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15 Minute Drama

Toni Morrison - Beloved

Episode 7

Duration: 15 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 Extra

By Toni Morrison
Adapted by Patricia Cumper

Toni Morrison's seminal 1987 novel about a haunted house in the era that followed the abolition of slavery in the United States is adapted for radio for the first time. Toni Morrison's masterpiece melds horror and poetry as it tells the story of Sethe, a woman who escaped slavery by crossing the Ohio river, but who, eighteen years later, is still not free.

Paul D. learns about what happened eighteen years ago when Schoolteacher, the man who ran the farm where Sethe was a slave, arrived at 124 Bluestone Road and attempted to reclaim Sethe and her children.

The drama is true to the novel's uncompromising depiction of this event, portraying the violent horror and brutality of slavery.

Original music by Jon Nicholls
Singing arranged by Dominique Le Gendre
Sound design by Caleb Knightley

Director: Sasha Yevtushenko. Show less

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