BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Light Show; the life of Benjamin Britten; Port reviewed (original) (raw)

Light Show; the life of Benjamin Britten; Port reviewed

Mark Lawson reports on how artists use light in a variety of forms, the latest biography of Benjamin Britten, and Port, a new play by Simon Stephens set in Stockport.

With Mark Lawson.

Light Show at the Hayward Gallery in London is the first survey of light-based art in the UK and brings together artworks from the 1960s to the present day, from 22 artists including Dan Flavin, Olafur Eliasson and Jenny Holzer. Lighting designers Paule Constable and Patrick Woodroffe give their response to the works on show.

Paul Kildea discusses his biography of Benjamin Britten, which has already made the news when he claimed that the composer's death was hastened by syphilis.

Playwright Simon Stephens' new play, Port, opens at the National Theatre this week. Directed by Marianne Elliott, it tells the story of a family in Stockport. We first meet 11 year old Racheal, and six-year-old Billy in 1988, and the play follows them over the next 13 years of their lives. Peter Kemp reviews.

Producer Ellie Bury.

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