McNaughton
BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play Broadcast
McNaughton
Beautifully dramatises an important episode in Scottish & British legal history
Edfringereview.com
Daniel McNaughton (also written M’Naghten) grew up the illegitimate son of a Glaswegian woodturner. When he completed his apprenticeship he asked his father if he could become a partner. His father told him that privilege was reserved for his legitimate sons. Daniel went off and, working all hours, built up a successful business of his own. That’s when the trouble started. Always a loner, he began to feel he was being followed. And what was he doing outside the Prime Minister’s office 15 nights in a row?
Produced by Penny Gold for BBC Radio 4 and performed by Ian Hogg (left), McNaughton won Steve the Writers Guild Best Radio Play of 2007 award. This famous political murder trial of 1843 resulted in The McNaughton Rule, which became the standard for judging criminal insanity for over a century and is still used around the world today. It has also converted successfully to a stage monologue, winning four stars at the Edinburgh Festival, played by Jason Harvey.
Click on the button below to listen to the broadcast – play begins after approximately 30 seconds.
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