Pearl (radio play)
Pearl is a 1978 radio play by award-winning English playwright John Arden. Set in England in the 1640s, the play concerns a young Irish political operative named Pearl, who, with playwright Tom Backhouse, attempts to sway the political climate in favour of the British Parliament, as part of a plan to achieve Irish sovereignty. Production Pearl was produced and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 3 July 1978, with the following cast: Pearl - Elizabeth Bell Mother Bumroll - Paula Tilbrook Barnabas/Male Voice - David Mahlowe Stage Manager/Casca/Actor - John Jardine Grip - Geoffrey Banks Sowse/Caesar - Ronald Herdman Grimscar/1st Commoner - Peter Jeffrey Backhouse/Soothsayer - David Calder Belladonna - Lynda Marchal Duchess - Kathleen Helme Catso/Marullus - Kenneth Alan Taylor Katerina/Female Voice - Jane Knowles Messenger/Flavius/Actor - Robert Morton Music composed and conducted by Stephen Boxer Musicians Ephraim Segerman and members of the Northern Renaissance Consort Produced by Alfred Bradley Critical reception The play won a Giles Cooper Award in 1978, and is considered one of the finest examples of the medium. Publication Hardcover and Paperback editions were published by Eyre Methuen in 1979. References British radio dramas 1978 plays