3 July 2004
Saturday 3 July 2004 21:00-21:45 (Radio 3)
Ian McMillan presents the second in a series of new commissions in which contemporary writers look again at the Greek myths. This week, playwright Colin Teevan with an extraordinary monologue based on the story of Medea. Teevan's Medea is a man betrayed by his wife, and his revenge is quite as terrible as Euripides' original. Also featuring new work from Ken Campbell, and a profile of the nineteenth century Dorset poet William Barnes, currently being championed by Christopher Ricks.
Verb playlist
Irish playwright Colin Teevan is the second writer to take up The Verb's challenge to write a new version of a Greek myth. Colin chose to take on the myth of Medea, creating a contemporary version from a male perspective. 'Medea: The Last Word', is read for The Verb by Samuel West. Colin's new play, 'How Many Miles to Basra?' will be broadcast next Sunday 11th July at 8pm on Radio 3.
There's new poetry from Catherine Smith, whose writing teems with ghosts and dark daydreams. She was shortlisted for the Forward First Collection prize in 2001 and named this year as one of the Next Generation Poets. Her latest collection 'The Butcher's Hands' is published by Smith/Doorstop Books.
Middle Eastern expert Clinton Bailey explains the legal culture of the Bedouin, where laws and traditions are encased entirely in spoken proverbs. His book 'A Culture of Desert Survival' is available now, published by Yale University Press.
And we hear some tricks of the stage - Ken Campbell explores a forgotten theatrical form, the nub...
