Review: The Receiver of Wreck

The Receiver of Wreck is one of those off-kilter radio plays that snags you with a set of hooks you just can’t dislodge. Jen – played by Alice Lowe and very definitely not by Madeleine Wool – is a government official who travels to assess objects washed up on British beaches. Writer Ben Cottam assures us that the position of Receiver of Wreck does actually exist, though whether the real-life holder of the post also believes herself to be a Travelodge is currently unknown.

Jen travels to Fleetwood where the wreck of a fishing vessel involved in the Second Cod War appears on the beach. But, you know how it is: not everything is what it seems and it’s possible we should be thinking of alternative meanings of the word ‘receiver’. I won’t tell you how the play ends – but then I’m not sure I understand the ending. Or if it even ends. I’ll enjoy my puzzlement and if other listeners have a better idea of the denouement, they’re welcome to it. All I’ll say in my defence is that, well, it had been a long drive. And it was Fleetwood. In January.

Did I mention that certified national treasure Jane Horrocks plays the chipshop-owning Mayor of Fleetwood? She has rubber hands too. I hope I didn’t hallucinate the whole thing.

The Receiver of Wreck was written by Ben Cottam and directed by Alison Crawford on location in... Weston-Super-Mare.