Wed, Aug 5, 2020
Kwame Kwei-Armah is one of British theatre's most exciting creative leaders. Currently the artistic director of London's Young Vic, he has had a successful career as an actor, writer and director on both sides of the Atlantic. He came to fame playing paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC drama Casualty, and his groundbreaking play Elmina's Kitchen was one of the first by a black British writer to be staged at the National Theatre and in the West End. In his first two years at the Young Vic, he has programmed a run of sell-out shows, including Death of a Salesman, Twelfth Night, Tree and the controversial Pulitzer Prize-winning Fairview. As the Young Vic celebrates its 50th anniversary, Alan Yentob hears how a young Southall boy called Ian Roberts became the artist Kwame Kwei-Armah.
Sun, Oct 30, 2022
Alan Yentob follows one of Britain's best-loved writers: Malorie Blackman, former Children's Laureate and the first children's writer to win the prestigious Pen Pinter Prize. Bold, provocative and challenging, her books have plunged children's literature into previously uncharted waters: her tragic reverse-racism novel Noughts and Crosses challenged assumptions and declared her a writer like no other. As she prepares to publish her long-awaited autobiography, Malorie discusses the key moments in her life that made her a writer.
Sun, Nov 6, 2022
Alan Yentob follows acclaimed artist Sonia Boyce as she prepares to make history as the first black woman to represent Great Britain at the Venice Biennale. Why does that matter? Because this historic, sprawling exhibition is widely seen as the most prestigious and influential showcase of contemporary art in the world. The pressure is on for Sonia to pull off the biggest exhibition of her career.
Her Venice Pavilion is inspired by a passion project she has been obsessed with for over 20 years. Called the 'Devotional Collection', it's a massive archive of memorabilia relating to the contributions of black women in the British music industry, and Sonia is bringing many of her collected names to Venice.
This insightful and timely film charts the two months leading up to the Biennale's opening week, and also explores Sonia's 40-year evolution as an artist. Beginning with the large-scale pastel depictions of herself that announced the arrival of a major new talent back in the 1980s, and looking at her experiments with interactive sculptures made of hair in the 1990s, the film ends with what fascinates Sonia Boyce today: performance art created through improvisation, play and experimental singing.
Sonia finds herself part of a wider conversation at this year's Biennale. Her close friend and former Brixton neighbour Zineb Sedira is the first artist of Algerian heritage to represent France, and her former pupil Alberta Whittle is making history as the first black woman to represent Scotland. For the first time in its history, women artists dominate the Biennale. Could this be a moment of fundamental change not only for Sonia Boyce, but for contemporary art history?
Her Venice Pavilion is inspired by a passion project she has been obsessed with for over 20 years. Called the 'Devotional Collection', it's a massive archive of memorabilia relating to the contributions of black women in the British music industry, and Sonia is bringing many of her collected names to Venice.
This insightful and timely film charts the two months leading up to the Biennale's opening week, and also explores Sonia's 40-year evolution as an artist. Beginning with the large-scale pastel depictions of herself that announced the arrival of a major new talent back in the 1980s, and looking at her experiments with interactive sculptures made of hair in the 1990s, the film ends with what fascinates Sonia Boyce today: performance art created through improvisation, play and experimental singing.
Sonia finds herself part of a wider conversation at this year's Biennale. Her close friend and former Brixton neighbour Zineb Sedira is the first artist of Algerian heritage to represent France, and her former pupil Alberta Whittle is making history as the first black woman to represent Scotland. For the first time in its history, women artists dominate the Biennale. Could this be a moment of fundamental change not only for Sonia Boyce, but for contemporary art history?
Sun, Mar 19, 2023
Imagine... profiles acclaimed British director Stephen Frears. Despite decades of success across both cinema and television, Frears likes to fly under the radar, subscribing to Billy Wilder's maxim, 'The best director is the one you don't see'. He has helmed an array of critically acclaimed films - My Beautiful Laundrette, The Grifters, Dangerous Liaisons, The Queen and Philomena, to name just a few. Some say he's notoriously grumpy, others that he's mischievous and misunderstood. Now for the first time, Frears opens up about his life and career. What drives this 81-year-old, who has over 70 productions to his name across cinema and television?
Sun, Dec 17, 2023
Imagine... follows one of Britain's most celebrated TV writers as he prepares to once again return as the showrunner of Doctor Who. Back in 2005, Davies was responsible for relaunching the action-adventure series after many years away from our TV screens. Few could have imagined the phenomenon it became. And now, in the programme's sixtieth anniversary year, he's back - with two Doctors and bigger ambitions. imagine... goes behind the scenes at Cardiff's Bad Wolf Studios to see the adventures of the time-travelling hero being filmed, touring the enormous sound stages and meeting Ncuti Gatwa, the 15th Doctor, ahead of his eagerly anticipated tenure as the Time Lord following the unexpected regeneration of David Tennant. Doctor Who is just one of Russell T Davies's many TV successes, and Alan Yentob traces the evolution of his writing, from his beginnings in BBC children's TV to finding his voice as a queer writer on Channel 4's landmark gay series Queer as Folk and to more recent successes, including 2021's critically acclaimed AIDS drama, It's a Sin. The film also features interviews with David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Ncuti Gatwa, Helena Bonham Carter, Olly Alexander, Sally Wainwright and Caitlin Moran.
Mon, Apr 15, 2024
Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, are the most successful duo in the history of British pop. They have sold more than 50 million records, produced over forty Top 40 singles, four UK number ones, performed in several world tours, and they are still making new music together. Their songs have often commented on Britain and the world around them with wit, sensitivity and intelligence driving the stories they want to share through some of the most memorable synth-pop music ever created. Maintaining their privacy and mystique has kept cameras at bay for decades and now for the first time they have allowed backstage access as Alan Yentob and imagine... accompany them on their global Dreamworld tour - filming rehearsals in London and backstage in Helsinki. Spring 2024 sees the release of their latest album, Nonetheless, which comes 40 years after the original release of their timeless hit West End Girls. imagine... is given a sneak preview of the new album and talks to Tennant and Lowe about its creation and their creative evolution over the past four decades. Contributors include fellow musicians Brandon Flowers, Jake Shears, Olly Alexander and Marc Almond, music journalist Miranda Sawyer, and creative collaborators Stuart Price, James Ford, Es Devlin, Javier De Frutos, Tom Scutt and Mark Farrow. This is an intimate look inside the world and creations of Pet Shop Boys with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe unguarded, poignant and hilarious.