The Weapon

Zubin Varla and Joseph Balderrama star in Jonathan Myerson's thriller - a tense dramatisation of the real-life OPEC siege.

After the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War, OPEC used an oil embargo to punish the US and Europe for its support for Israel.

By early 1974, the embargo had plunged the world into an economic crisis.

Then on 21st December 1975, Venezuelan Marxist pin-up Carlos the Jackal storms the OPEC HQ in Vienna. He takes 96 hostages, including 11 oil ministers from OPEC countries.

This is the story of the siege.

The Price of Oil season of factual dramas explores the history of oil - and the price we've paid for it. It takes us from 1951 to 2045, and around the world from Iran to Alaska, Libya, Nigeria, Turkmenistan, Washington and onto Scotland's offshore rigs, to explore the role oil has played in shaping our world.

The season was devised by Nicolas Kent, with Jack Bradley & Jonathan Myerson, and produced by Jonquil Panting for BBC Audio.

As director of London’s Tricycle theatre for almost 30 years, Nicolas Kent championed responsive factual and political drama, including seasons of plays by renowned writers about Afghanistan (The Great Game) and nuclear weapons (The Bomb). Now he brings that experience to BBC Radio 4, to tell the story of oil.

Carlos Martinez 'the Jackal' ..... Joseph Balderrama
Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani ..... Zubin Varla
"Nada" ..... Kristin Atherton
"Angie" ..... Mark Edel-Hunt
Jamshid Amouzegar ..... Bijan Daneshmand
Riad Al-Azzawi ..... Amir El-Masry
Chief Feyide ..... Alex Lanipekun
Grizelda Carey ..... Rhiannon Neads
Eddie Hinterecker ..... Sam Dale
Pilot ..... Stephen Critchlow

The Weapon is directed by Jonquil Panting.