On the Black Hill: The Read

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BBC Four HD

The Read

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Acclaimed actors combine with classic literature, breathing new life into iconic stories.

Rediscover the books you thought you knew. Acclaimed actors combine with classic literature, breathing new life into iconic stories.

On the Black Hill

BBC Two

BBC Four

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Callum Scott Howells

Alifi Cadillac-Cox

Nino Cadillac-Cox

Mark Charles

Josh Harrison

Paul Colman

Lotte Pearl

Alex Fraser

Sara Allen

Luke J Collins

The Read: Series 1: On the Black Hill

Series 1

BBC Four - The Read, Series 1, On the Black Hill

A creative performance reading of On the Black Hill, by Bruce Chatwin.

A performance reading of the abridged novel On the Black Hill, by Bruce Chatwin. Identical twin brothers grow up on a farm in rural Wales and never leave home.

Based on the novel published in 1982 by Bruce Chatwin, On the Black Hill is about identical twin brothers who grow up on a farm in rural Wales and never leave home. They till the rough soil and sleep in the same bed, touched only occasionally by the advances of the 20th century. By depicting the lives of Benjamin and Lewis, and their interactions with their small local community, Chatwin comments movingly on the larger questions of human experience.

On the Black Hill is a novel that portrays themes of unrequited love, sexual repression and confusion, social, religious and cultural repression, hate, and the historic social values of rural Britain. 
 
Narrated by Callum Scott Howells and directed by Luke J Collins, the film combines a performance reading with flashback imagery.

The Read: Series 1

Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

A series of four creative performance readings of iconic British novels.

A series of four creative performance readings of iconic British novels. Each episode is directed by exciting emerging talent.

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On the Black Hill

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