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BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Front Row: Alison Steadman and Hermione Norris in Blithe Spirit

Alison Steadman and Hermione Norris in Blithe Spirit

10/03/2011

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Alison Steadman and Hermione Norris in Blithe Spirit

Kirsty Lang reviews Alison Steadman and Hermione Norris in a new staging of Blithe Spirit.

With Kirsty Lang, who reviews Alison Steadman and Hermione Norris in a new staging of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, directed by Thea Sharrock.

Alison Steadman plays Noel Coward's eccentric medium Madam Arcati in a new production of Blithe Spirit, which also stars Hermione Norris. Thea Sharrock, best known for her production of Equus starring Daniel Radcliffe, directs. Peter Kemp has the first-night verdict. 

American author Allegra Goodman talks to Kirsty about her best-selling new novel The Cookbook Collector, set in 1999 just before the dot com bubble burst, and featuring two sisters whose differing characters are inspired by Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. 

Japanese author Haruki Murakami's acclaimed novel Norwegian Wood has been transformed into a film by Vietnamese director Anh Hung Tran (The Scent of Green Papaya, Cyclo). The story follows Toru Watanabe through his student days in the 1960s and explores loss, love and sexuality. Matt Thorne, author of Cherry and Eight Minutes Idle, reviews.

As two new operas based on classic children's literature receive their British premieres, Kirsty talks to the creative teams behind Fantastic Mr Fox and Cautionary Tales about making opera for children.

Producer Philippa Ritchie.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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