With John Wilson. Architect Richard Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside, is the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. Timed to coincide with his 80th birthday, the show includes his designs for the Pompidou Centre, the Lloyds building and the Millennium Dome. Richard Rogers talks to John about dyslexia, Prince Charles and everybody's democratic right to see a tree from their window. Preparations are underway for the first Gospel music Prom. Conductors Ken Burton and...
Jul 12, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson. Sergei Polunin is the youngest dancer ever to be made a principal with the Royal Ballet, a role he unexpectedly quit after two years aged 21. Earlier this year he suddenly left the cast of a new ballet version of Midnight Express, days before its UK premiere. As he takes the lead in a Moscow production of Coppélia in London, Polunin discusses this role and his career highs and lows. David Baddiel's first full stand-up show for over 15 years concentrates on the idea of celebrity...
Jul 11, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Top of the Lake is a new TV drama series, directed by Oscar-winner Jane Campion, whose works include The Piano and Portrait of a Lady. The series, set in the remote mountains of New Zealand, stars Holly Hunter and Mad Men actress Elisabeth Moss. When a 12 year old girl disappears, Moss's character takes a keen interest in the police case, and returns to her hometown to pick up the investigating duties. Rachel Cooke reviews. Rachel Joyce's novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harol...
Jul 10, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. Composer Murray Gold discusses his music for Doctor Who, to be performed in two BBC Proms concerts this weekend. He also explains his aims when writing for such a much-loved series, and how advances in technology have affected his work. Run is a four part Channel 4 series of interlinked stories, with each episode concentrating on a different character. The cast includes Olivia Colman, Lennie James, Katie Leung and Jamie Winstone, and the first episode stars Olivia Colman as a s...
Jul 09, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. Sir Kenneth Branagh returns to performing and directing Shakespeare, taking the title role in a new production of Macbeth at the Manchester International Festival. This follows a decade-long hiatus in his long relationship with Shakespeare - from his RSC years, through the Renaissance Theatre Company and films including Henry V, Hamlet and Love's Labours Lost. Dramatist Charlotte Keatley reviews. Monsters University is a prequel to Monsters, Inc, the 2001 film from the animatio...
Jul 08, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson at the Manchester International Festival. Film-maker Adam Curtis and the band Massive Attack are the co-creators of the event that launched this year's Manchester International Festival. Adam Curtis discusses his approach to directing a film which works with the live music, to create an experience that he and the band hope will redefine the idea of the gig. During the 1980s and 1990s, Garry Kasparov dominated the world of chess. His much-publicised match against the IBM computer...
Jul 05, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. A Field In England is the first British film to be simultaneously released in cinemas, on DVD, video on demand and terrestrial television. Directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Reece Shearsmith from The League Of Gentlemen, it's a Civil War drama about a group of soldiers who ingest some magic mushrooms and encounter a mysterious figure who may, or may not, be the devil. Professor Roger Luckhurst decides whether it's a trip worth taking. With a CV that includes EastEnders, The ...
Jul 04, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson. Elton John reflects on his return to musical basics on his forthcoming album The Diving Board, to be released later this year. He also considers the impact of early fame on young performers, the continuing influence of soul and classical music on his own songs and the effect of his two young sons on his performing career. Producer John Goudie.
Jul 03, 2013•28 min
With John Wilson. Emma Watson stars in The Bling Ring, Sofia Coppola's film about a teenage gang who raid the Hollywood homes of young celebrities. Jason Solomons reviews. Actress Anna Chancellor discusses her role as Amanda in Noel Coward's Private Lives on stage. Anna won acclaim for roles on TV in Spooks and Pramface and was nominated for a BAFTA for BBC One's The Hour - and is still remembered as Hugh Grant's jilted fiancée Duckface in Four Weddings and a Funeral. For Cultural Exchange, acto...
Jul 02, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman and Jesse Eisenberg star in a new film Now You See Me, in which four illusionists pull off bank heists during their elaborate shows and reward the audiences with the money. But the FBI and Interpol are on their case. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh reviews. The Swedish writer Henning Mankell is best known for his series of novels featuring Inspector Kurt Wallander, but this accounts for only a fraction of his work, which includes books for children, plays, and ...
