Sometimes the most poignant stories are those that sneak up disguised as comedy. This is very much the case with Toby Hadoke’s The Dad Who Fell to Earth, a forty-five minute play on Radio 4.
The story is simple: Tom had been struggling to come to terms with his dad’s sudden death, but that was before he found out his dad was secretly an alien from a distant planet. Tom finds his whole world shifting to a new perspective, a perspective that might just also include saving Earth from imminent destruction.
The story works on many levels: for Tom (Hadoke himself) this is coming to terms with grief mixed with the realisation his father was an alien, and Earth is full of aliens from a range of exotic planets. For others they are either coping with the same grief (in the case of Tom’s mother) or keen to help Tom (in the case of his girlfriend). All through we also have to wonder how serious the threat of the imminent destruction of the whole world is. The play also makes good use of social media as a device and a way of helping us look at ourselves. Cunning stuff!
The production (and direction by Charlotte Riches) is immaculate and the cast all convincing as they weave a compelling tale of grief and hope.
This is a poignant piece of drama and well worth a listen – it is available on iPlayer for 30 days.
THE DAD WHO FELL TO EARTH / AUTHOR: TOBY HADOKE / PUBLISHER: RADIO 4 / STARRING: TOBY HADOKE, RONALD PICKUP, CHERYLEE HOUSTON, ALEXANDRA MATHIE, LEE FENWICK, ZOE IQBAL / BROADCAST DATE: JULY 9TH
