The Good German
Monday 5 March 2007 21:45-22:30 (Radio 3)
Playlist
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh is the kind of film maker who divides opinion. From his debut with Sex, Lies and Videotape to Erin Brockovich he's had a habit of keeping fans and critics on their toes.
Gabriel Gbadamosi takes the measure of his new film - The Good German - shot like a Forties film noir and starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett.
Naim Kattan
The writer Naim Kattan is an Iraqi Jew who left his homeland more than fifty years ago. Based in Canada, he has won the highest awards for literature, including the Legion D'Honneur.
Naim Kattan talks to Gabriel about the Baghdad he knew, and a journey that began in the belief that writing could change and save his country, and ends in the realisation that writing has become his country.
The Gulf Art Fair
The Gulf Art Fair has been billed as the first step on the road to make Dubai an arts centre to rival, London, Paris or New York.
The critic, Godfrey Barker and the art dealer, Saleh Barakat will be explaining how it's likely to influence taste and the work of artists in the Gulf.
Britain Today
A new magazine Britain Today is published this week with the aim of bringing the latest debates and ideas in the social sciences to a wider audience.
Gabriel asks writer and former editor of New Society Paul Barker whether it will succeed.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
As Tim Supple's acclaimed Indian version of A Midsummer Night's Dream comes to London, Gabriel Gbadamosi talks to the director about his ambitious reworking of the play.
Supple had long seen the Dream as a very English piece. Gabriel asks whether it is improved by this staging in seven Indian languages as well as English.
