Laura Wade eavesdrops on conversations between men and women from the past to examine some of today's thorniest gender issues

Recent high profile campaigns around issues such as sexual consent, harassment and assault, the pay gap and power imbalances between men and women have encouraged many of us to re-examine everyday gender relations. In ten programmes covering the last 500 years, playwright Laura Wade eavesdrops on encounters between men and women in great literary works to shed light on some of today’s most pressing issues.

8. Might the illicit affair between Rupert and Hilary' in Jilly Cooper's Bonkbuster, Riders, reveal some uncomfortable truths about inequality in the bedroom? Zoe Strimpel, a historian of gender and relationships in modern Britain, considers issues of power and consent in the bedroom, both at the time of the book's original publication in 1985 and on its 30th anniversary in 2015.

With readings by real-life couple Adrian Lester and Lolita Chakrabarti

Laura Wade is an Olivier Award-winning playwright, the author of “Posh” and “Home, I’m Darling”. Her recent adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished story, “The Watsons”, transfers to the West End in 2020.

Producer: Beaty Rubens

8. Provocative bedroom revelations from Rupert and Hilary's affair in Jilly Cooper's Riders Show less