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Provocative discussions, inspiring guests and news about trends, fashion, music, theatre and art.

The Culture Café: 08/03/2011

08/03/2011

BBC Radio Scotland - The Culture Café, 08/03/2011

The architecture behind our theatres, artist Will McLean and extreme drama in Aberdeen...

We hear about the history of Scotland's theatres, artist Will McLean takes us round his studio, extreme drama in Aberdeen, and the ever-challenging Bertolt Brecht.

One of the earliest surviving purpose-built theatres is the Theatre Royal in Dumfries, which is still in use today. It's one of many documented in a new book charting the history and architecture of Scotland's theatrical venues. Historic Scotland and the Theatres Trust - the two organisations behind the book - tell us more about the colourful stories behind these cultural institutions.

Artist Will McLean is well known for his nautical-inspired layered works that he's been creating for over forty years. As a retrospective exhibition of his work is about to go on display in London's Fleming Collection, he takes us round his studio.

Aberdeen's Linksfield Community Centre will soon be closing its doors for the last time. But not before 250 local performers make one final, high-energy use of the space. In an unusual theatre event that uses the building itself as an interactive setting, audiences are pulled in to the drama as it travels through the site. We get a peek of the action before the show opens.

And, Bertolt Brecht. Arguably one of the hardest playwrights to get your head around. His legendary "Mother Courage and Her Children" is about to open at Paisley Arts Centre before touring Scotland. We find out about the challenges of staging such a stylistically-unusual piece of theatre and the ways in which Brechtian theatre resonates with modern audiences.


Produced by Rich Preston & Gwen Stirling.

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