Start the Week

Power, violence and witches


Listen Later

Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth is ruthless in her pursuit of power and then driven into madness and despair. But the writer and director Zinnie Harris has re-imagined a new story for Lady Macbeth in her version of this classic play. Macbeth (an undoing) - published by Faber - is on at The Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh until 25th February.

Marion Gibson is Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter and is interested in how power and superstition collide in witch-trials through the centuries. In her latest book, The Witches of St Osyth, she tells the story of the sixteen women and one man accused of sorcery in a small rural village in 1582, and of a community devastated by violence and betrayal.

The filmmaker Jo Ingabire Moys draws from her own experience of surviving the Genocide in Rwanda in her short film Bazigaga, shortlisted for a BAFTA. As violence erupts a Tutsi pastor and his young daughter take shelter in the home of the feared shaman Bazigaga. The film was inspired by the true story of Zura Karuhimbi who used her reputation as a witch doctor to save hundreds of lives.

Producer: Katy Hickman

Image: The actor Eliane Umuhire in 'Bazigaga', written and directed by Jo Ingabire Moys

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Start the WeekBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

152 ratings


More shows like Start the Week

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,394 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

381 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,837 Listeners

Front Row by BBC Radio 4

Front Row

129 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,899 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

295 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

316 Listeners

Profile by BBC Radio 4

Profile

107 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

501 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,814 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,118 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

868 Listeners

The Forum by BBC World Service

The Forum

275 Listeners

A Point of View by BBC Radio 4

A Point of View

75 Listeners

The Reith Lectures by BBC Radio 4

The Reith Lectures

156 Listeners

Books and Authors by BBC Radio 4

Books and Authors

385 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,065 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,054 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,892 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

213 Listeners

Moral Maze by BBC Radio 4

Moral Maze

59 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

70 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

723 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,975 Listeners