The Owl and the Nightingale

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Drama: The Owl and the Nightingale

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BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The Owl and the Nightingale

A medieval twitter spat translated by poet Simon Armitage. 

Simon Armitage's new translation of the medieval slanging match of a poem The Owl and the Nightingale, with Maxine Peake as the owl and Rachael Stirling as the nightingale.

In this highly engaging new translation of  the lively medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale, Simon Armitage communicates this twitter spat with all the energy, humour and theatricality of the original.  A narrator overhears a firey verbal contest between the two birds which moves from the philosophical to the ridiculous. The disputed issues resonate today - concerning identity, class, cultural attitudes and the right to be heard. They argue about everything from toilet habits to parenting skills, the song of one trying to outdo the other . 

Narrator - Simon Armitage 
Owl - Maxine Peake 
Nightingale - Rachael Stirling

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