A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Maya Angelou’s poignant, powerful autobiography, starring Adjoa Andoh, Indie Gjesdal and Pippa Bennett-Warner.

Abandoned by their parents, Maya and her older brother Bailey are delivered to live with their grandmother and uncle in the tiny Southern town of Stamps in Arkansas. Struggling with rejection, they withstand the prejudice of their white neighbours and suffer many racist incidents.

1 day, their dad unexpectedly results and takes the kids to live with about I Know As to why the Caged Parrot Sings: A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation their mom in St Louis, Missouri. Aged just eight, Maya can be abused by her mother’s boyfriend, an experience that haunts her for life. Filled up with guilt and shame, she refuses to talk with anyone except Bailey – until she matches Mrs Bertha Plants, who promotes her love of books, assisting her to find her tone of voice and regain her very own strong spirit.

Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is today’s American vintage, beloved worldwide, which recounts a youngsters filled with curiosity, wonder, disappointment, frustration, tragedy, and hard-won independence. This radio dramatisation, starring Adjoa Andoh, Indie Gjesdal and Pippa Bennett-Warner, plays out her remarkable story with dramatic verve and poetic brilliance.

Cast:

Narrator (Older Maya)…Adjoa Andoh

Maya…Indie Gjedsal/Pippa Bennett-Warner

Bailey…Roshawn Hewitt

Momma…Cecilia Noble

Uncle Willie/Freeman/Daddy…Richard Pepple

Steward/Lawyer…John Lightbody

Woman…Francesca Elise

Mom…Ellen Thomas

Bertha Blossoms…Nikki Amuka-Bird

Spanish voices… Maider Jáuregui, Rocío Mesonero, Celia Romo, Julio Villa-García, Hugo Sánchez and Francisco Oda-Ángel @ Instituto Cervantes,Manchester

Receptionist…Lauren Cornelius

Dramatised by Patricia Cumper

Produced by Pauline Harris