Christopher Lee - Air-Force One

Martin Jarvis directs a stellar American cast, headed by Stacy Keach, Glenne Headly, Susan Sullivan, Steven Weber - and introduced by Josh Stamberg - in Christopher Lee's extraordinary play.

On November 22nd, 1963, President John F Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper while riding in an open-topped limousine in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas.

What happened immediately after the assassination?

Theories explored in Lee's riveting drama are based on Federal, classified and academic research, diaries and recollections, and statements by Mrs Kennedy - a mix of substantiated and contested documentation. He focuses, first, on the hospital mortuary, and then aboard Air Force One where former Vice President Lyndon B Johnson insists that Judge Sarah Hughes conducts the 'swearing-in' before take-off. Also present in the overcrowded aircraft is Kennedy's widow, Jackie, in a state of shock, still covered in blood. The play becomes a tense thriller as surprising events occur on board.

Other parts: Tracy Pattin, Darren Richardson
Sound design: Wesley Dewberry, Mark Holden
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis

A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.