Drama of the Week

Johnny Flynn and Robert Hudson bring us a musical based on the incredible story of an American venture capitalist, a Russian tax advisor, a crazy heist, the Trump Tower meeting and the very rule of law. Blending music and satire, the story explores the truths and fictions surrounding the origins and aftershocks of the Magnitsky Act; global legislation which allows governments to sanction those who they see as offenders of human rights. It tells the story of a tax adviser’s struggle to uncover a huge tax fraud, his imprisonment by the very authorities he is investigating, and the American financier’s crusade for justice. Johnny Flynn, Paul Chahidi and members of the cast perform songs in an epic story that explores democracy, corruption, and how we undervalue the law at our peril. Bill . . . . . Paul Chahidi Sergei . . . . . Johnny Flynn Jamie . . . . . Fenella Woolgar Natalia . . . . . Ellie Kendrick Kuznetsov . . . . . Gus Brown Guard . . . . . Clive Hayward Silchenko . . . . . Ian Conningham Jared . . . . . Will Kirk Fisherman . . . . . Neil McCaul Judge . . . . . Jessica Turner Additional singing by Sinead MacInnes, Laura Christy, Scarlett Courtney and Lucy Reynolds. The cellist is Joe Zeitlin. Sound is by Peter Ringrose. Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko. This was originally aired on Radio 3.