Sting is to star in, and contribute music for, a radio play, I Must Have Loved You, which he co-created with writer Michael Chaplin. It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and available on BBC Sounds from 2.45pm on Saturday, March 19.
The story of the play centers on Jess Doyle, played by Fran McNamee, a young singer who is compelled to leave Newcastle in the north-east of England, in order to escape her overbearing father Vince, a blues singer played by Sting, and to find her own voice.
“Yet somewhere inside,” explains the synopsis, “Fran knows that success may be the unmaking of her and all of those who love her. The play explores the wins and losses as a result of turning your back on the things that made you.”
‘Rooted in the city where we grew up’
“It’s been a deeply rewarding pleasure to work with Sting in fashioning a song-strewn story about a musical family in Newcastle,” says Chaplin. “The play travels as far as the Grand Canyon but is rooted in the city where we grew up and which remains an inspiration.”
Adds Alison Hindell, Radio 4 Commissioning Editor for Drama and Fiction: “I’m delighted that Sting and Michael have brought us such a powerful story, and one which is informed by first-hand observations of the music industry. It’s fantastic to hear it so firmly rooted in the Northeast of England, with the largely local cast adding to its authenticity, and the whole production is enriched by Sting’s evocative songs and music.”
Sting’s acting resumé includes the Broadway stage as well as such films as Quadrophenia and Dune. On radio, he has previously starred in BBC Radio 4 adaptations of British author Mervyn Peake’s novel Titus Groan and the fantasy series Gormenghast.
Buy or stream Sting’s The Bridge album.
