Brittany Howard, Boarding schools in fiction, Ed Thomas

Brittany Howard is the frontwoman for the phenomenally successful American blues rock band Alabama Shakes. She joins us to discuss her first solo album, Jaime, which is dedicated to her sister who died at a young age. Brittany talks about the inspirations behind the album: from her sister’s memory to an appalling racist attack that happened to her family when she was only a few weeks old. Malory Towers, Enid Blyton's series of novels about the boarding school her own daughter attended, was published 70 years ago, but how accurate is its portrayal of boarding school life? Novelists William Boyd and Robin Stevens - both of whom went to boarding school and have written stories set in them - talk to Stig Abell about the way boarding schools have been presented in literature and in film. On Bear Ridge is a new play set in the Welsh mountains near Swansea, where an old butcher and his wife struggle to survive after some kind of catastrophe has affected the wider world. Its a co-production between National Theatre Wales and the Royal Court. Stig talks to writer Ed Thomas, whose previous work includes the hit Welsh TV police series Hinterland. Presenter: Stig Abell

Producer: Hilary Dunn