have our historical blind-spots, and 20th-century Albania is one of mine. In my ignorance, I always thought Zog was the nice dragon who zoomed around in Julia Donaldson books. It turns out that Zog was the not-so-nice Albanian king who zoomed around in an open-topped Mercedes, a wedding gift from Hitler.