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Front Row: The Book of Mormon; Lee Mack; London Zoo Tiger House

The Book of Mormon; Lee Mack; London Zoo Tiger House

22/03/2013

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, The Book of Mormon; Lee Mack; London Zoo Tiger House

John Wilson reviews the musical The Book of Mormon and talks to comedian Lee Mack.

John Wilson reviews the musical The Book of Mormon, meets comedian Lee Mack, visits London Zoo's new tiger enclosure and pays tribute to Chinua Achebe.

With John Wilson

The Broadway hit musical The Book Of Mormon has opened in London. The show is a satirical tale of Mormon missionaries visiting a Ugandan village threatened by a brutal warlord. Book, lyrics and music are by Trey Parker and Matt Stone - creators of the animated comedy, South Park - and Robert Lopez, composer of Avenue Q. Grace Dent reviews.

Comedian Lee Mack, writer and star of TV sitcom Not Going Out, talks about surviving the death of British sitcom, the perfect gag-rate and filming two alternative endings for the new series - depending on whether Lee and Lucy finally get together or not.

ZSL London Zoo's new "tiger territory" was designed in collaboration with the zoo keepers, and the new enclosure aims to provide the tigers with the most suitable environment. The zoo is known for its famous buildings, and the Lubetkin penguin pool and Snowdon aviary are architectural icons. Michael Kozdon, the architect who designed the new tiger enclosure, zoo keeper Teague Stubbington and architecture critic Owen Hatherley discuss how zoo buildings have changed to accommodate the animals, rather than to make an architectural statement.

Nigerian poet and novelist Ben Okri pays tribute to his celebrated countryman Chinua Achebe, who has died aged 82. A novelist, essayist and poet, Achebe is best-known for his novel, Things Fall Apart, which has become the most widely-read book in modern African literature.

Producer Rebecca Nicholson.

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