The Pattern of Painful Adventures (radio play)
Encyclopedia
The Pattern of Painful Adventures is a 90-minute 2008 radio play by Stephen Wakelam
on the circumstances surrounding the writing of the play Pericles, Prince of Tyre
by William Shakespeare
and the sickness of his brother Edmund's child, introduced by a flashback by his daughter Susannah, playwright John Marston and William's secretary Robinson. It links the play to the marriage of Susannah and the birth of her daughter and to the similar themes of daughters, forests, storms, shipwrecks and lost infants from As You Like It
, The Winter's Tale
and The Tempest
. It is named after The Pattern of Painful Adventures
, a main source for Pericles. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 3
at 8pm on 23 November 2008, directed and produced by Jeremy Mortimer
, and was followed in the same slot on 30 November by a repeat of a 2005 radio production of Pericles, with Tom Mannion
as Pericles and Benjamin Zephaniah
as Gower.
Stephen Wakelam
-Selected works:*The Pattern of Painful Adventures*Gaskin*Coppers*Angel Voices*Circles of Deceit*Deadlines*Two Men from Delft*Adulteries of a Provincial Wife*Answered Prayers*Death at the Bed End*Punters...
on the circumstances surrounding the writing of the play Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio...
by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and the sickness of his brother Edmund's child, introduced by a flashback by his daughter Susannah, playwright John Marston and William's secretary Robinson. It links the play to the marriage of Susannah and the birth of her daughter and to the similar themes of daughters, forests, storms, shipwrecks and lost infants from As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
and The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
. It is named after The Pattern of Painful Adventures
The Pattern of Painful Adventures
The Pattern of Painful Adventures was a 1576, prose novel. A later edition, printed in 1607 by Valentine Simmes and published by Nathaniel Butter, was drawn on by William Shakespeare for his play Pericles, Prince of Tyre...
, a main source for Pericles. It was first broadcast on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
at 8pm on 23 November 2008, directed and produced by Jeremy Mortimer
Jeremy Mortimer
Jeremy Mortimer is a British director and producer of radio dramas for BBC Radio. He is the son of John and Penelope Mortimer. His credits include The Pattern of Painful Adventures and radio adaptations of Daphnis and Chloe , Philomel Cottage and The Time Machine...
, and was followed in the same slot on 30 November by a repeat of a 2005 radio production of Pericles, with Tom Mannion
Tom Mannion
Tom Mannion is a British actor.His television credits include Brookside, Up the Garden Path, The Bill, Boon, Cadfael, Doctor Finlay, Doctors, Eleventh Hour, Holby City, Hustle, Life on Mars, Midsomer Murders, New Tricks, Red Cap, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Spatz, Taggart, The Agatha Christie...
as Pericles and Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is an English writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008....
as Gower.
Cast
- William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
- Antony SherAntony SherSir Antony Sher, KBE is a double Olivier Award winning South African-born British actor, writer, theatre director and painter.- Early years :... - Jack RobinsonJohn Robinson (17th century)John or Jack Robinson was a tenant of William Shakespeare in London towards the end of the latter's life. This Robinson or another was also one of the witnesses to Shakespeare's will....
- Will KeenWill KeenWill Keen is an English actor. He is also a trustee of the James Menzies Kitchen Award, an award set up for young theatre directors in memory of the director with whom Keen collaborated early in his career... - John MarstonJohn MarstonJohn Marston was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the late Elizabethan and Jacobean periods...
- Stephen CritchlowStephen CritchlowStephen Critchlow is a popular and versatile British actor, notable for his work in the theatre and appearances on radio series such as Truly, Madly, Bletchley, The Way We Live Right Now and Spats, along with radio episodes of Torchwood and Doctor Who... - George WilkinsGeorge WilkinsGeorge Wilkins was an English dramatist and pamphleteer best known for his probable collaboration with Shakespeare on the play Pericles, Prince of Tyre. By profession he was an inn-keeper, but he was also apparently involved in criminal activities.-Life:Wilkins was an inn-keeper in Cow-Cross,...
- Chris Pavlo - Susannah ShakespeareSusanna HallSusanna Hall , née Shakespeare, was the eldest child of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and the older sister of Judith Quiney and Hamnet Shakespeare...
- Helen LongworthHelen LongworthHelen Longworth is a British actor. She has appeared in many radio plays including playing Zofia in two series of On Mardle Fen, Susie Dean in The Good Companions and Marina in Pericles... - Richard BurbageRichard BurbageRichard Burbage was an English actor and theatre owner. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama....
- John RoweJohn Rowe (actor)-TV:*BBC Television Shakespeare - Henry VIII *Juliet Bravo *When the Boat Comes In *Chambers *Agatha Christie's Poirot... - William OstlerWilliam OstlerWilliam Ostler was an actor in English Renaissance theatre, a member of the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare....
/ Robert Johnson - Robert Lonsdale - Edmund ShakespeareEdmund ShakespeareEdmund Shakespeare was a 16th and 17th century English actor.-Life:He was the son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden and thus the younger brother of the playwright William Shakespeare. He followed William to London to become an actor. While an actor, he had an affair with an unknown woman around...
- Joseph Kloska