Woman's Hour Archive: Arts - Books, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts

Sofi Oksanen 10/05/2011

Sofi Oksanen is a Finnish-Estonian novelist talks about her latest book Purge, a dark tale of sex trafficking and abuse which has won a swathe of awards.
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Jazz singer Clare Teal 09/05/2011

Clare Teal is one of the most successful female British jazz singers. She discusses creating music to celebrate The Great British Songbook and performs live in the studio.
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Stories from Afghanistan's women 09/05/2011

Zarghuna Kargar talks about her collection of life stories gathered while presenting Afghan Woman's Hour on BBC World Service.
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Siobhán Parkinson 06/05/2011

The first ever Irish Children's Laureate joins Jenni in the studio to discuss her latest novel Bruised.
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Dee Dee Bridgewater 15/03/2011

Dee Dee Bridgewater's musical career has spanned forty years, Her most recent album 'Eleanora Fagan: to Billie with Love' has just won a Grammy. She talks to Jane and sings from the album.
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Archaeological discoveries of the bible 15/03/2011

Dr Francesca Stavrakopoulou is a Biblical scholar from the University of Exeter. She talks about the Bible's buried secrets.
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Poet Holly McNish 11/03/2011

Holly performs her newly composed poem for the Woman of the World Festival at the Southbank.
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Kate Nash 11/03/2011

The singer talks to Jenni and performs her song BIRDS live.
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Olivia Williams 10/03/2011

Olivia Williams talks about her film career and latest theatre role in Neil LaBute's new play In a Forest, Dark and Deep, a psychological thriller about sibling rivalry, and buried secrets!
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Women's contribution to horror films 09/03/2011

Women's contribution to the genre, with Lizzie Franke and Kerry Ann Mullaney.
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Maxine Peake 04/03/2011

The stage and TV actress Maxine Peake talks to Jenni about starring in TV drama Silk.
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Nicole Kraus 02/03/2011

Nicole Krauss, the author of the novel "Man Walks into a Room" and "The History of Love", talks to Jenni about her latest novel "Great House".
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June Tabor 25/02/2011

The singer June Tabor has released an album called Ashore, a collection of songs inspired by the sea. June talks to Jenni and performs live in the studio.
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Women and Westerns 21/02/2011

The role of women in westerns is discussed by writer Jennifer Smyth and film critic Antonia Quirke discuss.
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Novellist Andrea Eames 17/02/2011

Novelist Andrea Eames talks about her first novel "The Cry of the Go-Away Bird." It's the story of a young white girl growing up in 1990s Zimbabwe.
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Marianne Faithfull 16/02/2011

Marianne Faithfull sings live and talks about her new album, "Horses and High Heels" and explains why she is enjoying life at last.
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Death of Ari Up 22/10/2010

Ari Up was the lead singer of one of the most important female bands, The Slits. Vivien Goldman, Professor of Punk at New York University pays tribute.
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Edgar Allan Poe's Women 21/10/2010

Crime writer Denise Mina and Professor Clive Bloom, author of 'Gothic Histories: The Taste for Terror, 1746 to the Present, discuss Poe's portrayal of women.
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Audrey Niffenegger 20/10/2010

Audrey Niffenegger, author of the best selling Time Traveler's Wife, joins Jenni to talk about her new graphic novel The Night Bookmobile.
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Ambridge's Peggy Woolley 13/10/2010

June Spencer, now 91, talks of her life both real and in Ambridge. She has played The Archer's Peggy Woolley for the past 60 years.
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The work of Artist Sheila Fell 01/10/2010

The writer Cate Haste has just published a new biography of the Cumberland artist, Sheila Fell, who L S Lowry called the greatest landscape painter of her generation.
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Iris Murdoch's literary reputation 08/09/2010

Bidisha and Dr Anne Rowe discuss the writer's body of work.
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Dale Diva 03/09/2010

The all woman acapella choir from Derbyshire has just won Channel 5's talent show Don't Stop Believing. Angela Robson met with founder Ally Law and choir members Liz Tomes and Lynda Jetten.
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Andrea Newman 02/09/2010

Andrea Newman talks to Jenni about why her novel, A Bouquet of Barbed Wire still has the power to shock and intrigue.
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Female Baddies 01/09/2010

Alexis Colby was named the top 1980s TV villain - the only woman in a list that included J R Ewing and Jeremy Beadle. The film critic Karen Krizanovich and Dr Helen Hanson discuss.
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Claire Skinner 01/09/2010

The actress who is starring as Sue in BBC comedy Outnumbered joins Jenni to talk about her latest theatrical role in Deathtrap.
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Klezmer Music 31/08/2010

