A collection of full-cast dramas and readings from the giant of travel writing – plus a bonus documentary

Author and adventurer Bruce Chatwin was one of the 20th Century’s most charismatic writers. His first book, In Patagonia, changed the face of travel writing and made him a literary sensation. Collected here are dramatisations and readings of some of his best-known work, as well as a bonus programme shedding light on his relationships and writing.

In Patagonia – Chatwin’s picaresque masterpiece has been described as ‘probably the most influential travel book written since the war’. This transportive dramatisation stars Russell Tovey as a writer on a quest to the very end of the world in search of mythical beasts.

On the Black Hill – Recorded on location in the Black Mountains, this is the moving tale of the lifelong bond between two identical twins, and their unbreakable tie to the land they farm. Ioan Meredith stars as Lewis and Benjamin Jones.

What Am I Doing Here? – Patrick Malahide reads five essential pieces taken from Chatwin’s posthumous collection of essays. In 'The Volga', ‘Your Father’s Eyes Are Blue Again’, ‘The Bey’, ‘The Albatross’ and 'Konstantin Melnikov', we are taken on a cruise down Russia's great brown waterway on the Maxim Gorky, hear of hope regained, and share a toast to fantastic projects realised and unrealised.

The Songlines – Michael Siberry reads this 10-part abridged account of Chatwin’s travels across Australia in search of the Aboriginal ‘songlines’: invisible pathways that are both intricate sources of personal identity and territorial markers.

The Essay: Postcards: Bruce Chatwin – Chatwin’s editor and biographer Susannah Clapp looks through the postcards she received from him over the years, reflecting on what these missives reveal about the iconic writer.

Cast and credits

Written by Bruce Chatwin

Text copyright © Bruce Chatwin 1977 (In Patagonia), 1982 (On the Black Hill), 1987 (The Songlines)

What Am I Doing Here? copyright © The Estate of Bruce Chatwin 1989

In Patagonia
Cast: Russell Tovey, David Sterne, Noni Lewis, Hasan Dixon, Melissa Vaughan, Ewan Bailey, Florencia Cordeu, Helen Schlesinger, Julio Galán
Directed by Ciaran Bermingham
Adapted by Sebastian Bazckiewicz
Production Co-ordinator: Jenny Mendez
Piano: Satoshi Kubo
Sound: Keith Graham and Jenni Burnett
With thanks to Susannah Clapp
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 Aug 2023

On the Black Hill
Cast: Ioan Meredith, Gwen Watford, Ian Hogg, Robin Davies, Gerald James, June Barrie, Dorien Thomas, Sue Broomfield, Sue Soames, Peter Howell, Huw Tudor, Matthew Routley, Simon Price, Claire Watkins, Sian Watkins
Directed on location in the Black Mountains by Adrian Mourby, BBC Wales
Dramatised by Charles Way with Robert Blythe
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 Mar 1987

The Volga
Read by Patrick Malahide
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 11-12 May 1989

What Am I Doing Here?
Read by Patrick Malahide
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 3 Sep 1990

Konstantin Melnikov
Read by Patrick Malahide
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 10 Sep 1990

The Songlines
Abridged in ten episodes by David Buck
Read by Michael Siberry
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 Jun-3 Jul 1987

The Essay: Postcards: Bruce Chatwin
Presented by Susannah Clapp
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 1 Jul 2009