What happens
Akaki Akakievich Bashmachin, a meek copying clerk in St. Petersburg, saves up for months to buy a new overcoat after his old one falls apart. Once it is finally made, he is proud of it and attends a party in his honour, but on the walk home across a deserted square the coat is taken from him by thieves. He goes to the local authorities and then to an important official, who dismisses him harshly. The story is adapted from Nikolai Gogol's tale The Overcoat, performed on the radio series Theatre Royal, with Sir Laurence Olivier as host and Michael Redgrave in the lead role. It first aired on October 11, 1953, on the NBC network.
St. Petersburg, Russia, in the winter
Characters: Akaki Akakievich Bashmachin, Petrovich, Baccilla, Gregoripitrovich, Vassili Iliar
Listen for: The sound of the snow and wind on the empty square as Akaki walks home alone
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.