Radio Review: Stardust

BBC Radio 4, Drama

Starring Matthew Beard, Sophie Rundle, Charlotte Riley, Frances Barber


In the mid 1990s Dirk Maggs came to be known for bringing the likes of Batman, Superman and Judge Dredd in an number of serialised dramas that played out as instalments on Mark Goodier's BBC Radio 1 afternoon show. For his latest production (which he wrote and co-directed) Maggs takes a plunge into the world of fallen stars, witches and feuding brothers in his adaptation of Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel that had been previously made into a film with Robert De Niro. Maggs with his cast and use of sound effects create a rich and evocative world, one sequence worth mentioning is one with a Billy Goat turned man thinking he is still a billy goat trying to head butt a Unicorn with the expected and bloody results. Of the cast Frances Barber as a Witch out to get the heart of a fallen star turned young women so that she and her sisters can became young  again. Dirk Maggs once again cements as the man who brings the fantastical to radio with style and panache..


Stardust can be heard on BBC I-player until late January 2017