So Great A Crime is the second production from the City Lit Radio Repertory Company, focussing on the true-life story of Major-General Sir Hector MacDonald, known as “Fighting Mac”.

 A crofter’s son, MacDonald achieved iconic status as a soldier and leader during the Boer War (1899 – 1902), to become a knight of the realm, hero of the Battle of Omdurman and Queen Victoria’s favourite General.

He was subsequently appointed General Officer Commanding in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), but soon found himself in conflict with the elite who ran the colony.

Themes of prejudice, patronage, and trial-by-media will be all-too familiar to audiences today.

This revival, 20 years after the drama’s first performance, once again turns a spotlight on an episode the British establishment tried it’s best to literally erase from the record, as Mac is caught in a web of intrigue more deadly than anything he faced on the battlefield.

I was very happy to join fellow cast members Adrian Alan, Julia Cooke, Philly Desai, Bernard Diver, Diane Ebden, Mary Jacob, Lee Malcomson, Eric Plue and Julia Salmon in bringing history back to life.

So Great A Crime, written and directed by David Gooderson, edited by Evan Brindle is available now on Spotify