Front Row

Sheridan Smith, Fred D'Aguiar, Maxine Peake play, UNESCO Creative Cities

Nov. 10, 2017

Sheridan Smith is a comic actor (The Royle Family, Gavin and Stacey), a serious dramatic actor (Flare Path, The Moorside, Dustin Hoffman's film Quartet) and a star of musical theatre, from Bugsy Malone when she was 16 to Funny Girl. Now she has released her first solo album. She talks about the songs she has chosen and her career so far.

The acclaimed actor Maxine Peake has written a play for Hull Truck and Hull City of Culture celebrating the life of a woman who dramatically fought for conditions for Hull fishermen to improve as trawler after trawler was lost. The Last Testament Of Lillian Bilocca is an immersive piece of theatre staged in the city's Guildhall with a cast partly drawn from the community. Paul Allen reviews.

UNESCO's Creative Cities Network has expanded from 116 cities worldwide to 180, and Bristol has just become the UK's second UNESCO City of Film following Bradford's 2009 designation. David Wilson, Director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film, and Charles Landry, author of The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators, discuss the benefits and disadvantages of being part of the network.

Fifty years ago Newcastle University bestowed an honorary doctorate on Martin Luther King - the only UK university to honour him. In his acceptance address he called for justice and brotherhood to roll down like a mighty stream. 'The Might Stream' is the title of a new book of poems written in of celebration Martin Luther King by a huge range of writers. Fred D'Aguiar speaks about the inspiration of King to him as a poet.

Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Sarah Johnson.

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