91福利社

John Yorke explores why Don Quixote has had such a profound influence on storytelling in the four hundred years since it was published. The first European novel, it鈥檚 an epic work of comic - and tragic - genius. Quixote embodies an ideal of heroic resilience in the face of a broken reality. And it鈥檚 a novel that鈥檚 in our bones: familiar even if we haven鈥檛 read any of its nearly a thousand pages.

The programme includes an interview with film director, cartoonist and Monty Python member Terry Gilliam, who spent nearly thirty years attempting to make a film about Don Quixote. He says:

鈥淲hat I love about Cervantes - he's been through it all. This is the guy who's really had rough and tumble life. And he's learned to laugh at it: because he'd been through so much. And he survived with a sense of humour and a brilliant pen. [Quixote] wouldn鈥檛 have been like that if Cervantes hadn't experienced this. It's about the falling, and the dignity with which he manages to pull himself up from the mess that he finds himself in. It's just wonderful.鈥�

Also including contributions from Isabel Torres, Professor of Spanish Golden Age Literature at Queen鈥檚 University, Belfast.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in 91福利社 Radio 4鈥檚 Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of 91福利社 Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain; from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the 91福利社 Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters, now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for Radio 4.

Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
Reader: Ewan Bailey
Executive Producer: Sara Davies and Caroline Raphael
Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams and Nina Semple
Researcher: Henry Tydeman
Sound: Iain Hunter

A Pier production for 91福利社 Radio 4