By Val McDermid

BBC Audio, out now

You expect a dodgy tummy at a festival – it almost goes with the territory – but what if there’s more to it than that?

Val McDermid’s three part play was broadcast earlier this year as part of Radio 4’s Dangerous Visions season, part of the Wellcome Trust Experimental Stories scheme.  There’s more than a touch of Nigel Kneale’s dramatic style in pulling the audience into the issue through ordinary people – sausage van vendors or garrulous barstaff who respond to a purple portrait of the Queen.

Gina McKee stars as Zoe, a writer trying to find her way in this new “post-factual” world. She doesn’t want to simply provide puff pieces on celebrities, but if attending the Solstice festival and interviewing the musicians there puts food on the table, that’s what she’ll do. But at heart she’s an investigative journalist, and when what should be just 24 hour gippy tummy starts to become something more, she senses a story. And it turns out that she’s got a personal reason for getting to the truth…

You have to really hope that a lot of what is discussed between the various scientists goes beyond the hypothetical into the realms of pure fiction, because if not the ramifications are quite horrific – which, I suspect, is exactly the reaction that McDermid and the scientists she worked with on this are hoping for. Zoe’s an old-fashioned foot in the door journalist at heart, and won’t stop pursuing the story, no matter what obstacles are put in her way.

McDermid creates a wealth of flawed characters to populate the tale, allowing the listener to understand not just the larger issues but just how they affect those caught up in it and making this a riveting listen thanks to strong performances across the board. It’s not all doom and gloom; there are sparks of human decency still left in the survivors, and you want to cheer at certain developments but there are some truly heartrending scenes in this.

Verdict: An all too plausible scenario brought to life well. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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