THIS WEEK’S RADIO PICKS
SUNDAY THE WEEKEND RADIO 4 EXTRA, 4PM & 8PM
Michael Palin’s only stage play is based on the oppressive relationship of his own parents. Palin stars alongside Penelope Wilton as a couple who are visited by their daughter and family for the weekend, with tragic-comic results.
MONDAY SIMON SCHAMA: THE GREAT GALLERY TOURS, RADIO 4, 4PM
Simon Schama gives his personal reponse to four world-class art galleries, starting at London’s Courtauld with its collection of Impressionist and postImpressionist works by the likes of Cézanne, Manet and Gauguin.
TUESDAY THE DOCUMENTARY: DNA AND ME WORLD SERVICE, 9.05AM & 8.05PM
Some of us spend £60 on sending a saliva sample away for a DNA test, only to learn that we are 98 per cent British. Others find they have a far more interesting ancestry. Sophia Smith Galer asks if our identity is controlled by our genes.
WEDNESDAY SOUL MUSIC: FEELING GOOD RADIO 4, 9AM & 9PM
The track made famous by Nina Simone (above, right) was written for a 1964 musical and performed by Cy Grant, the first black man to appear regularly on British TV. His daughter talks about his fascinating life, while composer Neil Brand describes the success of the song.
FRIDAY RELATIVITY RADIO 4, 11.30AM
Richard Herring draws on his own experience for this third series of the comedy drama about family life, here focusing on first-time parenting and how to keep a long marriage going. The cast includes Alison Steadman, Phil Davis and Herring himself.
FIRST NIGHT OF THE PROMS RADIO 3, 7PM
The Proms are not the same this year. While there will still be live concerts recorded at the Royal Albert Hall for two weeks from August 28, until then Radio 3 is running six weeks of past highlights, and tonight there’s a ‘mash-up’ of Beethoven’s nine symphonies by Iain Farrington.
SATURDAY THE MARTIN BECK KILLINGS RADIO 4, 3PM
Well ahead of the Scandi noir genre, writing partners Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall were the king and queen of Swedish crime writing in the 1960s with their detective Martin Beck. In Murder At The Savoy, Steven Mackintosh plays the sleuth investigating the death of an industrialist.