Break Out Culture With Ed Vaizey by Country and Town House

The film of the true story that sheds lights on the horrors of Guantánamo Bay Subscribe to our newsletters - www.countryandtownhouse.co.uk/newsletter Follow Country & Town House on Twitter Follow Country & Town House on Instagram We’re watching: The Mauritanian, starring Jodie Foster and Tahar Rahim on Netflix We’re reading: Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi We’re booking: Romeo and Juliet at Regents Park Open Air Theatre https://openairtheatre.com/production/romeo-juliet Romeo and Juliet at The Globe https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/romeo-and-juliet-live-stream-2021/ Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella at The Gillian Lynne Theatre https://andrewlloydwebberscinderella.com To Kill a Mockingbird adapted at The Gielgud Theatre https://tickets.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/index.asp?ShoID=2945 We’re visiting: New Normal Pictures by Gilbert & George White Cube, Mason’s Yard https://whitecube.com/exhibitions/exhibition/gilbert_and_george_masons_yard_2021 We’re celebrating: The Jerwood Blue Sky Fund, which has given £1 million to The Theatre Artists Fund and Help Musicians https://jerwoodarts.org/2021/03/12/jerwood-foundation-announces-blue-sky-fund/ Produced and Edited by Alex Graham

The London Handel Festival’s Easter Concert, Van Gogh Alive comes to Kensington Gardens and Ben Fenton talks about his book ‘To Be Fair’ Subscribe to our newsletters - www.countryandtownhouse.co.uk/newsletter Follow Country & Town House on Twitter Follow Country & Town House on Instagram We’re reading: To Be Fair: The Ultimate Guid to Fairness in the 21st Century by Ben Fenton We’re tuning into: Messiah Reimagined at 7 pm on Easter Monday https://www.london-handel-festival.com Watch on: ttps://www.youtube.com/londonhandelfestival We’re booking: Van Gogh Alive Opens in Kensington Gardens on 4th June till 26th September https://vangoghaliveuk.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw3pWDBhB3EiwAV1c5rGoXE0RCNHmM0-nquAIc6RCFRjUIB3K7_ycQV4cNL1p452I5ib6kYxoCqJMQAvD_BwE

Plus a new exhibition from learning disabled artists and ancient poetry brought to life with five short films by award-winning Jack Jewers. Subscribe to our newsletters - www.countryandtownhouse.co.uk/newsletter Follow Country & Town House on Twitter Follow Country & Town House on Instagram We’re reading: The Art Museum in Modern Times by Charles Saumarez Smith We’re following: Charles Saumarez Smith’s blog https://charlessaumarezsmith.com/blog/ We’re visiting: The virtual exhibition Electric Dreams https://venturearts.org/exhibitions-events/exhibition-electric-dreams/ We’re watching: Jack Jewers’s short films illustrating five ancient classical poems to celebrate World Poetry Day https://inversefilm.uk We’re going on: A Virtual Walking Tour of the Jewish Quarter in Budapest on 15th April https://www.arthistoryinfocus.com/courses/286/cultural-travels-from-home--a-walking-tour-of-the-jewish-quarter-in-budapest.html For all other tours visit www.arthistoryinfocus.com We’re visiting: The Yorkshire Sculpture Park https://ysp.org.uk and seeing Alison Milner’s exhibition Decorative Minimalist https://ysp.org.uk/exhibitions/alisonmilner Produced and Edited by Alex Graham

Gilbert & George on their new exhibition ‘The New Normal Pictures’.  Plus Desmond Cecil on being a musical diplomat Subscribe to our newsletters - www.countryandtownhouse.co.uk/newsletter Follow Country & Town House on Twitter Follow Country & Town House on Instagram We’re booking: New Normal Pictures by Gilbert & George White Cube, Mason’s Yard, London W1 from 13th April till 1st May Book to visit here:  https://whitecubebookings.as.me/schedule.php View New Normal Pictures online at: https://whitecube.com/channel/channel/gilbert_and_george_in_the_gallery_masons_yard_2021 We’re reading: The Wandering Civil Servant of Stradivarius: Themes and Variations by Desmond Cecil CMG Produced and Edited by Alex Graham

Subscribe to our newsletters - www.countryandtownhouse.co.uk/newsletter Follow Country & Town House on Twitter Follow Country & Town House on Instagram LISTENER OFFER: Listeners receive a 15% discount : go to hugorittsonphotogaphy.com and apply the code ‘Breakout’ at checkout We’re tuning into: The Unkown Churchill : Dan Snow talking to Blenheim Palace historian Antonia Keaney Wednesday 17th March at 7.30 pm (free for Blenhaim Palace Annual Pass holders) virtual.blenheimpalace.com/virtual-tours We’re listening to: Duchess: the podcast by Emma, Duchess of Rutland https://www.duchessthepodcast.com  We’re reading: Wildlowers for the Queen:  A Visual Celebration of Britain’s Coronation Meadows by Hugo Rittson Thomas

