I was asked to create an audio drama adaptation of a chapter of The Book of the New Sun, so I did, and it's here, and I'd really like people to listen and enjoy it. But like I was saying to a friend earlier this week, the content is not really interested in onboarding you, the listener. So I thought I'd make an introductory post to give people a handle on what this is and what's going on:
Listen to the audio drama
Production Diary posts so far
Poster by Gryme
Why it exists
In the early 1980's Gene Wolfe published a dying earth/science fantasy cycle called The Book of the New Sun. It's presented as a memoir of the main character, Severian the Torturer, and contains other stories he encounters or tells along the way. Chapter 24 of the second volume, The Claw of the Conciliator, is in the form of a script for a play he performs in, written by a supporting character he encounters several times in his journey. This is a mostly word-accurate adaptation of that script into a dramatic presentation, which, as far as anyone involved knows, is the first of its kind. That's really exciting!
What's happening in its context
In his journeys, Severian performs in this play twice, once each near the end of the first and second volumes of BotNS. The author, Dr. Talos, sees his script as both an outlet for his creative drive, a means of communicating more profound truths than he could in another medium, and part of a scam. They end their performances by having a cast member seem to go mad and attack the audience, then the troupe picks over and loots whatever the crowd left behind. The world of the greater narrative is in decline, a slow apocalypse of stagnant millennia, which informs the work.
What's happening in the play
Eschatology and Genesis is about the rebirth of the world, and is set during the final death of the one its characters and audience live in. Religious and mythic figures arrive to witness and influence the new world coming, and mortals of various social positions are left to deal with the facts one way or another. The language is archaic and dense, but I think the cast's performance brings out what's meant, or at least the interpretation we settled on. A lot of the conventions of pre-modern and early modern theater are here, so if you remember anything from a Shakespeare unit in high school then parts of this will be familiar.
Please enjoy the show. And if you do, please spread it around. A lot of people worked very hard to make this possible, and I only hope my audio production didn't let down their contributions.