Jul 01, 2013•28 min
With John Wilson. American film-maker Alex Gibney won the 2008 Best Documentary Oscar for Taxi To The Dark Side - about the American government's use of torture. He talks to John about Julian Assange, the subject of his latest film, We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks, and reveals that his next project is about the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong. Amy Winehouse's personal pictures, outfits, record collection and items from her school days are in a new exhibition co-curated by her brother ...
Jun 28, 2013•28 min
With John Wilson. Mary, Queen of Scots: betrayed Catholic martyr or murdering adulteress? A new exhibition at the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh re-examines Mary Stewart through portraits, documents, jewellery and furniture. Poet and dramatist Liz Lochhead - whose play, Mary Queen Of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off, looked at the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth I - reviews the exhibition. Film director Mike Figgis is best-known for Timecode and Leaving Las Vegas, for which he w...
Jun 27, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. Natalie Haynes reviews the new West End stage musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Sam Mendes, and starring Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka. The Chancellor George Osborne today announced a 7% cut in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport's budget, and a 5% cut to budgets for arts organisations, as part of the government's spending review. Broadcaster Janet Street-Porter, music commentator Norman Lebrecht and Richard Mantle of Opera North suggest areas of the ...
Jun 26, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson, For the first time, three Vermeer paintings of female musicians are on show together at the National Gallery, London. They form the centrepiece of a new exhibition examining music as a motif in Dutch painting of the 17th Century. Composer Michael Berkeley considers the various roles played by musical instruments in the art of that period. For many writers working in TV drama, the trickiest things they have to deal with are the notes from the producers. At their worst, such note...
Jun 25, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Lowry and the Painting of Modern Life, a new exhibition at Tate Britain, compares Lancashire born artist L S Lowry with the French tradition of the time and argues for his pre-eminence as a painter of the industrial city. Rachel Cooke reviews. The writer Jonathan Dee, whose novel The Privileges was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, discusses his latest work. A Thousand Pardons explores what it means to apologise and the tradition of apology and forgiveness in publ...
Jun 24, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson. Disco legend, music producer and Oscar-winner Giorgio Moroder is the man behind hits from Donna Summer, The Three Degrees and Sparks. In a rare interview, Moroder reflects on his humble beginnings, his rise to fame and his recent comeback with Daft Punk. As Roger Hiorns' blue crystal sculpture Seizure is moved from a derelict council flat in south London to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, artist Richard Wilson and critic Rachel Campbell-Johnston consider the importance of site-sp...
Jun 21, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson The business side of aviation and the logistics of the industry are the focus of a series of TV documentaries this week. The bosses of easyJet and Ryanair reveal their business models tonight in Flights and Fights: Inside the Low-Cost Airlines, and Airport Live concludes with its final report from Heathrow. Henry Sutton, whose novels include Flying, reviews both. Northern Irish novelist Glenn Patterson selects his Cultural Exchange, the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy starring Jam...
Jun 20, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson. Lenny Henry returns to the stage after a succesful run playing Othello. He now stars in the Pulitzer prize-winning play Fences by American playwright August Wilson. Lenny Henry discusses the importance of the play and the challenge of memorising his lines in a role where he's rarely off the stage. The winner of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for children's book illustration is announced today. Previous winners include Raymond Briggs, Shirley Hughes, Lauren Child and Quentin Bla...
Jun 19, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson Before Midnight is the last instalment in the acclaimed film trilogy that began with Before Sunset and continued with Before Sunrise. Jesse and Celine, who enjoyed brief encounters in Vienna and Paris, are now married with children, but as their summer holiday in Greece comes to an end, the light seems to be going out of their relationship. Antonia Quirke delivers her verdict on one of modern cinema's most famous and enduring couples, played by Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. Neil ...
Jun 18, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Daniel Radcliffe discusses playing the title role of Billy in the darkly comic stage play The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh (writer and director of In Bruges). Radcliffe describes the challenges of taking on a distinct west coast Irish accent and portraying someone with severe disabilities, who wants to leave his remote island home when a Hollywood film crew comes to town. The actor also talks about his career choices post-Harry Potter and a potential return to his fa...
Jun 17, 2013•29 min
I Am Nasrine is the BAFTA-nominated debut film from Tina Gharavi. It follows teenage refugee Nasrine, forced to leave Iran and start a new life in the UK after a run-in with the police. Tina Gharavi explains how her own life and work with refugees in the north east of England contributed to the script, and how she filmed parts of the footage undercover in Iran. The White Queen is TV adaptation of Philippa Gregory's best-selling novel, The Cousin's War. Set during the War of the Roses, the battle...