We’re reading: Fall : The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment by John Preston The Dig by John Preston We’re watching: The Dig with Ralph Fiennes, Carey Mulligan and Lily James on Netflix A Very English Scandal with Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw on BBC i-Player We’re tuning into: Royal Opera House’s celebrations for International Women’s Day Monday 8th March https://www.roh.org.uk/international-womens-day-2021 FTWeekend Digital Festival Spring Edition 18th to 20th March Listeners receive £5 discount – use code FTWeekendFestival at checkout https://ftweekend.live.ft.com Produced and Edited by Alex Graham

Ed and Charlotte talk with Ewan Morrison about his new blockbuster thriller set in 2025. Plus the RSC reimagining Midsummer Night’s Dream for future audiences and the Museum of the Home explores how our homes will change after the pandemic. We’re reading: How to survive everything When there’s no-one left to trust by Ewan Morrison We’re visiting  The Museum of the Home, due to open May www.museumofthehome.org We’re bidding at the Museum of the Home’s Behind the Door Auction to win beautiful items and experiences from leading UK designers and creatives. https://www.museumofthehome.org.uk/join-and-support/behind-the-door/auction/ We’re booking: RSC’s production of Dream Friday 12th March to Saturday 20th March www.dream.online Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

We’re Watching: 'To Olivia' Starring Hugh Bonneville and Keeley Hawes - Available on Sky Cinema We’re Browsing: Books and supporting our local bookshop by buying books from Bookshop.org We’re Tuning Into: Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony project and listening to the Wild Symphony Album https://wildsymphony.com/ https://open.spotify.com/album/5w0b7ENhoyczQIs90ROdQo We’re checking out Lee Child’s musical talents: https://www.broadwayworld.com/new-hampshire/article/Author-Lee-Child-Too-Comes-to-In-Portsmouth-Writers-On-A-New-England-Stage-20181002 We’re listening to the album co-produced by Bob Lord with Pete Townshend: http://thewho.com/lawrence-balls-new-double-cd-out-now/ To enter the Piazzola Competition see here: https://www.piazzollacompetition.com/ Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

We chat to British cinematographer Sir Roger Deakins in LA about his knighthood, his Oscars and his podcast with his wife and collaborator James. Victoria Broackes, Director of the Design Biennale, talks about Design in an Age of Crisis (and David Bowie) and author Olivia Fane pleads for a return to a less dark sexuality. We’re tuning into: Team Deakins Podcast https://teamdeakins.libsyn.com We’re visiting: How the Light Gets In Winter Revel on Saturday 20th February Howthelightgetsin.org We’re buying tickets to hear Olivia Fane in The Limits of Sexuality debate https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/winter/festival-passes We’re attending: The online event hosted by Chatham House, Redesigning Work:  Design in an Age of Crisis 23rd February at 13.00 https://chathamhouse.zoom.us/webinar/register/7716117441904/WN_wrGSmslaTh6LwV79D4G3yg We’re marvelling at: All the submissions to Design in an Age of Crisis (young people can still submit ideas): https://www.londondesignbiennale.com/opencall We’re optimistically booking tickets to: The London Design Biennale 2021 at Somerset House 1st to 27th June Somersethouse.org.uk We’re reading: Why Sex Doesn’t Matter by Olivia Fane Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Plus we talk to Gala Gordon and Isabella Macpherson of Platform Presents on the hybrids giving a boost to the performing arts industry and meet the young film-maker celebrating Rachel Carson and Silent Spring in a new film Nevergreen. We’re watching: Paul Greengrass’s movie News of the World, starring Tom Hanks, on Netflix from Wednesday Good Grief, written by Lorien Haynes, starring Sian Clifford and Nikesh Patel, produced by Platform Presents Online from Monday 15th February till 15th April Buy tickets at https://www.platformpresents.com/good-grief Eloïse Poulton’s film Nevergreen about Rachel Carson https://bit.ly/391dYv0 At The Living Record Festival  (till Monday 22nd February) https://www.livingrecord.co.uk/the-living-record-festival and watching film Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Is the BBC our greatest cultural institution? Yes, and we must fight to keep it, argues social and cultural commentator Peter York. Times columnist Sathnam Sanghera discusses his new book Empireland and says we’ll never understand our complicated multi-cultural society if we don’t learn the truth about the British Empire. We’re reading: The War Against the BBC: How an Unprecedented Combination of Hostile Forces is Destroying Britain’s Greatest Cultural Institution… And Why You Should Care by Patrick Barwise and Peter York Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera We’re watching: It’s a Sin on Channel Four Call My Agent on Netflix Finding Alice on ITV Spiral on BBC4 Cobra Kai on Netflix Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Star choreographer and dancer Akram Khan tells us about dancing with Natalia Osipova for Dancing Nation, Sadler’s Wells’ all-day event and Ian Rosenblatt, founder of Rosenblatt Recitals, regales us with the ups and downs of staging a provincial arts festival. We’re tuning into: Dancing Nation from Sadler’s Wells and BBC Arts Thursday 28 January from 12 noon Akram Khan dances with Natalia Osipova in Mud of Sorrow bbc.co.uk/iplayer / sadlerswells.com We’re listening to: Rosenblatt Recitals https://www.rrsah.com We’re watching: Lungs by Duncan Macmillan starring Claire Foy and Matt Smith on Old Vic: In Camera https://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2020/old-vic-in-camera We’re subscribing to: National Theatre at Home https://www.ntathome.com We’re browsing: Les Aldrich Music Shop www.lesaldrichmusic.co.uk Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Indhu Rubasingham, Artistic Director of The Kiln in Kilburn, tells us how she and her team transformed the theatre into an award-winning community hub and runner and anthropologist Michael Crawley explains how a strong sense of community is also integral to the supremacy of Ethiopia’s top runner. Follow Country & Town House on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Visit our website and subscribe to the newsletter here. And don't forget to leave a review, rate and subscribe to this podcast to be the first to hear our weekly episodes! Edited and Produced by Alex Graham We’re supporting The Kiln in every way we can:  We’re watching Dear Future Generations, an original film written and performed by The Kiln’s 16-18 Young Company We’re reading: Out of Thin Air: Running Wisdom and Magic from Above the Clouds in Ethiopia by Michael Crawley We’re reading Great British Brands What Next? 2021 Edition and finding out who won the first ever Great British Brands Awards

