Every Now and Then by
George Zarr (Voices in the Wind) was an enjoyable tale of a weird incident that
was never fully explained as science fiction or the result of allergy
medication gone awry. Although there was
no host as such (see Puppets), the
presence of Mr Sagan, the antiques shop owner, seemed to suggest a knowing
commentator on the action that was to follow, and I have to admit I never quite
trusted him. The drama of Every Now and Then hinged on an
extremely mundane situation (a bickering couple enter an antiques shop to
choose a wedding present for a friend) shot through with lashings of the
bizarre.
I am unsure why there seems to be such a strong vogue for
ticking clocks in the background of indoor scenes; most of the plays I heard on
this run used this device! (Though in
this case it was acceptable, as antiques shops should have ticking clocks; no less, they should have ticking
grandfather clocks! It all reminded me
strongly of hearing the audio version of “The Power of the Daleks,” one of
whose surviving episodes takes place in an antiques shop.) Even if the dialogue and performances
occasionally suggested a less-than-perfect historical rendering of 1903, I was
prepared to accept the idylls of the play (even when it got extremely dramatic)
because of its obvious love of the worlds of sound. When Mr Sagan both verbally explained how to
turn on a Gramophone, and we also heard the SFX of these actions being
performed (the crank being winded, the turntable spinning, the needle being
placed on the wax cylinder), it created a superb effect. The haunting and rather sinister tones of the
song “Every Now and Then” followed.
Likewise, the scenes which took place on a turn-of-the-century street
were extremely well evoked, with the right mix of birds, carriage wheels, feet
on pavement, etc. The scenes aboard ship
were also recreated with loving detail.
I was surprised, to be honest, that the story had a happy
ending; Frank and Diane’s (Gregg Rainwater and Noelle Dupuis) fate in the
present day did not mirror that of Kathy Nightingale in Hull in “Blink.”
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