Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Arts & Culture

MASTERPIECE CLASSIC: Birdsong, Parts One & Two

Clémence Poésy as Isabelle and Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Wraysford in MASTERPIECE CLASSIC "Birdsong."
Courtesy of (C)Working Title/BBC for MASTERPIECE
Clémence Poésy as Isabelle and Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Wraysford in MASTERPIECE CLASSIC "Birdsong."

Airs Sundays, April 22 & 29, 2012 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV

This adaptation of Sebastian Faulks' best-selling novel about lovers torn apart by World War I stars Eddie Redmayne (“The Pillars of the Earth”) as Stephen Wraysford, whose pre-war affair with Isabelle Azaire (Clemence Poesy, "Harry Potter") has an enduring effect on him as he fights in the trenches.

Birdsong Slideshow

From the lovely grounds of a manor in Amiens to the devastation of the trenches on the Western Front, explore the worlds of love and war and see where they meet in this "Birdsong" slideshow.

Part One airs on Sunday, April 22 at 9 p.m. - In 1910, Englishman Stephen Wraysford goes to France to study textile manufacturing and falls in love with a factory owner’s bewitching wife, Isabelle. Amid the shellfire of the Western Front in 1916, his memories of the past haunt him.

Advertisement

Part Two airs on Sunday, April 29 at 9 p.m. - Stephen and his men go over the top in one of the bloodiest battles ever recorded, the Battle of the Somme. Will he survive and will he be reunited with Isabelle, the Frenchwoman he loved before the war?

"Birdsong" tells the story of Stephen's awakening to love and his determination to reclaim it.

MASTERPIECE is on Facebook, and you can follow @masterpiecepbs on Twitter.

MASTERPIECE Classic Sweepstakes:

Enter the MASTERPIECE Classic Sweepstakes until April 27, 2012 for a chance to win a trip for two adults from the US to Britain. The trip includes VIP tours of Highclere Castle (the setting of "Downton Abbey"), Leeds Castle and more! Travel to Britain must be from Sept. 17 through Sept. 22, 2012. Enter daily at pbs.org/sweepstakes

Advertisement