Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Tuesday 11 July 2006 21:30-22:15 (Radio 3)
Former Dutch MP and outspoken critic of contemporary Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali talks to Philip Dodd about her book The Caged Virgin. And as the curtain rises on Michael Boyd's new production of Shakespeare's histories at the RSC, an investigation into how each generation has sought to re-invent the cycle.
We apologise for the break that occurred during the broadcast of this programme which was caused by a technical fault.
The section of the programme that was interrupted, Philip Dodd's interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, is available to listen to online in its entirety below.
Atomised
Christian Ulmen as Michael with Franka Potente
as Annabelle in ATOMISED, directed by Oskar Roehler
Playlist
Aayan Hirsi Ali
The activist Aayan Hirsi Ali needs 24-hour protection following death threats from the murderers of Theo Van Gogh, the Dutch filmmaker with whom Hirsi Ali made the controversial film 'Submission' about the way Islam treats women.
Born in Somalia, Aayan Hirsi Ali was raised a Muslim, and then escaped a forced marriage by fleeing to the Netherlands where she eventually became an MP.
Her outspoken condemnation of the Muslim religion's attitude to women has made Hirsi Ali a hugely controversial public figure. Her resignation from parliament last month has brought down the Dutch government.
In tonight's edition of Night Waves Philip Dodd talks to Aayan Hirsi Ali about her book 'The Caged Virgin: A Muslim Woman's Cry for Reason' which has just been published in English for the first time and finds out why she's so passionate in her desire to free women from an oppressive culture.
'The Caged Virgin, A Muslim Woman's Cry for Reason' by Aayan Hirsi Ali is published by Free Press.
Shakespeare's History Plays
This month the Royal Shakespeare Company open their new Courtyard Theatre with Shakespeare's Henry VI, Parts I, 2 and 3.
These productions mark an unprecedented two-year project to stage Shakespeare's complete History cycle using one ensemble company.
Philip Dodd talks to the Shakespearean scholar Michael Dobson and to John Barton, who together with Peter Hall, co-founded the RSC, and whose 1963 production 'The Wars of the Roses' is still definitive.
Forty years on, Barton is working on the new production, but how have our attitudes to these plays changed and how is that reflected in their staging and what sort of advice is he giving today's cast members?
The Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of Henry VI Parts I,2 and 3 are in repertory at The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until 21 st October.
Atomised
When French author Michel Houellebecq's book 'Atomised' was published in 2002 it caused a furore. An uncompromising book about the degeneration of humanity, it was hailed as a masterpiece by many critics and denounced by others as depraved.
Now it has been filmed by the German director Oskar Roehler. But how much has he had to pull his punches to make it palatable for a cinema audience? Philip Dodd gives his verdict.
And as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to host world leaders for the G8 summit in St Petersburg next weekend, Philip Dodd asks what the huge popularity of science fiction in Russia tells us about the state of the Russian soul.
