Tag Archives: literature
Filth, fury and the funny way Britain feels about Joe Orton
You never forget your first time. I was 19 years old. I descended into a dark, cramped basement where student actors brought to life a weird, twisted sexual triangle. Going to student drama productions in odd spaces around the University … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Crime and Justice, Culture, Film, Media, Radio, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized
Tagged 60s, crime, culture, dr emma parker, elitism, film, joe orton, john lahr, kenneth halliwell, Kenneth Williams, Leicester, leonie orton, literature, London, prick up your ears, satire, sheila hancock, soft touch arts, tv
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Is there a transphobic equivalent to blacking up?
I wrote a piece for the BBC News website today, originally commissioned about the idea of white actors playing black roles, but I wanted to explore further issues Juliet Jacques had touched on when she came on Front Row recently … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Film, History, Media, Theatre, TV, Uncategorized
Tagged blacking up, culture, film, Hollywood, indians, juliet jacques, literature, media, race, Theatre Royal Stratford, trans, tv, zoolander 2
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What should we read into bookshelf wallpaper?
This article first appeared in The Big Issue Magazine in August 2015 I went to a fancy middle class holiday camp the other week. You know the ones. It was fabulous. We did fencing, crossbows, rode Segways and swam every … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Culture, Design, Media
Tagged books, culture, literature, media, penny woolcock, plato's republic, publishing, roundhouse, utopia
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On location for HG Wells and the H Bomb
As well as this documentary I’ve written this feature for BBC Culture about how the Atom Bomb changed our culture and imagination. And I discuss it with Robert Elms on BBC London here. Listen from 1 hr 39 minutes. In … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Film, History, Politics, Radio, Science, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Uncategorized, War
Tagged Atomic bomb, BBC Sunday Feature, HG Wells, Jacob Bronowski, Leo Szilard, literature, politics, Radio 3, The World Set Free, Things to Come, war, Winston Churchill
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On The Road with Buddha: The Prince Who Walked Out of His Fairy Tale
UPDATED SEPT 2 What happens when a prince walks away from his kingdom? I love the symbolism and and dream like metaphors of fairy stories. So a “real life” one is all the more intriguing. I’d been fascinated with the … Continue reading
Posted in Books, History, Music, Religion, Travel
Tagged Ashoka, BBC, Buddha, David Yip, Herman Hesse, Hinduism, Hollywood, India, Jack Kerouac, literature, Prince Siddartha, Something Understood
3 Comments
What If…? HG Wells, Arnold Bennett and your alternative future
It is early January in a new century and a group of technicolored-Victorian gentlemen are awaiting the return of their friend from the future. I’ve always loved the 1960 film of HG Wells’ The Time Machine. Drawing inspiration from the … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Film, History, Politics, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Uncategorized
Tagged Alec Guinness, Arnold Bennett, cinema, Edwardian, elitism, FTW, HG Wells, journalism, literature, London, Paul Flowers, Stoke-on-Trent, The Card, The Time Machine
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Plotting the arc of darkness with Joss Whedon
Here’s a link to my interview with Joss Whedon for Radio 3’s Night Waves on June 12th. We covered his writing for Roseanne, Shakespearean superheroes, his love of musicals — especially Brigadoon — the way studios treat writers, (take Firefly … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Children, Comedy, Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Media, Radio, Science Fiction/Fantasy, TV, Uncategorized
Tagged BBC, books, Brigadoon, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, cinema, culture, feminism, film, FTW, Hollywood, Joss Whedon, literature, media, music, Musicals, Roseanne, tv, zombies
4 Comments
Malala, Muslim women and “misery” memoirs
Oct 10th 2014 update: This was originally posted ahead of an Asia House panel discussion about women, freedom and the Islamic world, when the multimillion pound book deal of Malala Yousafzai was announced. It seems just as relevant since her … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Culture, Religion
Tagged books, feminism, Islam, literature, misery lit, publishing
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Murder, Mirth and Care Bears: The uses of an Oxford English degree
Photo copyright and courtesy of: Ian Fraser at Virtual Archive Writing for news bulletins, writing for standup comedy, writing murders for tv drama, writing for comics and fantasy gaming novels. These were some of the uses to which a group … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Comedy, Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Education, Media, Uncategorized
Tagged culture, elitism, English literature, FTW, journalism, literature, media, oxford, publishing, St Edmund Hall, Stewart Lee, terrorism, tv, universities
4 Comments
How The Middle East Became Another Planet
From Flash Gordon’s Ming the Merciless with his harem and his war rocket Ajax, to Frank Herbert’s prophecy-obsessed desert tribes in Dune battling over a valuable resource, the Middle East has always been another planet to western science fiction creators. … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Culture, History, Politics, Religion, Science, Uncategorized
Tagged 70s, Arab Spring, Argo, books, cinema, culture, Egypt, film, Iran, literature, Planet of the Apes, politics, terrorism, war, zombies
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