Houdini BBC radio collection released

BBC audiobooks have released a collection of three BBC-produced Houdini radio programs called Houdini & The Witch of Beacon Hill. Details below.

What drove Harry Houdini - magician, escapologist, and one of the most famous men in the world? Whether it was escaping from handcuffs, a straitjacket or from a box filled with water, Houdini wowed audiences with his seemingly death-defying performance... This BBC Radio collection shares the story behind the trickery: in two fascinating full-cast dramas about the life of Harry Houdini, and in particular his public campaign to expose fraudulent spiritual mediums.

In the stunning full-cast dramatisation Houdini, a man is naked against the world, bound in chains, deprived of all help. Performing a death defying escape from a galvanised iron can, filled with water and secured with massive locks. Failure means a drowning death! This is the gripping story of the master magician, escapologist, and at the time of his death in 1926, one of the most famous men in the world. Michael Maloney stars as Houdini, with Graham Crowden as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Lorelei King as Bess.

Houdini, the showman, longed to believe that he might be able to communicate beyond the grave with his beloved mother, but knew far too much about the trickery and faking of the stage to be easily convinced. The Witch of Beacon Hill is the true story of how Harry Houdini tried to debunk psychics and mediums. Attending séances in disguise, accompanied by a reporter and a police officer he debunked the most famous and celebrated Boston medium Mina Crandon, also known as ‘Margery’. This radio drama tells Margery’s story, and the story of how Houdini set out to disprove her claims. Starring Shelly Thompson as Margery and Nigel Anthony as Houdini.

This double edition collection comes with a bonus episode of Harry Houdini: Escape artist and showman with Rajan Datar. Through interviews, Datar charts the life and career of the legendary Houdini, with writer and biographer Adam Begley, Dr Matthew Solomon, and Dr Katharina Rein.

For the record, Houdini was first broadcast on BBC Radio 2, Oct 1996; The Witch of Beacon Hill on BBC Radio 4, 30 Sep 1989; and Harry Houdini: Escape artist and showman on BBC World Service, 30 Dec 2021

Purchase Houdini & The Witch of Beacon Hill: Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Historical Dramas at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a physical release.

Related:

• Ghosts of Beacon Hill
• BBC Radio: The Witch of Beacon Hill
• Peepolykus blend Houdini and Dracula on the BBC