THE PROGRESS OF THE SOUL OF LIZZIE CALVIN

In poet John Donne's great unfinished work of the same name , he plays with the ancient idea of the transmigration of souls, that a spirit might be reincarnated in many different lives. For contemporary poet Michael Symmons Roberts, the idea of making a new 'Progress of the Soul' has long been an ambition. Both poets have serious fun with this idea, imagining a soul passing, dissatisfied with each successive form of life, through a fantastical range of insects, plants, fish, animals and on, trying to reach its ultimate fulfilment as a human being.
The soul , played by Glenda Jackson is the driving voice of the drama - key narrator and storyteller. Beginning in the body of Lizzie Calvin, a minister in waiting , the soul journeys through different forms of life, from a flea on a dogs back to a mandrake . This is a new radio poem that is irreverent and serious, lyrical and disturbing, witty and heart breaking . It ultimately questions the idea of the soul, what its relevance is in contemporary society .

Written by Michael Symmons Roberts
Sound producer Steve Brooke
Directed in Salford by Susan Roberts. Show less