BRADBURY AT THE BEEB: 'JACK IN THE BOX'

Today's Ray Bradbury story comes from his first short story collection, Dark Carnival, published in 1947 and, like so many of Ray's best stories, is about the interior existence of the central character – in this case a young boy for whom the house in which he lives is the only world he knows...

'Jack in the Box' was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 27 November 1997 as part of a second season of Bradbury dramatisations – Ray Bradbury's More Tales of the Bizarre. Introduced by the author, and directed by Adrian Bean, the play features Richard Pearce as the Boy with Ed Bishop, Caroline Jones, Sarah Rice, Caroline Strong, Jenny Lee and Christopher Wright.

Tomorrow: 'The Scythe'