Andrew Harding on the Radio 4 drama, A Small Stubborn Town, inspired by his work as the BBC Ukraine correspondent Emma Rice is one the UK’s most celebrated theatre-makers known for her musical and comedic approach, and with numerous innovative and successful productions such as Brief Encounter, The Red Shoes, and Tristan and Yseult, under her belt. As her latest production goes on a UK tour, she talks to Nick about reimagining that darkest of fairy tales, Blue Beard, as a feminist cri de coeur.   In the wake of the Hugo Awards scandal, Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, culture critic and Hugo awards finalist, Han Zhang, editor-at-large at Riverhead Books, focussed on finding works in the Chinese language for translation and publication in the US, and Megan Walsh, author of The Subplot: What China is reading and why it matters, discuss the fallout and what is reveals about the popularity of Sci-Fi in China. Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu

Ukraine drama A Small Stubborn Town, Emma Rice, The Hugo Awards

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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

Ukraine drama A Small Stubborn Town, Emma Rice, The Hugo Awards

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