<p>"Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life."</p><p>Charles Dickens' novel - subtitled 'For These Times' - is a vivid story for our own age - a short, sharp satire of target-driven education, business, and the denial of the imagination. Headmaster Thomas Gradgrind has developed a rigid, facts-driven curriculum for his school. And at home, he raises his two children, Tom and Louisa, within a similar system of utilitarian metrics. But the human spirit has an inherent thirst for wonder and Louisa struggles inside the constraints of her education.</p><p>Dramatised by Graham White</p><p>Thomas Gradgrind…..David Morrissey</p><p>Louisa Gradgrind…..Rachel Harper</p><p>Tom Gradgrind…..Ike Bennett</p><p>Josiah Bounderby…..Shaun Dooley</p><p>Sissy Jupe…..Janey Orchard</p><p>Mrs Sparsit…..Jan Ravens</p><p>James Harthouse…..Will Close</p><p>Stephen Blackpool…..Arthur Hughes</p><p>Rachael…..Claire Cage</p><p>Mrs Gradgrind/Margaret/Josephine…..Julie Barclay</p><p>Mr M’Choakumchild/Slackbridge/Collins…..Richard Elfyn</p><p>Bitzer…..Aaron Anthony</p><p>Sleary…..Patrick Robinson</p><p>Production co-ordinators Lindsay Rees and Eleri Sydney McAuliffe</p><p>Sound by Rhys Morris, Nigel Lewis and Catherine Robinson</p><p>Directed by Emma Harding, BBC Audio Wales</p>
