BBC Radio 4, December 18 2018

Some people don’t take literary rejection very well…

This is one of the classic James tales, perhaps best known from its adaptation as the 1957 movie Night of the Demon, with its idea of a “black spot” that can be passed from person to person to bring down ruination and damnation. As with his adaptation of The Mezzotint, Neil Brand starts his version of the tale with a strong hook scene, this time taken directly from James’ text, as Karswell’s gifts (or perhaps lack thereof) as a children’s entertainer are demonstrated.

The original story jumps between scenes (with James’ narrator saying that as readers, we don’t need to know certain portions) but Brand doesn’t have that luxury. He condenses the tale into 15 minutes without it even feeling rushed without too much resort to Mark Gatiss’ narrator to speed the plot along.

(On a side note – Scarifyers fans may perhaps wryly chuckle at Ewan Bailey appearing alongside a Professor Edward Dunning in this story, just as he did in The Thirteen Hallows!)

Verdict: There’s plenty of room in James’ original for expansion, but once again less is more – another enjoyable short play. 9/10

Paul Simpson