Anthony Thwaite's guest appearances

Anthony Thwaite

Last Word

Front Row

Amjad Sabri

Stephen Sondheim

Jan Morris

Roy Hudd

Eavan Boland

Helen Dunmore

Kay Mellor

Alan Simpson

Alan Parker

Bernardo Bertolucci

Toni Morrison

Gene Wilder

Penny Marshall

Jeanne Moreau

Lewis Gilbert

OwlTail

OLYMPIA DUKAKIS

Eric McGraw

Matthew Bannister on:Olympia Dukakis, the Greek-American actor who won an Oscar for playing Cher’s mother in Moonstruck and became an LGBT icon after playing Anna Madrigal in Tales of the City. Its author Armistead Maupin pays tribute.Eric McGraw who founded and edited a magazine for prisoners called “Inside Time”. Former inmate Noel “Razor” Smith explains how it changed the course of his life.Anthony Thwaite, the poet, editor and critic who was a pivotal figure in British literary life. The former poet laureate Andrew Motion pays tribute. Producer: Neil GeorgeInterviewed guest: Gregory Pappas Interviewed guest: Armistead MaupinInterviewed guest: Rachel Billington Interviewed guest: Noel ‘Razor’ SmithInterviewed guest: Ann Thwaite Interviewed guest: Andrew MotionArchive clips used: Hardtalk: BBC One, TX 19.3.2001; In Living Memory: Strangeways riot: Radio 4, TX 20.4.2005

Matthew Bannister on:Olympia Dukakis, the Greek-American actor who won an Oscar for playing Cher’s mother in Moonstruck and became an LGBT icon after playing Anna Madrigal in Tales of the City. Its author Armistead Maupin pays tribute.Eric McGraw who founded and edited a magazine for prisoners called “Inside Time”. Former inmate Noel “Razor” Smith explains how it changed the course of his life.Anthony Thwaite, the poet, editor and critic who was a pivotal figure in British literary life. The former poet laureate Andrew Motion pays tribute. Producer: Neil GeorgeInterviewed guest: Gregory Pappas Interviewed guest: Armistead Maupin Interviewed guest: Rachel Billington Interviewed guest: Noel ‘Razor’ Smith Interviewed guest: Ann Thwaite Interviewed guest: Andrew MotionArchive clips used: Hardtalk: BBC One, TX 19.3.2001; In Living Memory: Strangeways riot: Radio 4, TX 20.4.2005

Olympia Dukakis (pictured), Eric McGraw MBE, Anthony Thwaite

Michael Palin

Nicola Triscott

Michael Palin on staging a version of Beckett’s Waiting For Godot to raise money for The Royal Theatre Fund - and what else he’s been doing during lockdown.We round up the week's big arts stories.  The Last of Us Part II is one of the most highly anticipated games for a generation.  Part I was an unexpected hit, praised for bringing the storytelling qualities of films to gaming.  Elle Osili-Wood and Aoife Wilson review Part II which has a lesbian love story at its heart.  They discuss the BBC’s announcement that from April 20% of commissions must be given to diverse productions, and Elle visits a bookshop in Independent Bookshops Week to see if the experience is as special as it was before social distancing. Plus, Aoife, Elle and Samira give their cultural recommendations.Anthony Thwaite is 90 this week and joins Front Row to read two of his poems.  He published his first in 1957 and his last (he thinks) in 2017. He talks about his work including his sojourns in Japan and Libya, and producing at the BBC where he shared an office with Louis MacNeice and broadcast poems by the then little-known Philip Larkin. Nicola Triscott is Director of FACT (Foundation for Art &amp; Creative Technology).  For BBC Radio 4’s Rethink she argues that given how important internet access to art has been in lockdown, we should value and invest in it.Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced a five stage roadmap for the reopening of the performing arts. It comes without dates or a financial support package, so what is included, how helpful is it, what’s been the reaction, and what more needs to be done to save a sector in crisis? Front Row talks to Matt Hemley, News Editor of The Stage.Presenter:  Samira AhmedProducer:  Jerome WeatheraldStudio manager:  Matilda Macari

Michael Palin on staging a version of Beckett’s Waiting For Godot to raise money for The Royal Theatre Fund - and what else he’s been doing during lockdown. We round up the week's big arts stories. The Last of Us Part II is one of the most highly anticipated games for a generation. Part I was an unexpected hit, praised for bringing the storytelling qualities of films to gaming. Elle Osili-Wood and Aoife Wilson review Part II which has a lesbian love story at its heart. They discuss the BBC’s announcement that from April 20% of commissions must be given to diverse productions, and Elle visits a bookshop in Independent Bookshops Week to see if the experience is as special as it was before social distancing. Plus, Aoife, Elle and Samira give their cultural recommendations. Anthony Thwaite is 90 this week and joins Front Row to read two of his poems. He published his first in 1957 and his last (he thinks) in 2017. He talks about his work including his sojourns in Japan and Libya, and producing at the BBC where he shared an office with Louis MacNeice and broadcast poems by the then little-known Philip Larkin. Nicola Triscott is Director of FACT (Foundation for Art &amp; Creative Technology). For BBC Radio 4’s Rethink she argues that given how important internet access to art has been in lockdown, we should value and invest in it. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced a five stage roadmap for the reopening of the performing arts. It comes without dates or a financial support package, so what is included, how helpful is it, what’s been the reaction, and what more needs to be done to save a sector in crisis? Front Row talks to Matt Hemley, News Editor of The Stage. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Jerome Weatherald Studio manager: Matilda Macari

Michael Palin, The Last of Us Part II reviewed, Anthony Thwaite, Rethink - Nicola Triscott, Roadmap to Reopening Theatres