Saturday Review

By BBC Radio 4Society & Culture

Saturday Review episodes

February 18, 2017 Revolution at the RA, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Moonlight, Idaho by Emily Ruskovich, SS-GB
Revolution: Russian Art 1917-32 is an exhibition at the Royal Academy where the title tells you what to expect but what surprises and delights lie in wait for visitors? Dan Gillespie Sells - lead songwriter with pop group The Feeling - has written a musical: Everybody's Talking About Jamie. Opening at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, it's about a northern working class lad who decides to escape his humdrum life by adopting a drag persona. A bit like Billy Elliott in a dress?
Moonlight is the Oscar-touted film looking at the experience of a gay African American boy growing up to become a man and his struggle with identity fulfilment and happiness
Emily Ruskovich's novel Idaho tells the story of how violence within a family wrenches it apart, through multiple perspectives and timeshifts.
BBC TV has adapted Len Deighton's novel SS-GB; what would the UK have been like, if we'd lost The Battle Of Britain and Nazis had taken over in 1941?
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Helen Lewis, Ellen Jones and Cahal Dallat. The producer is Oliver Jones.
43 min
February 11, 2017 Bruegel, Ang Lee, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Beware of Pity
Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is the first film to utilise a shooting and projection frame rate of 120 frames per second in 3D at 4K HD resolution. In a drama which tells the story of American war heroes on leave from Iraq, will audiences be won over by what Ang Lee calls a " new immersive cinema?"
Vietnamese American writer Viet Thanh Nguyen won the Pullitzer Prize for his debut novel The Sympathizer about the Vietnam war. His new book of short stories, The Refugees, draws heavily on his own experience of arriving in America having fled Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Bruegel's Defining A Dynasty at The Holburne Museum in Bath is the UK's first exhibition devoted to the Bruegel dynasty and brings together 35 works produced by four different generations of the family. A key work in the exhibition is the Wedding Dance in the Open Air, an oil painting from the Holburne's own collection which, following conservation work and technical examination, can be attributed firmly to the hand of Pieter Bruegel the Younger.
The Kettering Incident is a new 8 part series on Sky Atlantic starring Elizabeth Debicki who played opposite Tom Hiddleston in BBC's hit drama The Night Manager. Shot entirely on location in Tasmania, The Kettering Incident follows a doctor (Debicki) who returns to her home town after several years overseas, only to find herself at the centre of a mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young girl.
Stefan Zweig's 1938 novel Ungueld des Herzens (Beware of Pity) brings together two of Europe's most boundary-pushing, imaginative theatre companies at the Barbican for the first time. Theatre de Complicite's Simon McBurney directs the outstanding Berlin theatre company Schaubühne in a story of a doomed romance set in the Austro-Hungarian empire just before the first world war.
43 min
February 04, 2017 Sex With Strangers, Toni Erdmann, John Burnside, Keith Tyson, The Moorside
Sex With Strangers is Laura Eason's 2009 play about a brash blogger (whose blog shares the title of the play) meeting a shy novelist the Hampstead Theatre
Toni Erdmann is a German comedy film which has been nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. is it wunderbar or nicht so gut?
John Burnside has a new novel out: Ashland and Vine about friendship, history and memories
Turner Prize-winning Keith Tyson's latest exhibition Turn Back Now at the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings shows more than 350 of his studio wall drawings where the work itself is the process.
Sheridan Smith stars in The Moorside, a BBC TV drama about the kidnapping of Shannon Matthews
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Stig Abel, Dea Birkett, and Linda Grant. The producer is Oliver Jones.
43 min
January 28, 2017 Christine,The Nix, Estorick Collection, Death Takes a Holiday, Zelda Fitzgerald
The Estorick Collection in London has reopened after a refit with an exhibition 'War In The Sunshine: The British in Italy 1917-1918'; paintings and photographs from that conflict
The Nix is the first novel by Nathan Hill, about a son trying to understand his counter-culture mother who has gained notoriety after attacking a right wing politician
Rebecca Hall was tipped for an Oscar for playing Christine Chubbuck, a TV newsreader who committed suicide live on air in 1974. Will our reviewers feel Rebecca Hall was cheated out of a nomination
The musical Death takes a Holiday opens at London's Charing Cross Theatre. Created by a multi-TONY Award winning team, will London theatre-goers take it to their hearts?
