Decameron: A BBC Radio drama adaptation of the Renaissance classic

Terry Jones introduces ten dramatisations of choice Florentine Fancies, adapted from Giovanni Boccaccio's classic human comedy by the BBC

Monty Python star and medieval historian Terry Jones presents ten BBC Radio dramatisations of tales from Giovanni Boccaccio's humane and comic masterpiece.

Composed in the early 1350s, in the wake of the Black Death, The Decameron comprises 100 short stories from all over the world, reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes of Renaissance Italy. Their universal themes - love, sex, religion, fate, morality - resonate with us to this day, and their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern. Beautifully realised in vivid, vernacular prose, they have become a bedrock of our storytelling tradition, mined ever since by authors from Chaucer to Shakespeare, Keats, Molière and Thomas Mann.

The scene is the onset of the Black Death, Italy and a group of seven young women and three young men escape to the countryside to shelter in a secluded villa just outside of Florence in order to escape the Plague. There, they tell each other tales from all over the world.

These ten radio retellings are performed by a stellar cast, including John Finnemore, Ingrid Oliver, Geoffrey Streatfeild, Lydia Leonard, Tim McInnerny, Samuel Barnett, Neil Pearson, Louise Brealey, and Tameka Empson.

Cast and credits Saint Ciappelletto Ciappelletto - Colin McFarlane Musciatto - Sam Dale Holy Friar - Michael Bertenshaw The Burgundians - Monty d'Inverno & Paul Heath Doctor - Ian Conningham

Federigo and His Falcon Federigo degli Alberighi - John Finnemore Monna - Ingrid Oliver Elena - Carrie Quinlan Beppo - Shaun Mason Niccolo - Adam Thomas Wright

How Elena Blew Hot and Cold Elena - Lydia Leonard Violante - Elaine Claxton Rinieri - Cyril Nri Pyrrhus - Paul Heath

How to Get It Off Your Chest Zeppa - Ian Conningham Mrs Zeppa - Hannah Genesius Spinelloccio - Shaun Mason Mrs Spinelloccio - Bettrys Jones Narrator - Jude Akuwudike

Kind Hearts and Bayonets Mithridanes - Samuel Barnett Nathan - Sam Dale Beggarmaid - Bettrys Jones

The Sweetest Young Man in Perugia Pietro - Tim McInnerny Madam - Hannah Genesius Pandara - Jane Slavin Masetto - Monty d'Inverno Ercolano - David Acton

The Wager Musciatto - Michael Bertenshaw Ambrogiuolo - Geoffrey Streatfeild Bernabo - Paul Ritter Zinevra - Louise Brealey Sultan - Jude Akuwudike Captain - Shaun Mason

A Job for the Boys Masetto - Neil Pearson Sister Donna - Tameka Empson Sister Lisa - Rhiannon Neads Hildegard - Jane Slavin Nuto - Sam Dale Steward - Michael Bertenshaw

Love Lies Sleeping Silvestra - Laura Molyneux Beppo - Rudi Dharmalingam Giovanni - Joseph Drake Mother - Jane Slavin Rinaldo - David Acton

A Quiet Night in Naples Andreuccio - Gunnar Cauthery Filomena - Roslyn Hill Scarabone - Shaun Mason Neighbour - David Acton Ludo - Paul Heath Bruno - Ian Conningham Sister Lisa - Elaine Claxton Sister Donna - Hannah Genesius

First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 1-12 December 2014

Written by Giovanni Boccaccio Adapted by Robin Brooks Music arranged and performed by Robert Hollingworth and Paula Chateauneuf Translations by Silvia Reseghetti Script consultant: Guyda Armstrong Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting

© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

© 2022 BBC Digital Audio (Lydbog): 9781529900583

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Lydbog: 15. december 2022