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The Dark Tower
Born in Ireland, Louis MacNeice was sent to England for his schooling, to Marlborough, and then went on to read classics at Oxford. His professional life began as a lecturer in classics but in 1941 he joined the BBC and for the next twenty years produced programmes for the legendary Features Department, including his own celebrated radio play, The Dark Tower, which was broadcast for the first time in 1946, with original music by Benjamin Britten.
Described by the author as 'a radio parable play', written in response to the rise of fascism in Germany and the events of World War II, The Dark Tower stages the debate about free will with reference to the ancient theme of the Quest, but in modern contexts exporing sexuality, gender, family and geography.
'The Dark Tower is in my view the best piece of writing ever done for radio.' George MacBeth
Described by the author as 'a radio parable play', written in response to the rise of fascism in Germany and the events of World War II, The Dark Tower stages the debate about free will with reference to the ancient theme of the Quest, but in modern contexts exporing sexuality, gender, family and geography.
'The Dark Tower is in my view the best piece of writing ever done for radio.' George MacBeth
62 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
41 people want to read
About the author
Louis MacNeice
128 books58 followersBorn to Irish parents in Belfast, MacNeice was largely educated in English prep schools. He attended Oxford University, there befriending W.H. Auden.
He was part of the generation of "thirties poets" which included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis; nicknamed "MacSpaunday" as a group — a name invented by Roy Campbell, in his Talking Bronco (1946). His body of work was widely appreciated by the public during his lifetime, due in part to his relaxed, but socially and emotionally aware style. Never as overtly (or simplistically) political as some of his contemporaries, his work shows a humane opposition to totalitarianism as well as an acute awareness of his Irish roots.
He was part of the generation of "thirties poets" which included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis; nicknamed "MacSpaunday" as a group — a name invented by Roy Campbell, in his Talking Bronco (1946). His body of work was widely appreciated by the public during his lifetime, due in part to his relaxed, but socially and emotionally aware style. Never as overtly (or simplistically) political as some of his contemporaries, his work shows a humane opposition to totalitarianism as well as an acute awareness of his Irish roots.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 2, 2017
From BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3:
Louis MacNeice's iconic verse drama, widely acknowledged to be the finest of his many works for radio and one of the most critically acclaimed radio plays of the 20th century. The play is inspired by the mythical quest in Robert Browning's mysterious poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came", but includes strong autobiographical and even satirical elements. At its core is original music by Benjamin Britten, to whom MacNeice dedicated the published script.
Performed on 27th October 2017, in front of an audience at Orford Church, Suffolk, with the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Roland ..... Harry Lloyd
Gavin ..... Matthew Tennyson
Sergeant-Trumpeter ..... Jude Akuwudike
Mother ..... Lucy Robinson
Tutor/Steward .....Adrian Scarborough
Soak ..... Jonjo O'Neill
Blind Peter ..... Nicholas Murchie
Sylvie ..... Manjinder Virk
Priest/Officer/Stentor ..... Sam Dale
Neaera ..... Hannah Genesius
Barmaid/Clock Voice ..... Georgie Glen
Young Roland ..... William Gidney
BBC Concert Orchestra, conductor Robert Ziegler
Director, Robin Brooks
Producer, Fiona McAlpine.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09bx5l4
Louis MacNeice's iconic verse drama, widely acknowledged to be the finest of his many works for radio and one of the most critically acclaimed radio plays of the 20th century. The play is inspired by the mythical quest in Robert Browning's mysterious poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came", but includes strong autobiographical and even satirical elements. At its core is original music by Benjamin Britten, to whom MacNeice dedicated the published script.
Performed on 27th October 2017, in front of an audience at Orford Church, Suffolk, with the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Roland ..... Harry Lloyd
Gavin ..... Matthew Tennyson
Sergeant-Trumpeter ..... Jude Akuwudike
Mother ..... Lucy Robinson
Tutor/Steward .....Adrian Scarborough
Soak ..... Jonjo O'Neill
Blind Peter ..... Nicholas Murchie
Sylvie ..... Manjinder Virk
Priest/Officer/Stentor ..... Sam Dale
Neaera ..... Hannah Genesius
Barmaid/Clock Voice ..... Georgie Glen
Young Roland ..... William Gidney
BBC Concert Orchestra, conductor Robert Ziegler
Director, Robin Brooks
Producer, Fiona McAlpine.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09bx5l4
May 23, 2020
A quest to defeat an unnamed menace that is ...,what ?
Based on the Browning poem , this a quest poem with theological, psychological and historical overtones as it ( among other things) reflects on the rhetoric of war - something that’s expected to do when required and when Blind Peter doubts the quest, he hears voices calling him an informer. Mystical and enigmatic with some sharp and beautiful poetry.
