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Episode details

Radio 4,24 Feb 2011,30 mins

Frankenstein and Anna Nicole

Front Row

Available for over a year

With Mark Lawson. The Oscar-award winning director Danny Boyle, whose new film 127 is nominated for an Academy award this weekend, has returned to his theatrical roots to direct a production of Frankenstein at the National Theatre, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating the roles of Dr Frankenstein and The Creature. Writer and critic Adam-Mars Jones reviews. Award winning Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage discusses writing Anna Nicole, an opera based on the tragic life of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith, which premiered at London's Royal Opera House this week. The musical comedy-drama television show Glee i currently features Gwyneth Paltrow in a guest role as a substitute teacher. The the absence of regular characters for this show was a plot device, but unexpectedly absent actors have a huge impact on the makers of continuing dramas such as Coronation Street and EastEnders. TV Executive Mal Young and scriptwriter Mariam Vossough share their experiences. Following the announcement that John le Carre has given his entire archive to the Bodleian Library in Oxford, Professor John Sutherland discusses some of the treasures unearthed from other literary archives. Producer Claire Bartleet.

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