by Maxim Gorky.
Translated by Gibson Cowan and adapted for broadcasting by Anthony Jacobs.

[Starring] Ralph Truman

In 1929 Gorky began a trilogy intended to mirror events of the 1917 Revolution and after. Yegor Bulichov was the first of its parts, followed by Dostigaev; but Gorky died before he could write the concluding play.
The setting is a provincial Russian town in an atmosphere of revolution and rumour. Yegor Bulichov, a merchant dying of cancer and surrounded by vicious relatives who hope to inherit his money, symbolises the dying capitalism. The bitterly humorous Andrei represents the corruption of the old world.