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Lovecraft Country, Prison Radio Drama, Women's Prize For Fiction Shortlisted Jenny Offill

Ekow Eshun reviews new TV drama Lovecraft Country. Jenny Offill, whose novel Weather is shortlisted for the Women's Prize For Fiction. Prison radio drama Project Z.

Lovecraft Country is a new 10-episode HBO series, based on the 2016 novel by Matt Ruff, set in 1950s Jim Crow America. The story is about a young African American man whose search for his missing father begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and also terrifying monsters that could be pulled from the pages of horror fiction writer H.P Lovecraft’s weird tales. Writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun reviews the series.

We continue our interviews with the writers shortlisted for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction. American author Jenny Offill discusses her acclaimed novel, Weather, about a female librarian struggling to cope with a domestic life haunted by the growing awareness of catastrophic climate change.

National Prison Radio is run by a British prison-based charity, broadcasting programmes made by and for prisoners in over 100 prisons in the UK, and is the world's first national radio station of its kind. Next week they broadcast an ambitious radio drama – a 29 minute sci–fi adventure called Project Zed, conceived and produced by artist Ruth Beale, working with prisoners at HMP Lincoln. It was commissioned by Mansions of the Future - an arts and cultural hub in Lincoln City Centre. Samira is joined by Ruth and facilitator Sonia Rossington, who worked together with the prisoners to put the drama together.

On Monday’s Front Row we heard from Natalia Kaliada, co-founder of the Belarus Free Theatre - the only company in Europe to be banned by their country’s government – who told us three of their members have been arrested in Minsk following the election. Their whereabouts and condition were unknown. Natalia returns to Front Row with an update.

Main image: Jonathan majors as Atticus Freeman in Sky Atlantic's series Lovecraft Country
Image credit: (c) Elizabeth Morris/2020 Home Box Office Inc

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Emma Wallace

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27 minutes

Last on

Wed 12 Aug 2020 19:15

Lovecraft Country

Lovecraft Country

Lovecraft Country is available to stream on Sky Atlantic from 17 August 2020.

Images:

Main image above: Jonathan Majors as Atticus Freeman in Lovecraft Country

Image to the left: Michael K. Williams as Montrose Freeman (Left), Jonathan Majors as Atticus Freeman and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Leti Dandridge in Lovecraft Country

Images credit: (c) Elizabeth Morris/2020 Home Box Office Inc

Society of Authors

Find out more about the Society of Authors'  to support authors facing financial hardship due to the health crisis.

Project Zed

Project Zed

is a radio drama written by 4 prisoners with artist Ruth Beale

Image: A Project Zed workshop at Lincoln Prison

Image credit: Ruth Beale

Project Zed will premiere on 17 August 2020 on National Prison Radio, followed by Montez Press Radio, Lincoln City Radio and Resonance FM. From September 2020 it will be accessible to the public through Soundcloud.


Jenny Offill

Jenny Offill

Jenny Offill's book Weather is out now.

Image:

Image credit: Emily Toper

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  • Wed 12 Aug 2020 19:15

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