On the Arts hour this week, Nikki Bedi picks perfect highlights from arts broadcasting around the BBC and beyond. She sprinkles a little fairy dust while we listen to Hollywood star Meryl Streep talking about the witch’s role in Into the Woods, the new film based on Stephen Sondheim’s 1987 smash hit musical. Ava DuVernay Director of Selma the new film about Martin Luther King , explains how David Olewoyo worked wonders in securing her the director’s role. From South Africa, we hear the dulcet acappella tones of The Soil making music they call “melodic meditation for the soul”.

Add to the cultural mix tips from Michael Pennington on how to survive life as a professional actor, a report from Bamako about threatened puppetry in Mali, international cellist Julian Lloyd-Webber talking about the very short life and major achievements of 1950’s rock and roll star Buddy Holly, and you have an Arts Hour with a particularly broad artistic mix.
Nikki Bedi adds her own magic.

(Photo: Meryl Streep. Credit: Justin Tallis/ AFP/Getty Images) Show less