Front Row

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Front Row: Kate Prince on her suffragette musical,  the art of casting, set design at the Brits.

Kate Prince on her suffragette musical,  the art of casting, set design at the Brits.

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Kate Prince on her suffragette musical,  the art of casting, set design at the Brits.

Kate Prince on her suffragette musical, the art of casting, set design at the Brits.

Kate Prince on telling the story of Sylvia Pankhurst and the suffrage movement through hip hop, Lucy Pardee on the art of 'street casting', and set design at the Brits Awards.

Sylvia is a new hip hop, funk and soul musical telling the story the fight for women’s – and universal – suffrage, through the life of Sylvia Pankhurst. It wasn‘t just the patriarchy she had to struggle with, but her family, especially her mother, the indomitable Emmeline. Kate Prince has co-written, choreographed and directed it. She talks to Samira Ahmed about the story and the contemporary resonances of her show.

In 2021, casting director Lucy Pardee won her first BAFTA for her work on the coming-of-age drama,  Rocks, which was celebrated in part for the range and skill of its young cast.  She's now up for another BAFTA for new film Aftersun, which tells the story of a troubled single father through the eyes of his 11-year-old daughter. She discusses the art of 'street casting' actors for their cinema debuts.

Reporter Will Chalk goes back stage at the Brit Awards to meet production designer Misty Buckley, who specialises in creating sets for huge spectacles like the Brits, the Commonwealth Games and the Grammys.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Julian May

Main image: The Company in Sylvia at The Old Vic 2023, Photographer - Manuel Harlan

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Kate Prince on her suffragette musical, the art of casting, set design at the Brits.

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