Lear In Longford.

From Sunday 5th February, RTÉ Radio 1 and leading Shakespearean director, actor and theatre practitioner Alan Stanford will bring King Lear to life with this year's 'Listening to the Leaving: Lear in Longford' series. 

RTÉ Radio 1 and Alan Stanford worked with Leaving Certificate students from four different schools to develop the four-part series 'Lear in Longford', a practical guide to Shakespeare's King Lear that will provide Leaving Certificate students and teachers with the ideal preparation tool for their English - Paper II exam next June. 

Each week on the programme, students can listen to crucial scenes from the play being performed by students under the direction of Alan Stanford.  Stanford, best known for his role as George in the RTÉ series Glenroe, was recently nominated Best Actor for his portrayal of Oscar Wilde's Lady Bracknell, and is Artistic Director of Second Age Theatre Company, well known for its high quality productions of the works of Shakespeare.

The series will explore key lines and moments from each act of the play and will provide blueprint answers to exam questions.  Programme One will give an introduction to and overview of King Lear, Programme Two will explore Lear's Journey, Programme Three will examine Gloucester's Story and Programme Four will examine the conclusion of King Lear.   Each programme will finish up with a short quiz on the play.

The four schools that participated in the workshop with Alan Stanford and appear in the 'Listening to the Leaving' series are Moyne Community School, Longford, St Mel's College, Longford, The Convent of Mercy, Longford and Carrigallen Vocational School, Leitrim.

Part of the Listening to the Leaving series.
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