Noted for his dense, thickly-textured prose and his very precise use of often rare and difficult language, the distinguished Irish writer is, by his own definition, “something between a novelist and a poet”. Recording an in-depth discussion between Banville and author Melvyn Bragg, this programme affords an opportunity to understand the motivation and method of this immensely gifted, profoundly literate contemporary writer. It includes visualised readings from Banville’s works, among them The Book of Evidence and Ghosts.
Ken Loach
Ever since he first began making films in the 1960s, Ken Loach’s concern with social injustice has informed his work. Interviews with Loach and with his long-time producer Tony Garnett, as well as extracts from his films, form the basis for an examination of how this modest and self-effacing man has managed to survive with his political beliefs intact.
Dmitry and Alexander Sitkovetsky
Dmitry Sitkovetsky is well-known in the West as one of the most exciting and respected violinists of his generation. He also has his own string orchestra, directs a Finnish summer music festival and is a brilliant transcriber and arranger of important classical works. Dmitry’s cousin, Alexander (Sasha), is a rock guitarist and an eminent rock/classical composer. This programme, shot on location in Latvia, St. Petersburg, Finland and London, interweaves the stories of the two cousins, charting their lives and careers.
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.
Jeff Koons
‘Vulgar’, ‘banal’ and ‘pornographic’, are all words that have been used to describe the work of American sculptor Jeff Koons. This master of self-publicity is best known for his kitsch novelties, and photographs and sculptures of himself in Kama Sutra positions with his ex-wife, La Cicciolina. Not since Duchamp and Warhol has any artist so dramatically polarised critical opinion and provoked such controversy. In this revealing profile, Koons is seen working on a major creation – a fourteen-metre-high puppy built entirely of fresh flowers.
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.
Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller is universally regarded as one of the world’s leading contemporary playwrights, with modern classics including Death of a Salesman and The Crucible to his credit. This interview with Miller was recorded as The Ride Down Mount Morgan opened in London. Written when he was seventy-six, it was his first full-length play in more than a decade. Miller talks about the piece, revealing not only his disenchantment with American theatre and culture, but also his deep concern for the moral and spiritual welfare of his country.
Colin Thubron
This programme follows the celebrated travel writer Colin Thubron into the Muslim republic of Uzbekistan. It gathers impressions of past and present, landscape and buildings, ordinary people and everyday customs. But, above all, it is a portrait of the writer himself, of the passions and hardships of his craft, of the peculiar mixture of robustness and sensitivity required of him.
Noel Coward
Noel Coward (1899-1973) left a legacy of more than fifty plays, four hundred songs, several volumes of prose and verse and twenty film appearances. Appraising the work of this consummate theatrical artist, this portrait includes contributions from friends and colleagues, and specially-staged excerpts from his best plays. Extensive interviews with Coward are featured, recorded at his homes in Jamaica and in England, and material from his private archive illustrates his story.
Anthony Hopkins
Famed for his Oscar-winning portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, the charismatic actor Anthony Hopkins talks frankly about his career in this revealing profile. He talks about the sense of isolation he suffered for much of his life, about his alcoholism and the moment he chose to stop drinking his life away. With location filming in his native Wales and in America, the programme traces his formative influences and looks at his career on both sides of the Atlantic.