Jun 14, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Kim Cattrall plays a fading Hollywood star in a new staging of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth. Marianne Elliott directs the play, which is set in the late 1950s in the American South. Sarah Churchwell reviews. The artist Cornelia Parker is best known for installations involving the exploding of a garden shed, Tilda Swinton sleeping in a glass case and the wrapping of Rodin's The Kiss in a mile of string. She reflects on her latest exhibition, and a new book on her work...
Jun 13, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. James Baldwin's play, The Amen Corner, tells the story of Margaret, the uncompromising pastor of a Harlem church, who has to face a secret from her past. Marianne Jean-Baptiste stars in a new National Theatre production, featuring a gospel choir. Writer and critic Bidisha gives her verdict. Best-selling crime writer Peter James discusses his latest book Dead Man's Time, the ninth novel in the Roy Grace Series, and reveals the high-profile real-life inspiration for his character...
Jun 12, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson, Man of Steel, the latest Superman blockbuster, explores how Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) became a superhero. Amy Adams plays Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane and Michael Shannon is Superman's nemesis General Zod. Matt Thorne reviews. In Cultural Exchange, in which creative minds share a cultural passion, writer A L Kennedy explains why she has chosen Hitler's SS: A Portrait Of Evil, a TV drama from 1985, starring Bill Nighy. Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón discusses his love of Verd...
Jun 11, 2013•29 min
With Mark Lawson. Author and illustrator Judith Kerr is best known for her much-loved children's books, which include The Tiger who Came to Tea and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. In the week of her 90th birthday, she discusses her latest book, Judith Kerr's Creatures, which celebrates her life, family and work. She talks about the inspiration for her books and her family's remarkable story of escape from Nazi Germany. Admission is a new comedy set at Princeton University. Tina Fey is an admissio...
Jun 10, 2013•29 min
With John Wilson. Marc Chagall's paintings filled with colour, floating figures and Jewish motifs are among the most distinctive in art. A new exhibition at Tate Liverpool traces the creation of Chagall's style by following his early years as an artist in Paris and his native Russia. Jackie Wullschlager, author of the biography Chagall: Love and Exile, reviews. St Colmcille, the patron saint of Derry/Londonderry, returns for a public pageant on a city-wide scale, starting this evening. Frank Cot...
Jun 07, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson. Writer and comedy performer Miranda Hart reflects on her career so far, as her book Is It Just Me? appears in paperback. Martin Amis discusses his 13th novel Lionel Asbo: State of England, a black comedy about a very violent and not very successful criminal and his nephew Desmond Pepperdine. Playwright and actor Kwame Kwei-Armah, currently Artistic Director of Center Stage in Baltimore, Maryland, selects his Cultural Exchange: Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson Produce...
Jun 06, 2013•28 min
With Mark Lawson As actress Anne-Marie Duff (The Virgin Queen, Shameless) takes to the stage as Nina in Eugene O'Neill's 1923 play Strange Interlude, she talks to Mark about the soliloquy technique, madness, shyness, and Doctor Who. Formerly known as the Orange Prize, this year's Women's Prize for Fiction will be awarded this evening. The shortlist includes Hilary Mantel, Barbara Kingsolver, Zadie Smith, A.M. Homes, Kate Atkinson and Maria Semple. Mark speaks to the winner live from the ceremony...
Jun 05, 2013•28 min
John Wilson has news of the winner of the £100 000 Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year, as he presents the programme live from the ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The 10 contenders are: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury Dulwich Picture Gallery, London The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield Horniman Museum & Gardens, London Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, Cambridge ...
Jun 05, 2013•23 min
With Mark Lawson Comedian Julian Clary reviews Steven Soderbergh's film Behind the Candelabra, starring Michael Douglas as Liberace, with Matt Damon as his lover Scott Thorson. American composer Philip Glass discusses his latest opera, The Perfect American, which imagines the last few months of Walt Disney's life. It's based on the novel by Peter Stephan Jungk and directed by Phelim McDermott, and is Philip Glass's 24th opera. Novelist P D James reveals her choice for the Cultural Exchange, in w...
Jun 03, 2013•29 min
