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Interviews with well-known authors from Britain and around the world, looking at what drives their work and concentrating on their literary life story.

Talking Books: Michael Frayn

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Michael Frayn

BBC World Service - Talking Books, Michael Frayn

Playwright and novelist Michael Frayn on why he wants to make his readers laugh

Playwright and novelist Michael Frayn on why he wants to make his readers laugh.

In this the last of four interviews with authors from around the globe, Talking Books meets Britain’s Michael Frayn, one of the most prolific living writers in the English language.  Best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy, his comic novels have also found ciritical and commercial success. Then there are his translations from Russian and his critically acclaimed novels, his non-fiction, and his screenplays. 
 
He talks to Gavin Esler about a writing career which began with his time as an award-winning journalist, how he feels his success has changed him and why he is drawn to the theme of chaos and human behaviour. Why does he want to make his readers laugh?

(Image: Special award winner Michael Frayn, at the Olivier Awards 2013. Credit: Press Association )

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