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Rossum’s Universal Robots
Rossum’s Universal Robots
Nov 30, 2025 10:54 PM

Author:Karel Capek,Robert Hudson,Susannah Pearse,Full Cast,Paul Chahidi,Jasmine Hyde,Paul Hilton

Rossum’s Universal Robots

A musical reinvention of Karel Capek's darkly comic sci-fi masterpiece

First published in 1921, Karel Capek's ultra-prescient play R.U.R has become a classic of dystopian literature, giving us the word 'robot' and inspiring movies and TV series from Blade Runner to Westworld. Set in Capek's 1920s version of the future, this radio reimagining blends music, comedy and drama to tell the story of a world dominated by mechanisation and the pursuit of profit.

It is the year 2000, and an incredible new technology - the robot - has been invented, freeing human beings from the need to work. Grown from human cells, these androids appear identical to humans - only stronger and cleverer. They have no free will and no desires. They want nothing - until the idealistic Lady Helen visits their island factory and persuades one of the scientists to instil consciousness into them. But once sentient, the robots become aware that they have unwittingly enabled a runaway cycle of overproduction, which is now wrecking the planet. There is only one logical solution: humanity must be destroyed...

Tackling big, contentious questions with a light touch, this moving production is full of humour and heart. Made by the team behind the award-winning Magnitsky the Musical, it features an immersive, retro-futurist soundscape and stunning original songs, and stars an ensemble cast including Paul Chahidi (The Death of Stalin, This Country), Jasmine Hyde (Doctors) and Paul Hilton (Slow Horses).

Also included is a fascinating episode of Radio 3's Sunday Feature, The Robots Are Us, in which Ken Hollings examines the creation and legacy of R.U.R, talking to historians and roboticists to discover how Capek's landmark play gave birth to the idea of the 'revolt of the machines' and presaged our 21st Century ethical conundrums of existence, rights and reasoning.

Cast

Domin - Paul Chahidi

Lady Helen - Jasmine Hyde

Radius - Paul Hilton

Helen 2 - Clare Foster

Alpha - Anneika Rose

Brown Owl - Neil McCaul

Alquist - Matthew Durkan

Sulla - Alexandra Hannant

Fabry - Michael Begley

Busman - Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong

Logicbot/Benoit - Chris Jack

Music and Lyrics by Susannah Pearse

Book by Robert Hudson

Arrangements and Musical Direction: Harry Sever

Production co-ordinator: Luke MacGregor

Sound: Peter Ringrose

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 3-10 April 2022

© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Reviews

Praise for The Bridge Kingdom - Heart-pounding romance and intense action wrapped in a spellbinding world. I was hooked from the first page!

—— Elise Kova, USA Today bestselling author of A Deal with the Elf King

An epic, action-packed tale of love, revenge, and betrayal

—— Jennifer Estep, New York Times bestselling author of Kill the Queen

Exquisite, phenomenal, and sexy, The Bridge Kingdom is the epitome of fantasy romance perfection. I adored Jensen's world and characters. Aren and Lara were magnificent individually and together, a couple you'll root for from beginning to end

—— Oliva Wildenstein, USA Today bestselling author of Feather

Praise for Danielle Jensen - Richly-woven, evocative and absolutely impossible to put down . . . I loved every word

—— Sarah J. Maas bestselling author of, A Court of Thorns and Roses

Richly-woven, evocative, and absolutely impossible to put down - I was hooked from the first lines! Dark Shores has everything I look for in a fantasy novel: fresh, unique settings, a cast of complex and diverse characters, and an unflinching boldness with the nuanced world-building. I loved every word

—— Sarah J. Maas

Stunning world-building, a vivid cast of secondary characters, and a steamy slow-burn romance between two exceedingly competent and compelling heroes. Dark Shores is not one to miss

—— Booklist

The book grabs readers from the beginning with its stellar world-building and multidimensional characters

—— Kirkus Reviews

[Galgut's] prose feels as if it's been fired through a crucible, burning away all the comfortable excess until only a hard, concentrated purity remains.... There are thrilling images here, powerful themes and almost scarily precise writing... Galgut is at the leading edge of what is turning out to be a brilliant documentation of South Africa's post-apartheid transition

—— Daily Telegraph

Beautifully written

—— Guardian

A minimalist, almost allegorical story... Its tension is almost unbearable

—— Library Journal

[A] spare, intense story of rural South Africa... His clear, elemental prose is never generic

—— Booklist

The scenes of township, quarry and shorescape have a strange, Beckett-like glow and menace

—— Scotland on Sunday

We not only read the narrative, but seem to be participating in the headlong rush of events.... A minor masterpiece. The Quarry is told in clear prose where every word counts and the plot and characters are utterly compelling

—— Sunday Herald

A slim, haunting work of poignancy and near perfection

—— The Globe and Mail

Galgut writes here with a combination of JM Coetzee's uncluttered simplicity - every sentence stands out, and so seems pregnant with meaning - and Cormac McCarthy's rhythmic biblical dread

—— The Times

Glück is a poet to guide us through the frightening world

—— Thea Hawlin

Glück's is a voice unlike any other, teeming with phrases and stanzas that are sets of instructions on how to be human

—— Ian McMillan

[Serpell captures] the child's-eye perspective with great flair...along with the secrecy and judgement of the adult world

—— Times Literary Supplement

An endlessly innovative and deeply moving exploration of grief and family

—— White Review, *Books of the Year*

Highly accomplished

—— London Review of Books

This raw and powerful read shows Carrie growing and learning, about herself as much as others. Though she's an abrasive character, readers will cheer her on every step of the way

—— Sunday Express

TJR is surely the queen of escapist fiction

—— Sunday Telegraph

This top-rank tale of beating the odds is full of heart and breezy charm

—— Metro

Altogether, it makes for a gripping and engaging read about a woman persevering against all odds, recognising your limits and knowing when to push back. As well as a complex and nuanced character study, Carrie Soto is Back offers its readers a warm-hearted story of the love between a father and a daughter, as well a tender journey of learning how to love yourself and open up to others too. Between the action-packed tennis matches, Carrie's emotional reckoning and the wider commentary of women having to continuously fight for recognition in male-dominated fields, Taylor Jenkins Reid has crafted another compelling novel that effortlessly draws in readers and will no doubt keep them thinking about Carrie Soto long after they turn the final page

—— Culturefly

At times, her prose is so engaging that you feel as though you are waiting on the baseline while Soto gets ready to serve an unstoppable ace

—— Independent (Ireland)

In Carrie Soto is Back, as at Flushing Meadows this and next month, there are great rivalries, millions of dollars and legacies on the line. Letting go cuts deep. But, boy, there is glamour

—— Tatler

The author has created another heroine we can't quite work out whether we like, but we're rooting for her anyway because she's fabulous

—— Woman's Weekly

Another delectable slice of escapism drama

—— Living North

Pacy, propulsive and utterly immersive, you're going to want to read this

—— Elle

Taylor has done it again . . . a brilliant and dynamic book about what it means to be an ambitious woman- for better or for worse

—— Woman

With a wonderfully complex character, a world you can't help being seduced by, and an important message about it never being too late, TJR has served up another ace

—— Heat

Frank, funny and emotional

—— Marie Claire

A fascinatingly realistic look into the world of elite sports where driven and flawed characters' private lives are just as intriguing and controversial as they are on the court

—— Business Post

This is a well-researched, exciting and genuinely tender book

—— RTÉ
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