Eugene O'Neill (1888 – 1953) was one of the most influential American playwrights of the first half of the twentieth century. This collection of BBC Radio plays brings together nine audio recordings of his classic plays and a selection of his poetry. O'Neill's Irish background, impoverished childhood and Roman Catholicism inevitably come to the fore in his writings.
The biggest draw may be the involvement of Dominic West (‘The Wire'), who plays the leading role of Yank in a 2009 production of ‘The Hairy Ape'. The working class stoker meets a young heiress who strays into his work area on board an exclusive transatlantic liner in an encounter that changes their lives forever.
Other plays venture deeper into the archives. The most famous of all of O'Neill's works, the semi-autobiographical ‘Long Day's Journey into Night', is represented here by a 1970 production. It stars American Broadway legend Irene Worth and Patrick Magee (‘A Clockwork Orange') as Mary and James Tyrone. The Tyrone family exists within a tragic labyrinth of lies and self-deception. Mary battles a morphine addition, younger son Edmund's health is declining through tuberculosis, and the domineering hard-drinking father James is resentful and narcissistic. A long and difficult play, it's one that brings with it major challenges for directors and actors in ensuring that the pacing is well-handled (I have seen several dreadful versions). In this one, Irene Worth and Patrick Magee are well-cast, but it doesn't bear comparison to the excellent National Theatre production of the early 1970s led by Laurence Olivier against which other versions are inevitably measured.
O'Neill's next most-celebrated play is ‘The Iceman Cometh'. One Broadway production starred Peter Falk (‘Columbo') and it is generally considered a modern American classic. Set in New York, 1912, the play examines the lives and reflections of a dozen bar flies as they sit around in various stages of inebriation. It's like a serious, hard-drinking version of the sitcom ‘Cheers'. The only women who stray into this man's den of oblivion are prostitutes. O'Neill captures the sadness and desperation of alcoholism, with the occasional fanciful dreams the patrons talk about that will never come to pass. This production by Charles Lefaux features Cyril Shaps, Ray McAnally and Paul Whitson-Jones. The whole play, edited for radio, is well-handled and ‘The Iceman Cometh' proves a standout segment. The same producer and some of the same cast appear in ‘Hughie', also on this collection.
‘Desire Under the Elms' is included. Made into an indifferent film in the late 1950s starring Sophia Loren and a miscast Anthony Perkins, it's another of O'Neill's play that is difficult to get right. This radio production features Robert Beatty, a Canadian actor who enjoyed an extensive career in Britain playing Americans, and the excellent Sarah Badel. It is an improvement on the film version. Badel also plays prominent roles in ‘Mourning Becomes Electra' and ‘A Moon for the Misbegotten', whilst Robert Beatty reappears in ‘Ah, Wilderness!'
The audio quality is variable on this release, with some tinniness in the older productions that date back half a century or so. They tend to be produced by the same people who clearly had an interest in and understanding of O'Neill's Irish-American voice. Although intended for the medium of theatre, which provides the audience with visual clues, O'Neill's dialogue-heavy works translate well for radio. 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. Although much of his output is bleak and deeply pessimistic about the human condition, there is a wry humour in O'Neill's work. His ear for dialogue, brought to life by different generations of excellent actors, ensures that his words are a pleasure to listen to.
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK audio Publication date: 26th September 2024 Buy ‘Eugene O'Neill: A BBC Radio Drama Collection'