Klezmer music was traditionally played at Jewish weddings and parties in Eastern Europe. It is currently enjoying a revival. Singer Hilda Bronstein and Geraldine Auerbach discuss.
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Teen Fiction - What's on offer? 31/08/2010

To discuss what is on offer for teen readers today Jane is joined by the author Grace Dent and the critic and theatre Director Imogen Russell.
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Gareth Malone 31/08/2010

Gareth Malone's new TV series sees him joining the staff at a primary school where many of the boys would do anything rather than sit through a literacy lesson. He joins Jane to discuss his solutions.
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Rosamond Lehmann's Dusty Answer 27/08/2010

Bidisha is joined by Lavinia Greenlaw who abridged the drama for Radio 4.
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Astrid Kirchherr 27/08/2010

The Beatles photographer talks about life with them in Hamburg and taking pictures in Liverpool.
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Wendy Perriam 25/08/2010

The author Wendy Perriam talks about her new book, "Broken Places".
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Sexualised pop music today v innocence of 80s pop 23/08/2010

Mike Stock claims pop music is more sexual now than it used to be. Jane discusses with Mike Stock, music historian Lucy O'Brien, and blogger Laurie Penny.
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Rose Elinor Dougall 20/08/2010

The Pipettes girl-band member on her first solo album
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Sally Crabtree 18/08/2010

The poet talks about her latest project - a poetry installation which she is setting up in supermarkets.
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Gurinder Chadha 16/08/2010

The film director Gurinder Chadha discusses her latest work.
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The Carrivick Sisters 13/08/2010

Bluegrass from Devon – The Carrivick Sisters are twins who play the traditional mountain music of Apallachia – with a west country twist. They play live in the studio.
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The Carrivick Sisters 13/08/2010

Bluegrass from Devon. The Carrivick Sisters are twins who play the traditional mountain music of Apallachia, with a west country twist. They play live in the studio.
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Knitted Lives 13/08/2010

A group of women in Newcastle found no-one was keen to wear the garments they made, so they decided to make sculptures out of wool. Clare Jenkins reports.
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Tamara Chalabi. Late for Tea at the Deer Palace 13/08/2010

Tamara comes from one of the oldest and most prominent families in Iraq. Her book, Late for Tea at the Deer Palace finds her trying to understand her place in a family.
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Learning a musical instrument later in life 11/08/2010

Katie Derham on preparing to play the violin in front of a paying audience and her mentor, Darragh Morgan, on why it's never too late to learn a musical instrument.
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Emma Donoghue 11/08/2010

The author tells us about her Booker long-listed novel 'Room'.
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Alissa Firsova 10/08/2010

Composer and musician, Alissa Firsova, talks about her composing and plays live.
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Rose Wylie 09/08/2010

The artist on how she feels about suddenly being in the media spotlight.
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Andrea Boyd and Bagpipes 06/08/2010

Andrea Boyd is from north east Canada and is one of the world's great bagpipe players. She joins Jenni to talk about her heritage and to play.
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Girl in Translation - Jean Kwok 05/08/2010

Girl in Translation is the first novel by Chinese-American author Jean Kwok. Jenni talks to Jean about belonging, learning, poverty and escape.
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Karen Cargill, Mezzo Soprano 03/08/2010

The mezzo soprano Karen Cargill joins Jenni to discuss her Scottish roots, her love of Mahler, and her upcoming performance at the Proms.
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Taxidermist Polly Morgan 02/08/2010

Taxidermist Polly Morgan's latest show continues to shock and intrigue with its troupe of stuffed birds suspended in fantastical poses. She describes her latest exhibition "Psychopomps".
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Carolina Chocolate Drops 02/08/2010

The Carolina Chocolate Drops revive the old-time string bluegrass of North Carolina togetehr with R&B. Bidisha talks to singer, fiddler and kazoo player Rhiannon Giddons.
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21st Anniversary of Tamasha 26/07/2010

Tamasha, the theatre company has been bringing British Asian talent to the theatre for 21 years. Jenni talks to the two women at the helm of Tamasha - Kristine Landon-Smith and Sudha Buchar.
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Barbara Walmsley - The Green Granny 26/07/2010

Barbara Walmsley has become a YouTube phenomenon and brought practical, penny-pinching advice. She talks about her first book of all her tips - 'Make, Mend, Bake, Save and Shine'.
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Barbara Kingsolver 26/07/2010

Barbara Kingsolver's recent novel, the Orange Prize-winning 'The Lacuna', takes on American patriotism and identity, Communism. She joins Bidisha to discuss.
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The Taylor Maids 22/07/2010

