Historical novelist Philippa Gregory talks to Nick Ahad about writing her first stage play, Richard, My Richard, for Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot. Unlike Shakespeare's, Gregory's play is a tender, passionate, portrait of man in his time, surrounded by the women who influence his fate. With Marvel, DC and Sony superhero films boring fans and the box office, Nick speaks with Comic Crush editor Paul Dunne and film journalist Feyi Adebanjo about what's gone wrong and if these billion dollar blockbusters can get their mojo back. Showtown, Blackpool’s new museum of fun and entertainment opens on Friday. Liz Moss, the museum’s Chief Executive and journalist and former circus elephant girl Dea Birkett reflect on the museum’s ambitions. Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Philippa Gregory on Richard III, Blackpool's Showtown, has the superhero franchise bubble burst?

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La Chimera is a new film directed by Alice Rohrwacher and starring Josh O’Connor as a British archaeologist who gets caught up in a network of stolen Etruscan artefacts in 1980s Italy.  Bodkin is a new comedy thriller series from Netflix starring Will Forte about a trio of true crime podcasters who head to rural Ireland to solve a mystery.  and Great Expectations, the hotly anticipated debut novel from the New Yorker theatre critic Vinson Cunningham about a young man in America who gets swept up in a presidential campaign.  Jo Hamya and Boyd Hilton join Nick Ahad to review. And we take a look at Spotify's latest figures on how it pays the music industry with Will Page. Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Corinna Jones

La Chimera, Bodkin, a new novel called Great Expectations reviewed

From winning the piano section of the first BBC young musician of the year as a teen to recording over 60 albums and publishing 40 original works, Stephen Hough was knighted for services to music in 2022. He joins Tom Sutcliffe to talk about the upcoming European premiere of his first piano concerto with the Halle Orchestra in Manchester. American writer Elle Griffin wrote an article titled No one buys books, after studying the publishing industry in the United States. She feels the best way to make money as an author is to serialise her work online. But Philip Jones, Editor of The Bookseller says the UK publishing industry is in good health.  Scottish band Arab Strap talk about breaking up, re-forming and their new album – they also play live from Glasgow.  Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Claire Bartleet

Sir Stephen Hough, Arab Strap, can authors make money?

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, music critic Norman Lebrecht and conductor JoAnn Falletta discuss what makes it revolutionary and why it's so challenging to perform. Michael McManus spent most of his career as a political advisor but has subsequently become a playwright.  His new play Party Games is a political comedy that questions the power of AI and the influence of unelected advisors. A new exhibition at the Bodleian Library in Oxford - Write, Cut, Rewrite - looks at the drafts, additions and omissions behind key artistic decisions from great writers.  Writer Lawrence Norfolk and poet Alice Oswald talk about the importance of rewriting and editing. Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Torquil MacLeod

Party Games play, 200 years of Beethoven’s 9th, literary editing

Nick visits Scarborough and talks to Sir Alan Ayckbourn as he rehearses an old play - Things We Do For Love - and looks forward to the staging of his 90th play - Show and Tell. Turner prize winning Artist Jeremy Deller, whose public artworks include We're Here Because We're Here to commemorate the Battle of the Somme, reveals his plans for a new creation for Scarborough's Marine Drive.  The Scarborough Spa Orchestra is the UK's only remaining professional seaside orchestra, and Nick meets its two of its members, music director Paul Laidlaw and flautist Kathy Seabrook.  Poets Charlotte Oliver and Wendy Pratt discuss finding inspiration in Scarborough. Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Jeremy Deller, Scarborough Spa Orchestra

Harvey Keitel stars in The Tattooist of Auschwitz - a six-part Sky Atlantic series based on the best-selling novel by Heather Morris, inspired by the real-life story of Holocaust prisoners Lali and Gita Sokolov.  Marc Quinn’s exhibition Light into Life is at Kew Gardens from Saturday (4th May) until Sunday 29 September 2024. The Fall Guy, directed by David Leitch, stars Ryan Gosling as a stuntman and Emily Blunt as his film director ex who entices him out of retirement. All three are reviewed by Naomi Alderman and Jason Solomons. And producer Trevor Horn assesses the legacy of guitarist Duane Eddy whose death was announced yesterday.     Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Torquil MacLeod

Philippa Gregory on Richard III, Blackpool's Showtown, has the superhero franchise bubble burst?

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