Discover
Break Out Culture With Ed Vaizey by Country and Town House

Break Out Culture With Ed Vaizey by Country and Town House
Author: Country & Town House
Subscribed: 10Played: 184Subscribe
Share
© Country & Town House
Description
Country & Town House’s culture editor, Ed Vaizey, and associate editor, Charlotte Metcalf discuss the week’s cultural offerings with a brilliant edit of what you should be watching, reading, listening to, booking and visiting each week. Their roster of high profile guests adds illuminating insight to the current cultural landscape.
43 Episodes
Reverse
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