Guest host Kate Burton presents two stories about parents and children. A mother and daughter remember the past differently in Tessa Hadley's "Matrilineal," performed by Patricia Kalember. And a surprising offer divides two families in "In the Country," by Guy de Maupassant, performed by Thomas Gibson.
In Tessa Hadley's "Matrilineal," a daughter and mother have completely different memories of a defining moment in their past. English novelist and short-story writer Hadley drew a little on her own life for this tale--her father played jazz, as does the husband in "Matrilineal." Hadley's published works include the novels Accidents in the Home (2002); Everything Will Be All Right (2003); The Master Bedroom (2007); The London Train (2011) and Clever Girl (2014). and the short story collections Sunstroke and Other Stories and Married Love. Her latest novel, Late in the Day, will be published in January of 2019.
Hadley lives in Cardiff and teaches Literature and Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, her special interests including Jane Austen, Henry James, Jean Rhys and Elizabeth Bowen.
Reader Patricia Kalember’s stage credits include “The White Card,” “The Nerd,” “Losing Louie,”” Y2k,” “Don’t Dress for Dinner,” “Sea of Tranquility,” “Loose Knit,” and “From Above.” She received an Outer Critics Circle nomination for her role in the original cast of “The Foreigner.” On television, she had a recurring role on “thirtysomething” and starred in “Sisters.“ Other television credits include “Law & Order: SVU,” “ Power,” “Orange Is the New Black,” “Gossip Girl,” “Blue Bloods,” “Allegiance,” “Madame Secretary,” “Veep,” ” The Good Wife,” and the HBO miniseries “Olive Kitteridge.” Her numerous films include “Jacob’s Ladder,”” Path to War,” “A Far Off Place,” “Signs,” “Rabbit Hole,” “The Company Men,” “Limitless,” “Girl Most Likely,” and “Run All Night.”
In this program featuring stories about parents and children, our second work is by the 19th-century French writer Guy de Maupassant. He wrote over 300 stories, offering us a glimpse of ordinary French life. De Maupassant’s short fictions often have an ironic twist, and that’s certainly true of “In the Country,” in which a surprising offer divides two families.
Thomas Gibson performed the story at The Getty Center in Los Angeles. Gibson's long television career has included roles on "Chicago Hope," "Dharma & Greg," and "Criminal Minds."
