BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Lively and diverse conversation with weekly guests

Libby Purves

Carl Davis

Samantha Ellis

Simon Annand

Caitlin Doughty

Paula McGinley

Midweek: Carl Davis, Samantha Ellis, Simon Annand, Caitlin Doughty

Carl Davis, Samantha Ellis, Simon Annand, Caitlin Doughty

15/04/2015

BBC Radio 4 - Midweek, Carl Davis, Samantha Ellis, Simon Annand, Caitlin Doughty

Libby Purves meets conductor and composer Carl Davis and mortician Caitlin Doughty.

Libby Purves meets conductor and composer Carl Davis, playwright Samantha Ellis, photographer Simon Annand and mortician Caitlin Doughty.

Carl Davis CBE is a composer and conductor, best known for his film and television music including The World at War; Pride and Prejudice and The French Lieutenant's Woman. He has also created symphonic scores for a range of Charlie Chaplin's movies such as The Gold Rush and City Lights. He conducts a live orchestra in London and Birmingham at the screening of two classic silent movies: Buster Keaton's The General and Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times. Philharmonia at the Movies: The General is at Royal Festival Hall. Friday Night Classics - Charlie Chaplin is at Symphony Hall in Birmingham. The BFI DVD Charlie Chaplin: The Mutual Comedies featuring music by Carl Davis is on general release.

Samantha Ellis is a journalist and playwright. Her new play Operation Magic Carpet is based on her own experiences as the daughter of Iraqi-Jewish parents who fled Baghdad before she was born. Featuring a child heroine, the play tackles the stories of second generation immigrants who have never visited the countries their parents came from. Operation Magic Carpet is at Polka Theatre, London.

Simon Annand has been a photographer for over 30 years. His work focuses on all aspects of the theatre including production and rehearsal photos, posters and his own project called The Half about actors preparing for the stage. His new exhibition features images of some of Britain's leading playwrights and marks the 10th anniversary of The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting. 2015 Bruntwood Prize Exhibition: Portraits of Playwrights by Simon Annand is at the Royal Exchange, Manchester.

Caitlin Doughty is a mortician and writer. Her book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, tells the story of her apprenticeship as a mortician at a crematorium in San Francisco. It also tackles society's fear of death and the funeral industry's approach to the dead and their families. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - and Other Lessons from the Crematorium is published by Canongate.

Producer: Paula McGinley.

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