RADIO PREMIERE: David Tennant Narrates The Ebb Tide On BBC Radio 4 Today

David Tennant narrates a new radio dramatisation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novella The Ebb Tide, airing on BBC Radio 4 this afternoon. The production is the second in the two-part miniseries Terror In The South Seas, part of Radio 4's short season celebrating the classic Scottish writer. The story is set in Samoa and was written by Stevenson while he lived there. It has been adapted for radio by renowned author and scriptwriter Jane Rogers.

Terror In The South Seas: The Ebb Tide
BBC Radio 4, 3.00pm GMT
Three destitute men steal a schooner. They drink the cargo of champagne and try to steal a treasure trove of pearls from a local slave-owning trader. 

At the height of his powers, Stevenson tackled the most pressing theme on the islands - the vicious effects of colonialism including slavery, racism, sexual exploitation and the conflict between traditional and modern values. The subjects are as vivid today as in 1894 and these compelling and violent stories feature some of the most driven, dangerous and obsessive characters in fiction. Joseph Conrad drew on these novellas for Heart of Darkness.

Cast
David Tennant - Narrator
Stanley Townsend - Captain John Davis
Rupert Evans - Herrick
Charles Davies - Huish

The Ebb Tide was produced and directed by Clive Brill for Brill Productions.

Listeners outside the UK will be able to listen online via the BBC Radio 4 player.

The production is the second of two adaptations of stories taken from Robert Louis Stevenson's collection South Sea Tales. The first, The Beach Of Falesa, aired last week. If you missed it, you can listen or download here.