"Beowulf" is a dramatisation of the famous Anglo-Saxon poem of the same name. I first came across the story in a children's version in my local library when I was a boy. Its mysterious, swirling black-and-white illustrations haunted me, and the story took hold. I've worked on several dramatic versions of the poem over the years, including a radio play, "Walker in the Night", which was broadcast by the BBC a few years back. This extract is from the most recent version, which is published by Nelson Thornes. Its first production was at Southampton College, directed by Jane Mitchell.

The extract comes from near the end of the play. Beowulf has won his fame as a young man with the fighting and killing of two monsters, Grendel, and his Mother. Now, as an old man, he's king of his people, the Geats. But a new danger threatens the land, a fire-breathing dragon, and Beowulf, accompanied by his nephew, Wiglaf, has gone out to fight it, in what will prove to be his last battle.