Ed and Charlotte are back from the Christmas break and plunged into another national lockdown! Don't worry, we won't be changing the name of the podcast again and will firmly remain Break Out Culture! They catch up with Patricia Hammond and Matt Redman on their online music commissioning service and share their latest TV and book recommendations.   Follow Country & Town House on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Visit our website and subscribe to the newsletter here. And don't forget to leave a review, rate and subscribe to this podcast to be the first to hear our weekly episodes! Edited and Produced by Alex Graham We’re commissioning: A song from Patricia Hammond and Matt Redman: PatriciaHammond.com/requests We’re reading: Out of Thin Air: Running Wisdom and Magic from Above the Clouds in Ethiopia by Michael Crawley Exercised: The Science of Physical Activity, Rest and Health by Daniel Lieberman Ctrl Alt Delete: How Politics and the Media Crashed our Democracy by Tom Baldwin Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart: Winner of the Booker Prize 2020 The Mission House by Carys Davies The Overstory by Richard Powers :Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction We’re watching: Bridgerton on Netflix The Serpent on BBC iPlayer

We’ll be back on Sunday 10 th January. Happy Christmas to all our listeners. We’re hoping to go to: Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker directed by Peter Wright Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Till 3 rd January Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl directed and choreographed by Arthur Pita Sadler’s Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London Thursday 17 th till Sunday 27 th December We’re watching: Sadler’s Wells Global Gala on YouTube till 5th January We’re hoping to visit: Pallant House Gallery, Chichester Christmas Greetings by Modern British Artists Till 6 th January Degas to Picasso: International Modern Masters Till 18 th April Richard Hamilton: Respective Till 18 th April We’re tuning into: The Self-Isolation Choir’s Christmas at Home Concert December 20 th Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Nicole Farhi on her new show ‘Couples’, Jude Christian on adapting Dick Whittington for the National Theatre and three American artists at Gazelli Art House. We’re visiting: ‘Couples’ by Nicole Farhi at the Fine Art Society Ltd. 25 Carnaby Street (entrance in Marlborough Court), W1 Till 23 rd December https://www.thefineartsociety.com/exhibitions/119-nicole-farhi-couples/ Claudia Hart: An Imaginary Ruin till 17 th January Jann Haworth: Mannequin Defectors till 9 th January Perle Fine: The Cool Series till 9 th January All at Gazelli Art House, Dover Street, London W1 https://gazelliarthouse.com We’re booking for: Dick Whittington at The National Theatre From 11 th December till 23 rd January https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/dick-whittington Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Gered Mankowitz talks about that photograph of Jimi Hendrix, photographing the Stones, and many more. Plus Love and War, a new podcast about gay love in the trenches to celebrate 100 years since Wilfred Owen’s first book of poetry was published. We’re buying: Goin’ Home with The Rolling Stones ’66, Photographs by Gered Mankowtiz Published by Reel Art Press £19.95 www.reelartpress.com We’re listening to Love and War: A podcast by Kevin Childs with Sam Fairbrother as Wilfred Owen and more https://play.acast.com/s/love-and-war/loveandwar We’re watching: Icon: Music Through the Lens 6 x one-hour programmes Sky Arts at 10.10 pm on Fridays Produced and Edited by Alex Graham

