BBC Radio 4, 2 December 2013, BBC Podcasts
Lost and Found began
mundanely enough, with Stan (Tom Courtenay) spending another day in his lost-property office beneath a station, and encountering
a woman (Sally Carman), who apparently didn't know who she was. Through gentle encouragement, Stan discovered something
about her background and family life. The action took place in 1979, at a time when Margaret Thatcher had just come
to power.
As
the action progressed, however, we understood that all of the preceding dramatic action had taken place in Stan's mind.
He was actually living in a retirement home, being looked after by Ant (Eddie Capli) - who had appeared as a visitor to the
lost property office in Stan's dream. The mysterious woman turned out to be Stan's daughter Zoe (Sally Carman), now
a woman in her mid-forties.
Lost and Found was a sympathetic piece about the pitfalls of growing old, where the past becomes
a kind of refuge. Some people might describe Stan's condition as close to Alzheimer's; as someone whose mother
experienced similar emotions to that of Stan, I'd prefer to describe his fantasies as a means of getting through each day.
As the action progressed, with Zoe trying her best to communicate with Stan, so Stan experienced some kind
of revelation about himself and his future, which would help him to cope better with the present.
Tom Courtenay's performance
was touching, as well as being tonally rich; although not a frequent performer in radio drama, he has one of those
distinctive voices that command listeners' attention. He was ably supported by Carman and Kate Coogan as Stan's wife
Dorrie. The director was Gary Brown.
