Radio Week
The picks of the best of this week’s radio
ENTERTAINMENT
The Poetry Programme SUNDAY, 7PM, RTÉ RADIO 1 ★★★★ James Joyce is famous as a novelist and short story writer, but what about James Joyce the poet? On this week’s programme, Gerard Smyth talks with presenter Olivia O’Leary about Joyce’s poetry.
In The Studio TUESDAY, 11.30AM, WORLD SERVICE ★★★★ Paco Peña played a major part in making the art of flamenco popular in this part of the world. Based in London in the 1960s, Paco gave classical concerts and performed with the likes of Jimi Hendrix. Now the great guitarist is back with his troupe of dancers, musicians and singers, for a new show called Solera. Here Paco, along with some of his troupe, gives a live studio performance of both traditional and new interpretations of this raw and powerful musical form.
The Lyric Feature SUNDAY, 6PM, LYRIC FM ★★★★ The poet Eleanor Hooker lives on the shores of Lough Derg, sails on it for leisure and competitively, works as a volunteer for the RNLI lifeboat service, and writes about the lake in her poems. In this programme, she explores her relationship with the lake in poetry and in conversation with friends and neighbours. Along the way she meets model boatbuilder Reggie Goodbody (pictured
SAILING: Reggie Goodbody with Eleanor above with Eleanor), fellow writer Sandra Lefroy, Allan Mee, who was instrumental in reintroducing the white-tailed sea eagle to the lake, and she goes out on the lake with sailor Ted Knight. We hear of the lake’s changing moods and the meaning it holds for those who live near it and sometimes on it.
FACTUAL
The Essay MONDAY-FRIDAY, 10.45PM, BBC RADIO 3 ★★★★ Paul McCartney wrote a song in honour of his Old English sheepdog Martha. Elton John’s cocker spaniel was best man at Elton’s wedding, Wagner had a huge, brave Newfoundland that was, at one point, more famous than him, Elvis Presley adored poodles, and Chopin wrote his Minute Waltz for a fluffy, white whirlwind of a dog. All this week the author Fiona Stafford looks at the companionship and inspiration that musicians and composers have found with the dogs they’ve loved.
The Truth About Tourette’s TUESDAY, 11AM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★ Very few people with Tourette’s syndrome have an overwhelming urge to shout obscenities and make loud, strange noises. For many, as Aidy Smith explains from hardearned experience, living with Tourette’s is a matter of enduring the pain and exhaustion that the tics, spasms and other symptoms bring. The upside, he explains in this enlightening programme, can include very fast reactions and tremendous creativity.
DRAMA
Agatha Christie: Giant’s Bread SUNDAY, 3PM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★ The shadow of the First World War hovers over this dramatisation of one of Agatha Christie’s lesser-known novels, written under the pen name of Mary Westmacott. The plot follows a young man, played by Tom Glenister, haunted by his battlefield experiences and struggling to find a place in post-war society. He works in a factory but has hopes of becoming a composer. It’s a drama about obsession, damage and a struggle to find an identity stolen by conflict.