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Drama on 3

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Series of drama performances, ranging from experimental works to the Classics

Scott Arthur

Mariah Gale

Pamela Miles

Nick Mercer

Danny Lee Wynter

Kevin Harvey

Andrew Leung

April De Angelis

Errollyn Wallen

Polly Thomas

Drama on 3: Life in the Tomb

Life in the Tomb

06/07/2014

BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3, Life in the Tomb

World War One seen through the eyes of a Greek soldier fighting in the Macedonian trenches

April de Angelis's dramatisation of one of the most celebrated and controversial pieces of 20th-century Greek literature, depicting WWI through the eyes of a Greek soldier.

A masterwork of Greek fiction, Life in the Tomb provides a different perspective on the anniversary of the Great War. This new dramatisation from leading playwright April De Angelis in her first radio dramatisation features an original score by award winning composer Errollyn Wallen.

Originally published as extracts in a national Greek newspaper, the book takes the form of a series of letters from a young soldier back to his girlfriend in Lesvos, as his platoon moves deeper into trench warfare. Myrivilis based the book on his own experience of fighting on the Macedonian front. The book is so honest about how appalling conditions were and how badly the army was managed that it was banned on publication.

Stratis Myrivilis's book brilliantly captures a complex Southern European view of World War I. Our narrator meets a wide range of nationalities on his journey to the trenches. The incidents he describes are rich and often unexpected - the Macedonian family who care for him when wounded, the enemy soldier with the voice of an angel and the Chinese cart driver who helps him when lost. The narrator is moving, unwittingly, towards his own death, a tragic accident in the last days of the conflict.

Stratis Myrivilis was a prolific author, nominated by the Greek society of authors for the Nobel Prize in 1960.

April De Angelis is a leading playwright. She has been produced by the Royal Court, the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and Hampstead Theatre. Recent productions include Playhouse Creatures at Chichester and Jumpy at The Duke of Yorks.

Errollyn Wallen is an award-winning composer and singer, whose work has been commissioned by the BBC, Brodsky Quartet and Royal Opera House amongst many others.


Overflow and notes:

Bouzouki and guitar player, Grant McFarlane Dowse
Violinist, Chris Elcombe
With thanks to Miranda Hinkley
Sound design, Eloise Whitmore
BA, Lucy Duffield
Executive producer, Joby Waldman

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 3
First broadcast 06/07/2014.

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