Drama on 3: Helen

Posted by Inga on March 5, 2011 at 4:29am

Don Taylor's translation of the savage tragicomedy by Euripides about a war in the Middle East fought for the flimsiest of reasons.

The Trojan War is over and the Greek forces are making their way home. Meanwhile, in Egypt, Helen of Troy is protesting to anyone who will listen that she is innocent, that she never went to Troy, and the whole war was fought under false pretences. When her husband Menelaus is shipwrecked on the shore where Helen has been taking sanctuary, she not only has a lot of explaining to do, but also an escape to plan.

This story of a war in the Middle East fought over dubious claims now has contemporary resonance.

Frances Barber stars as Helen, James Purefoy as her husband, and Paul Ritter as King Theoclymenus.

Helen ..... Frances Barber
Menelaus ..... James Purefoy
Theoclymenus ..... Paul Ritter
Theonoe/Chorus ..... Anna Francolini
Concierge/Chorus ..... Catherine Russell
Slave/Chorus ..... Laura Rees
Teucer ..... Gus Brown
Sailor/Messenger ..... Richard Galazka
Heavenly Twins ..... Max Digby

Music composed and performed by Derek Bourgeois

Adapted and Directed by Ellen Dryden

An independent production by First Writes Radio.

 

You need to be a member of Times Past to add comments!

Join Times Past

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • 353qp5a356i6z March 22, 2011 at 10:02pm

    Hi Inga:

     

    I grabbed this one as well.  This coming weekend will be Wuthering Heights and lots of swearing!   Cheers, katy

     

    22 March 2011 - BBC News & Entertainment 

    A contemporary adaptation of Emily Bronte's 1847 classic Wuthering Heights is to air on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday - complete with swear words.

    Playwright Jonathan Holloway said he had introduced expletives into the tempestuous tale of romance "to shift the production to left field".

    He said he wanted to "capture the shock" of the book's original release.

    The BBC said it had used swearing to portray the "extremity of the lives" of Cathy, Heathcliff and other characters.

    A warning over its content will be broadcast at the beginning of the drama.

    “Start Quote

    That's what I wanted to elbow out, this idea that it's the cosy greatest love story ever told. It's not” -- Jonathan Holloway

    Holloway describes Wuthering Heights as "a story of violent obsession and a tortuous unfulfilled relationship".

    "That's what I wanted to elbow out, this idea that it's the cosy greatest love story ever told," he told the Radio Times. "It's not."

    Andrew McCarthy, director of the Bronte Parsonage Museum, said some words in the original text of Wuthering Heights had been crossed out because they were "too strong".

    It was the only novel written by Emily Bronte, who died in 1855 eight years after its publication.

    Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon played Heathcliff and Cathy in a 1939 film version, while Tom Hardy appeared in an ITV1 adaptation in 2009.

    Another film version, directed by Andrea Arnold, is due out in September, with Skins' Kaya Scodelario in the Cathy role.

    Wuthering Heights will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at 2000 GMT on 27 March.
    • Inga > 353qp5a356i6z March 26, 2011 at 11:48am
      Thank you Katy. Sorry for the late reply, I've been away for a week.
  • Inga March 5, 2011 at 4:45am
    h

    Drama on 3 Helen 27-02-11.mp3

This reply was deleted.