Free Thinking: Salomé, Angels in America, Queer British Art
Arts & Ideas
BBC
4.2 • 599 Ratings
🗓️ 10 May 2017
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Playwright Mark Ravenhill and critic Matt Wolf debate desire and politics with Philip Dodd as Tony Kushner's Angels in America is revived at the National Theatre in London. Writer and theatre director Yaël Farber explains her vision of the story of Salomé as one set in an occupied desert country where a radical is on hunger strike and a girl's dance is at the centre of a revolution. Peggy Reynolds and Matt Cook discuss the exhibition Queer British Art 1861-9167.
Salomé is at the National Theatre from May 2nd to July 15th with an NT live broadcast around the UK on June 22nd. Angels in America: part one Millennium Approaches is an NT live broadcast on July 20th and runs in rep until August 19th. Angels in America: part two Perstroika is an NT live broadcast on July 27th and runs in rep until August 19th. Queer British Art 1861-9167 runs at Tate Britain until October 1st 2017. A Gay History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Men Since the Middle Ages by Matt Cook is out now.
Tony Kushner's drama Caroline, or Change is at the Chichester Theatre until June 3rd in a production starring Sharon D. Clarke
The Russell-Cotes Museum in Bournemouth opens Refracted: Collection Highlights, which has been co-curated with members of the local LGBT+ community May 13th which runs until September 8th and includes a photography exhibition opening in August.
Desire Love Identity: exploring LGBTQ histories is a free display in Room 69a which runs at the British Museum until October 15th.
Producer: Fiona McLean
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron. Evil genius. He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it. That's like hiding at your own funeral. Yeah, a big, great gig. I'm Russell Kane. Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius. Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius. It also helps that it's a long time ago, right? |
| 0:23.3 | It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream van plays music |
| 0:27.0 | when it's out of ice cream. |
| 0:28.8 | Listen to evil genius on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:32.1 | Hello, and welcome to the arts and ideas download |
| 0:35.0 | from the free thinking Team at the BBC. |
| 0:38.4 | There are signs and wonders across the whole programme. |
| 0:42.0 | Angels in America, queer art in Britain and Salomey dancing out of the Bible story |
| 0:47.7 | into an occupied desert nation helping to precipitate revolution. |
| 0:52.8 | Later in the programme, the playwright Mark Ravenhill |
| 0:55.5 | and the theatre critic Matt Wolve talk about |
| 0:57.8 | a gay fantasia on national themes, |
| 1:01.1 | the subtitle the playwright Tony Kushner gave |
| 1:03.5 | to his eight hours long two-part 1992 drama, Angels in America. |
| 1:09.5 | It's playing to standing evasions only at the National Theatre. |
| 1:13.5 | One of the characters stricken by AIDS is Donald Trump's former lawyer. |
| 1:17.9 | What else makes it our play, if it is, from 1992? |
| 1:22.2 | Also, queer British art at Tate Britain. |
| 1:25.9 | A post-it note at the end of the show |
| 1:27.5 | thanks the museum for providing a safe space. |
| 1:32.0 | Is that what queer art supposed to do? |
| 1:34.1 | We'll find out later with Peggy Reynolds and Matt Cook. But first, Yale Farber, whose work as a director includes well-received London productions of Lorraine Hansbury's Le Blanc and Arthur Miller's The Crucible. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.