ABC RN Arts
462 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingEach week day RN Arts programs zoom in on a specific area of art and culture, brought to you by a specialist presenter. Subscribe to their podcasts separately by searching by name in your podcasting app.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Doerr visits Cloud Cuckoo Land
September 27, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBIn his latest book Cloud Cuckoo Land, Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Doerr explores the human desire to create utopian worlds in places far from home. CS Pacat on their latest fantasy adventure Dark Rise, and Patricia Lockwood on being shortlisted for this years' Booker Prize for No One Is Talking About This.
Ben Lee was born for this bullsh*t
September 23, 2021 23:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBHey, it’s Ben Lee! The singer songwriter recently unmasked on The Masked Singer Australia joins BL + BW to talk about his turn on reality TV, his new single Born for this Bullshit and its sexy video clip, the pandemic (blargh) and, well, it’s Ben Lee so a whole bunch of other topics too. The Television Academy continues to disappoint us with its conservative choices at the Emmys; The Crown will continue interminably until a republic is declared. We w...
Steven Soderbergh, Mélanie Laurent + Emmy award winning director of The Crown, Jessica Hobbs
September 23, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBA bumper edition this week as we meet one of the most prolific filmmakers in the world, Steven Soderbergh, plus French actor, writer & director Mélanie Laurent, and NZ born director Jessica Hobbs who took home an Emmy this week for her work on The Crown.
Steven Soderbergh, Mélanie Laurent + Emmy award winning director of The Crown
September 23, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBA bumper edition this week as we meet one of the most prolific filmmakers in the world, Steven Soderbergh, plus French actor, writer & director Mélanie Laurent, and NZ born director Jessica Hobbs who took home an Emmy this week for her work on The Crown.
Renaissance amnesia, Vernon Ah Kee, and a mysterious Sydney painting
September 22, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBDo we turn a blind eye to the aggression and militarism — and colonialism — that defined the Italian Renaissance? Plus, hear why artist Vernon Ah Kee can't ignore a distinct Australian brand of racism, and whether a work by the Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi found its way to 1970s Sydney.
Audra McDonald and Tony Sheldon's Broadway
September 21, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBTo mark the return of theatre to New York City, Michael revisits his private tour of Broadway with Audra McDonald, then delivering her Tony Award-winning performance in Porgy and Bess, and Tony Sheldon, who was starring in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Also, we check in with the New York Times' chief theatre critic Jesse Green and preview next week's long-delayed Tony Awards, and we meet the man whose experiences informed Windmill Theatre Co's Amph...
'It's absolutely magical' — Akala on reading as a superpower
September 20, 2021 00:05 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBBritish rapper, poet and writer, Akala, equates reading and writing to a form of magic. He brings this passion to the page in his debut YA novel, The Dark Lady, about pickpocket Henry, set in the time of Shakespeare's London. Also, The Overthinkers, a debut by a Sydney writing duo and Nick Earls on his heart surgery recovery as well as Empires, his most ambitious novel yet.
The Met Gala and the Matrix
September 16, 2021 20:00 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThe Met Gala — the grand final of fashion and celebrity is back irl! As expected, the red carpet was dripping with looks, including one from New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her sumptuous white mermaid gown slashed with the red-lettered “Tax the Rich” message on the back made a statement — but what was it? Keanu Reeves’ Resurrections: the superstar features in two highly anticipated upcoming sequels — The Matrix 4: Resurre...
Meet the directors - The Voyeurs + The Killing of Two Lovers
September 16, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBTwo twisted love stories this week......a glossy erotic thriller about misplaced obsession starring Sydney Sweeney, and a raw, tender and disturbing portrait of a crumbling marriage. The directors of The Voyeurs and The Killing of Two Lovers join us.
'Fragility is okay, limits are okay' — Why the way we make art should change
September 14, 2021 00:05 - 53 minutes - 74.1 MBPhysical theatre-maker Hanna Cormick performs her show The Mermaid wearing a bright pink and blue tail and a full respirator mask. The image reflects the show's underlying warning about climate change — but without the mask, Hanna might very well die. Also, we explore some of the unique considerations necessary to translate the work of Shakespeare into sign language and Sarah Houbolt outlines Arts Access Australia's vision for a National Access and I...
Pulitzer prize winner Colson Whitehead's crime caper, Harlem Shuffle
September 13, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MB"My favourite memories as a kid, are watching Saturday afternoon movies," says two time Pulitzer Prize winner, Colson Whitehead, "so I gave myself permission to do a heist book and started planning." Harlem Shuffle was the result. Also, Marion Frith's timely debut Here In the After about an Australian soldier who served in Afghanistan and Charlotte McConaghy on Once There Were Wolves, about rewilding the Scottish highlands. ...
Highlights: Aunty Donna and Flex Mami
September 09, 2021 20:00 - 53 minutes - 74.1 MBBW and BL are away this week celebrating Beyonce’s 40th birthday, but like good parents they’ve left something tasty out so you won’t go hungry. First, Aunty Donna’s Broden Kelly and Mark Bonnano serve up a little bit of pud. They talk to BW about their Netflix series Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun and how their sketch comedy has evolved to respond to their fans. Then, Lillian Ahenkan, better known as Flex Mami. spills the tea on life as a multi...
