Radio Preview; Fantasy, Fun and Legends

T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats; The Hunting of the Snark; Alice is
Still in Wonderland; My Mad-life Crisis;
Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s; The Report; Midnight Mass BBC Radio 4
The Essay BBC Radio 3; Junior Choice BBC Radio 2

The seasonal airwaves are heavily reliant on classic literature. See, in particular, BBC Radio 4’s take on T.S. Eliot (Christmas Day), neatly recited by Jeremy Irons. Even better, the two half-hour parts are quickly followed by Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark”, more than capably voiced by Tony Robinson.

Another of the BBC’s infallible standbys at this time of the year is the pop star of the bygone era. Thus the former punk chanteuse Siouxsie Sioux can be found celebrating the 150th anniversary of another Carroll masterpiece (Alice is Still in Wonderland on Christmas Day). This is a repeat, but the marrying of presenter to subject is so inspired that I can’t help recommending it. Also in this category falls Suggs: My Mad-life Crisis (Christmas Eve), a radio version of the stage play in which the ever-engaging Madness frontman (real name Graham McPherson) sets out in search of his unknown father and his pop-world past.

While no Christmas Eve could comfortably pass without the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s or the Midnight Mass, this year broadcast from Brentwood Cathedral, in some ways the most intriguing piece of religious programming is unveiled on Radio 3. “Religion in the North”, to which The Essay devotes a week (21-25 December), brings together five Scandinavian writers – those featured include Hanne Orstavik and Per Rosenberg – to examine such topics as the Norse myths and the legends of the winter solstice.

Elsewhere, The Report (Christmas Eve) explores the predicament of the refugee community of Vienna, for whom a portal seems increasingly to have turned into a locked door. And there is a splendid treat for anyone over the age of 50 in the shape of a Christmas Day Junior Choice special featuring that gnarled veteran of the airwaves Ed “Stewpot” Stewart. Will he be playing “Puff the Magic Dragon”? We must wait and see.