Sarah Bernhardt

You're Dead to Me

BBC

Comedy, History

4.7 • 10.9K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2023

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Greg Jenner is joined by Prof Sharon Marcus and comedian Isy Suttie to learn about the actor Sarah Bernhardt, a global icon in the 19th and 20th centuries who died a century ago. Bernhardt was one of the most famous people on the planet, coming from humble beginnings as the daughter of a sex worker to dominate theatreland first in France and then across the Atlantic. Sarah’s life was almost as dramatic as her profession, with a love life that included marrying a soldier who may have inspired Dracula to a decades long relationship with another woman. Research by Caitlin Rankin-McCabe Written by Emma Nagouse, Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Produced by Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner Assistant Producer: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow Project Management: Isla Matthews Audio Producer: Steve Hankey You’re Dead To Me is a production by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:06.5	Hello and welcome to Your Dead To Me, the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously.
0:11.1	My name is Greg Jenner, I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster,
0:14.3	and today we are shining our historical spotlight.
0:17.0	On the 19th century French actress and global sensation, Sarah Bernhardt,
0:21.7	and to help us learn more about one of the most famous actresses, who time has forgotten,
0:25.7	we have two very special guests.
0:27.6	In History Corner, she's the Orlando Hariman Professor of English and Comparative Literature
0:31.7	at Columbia University in New York, as she specialises in literature, drama, theatre,
0:35.8	performance studies, as well as gender and sexuality.
0:38.4	You may have read her excellent 2019 book, The Drama of Celebrity.
0:41.6	One of my faves, it's Professor Sharon Marcus. Welcome Sharon.
0:44.8	Hi everybody. Fantastic to have you here and in Comedy Corner.
0:48.8	She's a comedian, actress, musician and writer. You might remember her as Dobby in Peep Show,
0:53.6	or for her radio show Pearl and Dave, which won the Sony Gold Award and the Radio Academy Awards.
0:58.8	She's the author of two books, the actual one and Jane is trying.
1:01.8	And Radio 4 listeners will know her delightful musical comedy series,
1:04.8	Izzy Suties Love Letters. It's Izzy Suity. Welcome Izzy.
1:08.0	Hello. That was a good hello, wasn't it? It's not like a...
1:11.4	Hello. I enjoyed it. It's showing your radio class.
1:15.2	Thank you. You are a newbie for us, so I have to do the contractually obligated question.
1:20.8	Do you like History?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

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.