Robert Glenister and Ian McDiarmid star inside a gripping BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of William Peter Blatty’s common horror novel

‘When a radio play is this great, the devil is really in the details’ Radio Moments

Summoned to a case of apparent possession, Father Karras is at first sceptical, then horrified. The sufferer -a 12-year-old female called Regan – appears to be managed by a malign supernatural drive that makes her swear, blaspheme, scream in agony and carry out appalling acts. Attempting to find about The Exorcist a logical description for the girl’s behavior, Karras attempts to talk to Regan, and then find himself locking horns with the demon inside her mind. Its many voices mock him, tormenting him along with his weakness, uncertainties and buried guilt. Along with his trust in God and humanity tested to the limit, Karras turns to the ultimate solution: exorcism…

The film version from the Exorcist is widely regarded as one of the most terrifying movies ever made. This fresh, full-cast radio crisis is simply as chilling, suspenseful and stunning, while also retaining the depth and mental complexity of Blatty’s first novel. Modified by Sony Award-winning dramatist Robert Forrest, it celebrities Robert Glenister as Karras, Alexandra Mathie as the Demon and Ian McDiarmid as Merrin.