BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Yvonne Brewster (original) (raw)
Yvonne Brewster
Sue Lawley's castaway is theatre director Yvonne Brewster.
Show more
Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the theatre director Yvonne Brewster. She has been a major force in black British theatre for the last 20 years. Born into a wealthy family in Jamaica, Yvonne rebelled against her parents' plans for her - marriage and children - to become a theatrical pioneer. She says she was the first black drama student in Britain - but when she enrolled, her drama school's principal told her that, as a black actress, she would never get work here. She went on to become the first black woman to direct at the National Theatre.
Throughout her career Yvonne has been an outspoken proponent of black theatre. In 1986 she founded the theatre company Talawa, whose name in Jamaican dialect means tough or feisty. Talawa gained attention - and audiences - by putting on productions such as an all-black Importance of Being Earnest.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Many Rivers to Cross by Jimmy Cliff
Book: Primer to learn Italian and tape
Luxury: Olive oil
Show less
Last on
Music Played
Ella Fitzgerald
Lullaby of Broadway
- Ella.
- Verve.
Franz Schubert
Moments Musicaux No. 3 in F minor, D780
Soloist: Alfred Brendel
- Alfred Brendel Plays Schubert.
- Turnabout.
Nina Simone
To Be Young, Gifted and Black
- To Be Young, Gifted and black.
- RCA.
Acker Bilk
Stranger On The Shore
- Images.
- Knight Records.
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Che farò senza Euridice (What is Life?) (from Orpheus and Euridice)
Soloist: Kathleen Ferrier Orchestra: Southern Philharmonic Orchestra
- Kathleen Ferrier: Gluck: Orfeo and Euridice.
- Decca.
Castaway's Favourite
Jimmy Cliff
Many Rivers to Cross
* The Best of Jimmy Cliff.
* Mango.
Scott Joplin
The Entertainer (original piano roll version)
- The Entertainer.
- Biograph.
Bob Marley
No Woman No Cry
- Legend.
- Tuff Gong.
Book Choice
Primer to learn Italian and tape
Luxury Choice
Olive oil
Show more / Show less
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Sue Lawley |
| Interviewed Guest | Yvonne Brewster |
Broadcasts
Featured in...
Archive 2005-2010—Desert Island Discs
Guests are invited to choose the eight records they would take to a desert island
The Desert Island Discs podcast
Subscribe or download individual episodes.
Listen to over 2,000 programmes
Click above to browse castaways, from 1942 to today.
Articles
Read the surprising things we've learned about some stand-out castaways.