5. Solace

Despite increasing hardships, Princess the mongrel takes solace in poetry and the bet between the gods is finally decided.

Over drinks in Stoke Newington, Hermes and Aphrodite get into a debate about whether animals could live happily if they had the same cognitive and speech abilities as humans.

They decide to wager a year of servitude on the outcome of granting the gifts of human reasoning and language to a group of dogs in a nearby kennel.

Given their newfound abilities, the dogs are able to escape, where they set up their own new protosociety. The novel then explores the functioning of their new society through the impact of human values, such as individuality and personal freedom, on the conventionally hierarchical social order of dog packs.

Novel by Canadian writer André Alexis, first published in 2015.

Conclusion dramatised by Mike Harris.

Zeus ...... Paterson Joseph
Aphrodite ...... Emma Pierson
Hermes ...... Arty Froushan
Majnoun ...... David Ajoa
Atticus ...... Paul Kemp
Princess ...... Kate Chambers
Bonny and Rosie ...... Lotte Rice
Mick ...... John Hollingworth
Nira ...... Prisca Bakare
Kim ...... Christopher Buckley
Women ...... Felicity Duncan

The Fates and all other parts played by members of the cast.

Adapted in five parts by Mike Harris.

Produced and directed by Clive Brill

A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2020.