Love Stories: The Manxman

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The Manxman

BBC Radio 4 - Love Stories, The Manxman

The Manxman is a love triangle set on the Isle of Man in the 1890s

A love triangle leaves a woman torn between desire and duty, facing the consequences of betrayal. The Manxman is set on the Isle of Man in the 1890s.

The Manxman is the story of a love triangle that leaves a woman on the Isle of Man torn between desire and duty and facing the consequences of betrayal.

Childhood friends, fisherman Peter Quilliam and eminent lawyer Phillip Christian are both in love with Kate Cregeen. Kate loves Pete, but her father is against the match, forcing Pete to seek his fortune abroad. When false news comes of Pete's death, Kate becomes involved with Philip, but Pete's return leads to conflict - an unhappy marriage, a tussle for a child, and the creation of a fictional life.

Catherine Harvey's adaptation focuses on the heart of Thomas Hall Caine’s novel - the love triangle between Kate, Philip and Pete - while drawing on the strong sense of community and legend that are present in the original novel, their story told here by a narrator played by Rakie Ayola.

Hall Caine's story mixes humour and pathos, juxtaposing the personal and the mythic. Its themes have a strong modern resonance - fate, love and loss, the guilt of betrayal, the conflict of friendship and desire, the effects of marrying the wrong man for the right reasons, and whether advancement and ambition should be pursued at any cost - ultimately suggesting that sacrifice is necessary to obtain happiness.

With a cast including several native Manx actors and partly recorded on the Isle of Man, The Manxman draws on the distinctive soundscape of the island as well as the unique accent and dialect of the island's people.
 

Cast:
Shennaghee the Storyteller - Rakie Ayola
Kate Cregeen - Evie Killip
Pete Quilliam - Benjamin Karran
Philip Christian - Tom Ward-Thomas
Caesar Cregeen / Peter Christian of Ballawhaine - Stephen Bent
Grannie Cregeen - Annie Kissack
Ross Christian / Doctor / Parson / Governor - Will de Renzy-Martin
Auntie Nan - Aalin Clague
Young Pete - Rafferty McKenna
Young Phil - Finn Franklin
Young Kate - Aalish Kilgallon
Young Ross - Ned Hampton
 
Other parts were played by Phil Gawne, John Dog Callister, Winnie Callister, Bill Corlett, Richard Corlett, Greg Joughin, Chris Sheard, Chloe Woolley, and members of the cast.

Sound designer: Iain Mackness
Music: David Kilgallon, Kiaull Manninagh, Phynnoderee, Caarjyn Cooidjagh, Cairistìona Dougherty, Skeeal, and The Albert Players

The Manxman was recorded partly on location in the Isle of Man. 
Production adviser: Annie Kissack
Special thanks to Culture Vannin, The Bunscoill Ghaelgagh, The Albert Hotel and Maughold Church.
 
Directed by Iain Mackness
Produced by Ashley Byrne and Kurt Brookes
Adapted from the novel by Thomas Hall Caine by Catherine Harvey
 
A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4

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