Platform 4, distributed by B7 Media

A contemporary take on John Wyndham’s classic tale of plants that take over the world…

I’m all in favour of new takes on classic SF tales – whether it’s the interesting approach that Apple TV+ has to the Isaac Asimov Foundation stories, or Val McDermid’s orchestrally linked version of The Kraken Wakes a few years ago. Incorporating contemporary music into these is of course nothing new: Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds wasn’t the first but it’s probably the most successful, filling arenas for another tour this year. Platform 4’s Triffids! is in many ways nearer that template, with a bare bones version of the plot and a few key incidents (such as awakening in the hospital ward) dramatized.

In the publicity, the company purport to have cut many of the outdated comments, but, at least in this audio version, I’m not convinced as to what they’ve replaced it with. We get mood music pieces (think Dead London from War of the Worlds) with some text over it – often repeated – and there’s the weirdest description of a triffid that goes on for ages and incorporates information that we don’t have yet within the drama (and which undercuts the effect of the reveal at the time). The key words there may be “in this audio version” – the theatrical presentation has a load of other senses to appeal to, and I suspect that lacunae in the audio may occur because the music accompanies something more engaging visually.

That’s not to say that this isn’t an engaging 80 or so minutes – the use of the original text and what I assume is Wyndham talking about it (is that genuine radio footage I wonder?) adds a perspective that I’d’ve liked to hear more of, and the music ranges across the board, quite often feeling like what one colleague used to refer to as “noodling” – improvising and simply enjoying playing with the established core structure without getting into the intricacies of jazz. I’d certainly recommend listening to it on headphones to get the full Theremin effect.

Sadly current circumstances mean I won’t get a chance to see this put on live, but I suspect that it will be a powerful theatrical experience, perhaps more so than purely on audio, but for those who see it that way, this will be a good reminder.

Verdict: An intriguing way of experiencing Wyndham’s tale. 7/10

Paul Simpson

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