Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon 

Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

BBC Radio 4 LW

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon: One

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

BBC Radio 4 - Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon, One

A story of drama and friendship in war-torn Sicily during the Peloponnesian War.

1.  A mad plan. After the disastrous Athenian invasion of Sicily in 412 BC, two young potters in Syracuse decide to put on a play with a group of starving Athenian prisoners.

It is 412 BC and the Peloponnesian war is raging. Debut novelist Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits is a thrillingly funny and moving story of wild ambition, high drama and unexpected friendship set in the aftermath of the disastrous invasion of Sicily by the Athenians.

In Syracuse, two young potters and best friends, Gelon and Lampo, come up with a ridiculously brilliant and crazy idea of putting on a play and casting the characters from the captured Athenian soldiers who are starving in the Syracusean quarries. United by a love of Homer and a passion for the work of the Athenian playwright Euripides, the unlikely pair are determined to pursue their dream, wherever it takes them and however many risks they face.

First they have to find prisoners who are familiar with the work of Euripides, and then bribe the starving captives with food and wine to recite any lines they can remember. Extra olives if they are from Medea.  Once they’ve auditioned and found their cast, they need money for masks, costumes and scenery. It’s only when they brave a visit to a mysterious merchant ship moored in the harbour that they secure both the funds, and a producer.

The enterprise is fraught with uncertainties and danger, but as the play goes into production, unexpected friendships are made, and unlikely bonds of loyalty are forged. When disaster strikes, the young directors have to decide how to save the prisoners they’ve befriended.

Ferdia Lennon was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Libyan father. He holds a BA in History and Classics from University College Dublin, and an MA in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia. This is his debut novel, set in a convincing classical world and brilliantly written in a modern Irish vernacular.  

Written by :     Ferdia Lennon
Reader:             Jonathan Forbes
Abridger:          Sara Davies
Producer:         Celia de Wolff

A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Audiobooks

Podcasts

Drama

Drama: Historical

Drama: War & Disaster

A thrillingly funny and moving story of wild ambition, high drama and unexpected friendship set in the aftermath of the disastrous invasion of Sicily by the Athenians in 412BC.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

One

Genres

Series

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4