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Front Row

Mark Rylance; prisons on television; actors on songs

Duration: 30 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW

Available for over a year

With Kirsty Lang.

Mark Rylance is currently taking a break from acting, and is concentrating on directing a new production of Much Ado About Nothing, which stars Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones. He discusses his approach to the play, and reflects on the success of his role in Jez Butterworth's play Jerusalem, for which he won numerous awards as hard-living Johnny 'Rooster' Byron.

Prisons and the lives of prisoners have provided an enduring fascination for film and TV producers and viewers alike, with series such as Porridge and Prisoner Cell Block H, and more recently Bad Girls and Prisoners' Wives. This summer has seen two new prison dramas - Wentworth Prison, Channel 5's re-imagining of Prisoner Cell Block H, and Orange Is the New Black, the Netflix series which has proved a great success for the streaming network. To examine why prisons offer such a draw, Front Row brought together Dick Clement, co-creator and writer of Porridge, Pete McTighe, scriptwriter for Wentworth Prison, and Maureen Chadwick co-creator and writer of the ITV series Bad Girls.

As actor Dominic West makes a speaking appearance on Rizzle Kicks' new album, David Quantick considers the other thespians who have lent their voices to pop records, from Brian Blessed to Vincent Price and Stephen Fry.

Producer Stephen Hughes. Show less

Contributors

Presenter:
Kirsty Lang
Interviewed Guest:
Mark Rylance
Interviewed Guest:
Dick Clement
Interviewed Guest:
Pete McTighe
Interviewed Guest:
Maureen Chadwick
Interviewed Guest:
David Quantick

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