Charles Spencer on his book The White Ship, 900 years after the ship sank, three exhibitions at Hauser & Wirth Somerset and the Hay Digital Winter Weekend. We’re reading: The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream by Charles Spencer, published by William Collins, £25 We’re Visiting: Hauser and Wirth, Somerset – Oudolf Field, Roth Bar & Grill and Durslade Farm Shop are open to the local community. See Hauserwirth.com for details. Nicole Eisenman ‘Where I Was, It Shall Be’ is online at https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/29133-nicole-eisenman Lee Lozano is online at https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/29131-lee-lozano-in-somerset Make Gallery exhibition Gathering open online from 21st November https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/30396-gathering We’re tuning into: The Hay Winter Digital Weekend https://www.hayfestival.com/winter-weekend/home We’re watching: The Crown on Netflix Small Axe: Mangrove, directed by Steve McQueen on BBC i-player All of Us on Amazon Prime Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

How to sing your way to Christmas in isolation and Matthew Parris talks about his new book on trauma and genius We’re joining: The Self-Isolation Choir and their Christmas at Home Concert on 20 th December https://www.theselfisolationchoir.com We’re reading Fracture: Stories of How Great Lives Take Root in Trauma, by Matthew Parris, published by Profile Books, £16.99 We’re going online to The Stratford Literary Winter Weekend Festival Friday 20 th November to Wednesday 25 th November Matthew Parris talks about his book at 8pm Friday 20th November (available until 11pm 25th November) stratlitfest.co.uk. We’re watching: A one-time live reading of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, directed by Jenny Hall and starring Geraldine James and Rebecca Hall November 19 th at 7.30 on Zoom Tickets from http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/the-tempest-shake-festival We’re buying Portraits of NHS Heroes compiled by Tom Croft, published by Bloomsbury, £25 All royalties and £2.50 of every sale goes to NHS Charities Together  https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/portraits-for-nhs-heroes-9781448218004/  Books are My Bag Reader Awards Winners Reader’s Choice Book of the Year : Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press) Fiction: The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton, Raven Books, Bloomsbury Non-Fiction: by Dara McAnulty (Little Toller Books) Poetry: Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright: An Animal Poem for Every Day of the Year by Britta Teckentrup and Fiona Waters (Nosy Crow) Young Adult Fiction: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (Bloomsbury) Children’s Fiction: The Highland Falcon Thief by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli (Macmillan Children’s Books) Breakthrough Author: Jean Menzies author of Greek Myths (DK) Edited and Produced by Alex Graham

Gyles Brandreth cheers up lockdown by lifting the lid on all the stories and gossip since theatres began. Art gallerist Johnny Messum tells us how Messums keeps opening new galleries and thriving during lockdown. And we lift the lid on our TV habits. We’re revelling in: The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes by Gyles Brandreth We’ve voted for our favourite books and now we’re going to watch who wins: (https://www.youtube.com/user/welovebookshops). Awards Ceremony hosted by Grace Dent to be screened on Tuesday November 10 th at 5.30 pm – see website above for details We’re watching: The Undoing on Now TV Roadkill on BBC iPlayer Better Things on BBC iPlayer The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix Adult Material on More 4 We’re visiting (virtually): James Dodds ‘The Work of Human Hands’ till 29 th November https://messumswiltshire.com/exhibitions/exhibition-james-dodds-the-work-of-human-hands/ Jørgen Haugen Sørensen: ‘A Dark Story in White’ https://messumswiltshire.com/exhibitions/exhibition-jorgen-haugen-sorensen-a-dark-story-in-white/ We’re tuning into the Messums Conversation with Rebecca Wragg Sykes, Author of Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art, on Wednesday 18 th November at 6.30 pm https://messumswiltshire.com/exhibitions/online-talk-neanderthals/ See all other Conversations at https://messumswiltshire.com Produced and Edited by Alex Graham