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<rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:podcast="https://podcastindex.org/namespace/1.0" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" version="2.0"><channel><title>Wild Duck</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/wild-duck--7168102</link><description><![CDATA[Dive into a realm where the intricacies of truth and illusion intertwine, as suggested by the evocative title "Wild Duck." This podcast delves into themes of deception, familial bonds, and the often-painful pursuit of authenticity. Each episode features a new complete audiobook, inviting listeners to explore the delicate balance between what is seen and what is hidden within relationships. As we navigate through a rotating collection of narratives, we encounter characters grappling with their own realities, revealing the complexities of human nature and the ramifications of uncovering long-buried secrets. This is not a single story but a series of unique explorations that challenge perceptions and provoke thought. Join us to discover a new book with every episode, and immerse yourself in the labyrinth of emotional truths and the allure of the unseen.]]></description><atom:link href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/7168102/episodes/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><language>en</language><category>Books</category><copyright>Copyright Tragedy Genre</copyright><image><url>https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg</url><title>Wild Duck</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/wild-duck--7168102</link></image><lastBuildDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:21:00 +0000</lastBuildDate><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:owner><itunes:name>Tragedy Genre</itunes:name><itunes:email>spreaker87@podcastlibrary.org</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:subtitle>Dive into a realm where the intricacies of truth and illusion intertwine, as suggested by the evocative title "Wild Duck." This podcast delves into themes of deception, familial bonds, and the often-painful pursuit of authenticity. Each episode...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Dive into a realm where the intricacies of truth and illusion intertwine, as suggested by the evocative title "Wild Duck." This podcast delves into themes of deception, familial bonds, and the often-painful pursuit of authenticity. Each episode features a new complete audiobook, inviting listeners to explore the delicate balance between what is seen and what is hidden within relationships. As we navigate through a rotating collection of narratives, we encounter characters grappling with their own realities, revealing the complexities of human nature and the ramifications of uncovering long-buried secrets. This is not a single story but a series of unique explorations that challenge perceptions and provoke thought. Join us to discover a new book with every episode, and immerse yourself in the labyrinth of emotional truths and the allure of the unseen.]]></itunes:summary><itunes:category text="Arts"><itunes:category text="Books"/></itunes:category><itunes:category text="Health &amp; Fitness"/><itunes:category text="Health &amp; Fitness"><itunes:category text="Medicine"/></itunes:category><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><podcast:guid>6718ee06-245c-53cd-9dec-b2e214506f97</podcast:guid><itunes:type>episodic</itunes:type><item><title>Tragedy of King Richard II (version 2)-William Shakespeare</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/tragedy-of-king-richard-ii-version-2-william-shakespeare--74630462</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74630462</guid><pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:03:01 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74630462/tragedy_of_king_richard_ii_version_2_william_shakespeare.mp3" length="84024889" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>10492</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>One-Act Play Collection 011-Various</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/one-act-play-collection-011-various--74598422</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74598422</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:03:17 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74598422/one_act_play_collection_011_various.mp3" length="181798030" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>22701</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Perjur'd Husband, or The Adventures of Venice-Susanna Centlivre</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/perjur-d-husband-or-the-adventures-of-venice-susanna-centlivre--74566429</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74566429</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:03:08 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74566429/perjur_d_husband_or_the_adventures_of_venice_susanna_centlivre.mp3" length="57374662" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>7165</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Beyond the Horizon-Eugene O'Neill</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/beyond-the-horizon-eugene-o-neill--74535803</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74535803</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:09:22 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74535803/beyond_the_horizon_eugene_o_neill.mp3" length="81949034" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>10233</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Tragedy of King Lear (version 3)-William Shakespeare</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/tragedy-of-king-lear-version-3-william-shakespeare--74504796</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74504796</guid><pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 09:08:51 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74504796/tragedy_of_king_lear_version_3_william_shakespeare.mp3" length="107333916" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>13403</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Life and Death of King John-William Shakespeare</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/life-and-death-of-king-john-william-shakespeare--74466552</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74466552</guid><pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:08:04 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74466552/life_and_death_of_king_john_william_shakespeare.mp3" length="71419592" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>8918</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Hamlet (version 3)-William Shakespeare</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/hamlet-version-3-william-shakespeare--74434218</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74434218</guid><pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:09:06 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74434218/hamlet_version_3_william_shakespeare.mp3" length="106518200" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>13301</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Plea for Ragged Schools; or, Prevention Better than Cure-Thomas Guthrie</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/plea-for-ragged-schools-or-prevention-better-than-cure-thomas-guthrie--74394320</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74394320</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 14:31:32 