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Front Row

Pretty Yende, Dennis Lehane, The Handmaid's Tale

Duration: 30 minutes

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

Available for over a year

Pretty Yende, the South African soprano, discusses making her debut at the Royal Opera House in Donizetti's comic opera L'elisir d'amore, and the TV advert that inspired her to abandon her plans to become an accountant and to pursue a career in opera instead.

As a new adaptation of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is broadcast on Channel 4 and the book hits the top of the bestsellers list, academic Sarah Churchwell reassesses this dystopian novel and its significance, and considers to what extent the television adaption lives up to the book.

Dennis Lehane, whose previous novels include Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone, Baby, Gone were adapted into successful films, discusses his latest work Since We Fell. This novel is set in Lehane's familiar territory of Boston, Mass, where things are rarely quite what they seem, and you don't know who to trust.

Adrian Wootton is the Chief Executive of the British Film Commission which is responsible for promoting the UK as the best place to produce feature films and television. He explains why Britain is overtaking California as the place to make blockbusters and deluxe television series, and considers, too, the impact of this on film-makers here without such deep pockets.

Presenter Kirsty Lang
Producer Caroline Donne. Show less

Contributors

Interviewed Guest:
Pretty Yende
Interviewed Guest:
Sarah Churchwell
Interviewed Guest:
Dennis Lehane
Interviewed Guest:
Adrian Wootton
Presenter:
Kirsty Lang

About this data

This data is drawn from the data stream that informs BBC's iPlayer and Sounds. The information shows what was scheduled to be broadcast, meaning it was/is subject to change and may not be accurate. More