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Andrew Rawnsley

Ella-mai Robey

Front Row: Alan Bennett, Terry Pratchett, The Duck House, The Great Train Robbery

Alan Bennett, Terry Pratchett, The Duck House, The Great Train Robbery

11/12/2013

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Alan Bennett, Terry Pratchett, The Duck House, The Great Train Robbery

Mark Lawson presents news from the worlds of arts, literature, film and music.

Alan Bennett on the nation's favourite play, Terry Pratchett on the 40th Discworld novel, novelist NJ Cooper reviews The Great Train Robbery, and Ben Miller in The Duck House.

With Mark Lawson

Alan Bennett gives his reaction as his drama The History Boys is named the nation's favourite play by the English Touring Theatre's 21st Anniversary poll.

A forthcoming two-part television drama, starring Jim Broadbent and Luke Evans, is going to show both sides of the 1963 Great Train Robbery. Firstly from the point of view of the criminals and then of the police who tracked them down afterwards. Written by Chris Chibnall, creator of the hit TV series Broadchurch, the two dramas are timed for the 50th anniversary of the crime - a raid on a Royal Mail train that netted the then-record haul of £2.6m. Crime writer NJ Cooper reviews.

Terry Pratchett's 40th Discworld novel brings the wonders of steam-power to Ankh-Morpork when enterprising young Dick Simnel builds a steam engine. It's 30 years since Terry Pratchett began writing about Discworld, and he talks to Mark about how the ideas for stories appear, what he does with these ideas if they aren't quite ready to be put into a book, and how he and his assistant Rob Wilkins have been teaching Terry's voice-activated software to recognise some of Discworld's more unlikely names.

The Duck House is a new political satire focusing on the 2009 Expenses Scandal. Labour MP Robert Houston, played by Ben Miller, is planning to escape defeat in the next election by defecting to the Tory party when the scandal breaks. Houston must try to persuade the Tories he is squeaky-clean while trying to hide the duck house he put on expenses. Political journalist Andrew Rawnsley reviews.

Produced by Ella-mai Robey.

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