Radio Week
The picks of the best of this week’s radio
ENTERTAINMENT The Poetry Programme
SUNDAY, 7PM, RTE RADIO ONE
★★★★
On this week’s show, presenter Olivia O’Leary talks with Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh about the major new anthology of Irish language poetry Bone and Marrow/Cnámh agus Smior.
The Folk Show
WEDNESDAY, 9PM, BBC RADIO 2
★★★★
Martin Freeman (right) has been an obsessive collector of records since he was nine and only had pocket money to spend. He still loves to browse in a record store and his impressive album collection goes back decades — and includes a lot of folk music. Martin delves into that collection this week as he sits in for Mark Radcliffe on Mark’s regular show. Martin, who has little time for anyone too cool for folk, picks classic tracks from Crosby, Stills and Nash, Pentangle, Joni Mitchell and the powerfully emotional singer Odetta.
Thanks A Lot, Milton Jones! THURSDAY, 6.30PM, BBC RADIO 4
★★★★
Milton Jones, the wild-eyed, wild-haired and wild-minded comedian, does a routine that’s a tornado of puns and one-liners, delivered in a deadpan manner at top speed. You can get a burst of his humour with this new radio series, which started last week. With the help of his assistant, Anton
(Tom Goodman-Hill), he sets out to help people — yet rarely achieves that noble goal. It’s a standard comedy show set-up, but Milton’s wild-brained originality makes it sound fresh and new.
FACTUAL
The Lyric Feature SUNDAY, 6PM, LYRIC FM
★★★★
Limerick-born poet Seán Lysaght has lived for many years in Mayo. In this programme, he explores the landscape, nature and history of north Mayo in poetry and in conversation with friends who all have a deep relationship with this remote and beautiful part of Ireland.
Great Lives
TUESDAY, 4.30PM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★
Joan Rhodes, the stunt woman, wrestler and television star, was abandoned by her parents and grew up in a workhouse and on the streets of Soho. She joined a travelling fair, where she learned the skills that would help her survive. Joan was a big hit on TV variety shows where, in nifty costumes she’d made herself, she tore up telephone directories and lifted male presenters above her head. When her showbiz career ended, she opened a café opposite a recording studio where she served food to the likes of Bob Dylan. The actress Anna Maxwell Martin pays tribute to a glamorous survivor.
DRAMA
Lusus: Boonies
FRIDAY, 2.15PM, BBC RADIO 4
★★★★★
This series of truly creepy dramas, with a futuristic Gothic vibe, continues to deliver the goosebumps with this tale of a high-achieving, high-spending couple. Ben (David Mumeni) and his wife Cammie (This Time With Alan Partridge’s Susannah Fielding) live very comfortably indeed, but it takes a lot of toil and trouble from their staff for the couple to live so pleasantly. When Ben starts to worry about a dip in his earnings, he decides to underpay his staff. There will be a price to pay for Ben’s decision — and a mysterious ‘man without a face’ will be the one to see that the account is settled.