Assassins

Synopsis

Three full-cast dramas exploring the minds of history’s most infamous killersThis powerful trilogy of radio dramas examines the motives and moral reasoning of the people who carried out some of the most culturally impactful political assassinations of the eighteenth and nineteenth century.The Virgin Knife: On 13 July 1793 Charlotte Corday, a young woman from Caen in Normandy, travelled to Paris with the sole intention of killing Jean Paul Marat while he sat in his bath. What drove her to such an extreme? Starring Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey, James Bond) as Charlotte Corday and Gerard Murphy as Jean-Paul Marat.A Mere Five Thousand Pounds: On a sunny day in May 1812, as Napoleon's armies massed on the Russian borders, Liverpudlian timber merchant John Bellingham was feeling aggrieved. He entered the House of Commons and shot dead the then prime minister Spencer Perceval. Starring David Horovitch (Miss Marple) as John Bellingham.Sic Semper Tyrannis: On Friday, April 14th 1865, thirty minutes into the performance of Our American Cousin, at the Ford Theatre in Washington, John Wilkes Booth entered US President Abraham Lincoln's State Box and shot him dead. What set of remarkable circumstances led to an event that in its time was as momentous as the assassination of J.F. Kennedy? Starring Nathan Osgood (Florence Foster Jenkins, Criminal and Homes and Watson) as John Wilkes Booth and Carlos Antonio as Davey Herold.Writer David Pownall was internationally-renowned for his work on stage, TV and radio, and is recognised as one of the UK’s most prolific and respected radio dramatists. His stage plays have been performed on Broadway, and at the National Theatre, Old Vic, Wyndham and Barbican in London, and the RSC. His many awards include the John Whiting Prize, the New York Theatre Yearbook, the London Stage Directors’ Award and two Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Awards. He also received two Giles Cooper Awards and three Sony Awards for his radio work.Cast and creditsWritten by David PownallDirected by Eoin O'CallaghanThe Virgin Knife Charlotte Corday - Samantha BondJean Paul Marat - Gerard MurphyFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25th February 1999A Mere Five Thousand PoundsWritten by David PownallDirected by Eoin O'CallaghanJohn Bellingham - David HorovitchFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4th March 1999Sic Semper TyrannisJohn Wilkes Booth - Nathan OsgoodDavey Herold - Carlos AntonioFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11th March 1999©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd