The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Washington Irving’s classic ghost story about a headless horseman is part of Story of America, a major collection of dramatisations marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence .

Sami Ibrahim's adaptation gives a new twist to the tale of Ichabod Crane who unleashes malevolent forces when his new-fangled ideas disrupt the traditional way of life in Sleepy Hollow.

Jonathan/Diedrich…..Gilles Geary
Aletta…..Alix Wilton Regan
Ichabod…..Calam Lynch
Brom Bones…..Victor Alli
Katrina…..Sasha McCabe
Baltus Van Tassel…..Clive Hayward
Van Ripper…..Django Bevan
Bartender…..Jasmine Hyde

Directed by Gemma Jenkins

Production Co-ordinator: Kate Gray
Casting Manager: Alex Curran
Sound Design: Keith Graham and Andy Garratt

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4

Published in 1820, thirty-seven years after the Revolutionary War, Sleepy Hollow is recognised by the Library of Congress as one of the stories that helped shape America. Through this work Irving sets out his vision of those values he feels are important when it comes to forging a new nation in the wake of a violent war. He raises questions about insularity and whether it’s a good thing; he wonders if new world ambition is driven by greed and warns against market forces entering all walks of life.

There’s also a message about the power of storytelling, how truth is set aside if it gets in the way of telling the best story.