logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
42m 18s

Michael R Jackson on his hit musical, Ra...

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Playwright and composer Michael R Jackson talks about his musical A Strange Loop, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The musical is based on his own experiences and follows a black man working as an usher at the musical The Lion King, who is himself writing a musical about a black male usher writing a musical. Michael R Jackson talks about why his reflective drama was such a hit in the United States.

Singer songwriter Ray BLK discusses making her acting debut in new BBC and Netflix drama Champion. Written by Candice Carty Williams, the series is set in the cut-throat world of the British music industry.

Samira Ahmed is at the Natural History Museum in London, which has been shortlisted for the Art Fund Museum of the Year Award. She takes a tour of the Titanosaur exhibition and hears about the museum’s expertise in mammals and dinosaurs.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Kirsty McQuire

Up next
Aug 21
Review: Historical TV epic King and Conqueror, and Boudicca's Daughter by Elodie Harper
Critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and Medieval English Literature lecturer Dr Eleanor Parker join Samira Ahmed to discuss the BBC’s historical epic King and Conqueror starring James Norton. They’ve also read Boudicca’s Daughter by Elodie Harper, and watched Young Mothers by the award-wi ... Show More
42m 35s
Aug 20
Indigenous Australian didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton performs live
Theatre producer Nica Burns, who has run the Edinburgh Comedy Awards since 1984, and judge Ashley Davies discuss the acts shortlisted for this year's prize, the most prestigious annual award for comedy in the UK, which has previously been won by the likes of Steve Coogan, Jenny E ... Show More
42m 25s
Aug 19
Tom Hiddleston on becoming a dancing accountant in new Stephen King film, The Life of Chuck
Tom Hiddleston on becoming a dancing accountant in new Stephen King inspired film, The Life of Chuck. Sir Anish Kapoor on making a protest artwork in the North Sea with Greenpeace. A report from Bradford as artist Luke Jerram works with local communities to create a giant ball of ... Show More
42m 32s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
Kate Atkinson on the Return of Jackson Brodie
The British writer Kate Atkinson has had a rich and varied career since her debut novel, “Behind the Scenes at the Museum,” won the Whitbread Book of the Year award in 1996; her 14 subsequent books have included story collections, historical fiction and an inventive speculative n ... Show More
44m 48s
Sep 2023
Natural storytellers with Lea Salonga, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Gerard Salonga and Daniel Edmonds
Lea Salonga, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Gerard Salonga and Daniel Edmonds discuss the process of working through a piece that isn’t going well, what drives them when starting a new project, and the most important things they look for in a performer of musical theatre.Lea Salonga ha ... Show More
35m 6s
Nov 2023
Pet Cemetery
When Ray was a kid, he took care of all the animals in his neighborhood… even after they were gone. Thanks, Ray, for sharing your story with us! Ray’s podcast, What’s Ray Saying, returns next week! Enter a world of Southern-baked personal narratives and Black American history. Ne ... Show More
24m 31s
Sep 2024
Lucian Msamati
Lucian Msamati has played leading roles on our most famous stages: Salieri in Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus at the National Theatre, Iago in Othello at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Estragon opposite Ben Whishaw in Waiting for Godot at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London. He star ... Show More
46m 31s
Jul 19
Best Of: Stacey Abrams / Raphael Saadiq
Stacey Abrams is known as a voting rights activist, former candidate for Georgia governor, and founder of Fair Fight Action. But she's also a bestselling author, and has a new novel, a thriller revolving around a former Supreme Court clerk investigating a murder inside an AI comp ... Show More
46m 58s
Sep 2023
Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kidjo, often described as "the queen of African music", has recorded fifteen albums, worked with a diverse array of musical collaborators from Burna Boy and Alcia Keys to Philip Glass and Peter Gabriel, and won five Grammy Awards. In 2023 she was the recipient of the Po ... Show More
43m 55s
May 2024
Lily Allen
Renowned for the autobiographical candour of her lyrics, Lily Allen has sung about the pitfalls of fame, drugs, broken relationships and motherhood. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for her debut album Alright Still and after the release of It’s Not Me, It’s You in 2010 won a ... Show More
43m 24s
Jun 18
Uplift: Singer is dedicated to uplifting underserved communities of color.
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Raheem DeVaughn. 🎵 Key Topics Discussed 1. Independent Artist Journey Raheem defines independence as being “self-made,” trusting intuition, and investing in oneself ... Show More
28 m
Jun 2022
Dr Michael McMillan | Windrush Stories: Hackney Edition
Dr Michael McMillan is a playwright, mixed-media artist, curator, and educator, arguably best known for his installation, The West Indian Front Room now housed at Hoxton’s Museum of the Home. Dr McMillan has had many works produced by the Royal Court Theatre, Channel 4, and BBC R ... Show More
1h 15m