Roddy Doyle talks to John Wilson about his new novel, Smile. 30 years since he wrote The Commitments, Smile is his 11th novel, in which a middle-aged man looks back over his unfulfilled life, as dark and disturbing memories of being taught by the Christian Brothers begin to surface.Head of BBC Drama Piers Wenger has said he would like to see fewer dark dramas on TV and more inspiring stories, specifically programmes that examine heroism. We ask TV critics Chris Dunkley and Caroline Frost whether the golden age of television has left viewers swamped in anti-heroes and whether they would like to see more heroes on screens.Matt Thorne reviews IT, the latest film to be adapted from a Stephen King horror novel. It stars Bill Skarsgård as the demonic entity of evil which shapeshifts into Pennywise the clown. Matt also describes his own relationship with the story - and Pennywise - since first reading King's novel aged 12.Plus, as veteran football commentator John Motson announces his retirement, Alex Clark examines the art of sports commentary.Presenter John Wilson
Producer Dymphna Flynn.
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Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
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Folge vom 06.09.2017Roddy Doyle, Heroes in TV dramas, Stephen King's IT
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Folge vom 05.09.2017Woman's Hour Craft Exhibition, Lloyd Dorfman, Karen McCarthy Woolf, John AshberyThe Woman's Hour Craft Prize saw 1500 applicants whittled down to just 12 finalists whose work goes on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London this week. Samira takes a look round the exhibition, which features a handmade bicycle and a dissolving fountain made from raw clay, and discusses the £10,000 prize with Woman's Hour presenter Jane Garvey, along with Alun Graves of the V&A and Annie Warburton of the Crafts Council, who were involved in the judging process.Businessman and arts benefactor Lloyd Dorfman reveals what motivates his support of the Royal Academy and sponsorship of cheap seats at the National Theatre. From the archive, the late American poet John Ashbery talks about his approach to work and how he views his back catalogue.And the contemporary British poet Karen McCarthy Woolf talks about her technique, including the use of 'found' words in composing her poems, and reflects on nature in her new collection Seasonal Disturbances.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Harry Parker.
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Folge vom 04.09.2017Suranne Jones returns as Doctor Foster, Lancashire's Fabrications Festival, Josephine Barstow on Sondheim's FolliesAs Doctor Foster returns to BBC One this week, Suranne Jones discusses reprising her BAFTA Award-winning title role.We remember Walter Becker, guitarist, bassist and co-founder of Steely Dan, who has died at the age of 67. Stephen Sondheim's rarely-staged musical Follies opens this week at the National Theatre in London. John Wilson speaks to director Dominic Cooke, actress Janie Dee and veteran soprano Dame Josephine Barstow about the demands of the show - a tale of lost youth, romance and nostalgia for a bygone showbiz era. Front Row goes on the road with Harriet Riddell, a textile performance artist who is cycling a 22-mile stretch of the Leeds to Liverpool canal as part of the Fabrications Festival, exploring textiles through the eyes of artists. We follow Harriet as she uses her portable sewing machine to make a record of the places and people she meets.
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Folge vom 01.09.2017Patti Cake$, Lord of the Flies, Nicole Krauss, James NgcoboAs news breaks of a new all-female film version of William Golding's classic Lord of the Flies, the novelist Joanne Harris and film critic Karen Krizanovich join Andrea Catherwood to discuss whether it's a good idea. Patti Cake$ stars Danielle Macdonald as an unlikely rapper with talent but little opportunity. It's the first film for writer-director Geremy Jasper and won a warm reception at the Sundance Film Festival. Critic Mark Eccleston reviews.The American writer Nicole Krauss' books include The History of Love, which became an international bestseller, and Great House - both were shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Ten years ago she was chosen as one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists. Now her first book for 7 years, Forest Dark, is published: a contemplation of identity and shaking off the stories we tell about ourselves. She talks about the novel's characters including 68-year-old former New York lawyer Epstein... and a novelist called Nicole. The Market Theatre is bringing its award-winning production of The Suitcase from Johannesburg to Hull and the northeast. It's about a young couple who leave their village hoping for a better life in Durban. It doesn't work out and when the husband steals a suitcase - with no idea what's inside - life really unravels. It is, says director James Ngcobo, very different from the anti-apartheid, oppositional theatre that made the Market famous around the globe in the years of struggle. Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Sarah JohnsonImage: Jheri (played by Siddharth Dhananjay) and Patti Cake$ (played by Danielle Macdonald). Credit: Twentieth Century Fox.