Tony-winning playwright Sir Tom Stoppard (who created the trippy time-traveling play Arcadia) is really going all out for his next project: a radio teleplay based on the iconic Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon. Simply titled Dark Side, the play will mark the 40th anniversary of the album's release and air on BBC Radio 2 sometime in August, according to U.K.’s The Guardian.
Dark Side incorporates music from the 1973 album to tell “a gripping story that takes listeners on a journey through their imaginations.” The story will explore themes of conflict, greed and madness.
The radio play will feature Bill Nighy (Love Actually), Olivier Award winners Rufus Sewell (Arcadia, Rock ‘N’ Roll), Iwan Rheon (Spring Awakening, Misfits) and Adrian Scarborough (The King’s Speech, After the Dance), as well as Unicorn Theatre star Amaka Okafor.
Dark Side of the Moon is Pink Floyd’s eighth studio album. It was released in March 1973 and spent 741 weeks on the charts (through 1988!), clearly becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time worldwide. The most popular songs include “Money,” “Time” and “Brain Damage.”
No word yet on when this stoner extravaganza will air in the States or even the exact date of the U.K. broadcast. Until then however, fans can keep themselves occupied with the legendary Dark Side of the Rainbow—the "allegedly coincidental" syncing of MGM’s The Wizard of Oz to Dark Side of the Moon. Check it out below!