Amazon TV's new series 'Z: The Beginning of Everything', stars Christina Ricci as Zelda Fitzgerald, American socialite, novelist and wife of F Scott Fitzgerald who was troubled with psychiatric problems
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Catherine O'Flynn, Sarah Moss and Robert Hanks. The producer is Oliver Jones.
43 min
January 21, 2017 Lion, Raising Martha, Laszlo Krasznahorkai, material/rearranged/to/be - Siobhan Davies, Apple Tree Yard
Lion is the film about a young Indian orphan adopted by Australian parents who finds his way back to the village where he was born by using the internet. starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman. Could it be Oscar-winning material?
Raising Martha is a new comedy play at London's Park Theatre - it's farce about frogs, families, dozy policemen and digging up corpses.
Hungarian prize-winning novelist Laszlo Krasznahorkai's latest novel The Last Wolf tells a story in one 74 page sentence - does this feat overwhelm the content?
Siobhan Davies' dance work material/rearranged/to/be is at London's Barbican
BBC TV has a new Sunday night drama: Apple Tree Yard. Adapted from Louise Doughty's best-selling thriller novel, what makes it feel new?
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Bridget Minamore, Elizabeth Day and Inua Ellams. The producer is Oliver Jones.
42 min
January 14, 2017 La La Land, Manchester By The Sea, Michael Chabon, Wish List at The Royal Court, Charles Avery
We can help you to decide between two films touted for Oscars glory: La La Land revives The Hollywood musical and Manchester By The Sea starring Casey Affleck- If you have to choose, which one deserves your custom?
Michael Chabon's latest novel Moonglow is sort-of autobiographical - the lies, deception, rumours, legends, confessions and confusions that all families create are explored through a life lived in The American Century.
Katherine Soper (a 24-year-old former perfume seller) won The UK's biggest playwriting competition with Wish List; a play informed by what she calls the government's "systematic assault" on disabled and mentally ill people. It's being staged at London's Royal Court Theatre
Artist Charles Avery's work is an ongoing evolving depiction of an imaginary island. Through drawings, sculptures and texts. he has created its topology, cosmology and inhabitants. He has a new exhibition of his imaginings.
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Kate Williams, Maria Delgado and David Benedict. The producer is Oliver Jones.
43 min
January 07, 2017 Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, Endless Poetry, Taboo, History of Wolves, On Kosovo Field.
Tony Harrison's play The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus is revived at London's Finborough Theatre
87 year old Chilean film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's latest film Endless Poetry is the second instalment of a planned five part autobiographical series
Tom Hardy stars in BBC TV's new drama Taboo,
Emily Fridlund's History of Wolves is the growing-up tale of a lonely Minnesota schoolgirl
BBC Radio drama On Kosovo Field is a 5-part fantasy play by Finn Kennedy which includes a score by PJ Harvey, whose notes, photos, poetry and songs helped to inspire it
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Viv Groskop, Ekow Eshun and Louise Doughty
The producer is Oliver Jones.
42 min
December 31, 2016 Highlights of 2016
A look at the highlights of 2016 according to our panel and our listeners. And there are some delightful surprises.
Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Kerry Shale, Sarah Crompton, Sarfraz Mansoor and listeners from around the UK with their suggestions.
