A stunning adaptation of a First World War masterpiece showing man's inhumanity to man

German playwright Karl Kraus's early twentieth-century satirical play about the First World War was originally 15 hours long, but his classic satire The Last Days of Mankind, has been deftly distilled into a kaleidoscopic montage of scenes by talented director and writer Giles Havergal. This uncompromising production mixes dialogue drawn from contemporary documents with fantastical expressionist scenes of apocalypse. With over 100 characters and depictions of the decline of a corrupt and hypocritical society into the brutality and desperation of war, this is a gripping listen. A gem from the archive, this is the gritty and uncompromising portrayal and honest account of people’s thoughts as war broke out across Europe. Giles Havergal’s clever adaptation paints the nobility, the press and the war machine as full of depravity with an evocative and sombre soundtrack that includes music from the First and Second Viennese schools.

This clever and engrossing production also includes snippets of fictional news reports read by renowned newsreader Anna Ford. Paul Scofield features as God and extracts from Richard Dimbleby’s reporting from the liberation of Belsen are joined by popular music showing the enduring reach and folly of the catastrophic events of 1914.

The importance and influence of The Last Days of Mankind is widely acknowledged and celebrated in Europe. Its uncompromising examination of human recklessness in the face of war is evoked in this exquisite full-cast production and demonstrates the unique act of creativity and imagination that launched Kraus’s work into the twentieth-century and beyond.

Cast and credits
Written by Karl Kraus
Translated by Robert David MacDonald
Adapted and directed by Giles Havergal
Produced by Dave Bachelor

Reverend - John Bett
Common Soldier - Chris Delaney
Newsreader - Anna Ford
Journalist - Patrick Hannaway
Kraus - Giles Havergal
Patriot - Crawford Logan
Minister - Robert David MacDonald
General - Stephen MacDonald
General - Sandy Neilson
Actress - Alison Peebles
Officer - Laurance Rudic
God - Paul Scofield
Lady Journalist - Gerda Stevenson
Subscriber - Finlay Welsh
Officer - Sandy Welsh
Officer - Matthew White

First Broadcast BBC Radio 3, 11 December 1999

©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd