Drama: "The Dark Tower" (Louis MacNiece/Benjamin Britten)

[Nick Armstrong]

Very interested to hear this, to be broadcast this evening at 9pm

The Dark Tower
Drama on 3

Louis MacNeice's iconic verse drama, widely acknowledged to be the finest of his many works for radio and one of the most critically acclaimed radio plays of the 20th century. The play is inspired by the mythical quest in Robert Browning's mysterious poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came", but includes strong autobiographical and even satirical elements. At its core is original music by Benjamin Britten, to whom MacNeice dedicated the published script.

I had never heard of this before. This Guardian article from Friday discusses the work.

[french frank]

Thanks for the Guardian link, Cali. Very interesting. I don't think it says, does it? that Robin Brooks is the director of TDT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09bx5l4

[un barbu]

WHY did they have to introduce the play in the supposed voice of the author, speaking in a broad Belfast accent? YouTube has MacNeice introducing and reading 'Bagpipe Music' and his tones are, as one would expect from someone educated at Marlborough and Merton College, Oxford, pure RP. That, of course, simply wouldn't do in these days.

[french frank]

WHY did they have to introduce the play in the supposed voice of the author, speaking in a broad Belfast accent? YouTube has MacNeice introducing and reading 'Bagpipe Music' and his tones are, as one would expect from someone educated at Marlborough and Merton College, Oxford, pure RP. That, of course, simply wouldn't do in these days.

Nevertheless, I did find it gripping and enjoyed it very much. I didn't know the work at all (beyond one line of Shakespeare) . I suppose for radio it helps to have variation between the voices so that it's always clear who's speaking.

[agingjb]

Curiously, there are two iPlayer programs of The Dark Tower at the moment:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09bx5l4

and

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03kpwv9/the-dark-tower

I think they are different, but who knows?

I've certainly heard the work in the past, at least once.

[french frank]

think they are different, but who knows?

One is MacNeice's original radio play for the Third Programme.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

One is MacNeice's original radio play for the Third Programme.

- the first link in agingjb's post leads to yesterday's broadcast; the second to the original, HIPP broadcast from 21st January, 1946.

[teamsaint]

- the first link in agingjb's post leads to yesterday's broadcast; the second to the original, HIPP broadcast from 21st January, 1946.

Did you happen to hear the R3 trailer for this, Ferney ?
I think you might be interested . Trouble is, I can't find it online.

[DracoM]

Certainly agree about the startling Belfast narrating voice! Why? Much more 'Falls Rd gangsta' than I could ever have imagined. MacNeice spoke nothing like that..........didn't he record 'Autumn Journal'? I'm sure I've heard him do that. No Belfast in that.

But that was a gripper. Wonderful manipulation of the surreal, in myth and poetry. Terrific.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Did you happen to hear the R3 trailer for this, Ferney ?
I think you might be interested . Trouble is, I can't find it online.

No - I missed that. What happened, ts?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Certainly agree about the startling Belfast narrating voice! Why? Much more 'Falls Rd gangsta' than I could ever have imagined. MacNeice spoke nothing like that..........didn't he record 'Autumn Journal'? I'm sure I've heard him do that. No Belfast in that.

John Cole was nothing like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n72XebBaMeI

[french frank]

Certainly agree about the startling Belfast narrating voice! Why? Much more 'Falls Rd gangsta' than I could ever have imagined. MacNeice spoke nothing like that..........didn't he record 'Autumn Journal'? I'm sure I've heard him do that. No Belfast in that.

I'm a bit bemused as to why it should matter what accent was used. Did people with pronounced Scottish accents likewise object that a(n over) refined RP accent wasn't used? The narrative isn't based in 1940s England. Isn't it like objecting to a Hollywood film where Christ has an American accent instead of an English one?

Ha Ha Ha. Ferny in first!!!

[DracoM]

Startled because by so doing, the BBC had quite deliberately located the play in Belfast terms form literally the first spoken sound, when the original BBC show, and the ON PAPER text makes no such highly specific placement. Would the author have wanted this? Of course, we can't know that. Just seemed odd. And THEN none of the other actors in the current version had Irish accents at all - including the young Roland, and his Mother. In fact, very obviously not.

Yes, it's a surreal dream vision, so I suppose you can re-patch whatever seems interesting. After all, Shakespeare is regularly re-patriated and re-located to a bewildering number of 'other places'. .............

[Nick Armstrong]

Haven't had a chance to hear it yet... But there's some linked programming tomorrow night, 1 November: this

Britten and Radio

David Hendy, Glyn Maxwell, Kate Kennedy and Lucy Walker with Philip Dodd and an audience at Aldeburgh in a discussion exploring Britten's relationship with radio in Britain and in America, with his subjects as varied as mountaineering (with words from Christopher Isherwood), a dramatisation of Homer's Odyssey and short stories by D.H. Lawrence (with a young W.H. Auden). But why was Britten so reluctant to accept a job at the BBC's Music department in the 1930s?

following the concert including some rare Britten ("King Arthur") referred to in ER's new thread http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...io-3-1-11-2017

[french frank]

Startled because by so doing, the BBC had quite deliberately located the play in Belfast terms form literally the first spoken sound, when the original BBC show, and the ON PAPER text makes no such highly specific placement.

It's a fascinating point. But, wouldn't a MacNeice RP voice also have located it - unless you happen to be English RP-speaking? Did MacNeice expect it to be located anywhere at all? If it's not located anywhere, what accent does suggest that? To whom?

Was it just that you had an expectation which was not realised? I had no expectation (not knowing the work) and simply accepted the accent. I didn't think: Oh, the action's situated somewhere in Ireland.