Sir Tom Stoppard Writes Dark Side Play

Award-winng playwright Sir Tom Stoppard has written a play based around Pink Floyd album The Dark Side Of The Moon.

Dark Side, which will air on the August bank holiday on BBC Radio 2, is a "fantastical and psychedelic" story and also includes music from the classic 1973 LP, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Actors Bill Nighy, Rufus Sewell, and Adrian Scarborough feature in the play, with the lead roles played by Olivier Award winner Iwan Rheon and stage actress Amaka Okafor.

Sir Tom, a long-term Pink Floyd fan, said he had been thinking about the idea for years.

"This is more or less, I think, the first time anything like this has been done on radio," he said.

"I thought 'yes, I definitely want to do that' - but had no idea for a long time what I would do.

"Finally, I found some time and sat down and listened to the album for the thousandth time and picked up from the beginning and kept going."

Sir Tom, 75, won an Oscar for best original screenplay for Shakespeare In Love in 1998 and has also picked up four Tony Awards.

Pink Floyd frontman David Gilmour has given the project his blessing, calling the script "fascinating".

"I can’t wait to hear it come to life with the great cast performing it and our music woven into it," said Gilmour.

"I can’t think of a better way to celebrate The Dark Side Of The Moon’s 40 year anniversary."

The Dark Side Of The Moon and its iconic prism album cover has sold an estimated 50 million copies and is often rated as one of the best records of all time.