BBC4: James Joyce - A Shout in the Street, by Angelica Huston

 
On Monday 15 January Angelica Huston presented on BBC 4 a fascinating hour-long TV documentary on James Joyce. Her involvement with the author's work had included acting in the film, "The Dead" (1987). The screenplay was by her brother, Tony, and the film was last directed by her late father, John Huston. In the opinion of some, "The Dead", which was the last story in Joyce's "Dubliners" is one of the best short stories ever written. The documentary included contributions from Edna O'Brien, Colm Toibin, Ann Enwright and several other contemporary Irish writers. Archive film was used to illustrate the biographical and historical background to Joyce's work, including his education by Jesuits, his marriage to Nora Barnacle, his schizophrenic daughter and the family's "exile" to Trieste, Switzerland, (twice) and Paris. If you didn't catch it live, it's not too late. It should be available on BBC iPlayer until the second week in February.

Lawrence Youlten