In 1957 Jackie Hockridge and Terry Cryer formed a dance act called The Taylor Maids. They split up four years later, but 50 years on they have reformed and are playing at this year's Edinburgh Fringe.
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Karen Gillan 21/07/2010

Karen Gillan on playing Dr Who's latest companion, Amy Pond.
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Macy Gray 20/07/2010

Singer Macy Gray talks to Jane about the highs and lows of her music career, and performs two tracks from her new album in studio.
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The Unthanks 19/07/2010

Modern folk artists Rachel and Becky Unthank play live in studio.
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Germanic Woman Warriors 14/07/2010

Why does the woman warrior crop up so frequently in German culture? With Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly.
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Girl Singers of the '60s 12/07/2010

Dr Laurie Stras discusses the cultural significance of girl singers in the '60s.
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Marin Alsop 09/07/2010

Marin Alsop is Artistic Director of Southbank Centre's Bernstein Project. She conducts Bernstein's Mass this weekend. She joins Jenni to talk about her career in very male dominated profession.
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A Kind of Loving 09/07/2010

Discussion on how life in the North has been represented in books since the publication of A Kind of Loving. Jude Kelly, artistic director, Southbank Centre, journalist Zaiba Malik & Barry Rutter of Northern Broadsides.
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Zaiba Malik 09/07/2010

Zaiba Malik talks about her memoir 'We Are A Muslim Please' which tells the story of her childhood in Bradford and the conflicts of being a Muslim girl, born and raised in Britain.
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Myrrha Stanford Smith 07/07/2010

Myrrha Stanford Smith's is 82 year old her first novel, the Great Lie, has just been published, and she has won a 3 book literary deal.
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Rock Choir 07/07/2010

Rock Choir is an amateur singing group made up of thousands of women around the UK. This week the Farnham branch of the choir is about to launch its first album. Anna Bailey went to rehearsals.
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Women in Punk 06/07/2010

Punk icon and performance artist Linder on her 13 hour show, The Darktown Cakewalk: Celebrated from the House of Fame; and the influence the punk movement had on her work.
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Brenda Blethyn 06/07/2010

Brenda Blethyn on her latest film 'London River', playing a widow searching for her student daughter who's missing in the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings.
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Amazing Grace 28/06/2010

A mother tries to find the sons she left behind while escaping Sudan in this week's Woman's Hour drama, 'Amazing Grace'. The writer, Michelle Lipton and Wunmi Mosaku who plays Grace discuss.
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Judy Collins 28/06/2010

Judy Collins has released more than 40 albums, had numerous top 10 hits and received two Grammy awards. She talks about her career and sings live in the studio.
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Sonja Sohn 25/06/2010

The actress from the hit American TV series The Wire.
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Moira Buffini 24/06/2010

Playwright Moira Buffini on her new play Welcome to Thebes which has opened at the National Theatre, London.
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Daphne Todd 24/06/2010

Jenni speaks to Daphne Todd, whose portrait of her mother, painted after her death, has been named the winner of the BP Portrait Award.
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Maggie Steed 18/06/2010

Maggie Steed has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, appeared on Broadway and has acted with the likes of Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp. She talks and yet at the very start of her career, she was told that she probably wouldn't make to Jenni about her life, work and new role as Judith Bliss in Noel Cowards play Hay Fever.
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Judith Owen 17/06/2010

Described as 'the female Randy Newman', Judith Owen is a US based British singer-songwriter whose insightful folk jazz has wowed audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Women Theatre Producers 15/06/2010

Tap Dogs opens in the West End. The producer, Liz Koops, and Marla Rubin, producer of the Olivier Award winning play The Mountaintop, join Jane Garvey to talk about their role.
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Louise Stern 15/06/2010

Writer Louise Stern has a new collection of short stories. Most of the characters have, like Louise, grown up deaf.
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Vanessa Redgrave 10/06/2010

The actress talks to Jenni about her new film and her recent tragic family loss.
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Orange Youth Panel 09/06/2010

Kate Mosse - honorary director of the Orange Prize, and students Fergus Ewbank and Kate Edwards discuss selecting a favourite novel from the past 14 winners.
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Leah Gordon 08/06/2010

The photographer talks about her images of Haitan Kanaval.
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Girls in Bands 08/06/2010

Former band members Louise Wener and Lauren Laverne are joined by Krissi Murrison, the Editor of NME.
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Mariane von Ziegler 04/06/2010

Mariane von Ziegler was the first female librettist to work in the Lutheran Church. She wrote for J S Bach. Catherine Bott from Radio 3's Early Music Show talks about her life and work.
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Weepies: Why are they so popular 03/06/2010