Based on the Browning poem , this a quest poem with theological, psychological and historical overtones as it ( among other things) reflects on the rhetoric of war - something that’s expected to do when required and when Blind Peter doubts the quest, he hears voices calling him an informer. Mystical and enigmatic with some sharp and beautiful poetry.
May 10, 2020
The Dark Tower *** I listened to the original BBC recording with the Britten music. Parts are rather clever, parts are kind of a slog. Overall, this dramatic retelling of Browning’s poem felt a little long.
Coming on the heels of World War II, it examines the sacrifice that so many made, and the reason they made it. When it focuses on this sacrifice, it is much more moving.
Coming on the heels of World War II, it examines the sacrifice that so many made, and the reason they made it. When it focuses on this sacrifice, it is much more moving.
November 27, 2017
Strange!!!
December 13, 2019
read this while slightly stoned, reading along to the 1946 audio version, did not disappoint
December 1, 2023
*critical contexts*
November 20, 2025
THERE IS NO WAR AND YOU HAVE NO FACE
October 31, 2014
So the edition I read only had the Dark Tower.
A "Radio parable play' which riffs on a combination of Browning's Childe Roland and 'Everyman' or 'Pilgrim's Progress'.
the opening announcement quotes Browning 'and yet/Dauntless the slughorn to my lips I set/ And blew "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came"' and makes the point 'Note well the words, 'and yet'. Roland did not have to-he did not wish to-and yet in the end he came to: The Dark Tower.'
As a reading of Browning this might rely too heavily on two words, but in MacNeice's version Roland, like all his family reaching back to George, has to travel on a quest to confront the dragon in the dark tower. He is trained for this from childhood, but isn't convinced it's what he wants to do, or even if it can be done.
The danger with parable and allegory, as MacNeice was well aware, is that they degenerate into a kind of unconvincing mechanical equivalence...Love=the girl, life=the quest etc etc....There has to be something more which makes the allegory stick in the reader's mind. Browning's Childe Roland works because while strongly suggesting that it "means" something it resists complete analysis. There's a powerful sense that the story is happening on the edges of one's vision rather than clearly in plain view.
MacNeice achieved much the same. He takes the parable, which reduced to prose would sound horribly banal, and allows it to escape from the algebraic confines of such thinking by presenting it as a dream. This means that significance is never simply this=that. This could represent a great deal of things, or just be itself. Mother is mother but Mothers, and the Sea Journey is a sea journey in a luxury liner complete with on board affair and dodgy steward and yet it could represent the real attractions of avoiding the dangers and discomforts of a task imposed by inheritance.
Obviously written to be heard, playing the tricks available (some of the scene shifts must have been very effective audibly, as when the Soax imagines a pub and the orchestra builds it for him) it still reads well.
A "Radio parable play' which riffs on a combination of Browning's Childe Roland and 'Everyman' or 'Pilgrim's Progress'.
the opening announcement quotes Browning 'and yet/Dauntless the slughorn to my lips I set/ And blew "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came"' and makes the point 'Note well the words, 'and yet'. Roland did not have to-he did not wish to-and yet in the end he came to: The Dark Tower.'
As a reading of Browning this might rely too heavily on two words, but in MacNeice's version Roland, like all his family reaching back to George, has to travel on a quest to confront the dragon in the dark tower. He is trained for this from childhood, but isn't convinced it's what he wants to do, or even if it can be done.
The danger with parable and allegory, as MacNeice was well aware, is that they degenerate into a kind of unconvincing mechanical equivalence...Love=the girl, life=the quest etc etc....There has to be something more which makes the allegory stick in the reader's mind. Browning's Childe Roland works because while strongly suggesting that it "means" something it resists complete analysis. There's a powerful sense that the story is happening on the edges of one's vision rather than clearly in plain view.
MacNeice achieved much the same. He takes the parable, which reduced to prose would sound horribly banal, and allows it to escape from the algebraic confines of such thinking by presenting it as a dream. This means that significance is never simply this=that. This could represent a great deal of things, or just be itself. Mother is mother but Mothers, and the Sea Journey is a sea journey in a luxury liner complete with on board affair and dodgy steward and yet it could represent the real attractions of avoiding the dangers and discomforts of a task imposed by inheritance.
Obviously written to be heard, playing the tricks available (some of the scene shifts must have been very effective audibly, as when the Soax imagines a pub and the orchestra builds it for him) it still reads well.
November 28, 2011
While The Dark Tower has long been considered a masterpiece of radio drama, and no doubt merits a greater rating than three stars on its own, there are other plays in this collection. The Nosebag retains its charm and punch, while the one about Chekov feels dated and the two March Hare plays are rather arch as satire goes.
Come for The Dark Tower, stay for The Nosebag. The other three are lesser works.
Come for The Dark Tower, stay for The Nosebag. The other three are lesser works.
July 7, 2013
One of my all-time favorites. The sea today....
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews