‘Occupation: Spy' brings together eight BBC radio thrillers based on the espionage novels of celebrated writer Ted Allbeury (1917 – 2005). The dramas were all produced in the 1980s and many boast a cast of exceptional talents. They are adapted for radio by the author.
With crucial duties that began during World War Two, Allbeury worked in Intelligence and played a prominent and secretive role afterwards, smuggling agents between East and West. He was therefore well-placed to adapt his own experiences into drama and became a hugely popular writer of spy thrillers.
Nowhere is that more notable than in ‘The Other Side of Silence', which involves an MI6 agent (James Bolam) investigating whether or not defector Kim Philby should be allowed to return to Britain. During the Cold War, when the Iron Curtain rigidly kept apart East and West, the traitorous actions of Kim Philby, who had given state secrets to the Russians and betrayed his many colleagues in Intelligence with fatal consequences, garnered considerable interest. This eight-part drama goes into the details of the case and how the well-educated and refined Philby came to turn traitor. James Bolam, best-known for ‘Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads' and ‘New Tricks', plays the young Intelligence officer tasked with making the decision whether or not to permit Philby's return. The excellent cast also features Fulton Mackay as one of Powell's superiors. Nigel Hawthorne (‘Yes Minister') is sublime as Kim Philby, using his clear diction and supercilious air to great effect. The drama is gripping throughout, though the final episode leaves the nagging feeling that the resolution is just a little unsatisfying. It is, however, the highlight of this collection.
‘The Lonely Margins' has the feeling of an HE Bates wartime romance. Against the backdrop of wartime France, and working for the French Resistance, James Harmer and Jane Frazer (played by Christian Rodska and Kim Thomson) meet and fall in love. But they must navigate a treacherous landscape full of spies and double-crossers, trusting nobody apart from themselves. The cast features terrific British characters including Iain Cuthbertson, Laurence Payne and Norman Bird.
‘Pay Any Price' features the vocal talents of Barry Foster (best-remembered as TV detective ‘Van Der Valk', though his rich and varied career encompassed playing a psychotic killer for Alfred Hitchcock in ‘Frenzy'). The ten episodes deal with the assassination of American President John F Kennedy and was released around the twentieth anniversary of his death. The conspiracy-based thriller includes elements such as the mafia, Cuban Communists and the CIA in a secret project to create sleeper agents.
Other plots encompass the fates of those working for the Secret Intelligence Service or given dangerous undercover missions during the war. The titular ‘Occupation: Spy' is one of the most satisfying segments. It is a two-part interview with the author, in which Allbeury talks about the world of espionage as revealed through his personal experiences and fictional works. The writer is articulate and erudite.
This collection will appeal to those who enjoy the tales of writers such as Ian Fleming and John le Carre. Ted Allbeury is probably somewhere in the middle of those two authors. He isn't as sensationalist or escapist as Fleming, but neither is he as literary, or dare I say?, dry as le Carre. If you like spy stories rooted in the Second World War madness and Cold War paranoia, and appreciate quality radio drama, then ‘Occupation: Spy' will continue to delight for almost eighteen hours.
There is some slight variation in sound quality, but as the dramas were recorded within the same decade, there is an overall consistency in tone. ‘Occupation: Spy', featuring a host of top British acting talent, is a good reason to revisit the works of an enormously popular writer in his day who has sadly begun to be overlooked.
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK audio Publication date: 12th September 2024 Buy ‘Occupation: Spy'
