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Episode details

Radio 4,28 Feb 2024,44 mins

Sappho in Fragments

Drama on 4

Available for over a year

By Hattie Naylor. Sappho adores her brother Charaxus. But nothing is the same after his trip to Egypt. His irrational obsession with the courtesan-slave Rhodopis threatens to destroy their family. Starring Thalissa Teixeira. Sappho is a superstar. Think Beyoncé or Taylor Swift: phenomenally talented and charismatic. But she must still take care of the family's reputation. And her brothers are so annoying: Larichus is a lazy drunk: he can't 'lift his head' long enough to be a real man. And Charaxus is wasting all the family money on this Egyptian-based gold-digger whore from Thrace. It's not good optics for a famous poet/musician. And there are so many wolfish rivals waiting to bite Sappho in the back; they'd love to get their claws on juicy gossip like this. Sappho can't trust herself either: how can she resist the temptation to reveal her intimate problems onstage, for her voracious fans and all the world to hear. Only her devoted servant Timas knows how to take care of Sappho. Inspired by fragments of Sappho's poems, including her newly discovered work, Hattie Naylor creates a vivid episode in the youthful life on Lesbos of this elusive and unforgettable poet. CAST Sappho ... Thalissa Teixeira Timas ... Rhiannon Neads Andromeda/Rhodopis ...Anna Spearpoint Gorgo ... Juliana Lisk Charaxus ... Joseph Tweedale Larichus/Fotis ... Oliver Hembrough Captain/Agapios ... Ian Dunnett Jnr Cleis ... Amanda Lawrence Historical consultant ... Professor Edith Hall Photo credit ... Ágnes Wonke-Tóth Music by Liz Hanks from her album 'Land', released on Hudson Records Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery

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