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Front Row: Joan Didion remembered, Call the Midwife, The Tragedy of Macbeth and a review of the year in culture

23/12/2021

Joan Didion remembered, Call the Midwife, The Tragedy of Macbeth and a review of the year in culture

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Joan Didion remembered, Call the Midwife, The Tragedy of Macbeth and a review of the year in culture

Call the Midwife writer and creator Heidi Thomas on the art of the Christmas special.

Essayist Olivia Laing remembers writer Joan Didion, Heidi Thomas on Call the Midwife and critics Briony Hanson and Ekow Eshun review The Tragedy of Macbeth and the year in culture.

Writer and essayist Olivia Laing reflects on the work of the American journalist and essayist Joan Didion, who has died at the age of 87.

With the Christmas Special of Call the Midwife taking its usual slot on BBC One on Christmas Day – for the tenth consecutive time - the show’s creator and writer Heidi Thomas discusses how she tries to keep the stories fresh, year on year. She’s also joined by ‘super-fan’, the historian Tom Holland, to consider its lasting appeal. 

The British Council's Director of Film Briony Hanson and writer and broadcaster Ekow Eshun review Joel Coen's film The Tragedy of Macbeth and share their cultural highlights of the year.

Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Simon Richardson

Photo: Call the Midwife Christmas special 2021
Photo credit: BBC

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Joan Didion remembered, Call the Midwife, The Tragedy of Macbeth and a review of the year in culture

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