Drama on 3: The Royal Game

Yolanda Pupo-Thompson's adaptation of Viennese writer Stefan Zweig's famous novella about chess madness, Schachnovelle. It tells the story of Dr Berg, a well-to-do German banker who is interrogated by the Gestapo who want to find out where influential members of the clergy and aristocrats have hidden their money. They hold him in a deserted hotel in solitary confinement in order to break him down, but he steals a book of chess puzzles from a guard and this keeps his mind active. Unfortunately after learning to play games in his head Dr. Berg goes mad. With Paul Rhys, Rupert Young, Kevin Trainor, Allan Corduner, Hamish Clark, Sandy Grierson and Madeleine Brolly. Music is from Carl Orff's Schulwerk.