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John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Producer and writer John Yorke unpacks the themes and impact behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Producer and writer John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

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Opening Lines: Twelfth Night - Episode 2

Twelfth Night - Episode 2

BBC Radio 4 - Opening Lines, Twelfth Night - Episode 2

John Yorke takes a look at Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and asks what makes it work.

The series about books, plays and stories and how they work, John Yorke examines Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

John Yorke explores one of Shakespeare's best loved comedies, Twelfth Night.   In the second of two episodes, he explores the setting of the play and how the whole plot turns on the ambiguities thrown up by a woman dressed as a man.

We’re introduced to characters who fall in love with each other in a confusion of misplaced desire. Viola is shipwrecked in a strange land and has lost her twin brother Sebastian. She disguises herself as a man before she meets the Duke of Illyria, who is himself in love with the Countess Olivia. It's the beginnings of a love triangle rich in comedic moments.  Twelfth Night is a play in which desire and disguise lead to confusion and chaos, only to be resolved in a happy ever after love story. Well, almost.    

John shares a lifetime of experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the secrets behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. He has been working in television and radio for nearly 30 years.

From East Enders to the Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book ‘Into the Woods’. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters - his students have had 17 green-lights in the last two years alone. 
 
Contributors:
Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College, University of Oxford
Dominic Dromgoole, Theatre director
Tamsin Greig, who played 'Malvolia' at the National Theatre

Credits:
Clips from: Shakespeare on 3: Twelfth Night (April 2012), BBC Radio 3 starring Naomi Frederick. Directed By Sally Avens.


Researcher:  Nina Semple
Sound Design:  Sean Kerwin
Production Manager:  Sarah Wright
Producer:  Mark Rickards
Executive Producer:  Caroline Raphael

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