John Wilson explores the intimate moments of creative inspiration that have been experienced by some of our best known artists.

The actress Lisa Dwan recalls the unforgettable impact of seeing her first Beckett play on television, and then, as a young actress, receiving the script for “Not I” and realising that this was a man who was writing for ‘the voices in my head’.

Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream talks about writing poetry as child in a tough Glaswegian comprehensive school and the breakthrough moment during the writing of the band’s hit ‘I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have’ when he realised you didn’t have to use metaphor or symbolism, but instead could channel raw, honest emotion.

Novelist Sara Collins remembers fleeing Jamaica with her family at the age of four, after her father was forced into exile during the political turmoil of the mid-1970s. As the feelings of displacement and loss of identity overwhelmed her, she found solace in the world of Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Match Girl.

Produced by John Wilson
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4 Show less