The Fever – BBC Radio 4

Writer: Wallace Shawn

Directors: John Tiffany and Steven Hoggett

Do you think you’re a good person? Maybe you recycle? Perhaps you only buy Fairtrade or even donate to worthy causes? Well, a new radio adaptation of Wallace Shawn’s gripping play The Fever is here to tell you that deep, deep down in places you don’t even admit to yourself, you are probably just as capitalist and exploitative as the most shameless industry mogul. Premiering on BBC Radio 4 over the Easter weekend, this 90-minute monologue delves into the reality of global trade and the economic divisions between rich and poor that will make you question your own responses and wonder if any of us really believe in equality if it impacts our own lives.

An unnamed but clearly Western, relatively wealthy traveller lies feverish on the bathroom floor of a hotel in a country where violence is breaking out and an unnamed man is being executed by lethal injection. Alive to the physical beauty of this unhappy place, the person falls into a series of memories and self-reflections that reveal a darker thought process beneath the surface and an unwillingness to really challenge the status quo.

The big draw here is a rare appearance on radio for star Cate Blanchett, who finely judges the balance between compassion and narcissistic self-interest within the protagonist as an excavation of their views reveals opinions and degrees of antipathy that seem to surprise the character as they emerge. And fans of the actor will enjoy the expert control she exerts over the most intimate medium in a story with no other performers to rely on, just the speaker alone, creating scenarios, characters and folding out the day-to-day impressions of a single privileged life within the broader context that Shawn creates.

The opportunity to hear Blanchett command such attention in this skilful transition to radio comes within a month of equally compelling turns on stage in The Seagull and on screen with Black Bag, a testament to her versatility, particularly here in The Fever where pacing, emphasis and control of the narrative layers is so vital to the success of the adaptation.

So come for Blanchett but stay for Shawn’s absorbing and evocative writing that, though more than 30 years old, seems fitted to proximity of radio. The structure is strong enough to guide the listener through these different levels as Shawn mixes memories of childhood buns from the local bakery and how values were instilled with adult interactions, the violent civil wars happening beyond the bathroom walls and the philosophical conclusions on human behaviour that explain why the world never truly changes, and why economic and cultural inequalities persist. The command that directors John Tiffany and Steven Hoggett have of these strands of argument, the way they re-emerge and intersect in Shawn’s writing, driving together to form a conclusion, are impressive, carrying the drama through its running time.

With all of this taking place during a brief period of sickness, the opportunity that illness brings to find honesty in self-reflection is balanced with the aftermath when, in recovery, we forget the things we imagined as the delusions about who we want to be are restored. The Fever is quite tightly woven with segments that recur, but inevitably, your attention will drift occasionally over a relatively long piece. Yet the control of characterisation is high quality, slowly revealing someone who thinks they are good but finds a true and shockingly complacent identity in their existing, comfortable life. It will leave you wondering if your bleeding heart really wants to save the world after all.

Airs on BBC Radio 4 on 19 April 2025 and then available on BBC Sounds