THE DIVINE COMEDY: FINANCIAL TIMES

Another very favourable review in The Financial Times from somebody who clearly knows his Dante. Here's a slightly abridged version of what he had to say.

Pick of the Weekend: Martin Hoyle

Stephen Wyatt’s dramatisation of Dante’s Inferno grabs us by the hand in Radio 4’s ebullient production by Emma Harding and Marc Beeby as confidently as Virgil steering Dante through the underworld.

Characterised by vigour, energy and an atmospheric sound-plan (inventive variations on wailing, groaning, crunching ice and diabolical farts) the first part of The Divine Comedy makes a riveting introduction on air as in print... The cast is flawless, young actors and old masters alike.

There are no unintentional laughs in this hell... Quotations are read in perfectly pronounced Italian (a BBC first?). A beautifully incorporated line of T.S.Eliot’s typifies the production’s imaginative approach. Weary and frightened, Dante and his guide make it back for Easter Sunday and the sight of the stars. It has been quite a journey.

****

Comments

[Ross]

Hi Stephen,

I just listened to the second part of your adaptation of Divine Comedy. I thought it was excellent. I would dearly like to hear the first part (I only chanced across the series tonight). Given that the it is no longer available on iPlayer, can you please suggest an alternative way of obtaining it?

Thank you and congratulations on such a wonderful production.