Actor Andy Serkis has a reputation for bringing to life many devilish characters. He is most famous for Gollum in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but also portrayed Supreme Leader Snoke in The Last Jedi.
A few years ago he took on an amazing audio drama based on C.S. Lewis’ classic Screwtape Letters. In it he plays a “Senior Demon” Screwtape, writing to his nephew demon Wormwood. The result is incredibly entertaining.
Here is a brief summary of the audio drama:
In his enduringly popular masterpiece The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis re-imagines Hell as a gruesome bureaucracy. With spiritual insight and wry wit, Lewis suggests that demons, laboring in a vast enterprise, have horribly recognizable human attributes: competition, greed, and totalitarian punishment. Avoiding their own painful torture as well as a desire to dominate are what drive demons to torment their “patients.”
The style and unique dark humor of The Screwtape Letters are retained in this full-cast dramatization, as is the original setting of London during World War II. The story is carried by the senior demon Screwtape played magnificently by award-winning actor Andy Serkis (“Gollum” in Lord of the Rings) as he shares correspondence to his apprentice demon Wormwood. All 31 letters lead into dramatic scenes, set in either Hell or the real world with humans―aka “the patient,” as the demons say―along with his circle of friends and family. This Radio Theatre release also stars Geoffrey Palmer (Tomorrow Never Dies), Laura Michelle Kelly (Sweeney Todd), Eileen Page (The Secret Garden), and other world-class actors.
It is one of the best audio dramas I have ever listened to and if you are a fan of Andy Serkis, you won’t be disappointed.
Check out an entertaining behind-the-scenes video below!!
Philip Kosloski
Philip Kosloski is the founder of Voyage Comics & Publishing and the writer and creator of the comic book series, Finnian and the Seven Mountains.