Fall of the Shah

A gripping BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of the 1970''s Iranian Revolution

Something is coming. What is on the horizon for the people of Iran? Can America''s friendship with Iran survive? From Jimmy Carter''s optimistic visit to Tehran in December 1977 to the trial of the state''s enemies in 1979, this nine-part drama tells the story of the Iranian Revolution, where protestors took to the streets in support of the exiled religious leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, and the Shah requested help from an America already torn apart by its own conflicts.

In a time of hope, of tyranny, of change, of oppression, in a tale of power, betrayal and fear, this true story will transport you to the 1970s, when the Iranian Revolution would change the world - forever.

Featuring Dame Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones, All Creatures Great and Small), Bijan Daneshmand (The Night Manager, The Boy from Aleppo that Painted the War) and Carolyn Pickles (Broadchurch, Land Girls).

Cast
Narrator - Diana Rigg
The Shah - Bijan Daneshmand
President Carter - Nathan Osgood
The Ayatollah Khomeini - Selva Rasalingam
Zbigniew Brzezinski - Sam Dale
William Sullivan - Tony Turner
Farah Pahlavi - Nathalie Armin
Rosalynn Carter- Carolyn Pickles
Nassiri - Peter Polycarpou
Mehdi - Moe Bar-El
Haikaz / Sadegh Ghotbzadeh - Philip Arditti
Gary Sick - David Seddon
Warren Christopher - Don Gilet
Molly - Saffron Coomber
Sharpour Bakhtiar - Peter Polycarpou
General Gharabaghi / General Oveissi - Vincent Ebrahim
Carole Bauman - Clare Corbett
Sadegh Khalkhali - Bhasker Patel
Ebrahim Yazdi - Paul Chahidi
Hassan - Amir El-Masry
Joan - Alexandra Constantinidi
Iraj - Ashley Kumar
Ahmad - Ronny Jhutti
Amir - Dana Haqjoo
Shirin - Afsaneh Dehrouyeh
Nargess - Sara Zeymour

Production credits
Written by Steve Waters
Composer- Ghanvar Khaleghi
Sound Design - Caleb Knightley
Produced and Directed by Marc Beeby

''Exactly the type of drama at which the BBC excels'' Guardian

Originally broadcast January-March 2019

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