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Episode details

Radio 4,22 Sep 2024,57 mins

Man Friday

Drama on 4

Available for over a year

A brilliant re-imagining of Daniel Defoe’s classic story, from the perspective of Man Friday, by Edson Burton. Kofi is having a spectacularly bad day when he first meets the shipwrecked Robinson Crusoe. Lost at sea and out of provisions, his starving shipmates have decided to eat him. When they come upon a deserted island, it seems the perfect venue for a beach barbecue. But Kofi spies a footprint in the sand which raises his hopes of rescue. Crusoe appears, raving, clothed only in branches, with a goat for backup. They somehow frighten off the pirates, leaving the two men alone. This island is as foreign to Kofi as it is to Crusoe, and brings up all the same issues: loneliness, abandonment, and how to survive together. Kofi ... CJ Beckford Crusoe ... Alexander Kirk Captain/Sailor 1/Sally ... Joseph Tweedale Sailor 2 ... John Rutledge Original music by Seckou Keita. Engineered by Andy Bell at Hudson Records. Additional music and sound design by Ilse Lademann. Director ... Mary Ward-Lowery

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