On Radio 4 now… but don’t panic you can watch all 10 episodes for Girl, Woman, Other on catch up! Bernardine Evaristo’s 2019 Booker Prize-winning novel follows the lives of twelve extraordinary characters. Abridged by Patricia Cumper and read by Pippa Bennett-Warner, it is a wonderfully vivid portrayal of a group of interconnecting characters – mostly women, black and British – that provides a picture of contemporary Britain and looks back at the impact of Britain’s involvement in the colonial history of Africa and the Caribbean.
Amma is a playwright, now in her 50s, whose new play The Last Amazon Of Dahomey is being premiered at The National Theatre in London. In attendance are her daughter Yazz and her old friends: the rebellious Dominique, and Shirley, a jaded teacher who has struggled for decades working in a funding-deprived London school.
Carole is one of Shirley’s past students who almost threw away a bright future by mixing with wayward friends. Carole’s mother Bummi is a cleaner for a wealthy Camberwell lady and worries about her daughter’s lack of identity, despite her obvious achievements.
Penelope is a colleague of Shirley’s, Winsome is Shirley’s mother. La Tisha is a supermarket supervisor and Megan, who identifies as gender free, has changed her name to Morgan. She is very close with her great grandmother Hattie. Her mother Grace was raised in a home for girls before going to work as a maid. She eventually met and married Joseph Ryendale and became the mistress of his family farm, which their daughter Hattie eventually inherits.
This is a wonderfully hopeful story whereby everyone’s story passes on to another and we are taken on a glorious journey through the lives of these very different, yet amazing people.
- Writer: Bernadine Evaristo
- Abridger: Patricia Cumper
- Reader: Pippa Bennett-Warner
- Producer: Celia de Wolff
To get up to speed click here for past episodes and to watch the reminder episodes.
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