The Unfortunates, By B S Johnson [Drama On 3]

by B.S. Johnson

adapted by Graham White

Bryan....Martin Freeman

Tony....Patrick Kennedy

Wendy....Claire Rushbrook

June....Jacqueline Defferary

Tony's Father....Sean Baker

First Aid Woman/Tony's Mother....Christine Kavanagh

Sation Announcer/Reporter....Tony Bell

Landlady/Clerk....Sally Orrock

Guest House owner/Reporter....Jude Akuwudike

Clerk/Newspaper Voice....Lloyd Thomas

Grocer/Clerk....Sam Dale

Passing Child....Joseph Dudgeon

Tony's son....Greta Dudgeon

directed by Mary Peate

'But I know this city...Tony. This town. His town. Their town.'

Adaptation of B.S. Johnson's 1969 novel in which a sports journalist travels to a strange city to cover a football match, only to discover it was the city where he first met his friend Tony who has died young of cancer. We follow the journalist from his arrival at the train station, through lunch, to the match and on the journey home, as different memories of his friend are triggered.

Originally published in 27 unbound pamphlets in a box, The Unfortunates was intended to be read in a random order. The lack of a fixed order is suggestive of the way memories occur, and the book becomes a meditation not just on friendship and loss, but also on the nature of memory and writing as our hero struggles to recall everything in order to 'get it all down' as he promised his dying friend.

B.S. Johnson is not a household name, but his novels are beloved by a growing number of people who have discovered him and he has something of a cult status. Renewed interest in B.S. Johnson came partly from the publication of Jonathan Coe's celebrated biography of Johnson, Like a Fiery Elephant.

Adaptation of BS Johnson's novel about a journalist's memories of his dear, dead friend.

Johnson's novel in which a Sports Journalist travels to a strange city to cover a football match, only to discover it was the city where he first met his friend Tony who has died young of cancer.

The lack of a fixed order is suggestive of the way memories occur, and the book becomes a meditation not just on friendship and loss, but also on the nature of memory and writing as our hero struggles to recall everything in order to 'get it all down' as he promised his dying friend he would.

Johnson is not a household name, but his novels are intensely beloved by the growing circle of people who have discovered him and he has something of a cult status.

Adaptation of BS Johnson's 'forgotten masterpiece' in which a sports journalist's memories of an old friend are triggered when he travels to a strange city to cover a football match.

The novel was published in unbound sections loose in a box and intended to be read in any order, so as well as a meditation on friendship and loss, The Unfortunates becomes an inquiry into memory and the act of writing, as our hero struggles to recall everything in order to 'get it all down' as he promised his dying friend.

In a first for the BBC, this audio drama is now available on smart speakers, using the latest technology to create an experience which captures the spirit of the original avant-garde novel. Just as BS Johnson intended the sections of the novel to be read in any order, the smart speaker gives you any number of randomised versions of the drama. The story changes every time, giving you endless permutations, shaped using spoken commands.

How do you enjoy The Unfortunates on smart speakers? It's free to download and can be found either by asking your device to enable The Unfortunates, via the skill store or via BBC R&D's website at BBC.co.uk/taster.

Director.... Mary Peate

Dramatist.... Graham White

Writer....BS Johnson

Martin Freeman stars in a dramatisation of BS Johnson's 1960s 'novel in a box'.

Adaptation of B.S. Johnson's 1969 novel in which a sports journalist travels to a strange city to cover a football match, only to discover it was the city where he first met his friend Tony who has recently died. We follow the journalist from his arrival at the train station, through lunch, to the match and on the journey home, as different memories of his friend are triggered.

Originally published in 27 unbound pamphlets in a box, The Unfortunates was intended to be read in a random order apart from the first and last sections. The lack of a fixed order is suggestive of the way memories occur, and so as well as a meditation on friendship and loss, The Unfortunates becomes an inquiry into memory and the act of writing, as our hero struggles to recall everything in order to 'get it all down' as he promised his dying friend.

This dramatisation of The Unfortunates won the innovation award at the inaugural Audio Drama Awards in 2012.

Johnson's 1969 novel in which a sports journalist travels to a strange city to cover a football match, only to discover it was Road, The [drama]

Adaptation of B.S. Johnson's novel in which a Sports Journalist travels to a strange city to cover a football match, only to discover it was the city where he first met his friend Tony who has died young of cancer. We follow the journalist from his arrival at the train station, through lunch, to the match and on the journey home as different memories of his friend are triggered.

Originally published in 27 unbound pamphlets in a box, The Unfortunates was intended to be read in a random order. The lack of a fixed order is suggestive of the way memories occur, and the book becomes a meditation not just on friendship and loss, but also on the nature of memory and writing as our hero struggles to recall everything in order to 'get it all down' as he promised his dying friend he would.

B.S. Johnson is not a household name, but his novels are intensely beloved by the growing circle of people who have discovered him and he has something of a cult status. Renewed interest in B.S. Johnson came partly from the publication of Jonathan Coe's celebrated biography of Johnson, Like a Fiery Elephant.