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74394320/plea_for_ragged_schools_or_prevention_better_than_cure_thomas_guthrie.mp3" length="49347047" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>6162</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Three Sisters-Anton Chekhov</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/three-sisters-anton-chekhov--74351434</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74351434</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 01:26:20 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74351434/three_sisters_anton_chekhov.mp3" length="68038241" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>8496</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Love's Contrivance-Susanna Centlivre</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/love-s-contrivance-susanna-centlivre--74212555</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74212555</guid><pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:09:04 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74212555/love_s_contrivance_susanna_centlivre.mp3" length="61553531" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>7687</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Ginger-Snaps-Fanny Fern</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/ginger-snaps-fanny-fern--74166830</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74166830</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:09:16 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74166830/ginger_snaps_fanny_fern.mp3" length="235396140" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>29395</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Rosmersholm-Henrik Ibsen</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/rosmersholm-henrik-ibsen--74121209</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74121209</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:45:48 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74121209/rosmersholm_henrik_ibsen.mp3" length="76981379" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>9613</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>History of King Lear-Nahum Tate</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/history-of-king-lear-nahum-tate--73427551</link><description><![CDATA["History of King Lear-Nahum Tate" offers a compelling exploration of one of Shakespeare's most complex tragedies, reimagined through Tate's lens. This adaptation delves into themes of power, betrayal, and familial relationships, revealing the timeless struggles of human nature that resonate deeply today. As listeners engage with this version, they will appreciate how the narrative grapples with the consequences of ambition and the quest for redemption. The enduring nature of its themes invites reflection on the moral dilemmas faced in both the past and present, making it a thought-provoking experience for contemporary audiences.]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73427551</guid><pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:01:29 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73427551/history_of_king_lear_nahum_tate.mp3" length="76325858" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>"History of King Lear-Nahum Tate" offers a compelling exploration of one of Shakespeare's most complex tragedies, reimagined through Tate's lens. This adaptation delves into themes of power, betrayal, and familial relationships, revealing the timeless...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA["History of King Lear-Nahum Tate" offers a compelling exploration of one of Shakespeare's most complex tragedies, reimagined through Tate's lens. This adaptation delves into themes of power, betrayal, and familial relationships, revealing the timeless struggles of human nature that resonate deeply today. As listeners engage with this version, they will appreciate how the narrative grapples with the consequences of ambition and the quest for redemption. The enduring nature of its themes invites reflection on the moral dilemmas faced in both the past and present, making it a thought-provoking experience for contemporary audiences.]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>9531</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Wild Duck - Henrik Ibsen</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/wild-duck-henrik-ibsen--72922840</link><description><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72922840</guid><pubDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:13:37 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72922840/wild_duck_henrik_ibsen.mp3" length="97608975" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Henrik Ibsen</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[The Wild Duck (1884) (original Norwegian title: Vildanden) is by many considered Ibsen's finest work, and it is certainly the most complex. It tells the story of Gregers Werle, a young man who returns to his hometown after an extended exile and is reunited with his boyhood friend Hjalmar Ekdal. Over the course of the play, the many secrets that lie behind the Ekdals' apparently happy home are revealed to Gregers, who insists on pursuing the absolute truth, or the "Summons of the Ideal". Among these truths: Gregers' father impregnated his servant Gina, then married her off to Hjalmar to legitimize the child. Another man has been disgraced and imprisoned for a crime the elder Werle committed. Furthermore, while Hjalmar spends his days working on a wholly imaginary "invention", his wife is earning the household income.Ibsen displays masterful use of irony: despite his dogmatic insistence on truth, Gregers never says what he thinks but only insinuates, and is never understood until the play reaches its climax. Gregers hammers away at Hjalmar through innuendo and coded phrases until he realizes the truth; Gina's daughter, Hedvig, is not his child. Blinded by Gregers' insistence on absolute truth, he disavows the child. Seeing the damage he has wrought, Gregers determines to repair things, and suggests to Hedvig that she sacrifice the wild duck, her wounded pet, to prove her love for Hjalmar. Hedvig, alone among the characters, recognizes that Gregers always speaks in code, and looking for the deeper meaning in the first important statement Gregers makes which does not contain one, kills herself rather than the duck in order to prove her love for him in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice. Only too late do Hjalmar and Gregers realize that the absolute truth of the "ideal" is sometimes too much for the human heart to bear. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast Narrator: KristingjWERLE, a merchant, manufacturer, etc.: Algy PugGREGERS WERLE, his son: David GoldfarbOLD EKDAL: LewisHIALMAR EKDAL, his son, a photographer: Marty KrisGINA EKDAL, Hjalmar's wife: Helen FalconerHEDVIG, their daughter, a girl of fourteen: ChyAnne DonnellMRS. SORBY, Werle's housekeeper: Carol BoxRELLING, a doctor &amp; A SHORT-SIGHTED GENTLEMAN: Lars RolanderMOLVIK, student of theology &amp; ANOTHER WAITER: David LawrenceGRABERG, Werle's bookkeeper: AvaillePETTERSEN, Werle's servant: DublinGothicJENSEN, a hired waiter: Max KörlingeA FLABBY GENTLEMAN: Leonard WilsonA THIN-HAIRED GENTLEMAN: Martin GeesonAudio edited by: Algy Pug]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>12202</itunes:duration><itunes:keywords>absolute,duck,ekdal,gregers,hedvig,hjalmar,ibsen,truth,werle,wild</itunes:keywords><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c4827238eea566e4bb0ad1d32d69465c.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item></channel></rss>