Saturday Review's Picks of The Year
Films
The Revenant Alejandro Inarritu
Spotlight Tom McCarthy
I Daniel Blake Ken Loach
Queen of Katwe Mira Nair
Nocturnal Animals Tom Ford
Deadpool starring Ryan Reynolds
Snowden starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Sausage Party
Hell or High Water David Mackenzie
Arrival Denis Villeneuve
Fire At Sea Gianfranco Rosi
A United Kingdom Amma Asante
Anomalisa Charlie Kaufman
Julieta Pedro Almodovar
Finding Dory
A Bigger Splash Luca Guadagnino
Theatre
A Streetcar Named Desire Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
King Lear Talawa co-production Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
King Lear starring Glenda Jackson at Old Vic, London
Harriet Martineau Dreams of Dancing Live Theatre Newcastle
This Restless House Glasgow Citizens Theatre
Any Means Necessary Nottingham Playhouse
Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour National Theatre, London
Midsummer's Night Dream The Globe Theatre, London
Imogen The Globe Theatre, London
Shakespeare Trilogy, Donmar Warehouse, London
No Man's Land, National Theatre, London (NT live performance)
Backstage in Biscuit Land, Soho Theatre, London
Groundhog Day (musical) Old Vic, London
Flowers for Mrs Harris, Sheffield Crucible
Richard III, Almeida Theatre, London
Faith Healer, Donmar Warehouse, London
Travesties, Menier Chocolate Factory, London
Television
Stranger Things - Netflix
Westworld - HBO
The Young Pope - Sky
The Crown - Netflix
War and Peace - BBC
The Night Of - HBO
Black Mirror - Netflix
Planet Earth II - BBC
Happy Valley - BBC
Transparent - Amazon
Fleabag - BBC
The Missing - BBC
Flowers - Channel 4
National Treasure - Channel 4
Angie Tribeca - E4
Motherland - BBC
Exhibitions
Georgia O'Keeffe, Tate Modern, London
Picasso Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, London
Abstract Expressionism, Royal Academy, London
Hieronymus Bosch, Het Noordbrabants Museum, Holland
Towards Night, The Towner Gallery, Eastbourne
In Reading Prison, Artangle
Winifred Knights, Dulwich Picture Gallery
Inside: Artist and Writers in Reading Prison - Artangel
The Infinite Mix, The Store in the Strand, London
Stan Douglas, The Secret Agent, Victoria Miro Gallery, London
Victor Pasmore, Towards A New Reality, Nottingham Lakeside Gallery
Russia and The Arts, National Portrait Gallery, London
The Shchukin Collection, Icons of Modern Art, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris
Books
Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
Hotels of North America by Rick Moody
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
The Good Immigrant ed. Nikesh Shukla
1971 - Never a Dull Moment: Rock's Golden Year by David Hepworth
Missing Presumed by Susie Steiner
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry
Also mentioned:
Lemonade (album/film) Beyonce
We're Here Because We're Here Jeremy Deller
Bob Dylan, winner of Nobel Prize for Literature
Horace and Pete Louis C.K
David Bowie's Art Collection
Blackstar David Bowie
You Want It Darker Leonard Cohen
The producer is Hilary Dunn.
42 min
December 24, 2016 Art at London's Old Vic, Scorsese's Silence, VR gaming, Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing, Alan Bennett
A revival of Yasmina Reza's Art at London's Old Vic revives the art of the review - is it art?
Martin Scorsese's latest film Silence has taken nearly 3 decades to reach the screen. It's the story of two Christian missionaries in 17th century Japan. Is it worth the the long wait?
We investigate Virtual Reality gaming - there are many different headsets and games on the market, but which are worth your attention
Ghanaian-American novelist Yaa Gyosi's Homegoing is a debut novel that has been garnering a lot of extremely favourable attention from readers and critics alike. It deals with slavery and its intimate weaving into the history of America
Alan Bennett's Diaries on Christmas Eve on BBC2 is described as 'a candid look into the mind' of the much-loved author, following him through the year. It includes the revelation that he has always wanted to own a donkey
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Naomi Alderman, Sathnam Sanghera and Emma Woolf. The producer is Oliver Jones
Photo credit: Michael Lionstar.
42 min
December 17, 2016 Hedda Gabler, Son of Joseph, Nadeem Aslam, Roger Hiorns, Maigret, Agatha Christie
Ruth Wilson plays the lead in Ivo van Hove's production of Hedda Gabler at London's National Theatre,
Son of Joseph (a French film with religious overtones) takes on the overwhelming might of the latest Star Wars Rogue One. Blockbuster vs indie might not be an equal fight but thank goodness there's something else out this week! How good is it?
Nadeem Aslam's latest novel The Golden Harvest is set in modern Pakistan, with the resilience of the human spirit fighting corruption and international interference
Roger Hiorns was brought up in Birmingham and his latest exhibition at the city's IKON Gallery looks at his career-long fascinations with human corporeality and its meeting with the mechanical and he proposes a new pathway into how artists can continue to make and behave
And we cionsider a couple of the big crime dramas on TV over Christmas - ITV's Maigret (starring Rowan Atkinson) and Agatha Christie's Witness For The Prosecution on the BBC
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Alex Preston, Stephanie Merritt and Jamila Gavin. The producer is Oliver Jones.
43 min