The Sandman is an audio drama written by Neil Gaiman, directed by Dirk Maggs, with music by James Hannigan, and produced by Audible.
Background
editThe official trailer for the show was released on July 6, 2020.[1] The first season of the series debuted on July 15, 2020, and was composed of 20 episodes that covered the first three volumes of the graphic novel.[2] The three volumes Preludes and Nocturnes, A Doll's House, and Dream Country consisted of 20 issues.[3] The second season of the show, The Sandman: Act II, debuted on September 22, 2021[4]
Dirk Maggs previously collaborated with Neil Gaiman to produce audio adaptations of his other novels, Good Omens and Neverwhere.[5] Maggs and Gaiman had wanted to create a BBC audio drama adaptation of The Sandman comics since 1992.[6] The show uses the original script that Gaiman wrote for the comics.[7] The music was composed by James Hannigan.[8]
Gaiman commented on the benefits of audio as medium noting that the show is more accessible to people with visual impairments and those who don't read comic books.[9]
Plot
editIn season one, Morpheus escapes after 70 years of imprisonment to rebuild his kingdom.[10]
In season two, Morpheus travels to hell to rescue queen Nada.[11]
Cast and characters
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The series stars James McAvoy as the protagonist Morpheus and the show is narrated by Neil Gaiman.[12] The Sandman: Act II introduces David Tennant as Loki.[13]
The show includes the following cast and characters:
- Aiden Turner as Cluracan
- Andy Serkis as Matthew Cable
- Bebe Neuwirth as Bast, Siamese Cat
- Billy Boyd as Petrefax
- Bill Nighy as Odin
- Brian Cox as Augustus Caesar
- Colin McFarlane as Pharamond
- David Harewood as Destruction
- David Tennant as Loki
- Emma Corrin as Thessaly
- James McAvoy as Morpheus
- Jeffrey Wright as Destiny
- Joanna Lumley as Johanna Constantine
- John Lithgow as Joshua Norton
- Josie Lawrence as Mad Hettie
- Justin Vivian Bond as Desire
- Kat Dennings as Death
- Kevin Smith as Mervyn Pumpkinhead
- KJ Apa as Prez Rickard
- Kristen Schaal as Delirium
- Matthew Horne as Hob Gadling
- Michael Sheen as Lucifer
- Miriam Margolyes as Despair
- Neil Gaiman as The Narrator
- Niamh Walsh as Nuala
- Regé-Jean Page as Orpheus
- Riz Ahmed as Corinthian
- Samantha Morton as Urania Blackwell
- Shey Grayson as Rose Walker
- Shruti Haasan as The Landlady
- Taron Egerton as John Constantine
- Wil Wheaton as Brant Tucker
The supporting cast included:
- Tom Alexander as Announcer, Hippogriff
- Ayesha Antoine as Venice
- Annette Badland as Mrs. Mann
- Karen Bartke as Ethel Cripps, Goldie, Mazikeen
- Samantha Béart as Calliope
- Mitch Benn as Thor
- Sanjeev Bhaskar as The Indian Gentleman
- Nicholas Boulton as Julius Caesar, Breschau
- Laurence Bouvard as Barbie
- Ed Byrne as Todd
- Lachele Carl as Maisy Hill
- Cliff Chapman as Felix Garrison, Director
- Clare Corbett as Merkin: Mother of Spiders, Eurydice, Bacchanae
- Stephen Critchlow as Roderick Burgess
- Arthur Darvill as William Shakespeare, Thomas Paine
- Anna Demetriou as List of The Sandman characters#Hazel McNamara
- Doug Devaney as Anubis
- Sandra Dickinson as The Maiden
- Charly Duley as Alianora
- Felicity Duncan as Titania
- Otis Erheuro as Ruthven Sykes
- Jason Forbes as African Morpheus (Act II only)
- Edward Harrison as Phil
- William Hope as John Dee
- David Holt as Satyr
- Barry Humphries as the Beachcomber
- Reginald D. Hunter as Martian Manhunter
- Louise Jameson as Mother
- Sue Johnston as Unity Kinkaid
- Simon Jones as Hermas
- Paterson Joseph as Chorazon
- Laura Lefkow as Lyte Hall
- Anton Lesser as Dr. John Hathaway
- Adrian Lester as Remiel
- Toby Longworth as Erasmus Fry, Auberon, Hades
- Reece Lyons as Wanda
- Sandra-Mae Luykx as Rachel
- John MacMillain as African Morpheus (Act I only)
- Mac McDonald as Abraham Warner
- Kevin McNally as Wilkinson
- Jane Milligan as Persephone
- Charlotte Moore as Sue
- Harry Myers as Wyvern, Glob, Young Erasmus Fry, Barnabas
- Siân Phillips as Livia
- Sarah Pitard as The Cuckoo
- Ray Porter as Fiddler's Green, Martin Tenbones, Wesley Dodds, Hector Hall, Beelzebub, Security Guard, Richard Burbage, Griffin, Mark, Mulligan
- Carl Prekopp as Algernon Charles Swinburne
- Blake Ritson as Alex Burgess
- Mack Keith Roach as Jed Walker, Charles Rowland
- Michael Roberts as Cain
- Julie Rodgers as Foxglove
- Al Roker as a passerby
