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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music

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Samira Ahmed

Li Cunxin

Simon Guerrier

Kim Newman

Jon Savage

Gareth Somers

Ella-mai Robey

Front Row: Li Cunxin, Playing William Shakespeare, How art responded to the atomic bomb

Li Cunxin, Playing William Shakespeare, How art responded to the atomic bomb

04/08/2015

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Li Cunxin, Playing William Shakespeare, How art responded to the atomic bomb

Former ballet star Li Cunxin discusses growing up during the Cultural Revolution.

Former ballet star Li Cunxin on growing up in Mao's China, the art of playing William Shakespeare and how popular culture has responded to the atomic bomb. With Samira Ahmed.

Former ballet star and stockbroker Li Cunxin discusses growing up during Mao's Cultural Revolution in China, and bringing his Australian ballet company to the Coliseum in London to perform La Sylphide.

This week marks 70 years since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where more than 200,000 people were killed. To consider how popular culture has responded to the atomic bomb, Front Row brings together documentary maker Simon Guerrier, science-fiction novelist Kim Newman, and journalist Jon Savage to discuss work from ranging from Stanley Kubrick's film Dr Strangelove, to Frankie Goes to Hollywood's song Two Tribes.

Plus actor and writer Gareth Somers discusses creating a new one-man show opening at the Attic Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, in which Shakespeare re-lives his own life story.

Presenter Samira Ahmed
Producer Ella-mai Robey.

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