‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore Audiobook

A visceral, revamped BBC radio production of John Ford’s classic play about a doomed love between a brother and sister.

With its shocking portrayal of incest, intrigue and murder, this powerful Jacobean revenge drama scandalised audiences when it was first performed in the 1620s, and it is still controversial today. 

When siblings Giovanni and Annabella embark on a passionate affair, Annabella falls pregnant with her brother’s child. Knowing she must marry to protect her honour, she chooses one of the many suitors clamouring for her hand – but when her secret is revealed, the lovers are caught up in a bloody chain of events that culminate in a poisoning, a blinding, a stabbing and a brutal massacre…. 

Reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, but darker and more twisted, John Ford’s 17th-century tale of sex and death is restyled for radio in Pauline Harris’ compassionate, disturbing adaptation. Intercut with the music of Jimi Hendrix and Nick Cave, it also features an original song, ‘In Deep’, composed by Jules Maxwell and sung by Jessie Buckley, Indira Varma and Abby Andrews. The play is introduced by Professor Emma Smith from Hertford College, Oxford.

Cast

Annabella – Jessie Buckley

Giovanni – Damien Molony

Signor Florio – Niall Buggy

Putana – Fenella Woolgar

Friar Bonaventura – Oliver Cotton

Lord Soranzo – Matthew Pidgeon

Vasques – Enzo Cilenti

Hippolita – Indira Varma

Grimaldi – Gary Duncan

Cardinal – Neil McCaul

Officer – Adam Fitzgerald

Dorando – Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong

Adapted and directed by Pauline Harris

First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 7th January 2018