Elaine Paige played Grizabella in the première staging of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats and shot to stardom overnight when she created the title role in his hugely successful Evita. This music special focuses on Paige’s portrayals of Eva Peron (Evita), Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard) and Edith Piaf (Piaf). The cameras follow her to Buenos Aires, Hollywood and Paris to investigate the lives of these charismatic, but very different, women, whose stories are juxtaposed with her own. A wealth of rehearsal and performance footage is included in the programme.
Country Music
This colourful, upbeat documentary travels to Nashville to look at the huge impact women singers have recently made on the country music scene. It is jam-packed with music, from wonderful catchy songs to hauntingly emotive ballads and features artists including Kathy Mattea, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Pam Tillis, as well as long-time stars Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.
Lionel Bart
Composer and lyricist Lionel Bart, who died in 1999, had a remarkable, if chequered, career. He first found success writing hit records in the 1950s and went on to pen a string of musicals – including the ever-popular Oliver! – which brought him enormous fame and riches. A big spender whose generosity was exploited by others, he became addicted to drugs and alcohol. Failure, bankruptcy and obscurity followed. In the 1990s, the inimitable Bart bounced back. Seen working on a revival of Oliver! in London’s West End, he tells his story in a lively documentary filled with his music.
Frankenstein
This programme considers the Frankenstein myth and its origins in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel and nineteenth-century science. Sensational horror or serious scientific commentary? Richly illustrated with film clips, the exploration reveals why the potent story continues to fascinate.
Clive Barker
Novelist, film-maker and artist Clive Barker is the leader of the popular fantasy and horror genre, with international best-sellers such as Weaveworld and box office hits including the Hellraiser features to his credit. This programme charts Barker’s extraordinary progress from his home town of Liverpool to Hollywood, where he now lives, and explores his literary and cinematic journeys into the darker reaches of human experience.
Comedy Special
The 1980s saw the rise of an exciting new generation of performers on the British comedy scene. This two-part special (also available in a one-hour edit) introduces these comedians and looks at how humour has changed in recent years. It also drops in on an evening at one of the immensely popular comedy clubs that are now flourishing and samples the routines of Alexei Sayle, Lenny Henry, Jo Brand, Rik Mayall, Ruby Wax, Harry Enfield, Ben Elton, Jim Davidson and Chubby Brown.
Dracula
Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula was first published in 1897. Since then, the Count and his fellow vampires have become some of the most familiar figures in horror movies and stories. This programme explores the social and psychological anxieties which lie behind Stoker’s book and its fascination with death, disease, social order and sexual repression. A wealth of film clips is included.
Two Ballerinas at the Royal Ballet: Viviana Durante & Darcy Russell
This programme focuses on two of The Royal Ballet’s outstanding ballerinas and affords an insight into the methods of the company itself and the sacrifices necessary to achieve success in the dance world today. Partnered by Irek Mukhamedov and Zoltan Solymosi, Durante and Bussell are seen performing a wide range of work, from nineteenth-century classics such as Giselle and Swan Lake, to modern works. Many key figures in British ballet make contributions.
Terence Conran
Terence Conran opened the first Habitat store in the early 1960s and single-handedly changed the face ot home style. In this programme he talks about his life, elaborates on his missionary vision of “good design for all” and shows viewers round his own home. The film demonstrates how a typical 1950s living room was transformed by Conran’s innovative ideas, and a Habitat product is followed from conception to completion.
J. M. W. Turner
Master of the landscape genre and one of the finest painters Britain has ever produced, Turner (1775-1851) bequeathed a huge body of his work to the nation. In 1987, a permanent Turner exhibition finally went on display, in a newly-built wing, at London’s Tate Gallery. An exclusive preview of this collection forms the framework for this celebration of the artist’s life and work, which includes contributions from critics and painters – Patrick Heron, Howard Hodgkin and Peter Blake among them.