logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2022
42m 34s

Zadie Smith on The Wife of Willesden, Da...

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Zadie Smith talks about her play The Wife of Willesden, a modern re-telling of Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath starring Clare Perkins in the title role at Kiln Theatre, London.

David Tennant discusses playing Russian Alexander Litvinenko in a new ITV drama based on the real life events of his shocking death.

Keyboard player Rick Wakeman discusses how he's having to adapt his UK tour after a load of his musical gear was stolen from his van last week.

And film critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh expresses her frustration at the confusion surrounding current film releases since the start of the pandemic.

Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Jerome Weatherald

Image: Clare Perkins as Alvita in The Wife of Willesden by Zadie Smith at Kiln Theatre, London Photographer credit: Michael Wharley

Up next
Yesterday
Cillian Murphy, Timothee Chalamet's opera comments, Deepa Anappara, and are non-fiction books dead?
Cillian Murphy talks to Samira Ahmed about the return of Tommy in new film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. Timothee Chalamet's disparaging comments on opera and ballet have caused a stir. Matthew Hemley, editor of the stage, responds to what the Oscar nominee actually said.As L ... Show More
42m 25s
Mar 5
Review: The Bride! Maggie Gyllenhaal's film about the bride of Frankenstein
Writer Rebecca Stott and Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin join Tom to discuss The Bride! Maggie Gyllenhaal's film about the bride of Frankenstein, starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale.They also talk about the novel Bad Fiction by Rebecca Sarah Ley which is based around a ... Show More
42m 35s
Mar 4
Will Self on The Quantity Theory of Morality
Will Self dives in to his latest satirical novel in which he looks at the alienation of modern life, and takes a stab at middle-class life. He discusses how his experiences with cancer have impacted his writing, and his outlook. 75 years after the death of composer and performer ... Show More
42m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2024
Sotheby's Talks – Radical Modernity: From Bloomsbury to Charleston, with Kim Jones and Darren Clarke
In this episode, writer, academic and critic Frances Wilson is joined by Artistic Director of Dior Homme and Vice President of Charleston, Kim Jones, Dr Darren Clarke, Head of Collections, Research and Exhibitions at Charleston and Sotheby’s, and Jen Hardie, Director and Senior S ... Show More
46m 19s
Oct 2025
Pride and Prejudice Part 2
<p>After dazzling the wealthy Mr Bingley at the Meryton Ball, the eldest Bennet sister, Jane, receives an invitation to visit him and his sister at Netherfield Park, the grand estate he's renting nearby. At her mother's insistence, she makes the journey on horseback, arriving dre ... Show More
33m 53s
Jul 2025
Norma Percy, film-maker
Norma Percy is a documentary film-maker. She has been making programmes for over three decades and her productions have featured a range of political leaders from Tony Blair and Bill Clinton to Mikhail Gorbachev and Slobodan Milošević. Her film-making method, which she developed ... Show More
51m 6s
Nov 2017
A brand-new London theatre
With Toby Lichtig and Lucy Dallas – London has a brand-new theatre: the Bridge, the latest venture by Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr, based in Southwark and dedicated to original writing. And it starts its life with a new play by Richard Bean and Clive Young: Young Marx features ... Show More
41m 49s
Nov 2025
Pride and Prejudice Part 14
<p>Still reeling from Mr Darcy’s unexpected proposal, Lizzy is astonished to receive a letter from her now not-so-secret admirer.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br><p>But far from entreating her to reconsider his offer, Darcy writes to defend his honour - in the affair of Jane and Bingley, and ... Show More
53m 42s
Apr 2025
Hanif Kureishi
Hanif Kureishi is a British author, playwright, and screenwriter, widely regarded for his exploration of identity, race, and multiculturalism. Born in 1954 in South London, to a Pakistani father and an English mother, his major breakthrough came with his 1990 novel The Buddha of ... Show More
1 h
Apr 2025
The Amateur with James Hawes and Sarah Pirozek (Ep. 537)
<p class="p1">Director James Hawes discusses his new film, The Amateur, with fellow Director Sarah Pirozek in a Q&amp;A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, he discusses insisting on the protagonist being geeky, clumsy, charming and smart to reflect his novice, ut ... Show More
26m 10s
Oct 2020
Samantha Morton, actor
Samantha Morton is an actor and director. She has appeared in films directed by Woody Allen and Steven Spielberg, and is also known for her work on independent productions, often with serious themes such as prostitution and bereavement. She has been nominated for two Academy Awar ... Show More
45m 26s
Aug 2025
Monica Dolan, actor
Monica Dolan is a BAFTA and Olivier award winning actor. She is equally at home playing a wrongfully accused postmistress in Mr Bates Vs the Post Office as she is playing the serial killer Rosemary West. Alongside her many roles in TV, stage and screen, Monica has also written an ... Show More
50m 58s