Jonathan Miller is one of the world’s most sought-after directors of plays and operas. In this programme, he talks illuminatingly about his ideas on bringing classic works to life for today’s audiences, focusing on Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Mozart’s Così fan tutte. This film of Miller rehearsing this opera at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden gives a fascinating insight into his way of working and shows how he puts his ideas into action.
Edward Albee
Albee is one of America’s most important modern dramatists. In this overview of his work, he talks candidly about his writing and discusses one of its central themes: the essential stripping away of illusion and self-delusion in order to live the extraordinary experience of life to the full. Filmed in New York, the programme is illustrated with extracts from stage and screen versions of his plays including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Delicate Balance and Three Tall Women.
Eric Newby
With some dozen books to his name, all shot through with his characteristic humour, powers of observation and capacity to end up way off the beaten track, Eric Newby is now one of the best-selling travel writers in the world. In this profile, he travels to South Australia to revisit places he went to on his first intrepid journey in 1938, and then continues into the Australian bush in search of some of the few truly remote places remaining in the world.
Vanessa Redgrave
This profile offers a fascinating insight into the art of one of Britain’s leading actresses. The film centres on a revealing interview in which Redgrave talks about her preparation for, and performance of, several major roles. Her versatility is demonstrated in a specially-shot sequence in which she gives two different interpretations of a key moment from Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, and in rehearsal footage of a stage production based on Bertolt Brecht’s years of exile in America.
Alan Ayckbourn
After Shakespeare, Alan Ayckbourn is the world’s most frequently performed English language playwright. This programme gives a unique insight into the genius of this consummate theatre practitioner, recording a lively and amusing workshop in comedy writing and construction he gave to an invited audience.
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.
Aldous Huxley
The author of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) is one of the best-known twentieth-century novelists. Filmed in California – where Huxley spent most of his life –, Maryland and the UK, and featuring numerous extracts from the writer’s major works, this documentary re-evaluates his writing and reveals the thoughts, concerns and passions of this fascinating man. Along with contributions from family and friends, it includes archive interviews with Huxley himself.
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is widely acclaimed as Canada’s most eminent novelist, poet and critic. Her books, among them The Handmaid’s Tale and Cat’s Eye, have earned her enormous respect and numerous awards in the literary world. She is noted for her deep understanding of human behaviour, a beautifully understated style and a tremendously broad scope. Interviewed in and around her home in Toronto, Atwood talks about her writing in a programme which focuses on her book The Robber Bride.
John Steinbeck
This profile of one of the most popular writers of the twentieth century reassesses this classic American novelist and reveals that there is more to his work than the gritty social realism normally associated with his name. Shot on location in the places that inspired Steinbeck’s books, the programme includes interviews with his widow, his biographer and others who knew him.
Willy Russell
Willy Russell is driven by his desire to reach a wide audience and to tell a good story. His themes of escape, survival and the search for happiness have universal appeal and he has become hugely popular, with hits such as Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine and the musical Blood Brothers to his credit. Illustrated with extracts from his work, this programme centres on an interview with Russell, in which he describes his journey from failed schoolboy to successful writer.