All for Love or, The World Well Lost

Synopsis: Radio version of Dryden’s play of the same name (1678). Based on Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, Dryden’s blank verse take on the story focuses on the clash between the personal and political. In contrast to the original, the action is confined to one place: the Temple of Isis at Alexandria. For the radio version producer Peter Creswell wrote a new Prologue and an Epilogue, spoken by the poet’s descendant, Noel Dryden. Creswell also inserted a hymn to Isis which was sung to music by Purcell.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Radio
Availability: No copy extant
Notes: The Radio Times entry for the broadcast suggests that producer Peter Creswell tried to reproduce the atmosphere of the Restoration playhouse (for which Dryden would have written the play) by including period-specific cries of hucksters.
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)