Apologies in advance – just about everything I’m going to mention here is now beyond the iPlayer’s Listen Again window.
The BBC World Service has just finished another Worldplay series, this time based on the subject of science. The last piece was called Moving Bodies by Arthur Giron and starred Alfred Molina. It was actually an edited version of a production from LA Theatreworks.
The play is all about the life of Richard Feynman, the physicist. It covers most of his life, from his time as a child with his domineering father right up until the subject which bookends the play – his work on the commission that investigated the Challenger disaster.
Feynman’s story is a remarkable one, and if you ever get the chance to watch the full version of his 1981 Horizon interview you should jump at the opportunity.
Although this play is no longer available to listen to on the iPlayer, Audible.co.uk does have the full version available for download and it’s on iTunes.
I first heard of Gerard Hoffnung when I was in Edinburgh on a university placement. A friend of mine there expressed surprise that I’d never heard Hoffnung’s rambling story of the bricklayer (Listen to it – it’s very funny. I’ve just ordered the full CD on the basis of that re-listening.). He lent me a cassette and that was how I learnt about the man.
If you listen to that clip of Hoffnung, you might surmise that he was a gentleman in his late fifties or early sixties. But he gave that address in 1958 when he was only 33. And he died a year later, making this year the fiftieth anniversary of his death.
Those nice people over at Speechification recently posted a link to a Twenty Minutes on Hoffnung that was broadcast during the Proms which is well worth a listen.
Then last week Radio 4 broadcast a play by Alan Stannard called Hoffnung – Drawn To Music, starring Matt Lucas and Gina McKee which was nicely observed and explored the way that Hoffnung was able to cajole respected composers into helping him put together the Hoffnung Music Festival at the Royal Festival Hall.
Elsewhere, I’m pleased that The News Quiz is back in the Radio 4 Friday Night Comedy slot and that rather awful I Guess That’s Why They Call It The News has finished. Obviously Radio 4 has to experiment with new comedies, but I can fairly easily say that this was certainly a failed experiement.
Meanwhile on Mondays The Unbelievable Truth with David Mitchell is back (read his excellent Observer piece on Tracy Emin today), causing fun on Feedback.
And Dave Gorman has started his new Sunday morning show on Absolute Radio (Disclaimer: Clearly I work there).
As for TV? You are watching Spiral aren’t you? If you’re not, then it’s available on catch-up on the iPlayer. So there’s four hours of your life accounted for (or five if you read this after 10pm tonight). The Fixer just finished its second series, and given the way ITV treats drama these days – cancelling a popular programme like Kingdom for example – I’m not going to hold my breath for a third. Finally, you are watching the BBC Four Electric Revolutions season I trust. In particular, I loved Micro Men and Gameswipe.