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The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Summary

Meet Reginald Iolanthe Perrin, a man on the brink, in this comedy classic

Fleeing across England in a fruit shaped van, attending his own wake and shouting the word 'parsnip' at inopportune moments wasn't exactly what Reginald Perrin had planned. But for Reggie, nothing in life is really going to plan. This brand new dramatisation of David Nobbs's hilarious classic novel follows the adventures of a middle-aged, middle-of-the-road, middle management dessert salesman, as he decides he's finally had enough.

Part 1: The Fall - Reginald Perrin is having a crisis; he's not only lost his drive at work and in the bedroom but also his grip on reality. Parsnip, anyone?

Part 2: The Rise - Reggie decides that faking his own death is the only way to find freedom and become a new man, but there's an unexpected problem...

Also included here is a bonus interview programme, 'Laughed Off the Page', in which David Nobbs tells Janice Forsyth about his most famous creation, the wonderful Reggie Perrin.

Written By David Nobbs
Dramatised By Jon Canter
Directed By Sally Avens
Piano & Organ Played By Peter Ringrose

Cast
Reggie - David Haig
CJ - Pip Torrens
Elizabeth - Selina Griffiths
Joan - Amelia Bullmore
Linda - Celeste Dring
Jimmy/Man In Car - Thomas Arnold
Henry/Train Announcer/Inspector Gate - Dan Starkey
Tom - Joseph Ayre
Esther - Chloe Sommer
Tony - Jonathan Forbes
Mark/Barker/Reverend - Tom Kiteley
Mrs CJ/Woman In Car - Joanna Monro
Doc/Bill The Nightwatchman - Roger Ringrose
Adam - Aiden Davison
Jocasta - Elise Davison
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13 and 20 November 2022

Laughed Off The Page
First broadcast BBC Radio Scotland, 25 November 2010

© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

About the author

David Nobbs

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