Adapting the Merchant of Venice for Radio: An Interview with Emma Harding, Adapter and Director for BBC Radio Drama

Abstract

ABSTRACT Emma Harding read English Literature at the University of Oxford before training as an actor at Drama Studio London. She started working for BBC Radio as a researcher on BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time and since 2003 has been a director/producer of drama, readings and documentaries. Her radio drama productions include Othello, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, The Divine Comedy, Riot Girls and Primo Levi’s The Periodic Table. Harding adapted and directed The Merchant of Venice for BBC Radio 3’s Drama on 3 series in 2018, locating Shakespeare’s play in London during the financial crash of 2008. In this interview, Harding discusses the process of adapting Shakespeare for the radio and working collaboratively to re-imagine The Merchant of Venice in a modern context and setting. Harding discusses her process of working with actors such as Hayley Atwell and Andrew Scott on their roles and reflects on why the play continues to resonate for twenty-first-century listeners.