Hard Times Episode 1

"Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life."

Charles Dickens' novel - subtitled 'For These Times' - is a vivid story for our own age - a short, sharp satire of target-driven education, business, and the denial of the imagination. Headmaster Thomas Gradgrind has developed a rigid, facts-driven curriculum for his school. And at home, he raises his two children, Tom and Louisa, within a similar system of utilitarian metrics. But the human spirit has an inherent thirst for wonder and Louisa struggles inside the constraints of her education.

Dramatised by Graham White

Thomas Gradgrind…..David Morrissey

Louisa Gradgrind…..Rachel Harper

Tom Gradgrind…..Ike Bennett

Josiah Bounderby…..Shaun Dooley

Sissy Jupe…..Janey Orchard

Mrs Sparsit…..Jan Ravens

James Harthouse…..Will Close

Stephen Blackpool…..Arthur Hughes

Rachael…..Claire Cage

Mrs Gradgrind/Margaret/Josephine…..Julie Barclay

Mr M’Choakumchild/Slackbridge/Collins…..Richard Elfyn