17:00, Sun 19th October 2014 at Cam FM
Michaelmas Week 2

“We were down South, in Alabama--Bill Driscoll and myself-when this kidnapping idea struck us…”

Originally a short story by turn of the century author O. Henry, Ransom of The Red Chief is a Wild West misadventure narrated by its protagonist, the wry and cynical conman Sam.

In Sam’s linguistically acrobatic narrative, he and his partner Bill attempt to make a quick buck by kidnapping the son of a small-town banker. Naturally, everything goes horribly wrong.

Witty, irreverent and beautifully evocative of the period and place, Ransom of The Red Chief makes a slick transition from dark kidnap narrative to ridiculous farce as its protagonists’ competence as criminals is steadily undermined.