Ben Jonson: Volpone, The Devil is an Ass & more

Ben Jonson’s Sharpest Satires – Six Full-Cast BBC Radio Comedies of Greed, Vanity and Human Folly

Second only to Shakespeare, Ben Jonson was a 17^th century playwright, poet and wit. Today, he is primarily remembered for his ‘comedies of humours’, and his works have had a monumental influence over subsequent dramatists. Presented here are six scabrous satires on human imperfection, beginning with his most famous play, Volpone, and including a hidden gem, Eastward Ho!, written by Jonson and others.

Volpone – The setting is 17^th century Venice, and Volpone, an elderly, mean-spirited aristocrat, uses the money he has acquired to toy with his friends, family and acquaintances. Who will benefit from his will? Ian MacDiarmid stars as Volpone, with Malcolm Sinclair, Patrick Barlow, John Rowe and Tom Hollander.

Barthol’mew Fair – It’s the feast day of old Saint Bartle, and the townsfolk of London gather to enjoy all the fun of the fair. Making their way to Smithfield to see a play, the revellers find that alongside the festivities, there is also immorality and sinfulness… Ian Thompson, Peter Baldwin, Carol Marsh and Rosalind Shanks are among the ensemble cast of this rollicking comedy.

The Silent Woman – 1609, London, and the streets are a hubbub of noise. But for one man – rich misanthropist Morose – the cacophony is all too much. Fearful of losing his inheritance, his nephew Dauphine endeavours to trick him into marriage to a ‘silent woman’… Starring Heron Carvic and Judy Bennett.

The Devil is an Ass – Apprentice devil Pug is desperate to prove himself to his master, Satan, and gets leave to go to London to commit real devilry. But the city’s iniquities are greater than any he can perpetrate, and he soon finds that life in hell is heaven compared with life on earth. Starring Jonathan Tafler, Peter Bayliss and Norman Bird.

The Magnetic Lady, or, Humours Reconciled – Lady Loadstone desires to find a husband for her young, wealthy niece Portentia. She has two suitors in mind, but both will be beguiled and deceived… David Neal stars in Jonson’s mad whirligig of a comedy.

Eastward Ho! – First performed in 1605, Eastward Ho! was co-authored by Ben Jonson and two of his contemporaries (George Chapman and Jonson’s onetime enemy John Marston). Adapted and reshaped by Olivier Award-winning playwright Peter Barnes, it stars David Neal as the goldsmith Touchstone, whose daughters and apprentices make up the twin themes in this Jacobean ‘citizen comedy’.

Cast and credits

Written by Ben Jonson

Contents

Volpone

Barthol’mew Fair

The Silent Woman

The Devil is an Ass

The Magnetic Lady, or Humours Reconciled

Eastward Ho!

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