Harold Pinter's Victory

Harold Pinter's screenplay of Josef Conrad's last major novel, in a special adaptation for radio by Sir Richard Eyre.

It's 1900 in the Dutch East Indies. Disenchanted with life and humanity, Heyst, a mysterious Swedish Baron, lives alone on a deserted island.

He believes he can avoid suffering by cutting himself off from others, but his life is altered when he visits the neighbouring island for a doctor's check up. Here he meets and falls in love with Lena, a young English violinist, travelling across the Pacific with a small commercial ladies Orchestra.

Surrounded by predatory older men, including the hotel manager Schomberg, she is drawn to Heyst and the sense of mystery that surrounds him. Together, in the middle of the night, they escape by boat to his island.

Narrator ...... Simon Russell Beale
Heyst ...... Bjarne Henriksen
Lena ...... Vanessa Kirby
Davidson ...... Matthew Marsh
Ricardo ...... Mark Strong
Jones ...... Robert Portal
Schomberg ...... Patrick O'Kane
Mrs Schomberg ...... Helen Schelesinger
Pedro ...... Martin Marquez
Chang ...... Paul Chan
Mrs Zangiacomo ...... Flaminea Cinque

Sound Design: John Leonard and Wilfredo Acosta

Director: Richard Eyre

Producer: Laurence Bowen

A Feelgood Fiction production for BBC Radio 4.