PIERS PLOWMAN

This medieval English poem, a mixture of satire, polemic, and piety, loses its alliterative verse and much of its verbal interest in this modern translation, becoming a rather bald, if impassioned, allegory cum theological discourse. But in place of the poetry, narrator Jonathan Keeble supplies energetic, even passionate, voice acting and a wide variety of skillfully rendered British regional and class accents, mostly well chosen to match the characters. However, his choice for Piers--who morphs from Everyman to a stand-in for Christ--sounds a bit rough for the role. Keeble supplies appropriate emotional expression and helps make clearer, by his emphasis and shaping of phrases, the poem's sometimes obscure sense. Interested listeners will find a skilled, engaged, and well-acted performance. W.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2022]