Songs and stories of Australia — Kev Carmody: Singer and Storyteller — A program recorded in conversational style. Through his folk songs and storytelling, Carmody reflects on the cultural differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia. ABC Fine Music, Wednesday, March 30, 7.05pm.
International Playhouse — A View from the Mountain — By Don Haworth, this play is set in a remote, almost deserted, valley in central Europe and is about Joseph, who, as a boy, accidentally killed a man by rolling boulders down a mountainside. As punishment he is sentenced to push boulders up the mountain for life. Eventually, he is offered a pardon provided he admits his life has been futile. ABC Radio National, Thursday, March 31, 2.05pm.
Soundstage — The Dresser — By Ronald Harwood. The British theatre owes a lot to the tradition of the actor/manager, often a tyrannical figure who demanded hard work, devotion and loyalty from the company. The great person's "dresser" was also part of the tradition, acting as servant, confidant and, if necessary, nursemaid. Harwood was himself a dresser for Sir Donald Wolfit's company. Although this play is based upon Harwood's experiences, he says the central character is not based upon Wolfit. Stars Freddie Jones and Michael Palin. ABC Classic FM, Tuesday, April 5, 8pm.
Soundstage — Viva Verdi — Act 1 of a three-part dramatised biography of the great Italian opera composer. Verdi was born in village obscurity into a northern Italy still part of the Austrian empire. The struggle of Italians to found their own independent nation involved a long, bloody campaign. Verdi became a symbol of Italian nationalism, and even whistling one of his tunes was an act of defiance. He suffered alongside his compatriots and was eventually elected as one of their representatives in the state and national assemblies. ABC Classic FM, Tuesday, April 12, 8pm.
The 1993 Boyer Lectures — Jeanie Bell — Bell is one of the few Aboriginal linguists in Australia, a member of the Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Council. Having held many academic posts in linguistics, Bell is well qualified to address the topic of maintaining languages and restoring "lost" ones. She will look at changes in Aboriginal languages from colonisation to contemporary use. Produced by Ursula Raymond and Lindy Woodward. ABC Radio National, Saturday, April 2, 1.30pm. (On Saturday, April 9, 1.30pm the lecture features an address by Noel Pearson on the implications of Mabo.)
The Europeans — Direct from Rome — Maria Zijlstra reports on the results of perhaps the most important election since World War Two. Forty million Italians cast their vote under new electoral rules in the wake of a dramatic political shake-up caused by bribery scandals that left no establishment party untouched. ABC Radio National, Sunday, April 3, 12.30pm.
Radio Eye — No Escape from Modernity — On New Year's day, the world heard the news of indigenous peasants from southern Mexico seizing five borders towns and denouncing centuries of poverty, genocide and humiliation. Leading Mexican intellectual Carlos Monsivais talks about the sharp contrasts that riddle the cultural identity of this country and what the Zapatista uprising means for the future. Produced and presented by Penny O'Donnell. ABC Radio National, Sunday, April 10, 8.30pm.
4EB's Dinner Dance — Support Queensland's multicultural radio station. Venue: the Queensland Irish Clubrooms. $20 per head. Saturday, April 23, 7.30pm.