- Jenny Runacre as Mary Canby
- Abubakar Salim as Aristaeus
- Kerry Shale as Abel, Azazel, Brute
- Andrew James Spooner as Chas, Clerk, Danny, Ginger, Harry, Landlord, Paperman, Rebel Human
- Dai Tabuchi as Susano-o-no-Mikoto
- Ellen Thomas as The Mother
- Harry Tuffin as Edwin Paine
- Cathy Tyson as The Crone
- Simon Vance as Lucien, Charon
- Lizzie Waterworth-Santo as Shivering Jemmy
- Samuel West as Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- Tracy Wiles as Young List of The Sandman characters#Unity Kinkaid
- Julia Winwood as Clarice, Dog Soup
- Daniel Weyman as Richard Madoc
Adaptation
editThe show was adapted into Hindi.[14]
Reception
editThe show was a 2022 People's Voice Winner at the Webby Awards in the Original Music Score/Best Sound Design Category, and a People's Voice Winner at the 2023 Webby Awards.[15][16] The show won an Earphones Award.[17] The show was a finalist in the 2022 Audie Award for Fantasy.[18]
According to Audible, the first season had a record-breaking number of pre-orders and was the best-selling Audible Original in the company's history.[19] The second season was the second best-selling Audible Original for the first 90 days.[20]
References
edit- ^ Ouellette, Jennifer (July 6, 2020). "Morpheus speaks with the voice of James McAvoy in The Sandman audio drama". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Itzkoff, Dave (July 10, 2020). "Sweet Dreams: Neil Gaiman's The Sandman Becomes an Audio Drama". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ Weldon, Glen (July 15, 2020). "'The Sandman': Landmark Comic Series Gets A Rigidly Faithful Audio Drama Adaptation". NPR. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
- ^ Holub, Christian (September 20, 2021). "How Audible's 'The Sandman' got bigger and better for Act II — including an EW cameo". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Robinson, Tasha (July 15, 2020). "How the Sandman audio drama cast Dream, Death, and Desire". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Schedeen, Jesse (July 14, 2020). "The Sandman: Neil Gaiman Explains How the Audible Adaptation Coexists With the Netflix Series". IGN. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Muncy, Julie (July 19, 2020). "Neil Gaiman and Director Dirk Maggs Talk the Massive Undertaking That Is the Sandman Audio Drama". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Phillips, Maya (July 15, 2020). "How Do You Translate a Comic Book Into Audio? Ask Neil Gaiman". The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
- ^ Williams, Wil (October 8, 2020). "Neil Gaiman intends to adapt all of Sandman for the 'comics impaired'". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Harp, Justin (January 28, 2021). "Exclusive: Neil Gaiman's Sandman returning for two more series on Audible". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Sturges, Fiona (November 5, 2021). "The Sandman: Act II audiobook review – Neil Gaiman's dreamworld". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Clement, Olivia (May 13, 2020). "James McAvoy, Justin Vivian Bond, and More Tapped for Audible's The Sandman". Playbill. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ Ganz, Jami (October 6, 2021). "David Tennant 'entrances' under fan pressure as Loki in Audible's 'The Sandman'". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman (May 9, 2022). "Neil Gaiman's 'The Sandman' Gets Indian Adaptation by Dirk Maggs, Bollywood A-List Cast". Variety. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "People's Voice Winner, Nominee. The Sandman: Act II". Webby Awards. 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ "People's Voice Winner - The Sandman: Act III". Webby Awards. 2023. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Reviews. The Sandman. Earphones Award Winner". AudioFile Magazine. July 1, 2020. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Wang, Jessica (February 3, 2022). "Barack Obama, Sam Heughan, and Oprah among finalists for 2022 Audie Awards: See the full list". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ "Audible and DC Announce Second and Third Installments of "The Sandman"". audible.com. January 28, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
- ^ "Audible and DC Surprise Fans with Release of "The Sandman: Act III"". audible.com. September 28, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2024.