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Front Row: News of the World,  Mary Wilson tribute, songwriter Roger Cook, Jean-Claude Carrière remembered

09/02/2021

News of the World,  Mary Wilson tribute, songwriter Roger Cook, Jean-Claude Carrière remembered

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, News of the World,  Mary Wilson tribute, songwriter Roger Cook, Jean-Claude Carrière remembered

A review of News of the World, and tributes to Mary Wilson and Jean-Claude Carriere.

We review Tom Hanks' film News of the World, pay tribute to Mary Wilson, speak with songwriter Roger Cook, and assess the prolific career of screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere.

Tom Hanks stars in Paul Greengrass's new film, News of the World. Hanks plays Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a Civil War veteran who crosses paths with Johanna (Helena Zengel), a 10-year-old taken in by the Kiowa people six years earlier and raised as one of their own. Gavia Baker-Whitelaw gives us her verdict on the western. 

Songwriter Roger Cook discusses Thursday’s world premiere of Next Year in Jerusalem, the title song of a musical he wrote with Lionel Bart 47 years ago. Roger is now hoping to revive the musical they never managed to stage at the time, and shares an exclusive recording of one of the songs, sung by him and Lionel Bart.

Mary Wilson was a founding members of The Supremes, one of the most successful and influential girl groups of all time to spring from the Motown stable. To celebrate her life, Kevin Le Gendre looks at what she achieved and her influence on the British beat group scene at the time.

Jean-Claude Carriere, who died yesterday, aged 89, had an extraordinary career. He published his first novel in 1957. His first screenplay was filmed in 1962. He carried on writing novels and films - he acted, too - until 2019. He worked with Jacques Tati and wrote most of Luis Bunuel's later films, including The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and That Obscure Object of Desire. He collaborated with Peter Brook on one of the most important productions in 20th Century theatre, the nine-hour-long stage version of The Mahabharata. Critic Christopher Cook assesses Carriere's cultural significance, paying tribute to a great French artist and intellectual. 

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Jerome Weatherald

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