The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed

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Poet Laureate Simon Armitage talks to guests about life, language and music in his shed.

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage is a former probation officer, DJ and poet celebrated for his witty and profound take on modern life. He writes in the shed in his garden, and in this podcast he invites guests to join him to talk about poetry, creativity, music, art, sheds, sherry and the countryside.

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The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed: Maxine Peake

Maxine Peake

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Actress Maxine Peake drops into Simon Armitage's shed to talk about roles and accents.

Simon Armitage talks to actress Maxine Peake, known for playing a wide range of roles in TV, film and theatre - from Twinkle to Hamlet.

If the poets of the past sat in their garrets dipping their quills in ink and waiting for inspiration to strike, our current Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has a more mundane and domestic arrangement. From his wooden shed in the garden, surrounded on all sides by the Pennine Hills and the Pennine weather, he scratches away at his reworking of the comic medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale. Any distraction is welcome, even encouraged, to talk about poetry, music, art, sheds, sherry, owls, nightingales and to throw light on some of the poem's internal themes . 

Actress Maxine Peake drops into the shed to talk about taking on a role and accents, which the birds in the poem discuss. Maxine talks about her TV break as Twinkle in Dinner Ladies as well as taking on roles such as Hamlet  in the theatre. The conversation ranges from accents and being cast as a brassy Northerner to communism and rave culture.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed

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