In this highly engaging new translation of the lively medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale, Simon Armitage communicates this twitter spat with all the energy, humour and theatricality of the original. A narrator overhears a firey verbal contest between the two birds which moves from the philosophical to the ridiculous. The disputed issues resonate today - concerning identity, class, cultural attitudes and the right to be heard. They argue about everything from toilet habits to parenting skills, the song of one trying to outdo the other .

Narrator - Simon Armitage
Owl - Maxine Peake
Nightingale - Rachael Stirling

Producer/Director- Susan Roberts