Eugene O’Neill: A BBC Radio Drama Collection: 9 Full-Cast Productions including Long Day’s Journey into the Night, The Hairy Ape, The Iceman Cometh & more - Eugene O’Neill

Written by Eugene O’Neill
Read by Dominic West, Shaun Dingwall, Anthony Jackson, Sarah Badel, Robert Beatty, Nigel Stock, Ray McAnally, Brian Hewlett
Format: M4B

This was created using Libation, which I’m using for the first time. I apologize for any errors that might have occurred.

Nine classic plays from the award-winning American dramatist, plus a selection of his poetry

Eugene O’Neill’s revolutionary 20th century dramas changed the direction of American theatre, introducing European realism and experimental techniques to the US stage. He wrote more than 50 plays, portraying characters on the margins of society and tackling controversial issues, winning a Nobel Prize, and four Pulitzer Prizes.

We open our collection with his magnificent autobiographical magnum opus, Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Described by the playwright as having been ‘written in tears and blood’, it recounts one tragic day in the lives of the Tyrone family, as they struggle with addiction, disease and despair. Next is The Hairy Ape, based on O’Neill’s experiences as a labourer on a transatlantic liner. A Moon for the Misbegotten, the sequel to Long Day’s Journey Into Night, follows grief-stricken alcoholic Jamie Tyrone as he grasps at love under the Connecticut moonlight. Meanwhile, Desire Under the Elms plays out the themes of Greek tragedy in 1850s New England.

Widely considered as O’Neill’s finest work, The Iceman Cometh is an epic tale chronicling the pipe dreams and shattered illusions of a group of no-hopers in a seedy New York bar. It is followed by another Manhattan-based drama, Hughie. Divided into three parts Mourning Becomes Electra retells the story of The Oresteia, Aeschylus’ tragedy of passion, murder, suicide, revenge and a family destroyed by Fate. In contrast, the comedy Ah, Wilderness! is a sentimental portrait of young love and small-town domesticity. And in Anna Christie, a prostitute finds a chance for redemption when she is reunited with her estranged sea-captain father and falls in love with a sailor.

Also included is a bonus programme, The Quest for the Golden Girl, featuring some of O’Neill’s comic and romantic poems, read by John Fellows and Denis Lawson.

NB: Some of these pieces contain language and attitudes that reflect the age in which they are set.

First published 1920 (Anna Christie), 1922 (The Hairy Ape), 1925 (Desire Under the Elms), 1931 (Mourning Becomes Electra), 1933 (Ah, Wilderness!), 1940 (The Iceman Cometh), 1941 (Hughie), 1941-43 (A Moon for the Misbegotten), 1956 (Long Day’s Journey Into Night)

Content List

Long Day’s Journey Into Night
The Hairy Ape
A Moon for the Misbegotten
Desire Under the Elms
The Iceman Cometh
Hughie
Mourning Becomes Electra
Ah, Wilderness!
Anna Christie
The Quest of the Golden Girl
‘If you like the plays of Eugene O’Neill, then there’s a lot to enjoy in this comprehensive collection, which provides listeners with almost nineteen hours’ worth of material … His ear for dialogue, brought to life by different generations of excellent actors, ensures that his words are a pleasure to listen to’ - Greg Jameson.

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