Director Rachel Kavanagh and Observer film critic Jason Solomonsa talk to Jenni about why we love a good cry.
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Maureen Gibbon 02/06/2010

The character in Maureen Gibbon's new novel is about a woman in her 30s who was raped when she was 16. Jenni discusses the book with Maureen who was raped herself when she was a teenager.
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Sandi Thom 02/06/2010

Sandi Thom's single, "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker" topped the charts in seven countries, and won her an Ivor Novello award. She talks to Jenni about her new album.
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Fleur Adock 01/06/2010

The poet Fleur Adock talks to Jenni about her latest collection of poems.
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Diana de Gunzburg 28/05/2010

Diana de Gunzburg talks about her first novel "The Moonstone Legacy".
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Amira and Merima Kljuco 27/05/2010

Bosnian music duo Amira and Merima Kljuco's latest album Zumra is based on the Balkan tradition of sevdah.
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Susan Stroman 25/05/2010

Susan Stroman, choreographer and director, is a huge name on Broadway. She talks to Jane.
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Renee Fleming 25/05/2010

The US soprano Renee Fleming has brought out her first album of modern music, covering rock and pop songs by artists like Muse and Duffy. She joins Jane Garvey to talk about it.
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Natalie Merchant 24/05/2010

American singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant joins Jane Garvey to talk about the UK tour of her latest album: a covers record with a difference.
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Women on Italian television 21/05/2010

Film-maker Lorella Zanardo on her campaign to see 'real' women on Italian television.
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Catherine Malfitano 20/05/2010

American soprano Catherine Malfitano talks to Jenni about her move from centre stage to the director's chair as she directs Tosca with the ENO.
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Miranda Raison 19/05/2010

The actor discusses playing Anne Boleyn in two very different productions at Shakespeare's Globe.
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Children's books with a message 18/05/2010

Julia Eccleshare and Damian Kelleher make their recommendations for children's books that tackle important issues for young people.
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Women's library exhibition 18/05/2010

Jane visits the Women's Library to find out how women's history can be told through their collection of documents and artefacts
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Lucinda Belle 17/05/2010

The jazz harpist performs live.
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Toulouse Lautrec 14/05/2010

A new exhibition at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery showcases his lesser known works.
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Maid Marian 13/05/2010

Dr Catherine Constable, Assoc Prof of Film & Television Studies at the University of Warwick and Dr Juliette Wood, Assoc Lecturer at the University of Cardif and a director of the Folklore Society.
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Barbara Trapido 12/05/2010

Author Barbara Trapido on her latest novel, Sex and Stravinsky.
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Wendy Law-Yone 10/05/2010

She joins Jane to discuss her latest novel, The Road to Wanting.
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Burlesque in Bristol 10/05/2010

Following the decision to launch an exhibition at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery with a striptease, Jane talks to Julie Finch, the museum's Director, and Sue Tate, of the University of the West of England.
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The Portrayal of the Mother on Stage 07/05/2010

How the mother has been portrayed in drama from the Middle Ages to Modern Times with Dr Felicity Dunworth and Professor Maggie Gayle.
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Daphne Todd 06/05/2010

Artist Daphne Todd on her work "Last Portrait of Mother" which has been shortlisted for this year's BP Portrait Award.
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Annie Ross 05/05/2010

The jazz singer Annie Ross on her career and performing at Ronnie Scott's.
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Gemma Arterton 04/05/2010

Gemma Arterton has quickly become one of the rising stars of the British film industry. Within months of graduation from RADA in 2007 she was making her mark on stage at the Globe theatre. She joins Jane to talk about her new film 'The Disappearance of Alice Creed' and her rise to fame playing a Bond Girl.
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Sarita Mandanna 04/05/2010

Indian writer Sarita Mandanna talks about her first novel, 'Tiger Hills'. It is the story of a secret love that lasts for generations, and is set in a coffee plantation in Coorg, southern India, in the 19th Century.
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Harriet Walter 29/04/2010

On her latest role as Livia in the Jacobean tragedy Women Beware Women.
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Maggie O'Farrell 28/04/2010

Maggie O'Farrell joins Jenni to talk about her latest novel, The Hand That First Held Mine, the characters, and their different experiences of motherhood.
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Helen Dunmore 27/04/2010

The writer Helen Dunmore joins Jane to discuss her latest novel, The Betrayal, which is set in Leningrad in the last years of Stalin's regime.
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Women in the television industry 23/04/2010

