The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Review
CHARLOTTE RUNCIE
RADIO CRITIC
This week’s radio is all about personal journeys and the development of character. Radio 1 Breakfast Show host Greg James isn’t just a teenage-friendly energy booster for the morning, but a versatile broadcaster, as he proved in his first Radio 4 series, sifting through the BBC archives for radio to amuse and inspire. He’s back with more of Rewinder (Saturday, Radio 4, 10.30am), indulging his self-confessed radio nerdery to build on what he discovered last time (which included a review show that said Elton
John was “past it” at the grand old age of 26).
Michael Berkeley’s latest guest on Private Passions (Sunday,
Radio 3, noon) is the saxophonist and broadcaster YolanDa Brown. As well as being an established, awardwinning musician, Brown is a passionate and inspiring advocate for musical engagement with children. She’ll be familiar to anyone with a toddler, given that she’s the presenter of the irresistible CBeebies series YolanDa’s Band Jam – a sort of Later… with Jools Holland for children.
The life and work of the great Victorian novelist George Eliot is explored in five parts this week in George Eliot: A Life in Five Characters (Monday to Friday, Radio 4FM, 9.45am), with five writers looking at Eliot’s fictional creations alongside extraordinary true stories from her life. On Monday the focus is on The Mill on the Floss, as presenter Kathryn Hughes discusses Eliot with writer Tessa Hadley and Eliot biographer Philip Davis, considering how much of the character of Maggie Tulliver – a clever and hot-headed young woman in the West Midlands – was inspired by Eliot’s own upbringing.
The National (Tuesday, Radio 4, 2.15pm) is the first of three new dramas by Sarah Wooley, all telling the story of the creation of the National Theatre in London, and focusing on the conflict and ambition that swirled around its birth. Robert Glenister stars as Sir Laurence Olivier, and John Heffernan as Kenneth Tynan, in the story of the “theatre to end all theatres”. Its creation was the catalyst for a national debate about theatre and politics, with huge personalities (and egos) tasked with great cultural responsibility.
In Susan Calman Makes Me Happy (Wednesday, Radio 4, 6.30pm), the comedian, former Strictly Come Dancing star and Radio 4 regular brings her new stand-up show to the teatime comedy slot. It’s a reflection on her own life and mental health, with plenty of jokes along the way and a focus on the specific things that make her happy – especially her joyous and wish-fulfilling stint as a competitor on Strictly, during which she charmed fans with her fleet-footed steps, and came a laudable seventh.
The Full Works Concert (Thursday, Classic FM, 8.00pm) is the 60th anniversary gala concert of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. It’s performed at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and directed by Joshua Bell, the superstar violinist and music director of the Academy. Bell is the soloist in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and then he leads the orchestra in a grand performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No 5.
And, throughout the week, Adrian Scarborough reads Candide (Monday to Friday, Radio 4, 12.04pm), Voltaire’s provocative 18th-century satirical novel, abridged by Robin Brooks. It’s a story of growing disillusionment, the importance of tending your garden, and all being for the best in the best of all possible worlds.
Read The Week in Radio by Charlotte Runcie every Wednesday in
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