Tyndale House Publishers recently provided me with another of their great products to review. Being the traveling season of the year, holidays and all, I was excited to be receiving the latest radio drama presented by Focus On The Family Radio Theatre: "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens.
"
to
another place & time with this full-cast audio dramatization of the
Charles Dickens' timeless tale set in 1830's London. This powerful
story will not only entertain you, but draw you into the timeless drama
of compassion, corruption and redemption as a single orphan changes the
lives of everyone around him. Featuring cinema-quality sound,
award-winning writers, an original music score, and a stellar cast of
some of England's best actors. Radio Theatre isn't just storytelling or a
book on tape. It's an audio movie that plays on the biggest screen of
all...your imagination! Includes a bonus video documentary featurette
with "behind the scenes" footage and stories of real, modern-day
"Olivers". " ---Focus On The Family WebsiteHead over to the Focus On The Family website for an exclusive behind the scenes look at the making of "Oliver Twist"! Order by Dec. 24th, 2012 and receive a FREE Radio Theatre Christmas Carol download!
Radio drama is such a fun way to change up your traveling routine, or even a great change for your family's evening routine. This is the perfect time of year to settle in with a warm cup of cocoa and let your imagination take flight with the help of Dickens and his classic tale. It's perfect for in the car after the sun goes down for the whole family or just for mom and dad who may not get to enjoy that DVD screen the kids have in back. We usually take my husband's vehicle to see his folks a few hours away, which has no DVD system anyway. The approximate 5 hours of "Oliver Twist" was perfect for a recent round trip over the Thanksgiving holiday.
I love radio theatre and as a family we have enjoyed other radio dramas from Focus On The Family. We knew just what to expect when we popped in the CD. The quality of the drama presented was amazing. Character voices and narration flow together easily, the sound effects are amazing and sound as real as if you were right there, or playing a movie instead of a CD. Passage of time is well indicated by musical breaks so you don't feel like you jump too quickly from one moment in the story to the next. The talent of the actors is also outstanding. We loved the accents and the different voices, each character had such personality.
The only downside is that the story can be depressing at times. Oliver does not live an easy life. My husband was brought down enough at points that he felt he needed a little break from the story for some lively Christmas music. I think this story would break up well into portions for evening listening sessions over a few days or weeks as a family. There is also much to discuss about the culture and the people, so breaks might be neccessary or welcome among adults and older children to discuss the portrait of humanity at that time as painted by Charles Dickens. We had a few things to say about it for sure. There are lots of great lessons to be found in this work.
Overall, we really enjoyed it and will be passing it around the family and recommending it to friends!
"Oliver Twist" is also available on Amazon
***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. I did receive a sample of the product to try in order to write a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way.
