Iris Murdoch: Dream Girl
A trip through Iris Murdoch’s life, whose experiences and affairs with both sexes shaped her writing. Stars Helen McCrory.
Helen McCrory stars as Iris Murdoch in a hallucinogenic trip through the novelist's life, by Robin Brooks.
When Iris, lying asleep beside husband John, wakes in the middle of a midsummer night, she discovers that she is to be visited by three spirits, and is to be conducted on a journey through both her past and her writing.
But who are these spirits accompanying her? What do they have to show her about her past misdemeanours, and how art may be made from them? And what dread monster coils in the shadows, ready to strike?
Iris Murdoch's spectacularly bad behaviour and her extraordinary rise as a famous and popular novelist through the 1950s, 60s and 70s, are the themes behind this inventive new comedy drama. Iris was a woman with an insatiable appetite for life, love and literature - her experiences and numerous love affairs with both sexes shaped her writing and fed into her novels.
Iris Murdoch - Helen McCrory
The Spirit - Jonathan Cullen
Frank - Richard Goulding
Philippa - Amanda Root
Franz - Anton Lesser
Canetti - Jasper Britton
John - Robin Brooks
Female Don - Emily Joyce
Veza / Student - Hannah Genesius
Sound Designer: Alisdair McGregor
Director: Fiona McAlpine
An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2015.
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Iris Murdoch | Helen McCrory |
| The Spirit | Jonathan Cullen |
| Frank | Richard Goulding |
| Philippa | Amanda Root |
| Franz | Anton Lesser |
| Canetti | Jasper Britton |
| John | Robin Brooks |
| Female Don | Emily Joyce |
| Veza | Hannah Genesius |
| Student | Hannah Genesius |
| Director | Fiona McAlpine |
| Producer | Fiona McAlpine |
| Writer | Robin Brooks |
Broadcasts
Sat 22 Aug 201514:30BBC Radio 4 FM- Fri 6 Sep 201910:00BBC Radio 4 Extra
- Fri 6 Sep 201915:00BBC Radio 4 Extra
- Sat 7 Sep 201903:00BBC Radio 4 Extra
Iris Murdoch Mini Season
A selection of dramas celebrating the life and work of Iris Murdoch:
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John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.
The Shakespeare Sessions
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