UCT Summer School 2025: HAMLET? I SAW IT ON RADIO…

This lecture focuses on the pleasures and pitfalls of adapting theatrical and literary works for radio; the advantages of radio drama over theatre – and its limitations. Does dramatising a short story or a novel involve inevitable compromise? The lecturer will support his theories with examples of his own work and other radio playwrights such as Michael McCabe and Jack Mullen. He will also point participants towards opportunities for writing for radio, which is in many ways the most exciting medium to write for – you are limited only by your imagination.

Lecture titles

1. From stage to ear:
   The first lecture will discuss the joys and hazards of adapting stage plays for radio and will touch on the plays of Shakespeare, Stoppard, Fugard and Miller, to name a few.
2. From page to ear:
   The second lecture asks what to do with the narrator when dramatising literary works – dump him or delight in him (or her)? How sacred is that text? Why is radio often a better medium for dramatisations than film or television? Texts that will be covered include works by André Brink, Niq Mhlongo, Thomas Mann, Lewis Carroll and Ahmed Essop.

Participants will be given access to an invaluable guide to writing for radio.

• Date: 1 February 2025
• Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
• Location: LT3, Kramer Law Building, Middle Campus, UCT
• Cost: R220 (full fee without student discount)

Book tickets here.