The award-winning playright commemorates the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
by Leilani PolkYou’ve given the Pink Floyd fanatic in your family virtually every piece of band swag imaginable — T-shirts, ties and socks, all the notable bootleg DVDs, 7” records and live releases, expanded deluxe editions and remasters, posters, handbills, a bottle of “Wines that Rock” 2006 Dark Side of the Moon Cabernet Sauvignon. One year, you and your siblings pooled your funds to get a giant inflatable pig on eBay, purportedly from a Roger Waters tour circa 2006 (no Star of David included). So what’s left?
Why not something completely outside the box but still fitting with his Floyd mania? We suggest Darkside, a radio play created for BBC Radio 2 by brilliant award-winning playwright (Sir) Tom Stoppard to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Dark Side of the Moon.
In Stoppard’s existential interpretation of the album’s themes, a philosophy student endures a series of thought experiments, her encounters with various odd characters (voiced by esteemed actors Bill Nighy and Rufus Sewell among others) interspersed with music and lyrics from the album that serve to underscore the drama, or mark its beginning or end.
The radio play originally aired in August and is now available on CD, just in time for the holidays. The luxury package looks a lot like a hard-backed book and includes the 54-minute radio play along with a 56-page bound insert of the script. In sum, a classy literary(ish) addition to your Floyd fan’s collection.