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Front Row: Mad Men's Jon Hamm; rain on stage

Mad Men's Jon Hamm; rain on stage

14/02/2012

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Mad Men's Jon Hamm; rain on stage

An interview with Jon Hamm, star of the TV drama Mad Men, and the art of making stage rain

Presented by John Wilson, including an interview with actor Jon Hamm, best known as Don Draper in the TV drama series Mad Men, plus Adam Cooper on dancing in stage rain.

With John Wilson.

Jon Hamm is best known for playing Don Draper in Mad Men, the award-winning American drama about the ruthlessly competitive world of advertising. The actor discusses the show's unforeseen global success, the problems he's faced playing Draper and hints where Mad Men is heading for its finale.

A stage version of Singin' In The Rain opens on the West End stage tonight, featuring one particularly essential ingredient - water. John Wilson talks to the show's star, Adam Cooper, and the production manager about the technical challenges of singin' and dancin' in the rain - keeping electricity and gallons of water apart. 

TV property presenter Sarah Beeny has curated a new exhibition at the Royal Institute of British Architects. A Place to Call Home: Where We Live and Why charts the story of the design of everyday homes in the UK, exploring the advent of mass building from the late 18th century through to the present day via suburban expansion and post-war experiment. 

With the price of cotton remaining a hotly debated issue, a new exhibition uses contemporary artists such as Yinka Shonibare to illuminate the history of the production and use of this most versatile of natural fibres. Polly Leonard, Editor-in-Chief of Selvedge magazine, reviews.

Producer Philippa Ritchie.

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