Mushrooms in the City on BBC Radio 4
Mushrooms in the City from Italo Calvino’s Marcovaldo, dramatised by Toby Jones from a translation by William Weave. Marcovaldo finds mushrooms growing by the tram stop but is dismayed to find that he isn’t the only one who has spotted them. This week beginning with Mushrooms in the city from Marcovaldo, a collection of short stories from Italo Calvino.
Mushrooms in the City stars The Office actor Mackenzie Crook as Marcovaldo. A story of mushrooms doesn’t leave muchroom for a story to really grow except our protagonist brags to his family how they will soon be eating mushrooms that only he himself knows where to find – growing in the ground besides the tram stop. Our narrator pointed out Marcovaldo doesn’t really notice much in the city; billboards, neon signs or shop windows.
As soon as he thought his luck was in with finding them Marcovaldo spotted another then another and soon it seemed everyone who was anyone was foraging for mushrooms…
A decent mid-morning listen if you have 15 minutes to sit down with a cuppa.