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

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Pretty Yende

Sarah Churchwell

Dennis Lehane

Adrian Wootton

Kirsty Lang

Caroline Donne

Front Row: Pretty Yende, Dennis Lehane, The Handmaid's Tale

Pretty Yende, Dennis Lehane, The Handmaid's Tale

31/05/2017

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Pretty Yende, Dennis Lehane, The Handmaid's Tale

South African soprano Pretty Yende, Dennis Lehane on his new novel Since We Fell.

Pretty Yende making her debut at the Royal Opera House, Dennis Lehane on his new novel Since We Fell and The Handmaid's Tale reviewed.

Pretty Yende, the South African soprano, discusses making her debut at the Royal Opera House in Donizetti's comic opera L'elisir d'amore, and the TV advert that inspired her to abandon her plans to become an accountant and to pursue a career in opera instead.

As a new adaptation of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is broadcast on Channel 4 and the book hits the top of the bestsellers list, academic Sarah Churchwell reassesses this dystopian novel and its significance, and considers to what extent the television adaption lives up to the book.

Dennis Lehane, whose previous novels include Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone, Baby, Gone were adapted into successful films, discusses his latest work Since We Fell. This novel is set in Lehane's familiar territory of Boston, Mass, where things are rarely quite what they seem, and you don't know who to trust. 

Adrian Wootton is the Chief Executive of the British Film Commission which is responsible for promoting the UK as the best place to produce feature films and television. He explains why Britain is overtaking California as the place to make blockbusters and deluxe television series, and considers, too, the impact of this on film-makers here without such deep pockets. 

Presenter Kirsty Lang
Producer Caroline Donne.

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