Why are so many of them leaving? Production company owner Nicola Schindler, and former Director of TV at ITV Simon Shaps discuss.
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Beverly Callard 23/04/2010

Coronation Street's long-suffering landlady.
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Trezza Azzopardi 22/04/2010

Writer Trezza Azzopardi on her new book about memory and music "The Hiding Place".
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Clara Rodriguez 21/04/2010

Venezuelan-born pianist talks to Jane about South American and European music, and performs 'Pajarillo' live in the studio.
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Helen Simpson 20/04/2010

One of Britain's most accomplished short story writers on her new collection, 'In Flight Entertainment'.
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Daphne du Maurier walk - Rebecca 19/04/2010

Fiona Clampin explores the setting of 'Rebecca' with the novelist Celia Brayfield and blue badge guide Josephine King.
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Saudi Poet Hissa Hilal 16/04/2010

The poet, journalist and mother of 4 caused a storm in the Arab world by appearing on a TV poetry competition criticising conservative clerics. Hissa and Madawi Al-Rasheed talk about her work and impact.
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Jane Austen 15/04/2010

With Charlotte Barnaville from Winchester Cathedral, Elizabeth Proudman from Jane Austen Society, and Rebecca Vaughan who has a one-women show Austen's Women.
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Younee 13/04/2010

The South Korean virtuoso pianist from Seoul, North Korea.
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Kishwar Desai 13/04/2010

The author discusses some of the issues in her first novel - a thriller, set in the Punjab.
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Grace Kelly : Style Icon exhibition at the V&A 13/04/2010

Jane talks to curator Jenny Lister, and Princess Grace's biographer, Sarah Bradford.
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Kay Mellor 02/04/2010

Jenni Murray talks to the writer, Kay Mellor, about her play, A Passionate Woman, which is to be adapted by BBC One, starring Billie Piper and Sue Johnston.
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Polygamy in Nigeria 06/04/2010

Jenni Murray talks to the Nigerian writer Lola Shoneyin about her latest novel.
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Jodhi May 08/04/2010

Jenni talks to actor Jodhi May who stars in the new play 'Polar Bears' which examines the life of Kay who is suffering from bi-polar.
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Pearl Buck 29/03/2010

Jane Garvey discusses the Nobel Prize-winning writer with Hilary Spurling and Anchee Min.
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Merra Syal 31/03/2010

Jenni Murray talks to Meera Syal about playing Shirley Valentine.
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Donna Leon 31/03/2010

Jenni Murray talks to crime writer, Donna Leon.
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David Yelland 30/03/2010

Jane Garvey talks to David Yelland about his book The Truth about Leo.
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The Keepers of the Flame 30/03/2010

Jane Garvey talks to Susana, Lady Walton and Michael Berkeley.
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The Enduring Appeal of Dorothy 29/03/2010

Jane Garvey talks to Professor Linda Ruth Williams, and Actress Sian Brooke.
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Tracey Emin 28/05/2004

Showing Woman's Hour her new show Can't See Past My Own Eyes.
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Bjork 12/10/2002

The unique Icelandic musician on her entirely acapella album, Medulla.
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Elizabeth Gaskell 200th Anniversary 08/01/2010

Her work has reached an ever growing public following hugely successful adaptations of her novels 'Cranford' and 'North and South' on the BBC. But what is her place in the canon of English Literature and what of the woman herself?
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Sharon Olds 27/08/2009

One of America's finest living poets on her latest collection.
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Picasso's Women 11/03/2004

How the wives and many lovers of Pablo Picasso influenced his art
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Meryl Streep 02/02/2009

The multi-award winning film actor talks to Jane about her role in 'Doubt'.
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George Eliot 303/06/2009

A special programme on her life and legacy. Jenni is joined by the author of the new biography, Brenda Maddox; historian and biographer Kathryn Hughes; the academic Ruth Livesey; and the novelist Zoe Heller.
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Carol Ann Duffy 01/05/2009

She joins Jenni to give her first interview as Poet Laureate.
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Sins of the Children 17/02/2010

How much should parents be held responsible for their children's crimes?
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A Room of One's Own 22/10/2009

The 80th anniversary of Virginia Woolf's celebrated feminist essay. Jenni talks to Hermione Lee, author of an acclaimed biography of Virginia Woolf; the academic and author Susan Sellers; and the novelists Val McDermid and Jill Dawson.
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Phyllida Law 08/10/2009

Phyllida Law has written and illustrated her first book, based on the nightly notes she used to leave to her mother-in-law who lived with the family for seventeen years. She talks to Jane about the notes, and about her mother-in-law, who she describes as 'picture book perfect'.
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