Something To Scare Off The Birds

Eleven year-old Simon is taken by his mother Eleanor to spend the summer at their country house.  Her increasingly erratic behaviour, induced by the break-up of her marriage (of which Simon is unaware), pushes him more and more into the company of the eighteen year old gardener, John, whose own family life has been shattered by his father’s recent suicide.  John, who shares an estate cottage with his mother, Ruth, initially rebuffs Simon but gradually mellows, with disastrous results.  Over the course of the summer, all four characters have their lives transformed and Simon discovers the complexity of adult desire.

Something To Scare Off The Birds was broadcast on Radio Four in May 1985 with the following cast:

Eleanor AveryAnna Massey

Simon AveryGraham McGrath

Ruth JacksonTessa Worsley

John JacksonSpencer Banks

Directed by Richard Wortley