Earstory is enjoying the 20 part adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Our Mutual Friend currently playing on BBC Radio 4. It is three quarters of the way through with five fifteen-minute episodes left to play this week.
There are a lot characters and it is not always easy to follow the action and determine who is who. Plus the thing is a mystery of sorts so it is sometimes hard to determine what is supposed to be known, what has been missed and what has been confused. In spite of all that, or because of, it is a fascinating listen, well performed, with wonderful scenes and exotic somewhat deprived, and sad characters. Well, you know, Dickens.
The fortune build on a stinking garbage heap it just a brillient jumping off point for this wonderful, crazy story of a miserable city and sad people just trying to somehow get by.
Roger Goula adds to the atmosphere, his beautiful sad woodwinds, and piano.
The adaptation is by BBC Radio drama regular Mike Walker
BBC is doing something new with this series and others. Before it would only keep the streams up for a week, But now it is possible to catch-up with the whole series while it still runs. Earstory thinks this is a great move and really supports it.
There is a survey on the bottom of this page about this change. take a minute to answer the questions, it might help to encourage the BBC the continue this sort of thing.
Showing posts with label Mike Walker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Walker. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A City Killing
With this BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play writer Mike Walker explores the hedge fund world. This is right up to the minute sort of topical theater. We have been getting few of these in the last few months. The best of the lot has been Development by Doug Lucie, which told a more personal family story set in tough economic times. This one has elements of the Madoff case. In a way it might fulfill the fantasy of some looking for a comeuppance for Mr. Madoff and his type.
There is a good scene where our protagonist goes to visit a very dreamy Bob Glass, the Madoffish character. Glass talks about wanting to be close to nature, and other very rudimentary sort of philosophical things. It is the simple minded babble of one who lived completely outside of the real world, someone who only cared about making money. The scene reminds of a convict coming to Christ while in the can. But Glass is too much a sophisticated NY'er to go for Jesus. so it is nature and the ocean instead.
In this play "the little guy" makes no appearance. This is all about the powerful people who apparently with the winning combination of ignorance and greed have put many of us in a very bad position.
I really do like these new depression dramas and hope the BBC keeps them coming. I have a feeling that they are going to have a long shelf life, a lot longer that a lot of us are going to be comfortable with.
There is a good scene where our protagonist goes to visit a very dreamy Bob Glass, the Madoffish character. Glass talks about wanting to be close to nature, and other very rudimentary sort of philosophical things. It is the simple minded babble of one who lived completely outside of the real world, someone who only cared about making money. The scene reminds of a convict coming to Christ while in the can. But Glass is too much a sophisticated NY'er to go for Jesus. so it is nature and the ocean instead.
In this play "the little guy" makes no appearance. This is all about the powerful people who apparently with the winning combination of ignorance and greed have put many of us in a very bad position.
I really do like these new depression dramas and hope the BBC keeps them coming. I have a feeling that they are going to have a long shelf life, a lot longer that a lot of us are going to be comfortable with.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Forty-Three Fifty-Nine
This play by Radio 4 drama regular scribe Mike Walker and John Dryden somewhat recalls the case of Alexander Litvinenko last year in London.
In the play the same sort of thing happens in a sped up timeline which is the real-time of the radio play.
What we have here is a tense suspense drama of fine craftsmanship, in writing, performance, and production. Most of the drama is heard via mobile phone conversations. At one beautifully executed moment we hear two mobile conversations going on at the same time.
The emotional drive of the play has to do with a once swaggering care free adventurous covert operator who has found himself transformed through love. His primary concern now is for the welfare of his daughter.
But I'll stop now and say no more other that to suggest that you do not miss this one. It can be found on The Afternoon Play BBC Radio 4 page and is through Thursday Nov. 1, 2007. On the The Afternoon Play page click on the Friday button.
In the play the same sort of thing happens in a sped up timeline which is the real-time of the radio play.
What we have here is a tense suspense drama of fine craftsmanship, in writing, performance, and production. Most of the drama is heard via mobile phone conversations. At one beautifully executed moment we hear two mobile conversations going on at the same time.
The emotional drive of the play has to do with a once swaggering care free adventurous covert operator who has found himself transformed through love. His primary concern now is for the welfare of his daughter.
