Ibsen referred to Emperor and Galilean as his "major work". The play describes the life of Julian, who ruled the Roman empire from AD361-363. Julian attempted to abolish the recently established state religion of Christianity and replace it with the worship of the ancient, pagan gods. The play is brimming with action and ideas, but is rarely performed. Rana Mitter discusses Ibsen's play and the history and religious ideas behind it with theatre critic and writer, Mark Lawson; historian and author of Pax, Tom Holland; Nicholas Baker-Brian, a theologian; and, Catherine Nixey, a journalist at the Economist and author of The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World.

Producer: Ruth Watts

Emperor and Galilean will be broadcast as the Drama on 3 in July on BBC Radio 3 and available on BBC Sounds You can find another conversation about Ibsen's dramas available as an episode of Free Thinking and on BBC Sounds and a collection on the programme website exploring religious belief