Georg Büchner - Woyzeck (BBC)

Woyzeck

From BBC Radio 3. Written by Georg Büchner; Translated by Gregory Motton; Full cast dramatisation starring Lee Ingleby, Deborah McAndrew, Derek Riddell, Gerard Fletcher and Becky Hindley; Produced by Gary Brown.

Franz Woyzeck, a lowly soldier stationed in a provincial German town, is the father of an illegitimate child by his mistress Marie. He earns extra money for his family by performing menial jobs for his captain and agreeing to take part in medical experiments conducted by the regimental doctor. But then an act of betrayal shatters his brittle life.

Written in 1837 but not performed until the early twentieth century, this shard-like unfinished play is now recognised as a major work, perhaps the first modern play, in that it argues that our lives are determined by social circumstance.