But I'll stop now and say no more other that to suggest that you do not miss this one. It can be found on The Afternoon Play BBC Radio 4 page and is through Thursday Nov. 1, 2007. On the The Afternoon Play page click on the Friday button.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Radetzky March
Drama on 3 BBC Radio 3
A radio play adapted Mike Walker from Michael Hofmann's English translation of the novel by Joseph Roth.
We are three degrees separate from the original material here. I have never read Joseph Roth's novel and the only thing I know about it, other than the radio play, is this essay by Michael Hofmann and a brief scan of the customer reviews of Hofmann's translation of it on Amazon.. So I can only really write about what I heard.
This is a fast paced two hour historical radio drama that sweeps through some 40 or so years at the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That might not seem all that inviting, but it is a rather entertaining listen. We are involved mostly with the Trotta family, three generations of them. Actually it's the men of the family. This is a very male story. Woman pop up briefly now and then, but we never enter into their lives as we do the Trotta men. The first Trotta is a soldier who saves the life of the emperor on the battlefield. The bulk of the play concerns his son and grandson. The son of the hero is a commissioner of some sort involved in the government. The grandson becomes a soldier and his father grooms him on how to be a gentleman soldier which involves buying six suits, and a nice cigarette case. The grandson is told he should smoke cigarettes and drink Hennessy so he won't stand out and will be one of the good ole gentlemen. The grandson becomes quite good at some of this, or at least involved.
This is really about a time of transition from the Dual Monarchy as we move into the violence of the 20th Century and the old order crumbles away. It does a good job of showing some of those changes and how change itself sweeps us all out of the was eventually. The play has a nice balance between sentimentalism for the past and cynicism about what humans do to one another in general. I believe I know a little more about the time and place after the experience of the play. We hear the tides of change as the grandson is called upon to deal with labor unrest. It's a well done scene showing the human blunders of the agents of authority. It's cop work , not gentlemen soldier work.
A character of Joseph Roth appears in scenes in a cafe writing the very novel we are listening to. It's a useful dramatic devise that helps make the piece clearer and more accessible.
Once again the BBC presents us with a well crafted production with many of the actors undetectably doubling, even tripling in their roles. I was completely convinced of the time and place by the soundscape atmosphere. The play was directed by Tim Dee. It is well worth a listen.
It can be heard here: Drama on 3 through Saturday April 28, 2007
A radio play adapted Mike Walker from Michael Hofmann's English translation of the novel by Joseph Roth.
We are three degrees separate from the original material here. I have never read Joseph Roth's novel and the only thing I know about it, other than the radio play, is this essay by Michael Hofmann and a brief scan of the customer reviews of Hofmann's translation of it on Amazon.. So I can only really write about what I heard.
This is a fast paced two hour historical radio drama that sweeps through some 40 or so years at the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. That might not seem all that inviting, but it is a rather entertaining listen. We are involved mostly with the Trotta family, three generations of them. Actually it's the men of the family. This is a very male story. Woman pop up briefly now and then, but we never enter into their lives as we do the Trotta men. The first Trotta is a soldier who saves the life of the emperor on the battlefield. The bulk of the play concerns his son and grandson. The son of the hero is a commissioner of some sort involved in the government. The grandson becomes a soldier and his father grooms him on how to be a gentleman soldier which involves buying six suits, and a nice cigarette case. The grandson is told he should smoke cigarettes and drink Hennessy so he won't stand out and will be one of the good ole gentlemen. The grandson becomes quite good at some of this, or at least involved.
This is really about a time of transition from the Dual Monarchy as we move into the violence of the 20th Century and the old order crumbles away. It does a good job of showing some of those changes and how change itself sweeps us all out of the was eventually. The play has a nice balance between sentimentalism for the past and cynicism about what humans do to one another in general. I believe I know a little more about the time and place after the experience of the play. We hear the tides of change as the grandson is called upon to deal with labor unrest. It's a well done scene showing the human blunders of the agents of authority. It's cop work , not gentlemen soldier work.
A character of Joseph Roth appears in scenes in a cafe writing the very novel we are listening to. It's a useful dramatic devise that helps make the piece clearer and more accessible.
Once again the BBC presents us with a well crafted production with many of the actors undetectably doubling, even tripling in their roles. I was completely convinced of the time and place by the soundscape atmosphere. The play was directed by Tim Dee. It is well worth a listen.
It can be heard here: Drama on 3 through Saturday April 28, 2007
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