The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward; the only full-length work of fiction by cult American author H P Lovecraft, – Stephen King: “the twentieth century’s greatest practitioner of horror,” – gets a twenty-first century makeover by award winning UK-based writer/director Julian Simpson.
Simpson takes his cue from investigative podcasts like Serial and Tanis, presenting the story as a truly terrifying ten-part modern mystery podcast, hosted by Matthew Heawood and his roaming researcher Kennedy Fisher.
At the heart of their investigation is Charles Dexter Ward, a young man from a prominent family who is incarcerated in a locked room in a mental asylum whence he subsequently vanishes without trace.
Where did he go? Interviewing a range of people who knew him including a former teacher and a childhood friend, Kennedy and Heawood’s investigations, which have more twists than a Chubby Checker dance off, takes them across the Atlantic to Providence and New York, and finally into the heart of darkness.
A fine cast headed up by Barnaby Kay and Jana Carpenter also features Alun Armstrong, Adam Godley, Nicola Walker, Steven Mackintosh, Mark Bazeley, Samuel Barnett, Richard Cordery, Harry Kay, Penny Downie, Madeleine Potter, Phoebe Fox, Ben Crowe, Nathan Osgood, Susan Jameson, Samantha Dakin, Alex Lanipekun and Cherrelle Skeete. The series was recorded on location in London, Brighton and Lewes.
