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Nicki Paxman

Front Row: David Walliams and Sheridan Smith; poet Dannie Abse at 90; Booker Prize changes

David Walliams and Sheridan Smith; poet Dannie Abse at 90; Booker Prize changes

18/09/2013

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, David Walliams and Sheridan Smith; poet Dannie Abse at 90; Booker Prize changes

Mark Lawson talks to David Walliams and Sheridan Smith, on stage in a Shakespeare comedy.

Mark Lawson talks to David Walliams and Sheridan Smith, who star in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and poet Dannie Abse, who is 90 on Sunday. Plus news of changes to the Booker Prize.

With Mark Lawson.

David Walliams and Sheridan Smith talk about working together in a new staging of A Midsummer's Night's Dream, with Walliams in the role of Bottom and Smith as Titania/Hippolyta. They discuss the difficulties of taking on Shakespeare, the dark sensuality of the play and theatrical rituals and pranks.

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is currently open to writers from the UK, Ireland and the Commonwealth - but in changes confirmed today, any novel originally written in English and published in the UK could be a contender, opening the Prize to writers from the USA in particular. Ion Trewin, Literary Director of the Booker Prize Foundation, reveals the details. 

The distinguished Welsh poet Dannie Abse celebrates his 90th birthday on Sunday. Although best-known for his poetry, Dannie Abse is also a doctor, playwright and author - and he discusses his long career.

Producer Nicki Paxman.

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