Episode description

Fiona Shaw - BAFTA award-winning star of BBC TV's Killing Eve - explores the life of one of history's most remarkable and forgotten actresses, Eleonora Duse.

The 19th-century performer inspired Stanislavski's 'method', changed Chekhov's mind about acting, and took Chaplin's breath away,

Kirsten Shepherd-Barr - professor of English and Theatre Studies at St Catherine's College, Oxford - helps Fiona and presenter Matthew Parris to uncover the drama of Duse's life, both on and off the stage.

Producer: Camellia Sinclair

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2019.