Simon Armitage’s Renditions

Canonical stories, reimagined for a modern audience, by poet Laureate Simon Armitage, with stellar casts including Sir Ian McKellen, Samuel West, Maxine Peake and Christopher Eccleston

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage is known and loved for his witty, accessible and profound original poetry, offering an innovative perspective on contemporary society. Yet he has also retold numerous classical tales, including Ancient Greek myths and Arthurian legends, which have been adapted for film, TV, theatre and radio. This engaging collection comprises the best of Armitage’s BBC Radio dramas – ancient stories given a fresh slant, bubbling over with energy and humour. Spanning medieval romance, classical epic, folklore and historical narrative, these unforgettable tales are stunningly reinterpreted by an array of A-list actors.

Sir Ian McKellen is our narrator and Samuel West our titular hero in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in which the Christmas festivities in Camelot are disrupted by the appearance of a sinister figure in green. The mysterious knight lays down a challenge that will test Sir Gawain’s honour and courage to the limit… Simon Armitage joins James Naughtie and readers to discuss his version of the Middle English epic in Bookclub, and in The Owl and the Nightingale, he narrates his translation of another mediaeval poem, featuring two querulous birds. Maxine Peake and Rachael Stirling star in this lively ‘twitter spat’, as the duo disagree on issues ranging from the philosophical to the ridiculous, the song of one always trying to outdo the other.

Missing Presumed Dead: The Odyssey mingles Homeric myth and present-day politics, as a high-ranking government minister is sent on a delicate diplomatic mission, only to find himself in the middle of an international incident. Colin Tierney stars as Smith/Odysseus, plunged into the ancient past and forced to contend with supernatural beings and unnatural phenomena as he strives to get back home. Looking back to the brutal end of the Trojan War, The Last Days of Troy finds the opposing forces entrenched in a bitter stalemate. As gods and mortals scrabble for the spoils of war, the exhausted warriors go to extreme lengths in a desperate grab for victory… Starring Lily Cole as Helen, with David Birrell as Agamemnon and Jake Fairbrother as Achilles.

Bringing our collection to a close is The Bayeux Tapestry, a six-part dramatisation weaving together poetry by Simon Armitage and prose by Jeff Young to bring the iconic artwork to vivid life. From Harold’s seizing of the English throne to his death in the Battle of Hastings, killed by an arrow to the eye, we hear every twist and turn of the action in compelling war-correspondent-style bulletins. Christopher Eccleston stars as Harold, with Stephen Dillane as William and Kirsty Wark as the reporter.

Cast and credits
Written by Simon Armitage
The Bayeux Tapestry written by Simon Armitage and Jeff Young

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Bookclub: Simon Armitage

The Owl and the Nightingale

Missing Presumed Dead: The Odyssey

The Last Days of Troy

The Bayeux Tapestry

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