Great

Never one of my preferred Lovecraft tales, for all “Rats” explores themes HPL returned to in subsequent stories, largely because it avoids many of the “cosmic horror” aspects so prevalent in his later works. By contrast, I found the horrors here rather too “ordinary”. However, this DART revision is as fine a piece as any in the HPLHS’ collection of radio shows, with a thoroughly lively, entertaining presentation. As a British native, I know how difficult mimicking different regional accents from these islands can be for other natives of these lands. The largely American DART cast here perform admirably in this regard, with just an occasional minor wobble, plus a few, small, if understandable, Americanisms in the script - such as “prybar” for the British “crowbar”, for instance. Since the detailed discussion during the formal dinner is such a well-constructed, key element in the DART production, it was excellent to find the complete menu provided as one of the props in the full CD version, so we can all salivate over the many missed courses as the further investigation began. Lichtenstein Castle in southwestern Germany was perhaps less convincing in its role masquerading as Exham Priory in northwestern England, in the cutting from the “Manchester Guardian”, albeit this was only a slight distraction. The real splendour here is just how magnificent the radio show is, and how it convinced this listener to re-evaluate Lovecraft’s original. Heartily recommended - and bon apetit!

This DART episode is awesome and very well performed! The props add a nice touch to the story.

An interesting take on the original short story. Enjoyed the production value and the music. The adaptation maintains the atmosphere of the original story.

This was my first DART purchase from this awesome society. I absolutely loved it. I think it was a creative and yet faithful adaptation to Lovecraft's story. I was absolutely entertained. What a fantastic production! Thank you for bringing to life my favourite Lovecraft story! I have to buy more....