Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Radio 4,03 May 2023,42 mins

Writer Jack Thorne, Derek Jarman’s Blue reimagined, music for the King’s coronation

Front Row

Available for over a year

Jack Thorne talks about his new play, The Motive and the Cue, which is about John Gielgud directing Richard Burton in a 1960s production of Hamlet on Broadway. He discusses the relationship between the two famous figures in the world of stage and screen. Composers Debbie Wiseman and Sarah Glass, who have both been commissioned to write music for the King’s Coronation, discuss composing for a landmark Royal occasion. To mark 30 years since the release of Derek Jarman’s final film Blue - which reflects his battle with HIV - director Neil Bartlett and composer Simon Fisher Turner have created a live performance of the film, called Blue Now. They explain the importance of Jarman and of Blue, both then and now. Presenter: Shahidha Bari Producer: Eliane Glaser

Programme Website
More episodes