Ride the Eagle, Under my Skin, Thomas Vinterberg
September 09, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBA new film about a couple who fall in love and what happens when one of them starts to transition....a very ambitious film from Australian director David O’Donnell. We also meet Trent O’Donnell, his film Ride the Eagle, is a comedy about grief in which Susan Sarandon stars, and as it lands on SBS on Demand we revisit our interview with Thomas Vinterberg about his Oscar winning film Another Round.
Ride the Eagle, Under my Skin + Oscar winner Thomas Vinterberg
September 09, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBA new film about a couple who fall in love and what happens when one of them starts to transition....a very ambitious film from Australian director David O’Donnell. We also meet Trent O’Donnell, his film Ride the Eagle, is a comedy about grief in which Susan Sarandon stars, and as it lands on SBS on Demand we revisit our interview with Thomas Vinterberg about his Oscar winning film Another Round.
Maree Clarke, collages of protest and Craig Ruddy's studio
September 08, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.2 MBMaree Clarke is a key figure in the reclamation of southeast Australian Aboriginal art. Her three-decade career has centred on the revival and sharing of culture. Plus, Jemima Wyman's collages using images from global protests. And visit the studio of acclaimed painter Craig Ruddy.
'I could've got into trouble' — Actor Bryan Brown's crime fiction
September 06, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBActor Bryan Brown has published a debut collection of crime fuelled fiction in his 70s, it's called Sweet Jimmy. Also, Anita Heiss takes the 1852 Gundagai flood as the starting point for her novel Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray and Paige Clark's metaphorical ghosts in She Is Haunted.
Simu Liu on playing Shang-Chi: “It’s about giving yourself permission to dream”
September 02, 2021 20:00 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBWe have tweet manifested our way into an interview with Simu Liu! The star of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Marvel's first Asian-led superhero film, talks to BW about playing the historic role, preparing for the film's intricate fight scenes and what it's like to act opposite living legends of Asian cinema, Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung. "Did it hurt? When your attempt at a meme backfired? Yes it did 😩” ABC youth broadcaster triple J had ...
Gracie Otto's Under the Volcano + Coming Home in the Dark
September 02, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBGracie Otto on her new film which charts the rise and fall of one of the most famous recording studios of the 1980's, founded by Beatles producer Sir George Martin, and NZ director James Ashcroft talks about his stylish horror that greatly impressed at Sundance.
Under the Volcano + Coming Home in the Dark
September 02, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBGracie Otto on her new film which charts the rise and fall of one of the most famous recording studios of the 1980's, founded by Beatles producer Sir George Martin, and NZ director James Ashcroft talks about his stylish horror that greatly impressed at Sundance.
What two Hazara artists feel about Afghanistan, and a new art movement is forged in metal
September 01, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBArtists in Afghanistan are facing a frightening future. Australian Hazara artists Khadim Ali and Elyas Alavi speak to Daniel about what’s happening in their homeland. There’s a lot of buzz about 'Murrnginy', a new exhibition by Yolngu artists from Yirrkala, who have swapped stringybark for scrap metal. The works take a stunning contemporary direction on an ancient practice.
Spectacular, spectacular! The music of Moulin Rouge
August 31, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBJustin Levine is the man behind the music of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. The Broadway production, nominated for 14 Tony Awards, is soon to open in Melbourne. Justin joins us at the keyboard to demonstrate how he updated some of the film's most iconic moments. Also, Trent Dalton's acclaimed novel Boy Swallows Universe comes to the Queensland Theatre stage and we check in on the challenges faced by and support on offer to artists and event organisers am...
'It all starts with a fight' — Pat Barker gives voice to the women of Ancient Greece
August 30, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBBooker winning, Pat Barker's preoccupation with who's allowed to speak and who isn't continues with The Women of Troy, the sequel to The Silence of the Girls, her exploration of women in the Ancient Greek classics. Also, journalist Barry Divola on his music inspired road novel and Malla Nunn's Sugar Town Queens, set in post-Mandela South Africa.
Ngaiire wants you to be brave
August 26, 2021 20:00 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBWith the release of her long-awaited album ‘3’ singer-songwriter Ngaiire is putting her Papua New Guinean roots proudly and defiantly at the front and centre of her music. Ngaiire returns to Stop Everything in a conversation with BW covering music, motherhood, home and breaking free of industry expectations. BW + BL discuss The Chair, the Netflix show starring Sandra Oh as Dr Ji-Yoon Kim, the first woman of colour to chair the English department at p...
Corruption in showbusiness in Annette + Brand New Cherry Flavour
August 26, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBA critics' roundtable discussion on Leos Carax's ambitious new film Annette, a weird and wonderful rock opera starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver, and we meet the makers of new horror series Brand New Cherry Flavour, a hallucinatory rabbit hole of sex, magic, kittens & showbusiness in early 90's L.A.
Annette + Brand New Cherry Flavour
August 26, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MBA critics' roundtable discussion on Leos Carax's ambitious new film Annette, a weird and wonderful rock opera starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver, and we meet the makers of new horror series Brand New Cherry Flavour, a hallucinatory rabbit hole of sex, magic, kittens & showbusiness in early 90's L.A.
Cooking Sections art collective, Kathy Temin's fake fur and Ian Fairweather in China
August 25, 2021 00:05 - 52 minutes - 72.5 MBMeet the Turner Prize-nominated UK art collective Cooking Sections, making art about the food we eat, ecology and geopolitics. Plus, how Kathy Temin came to use fake fur for her large-scale monuments to memory. And a new book delves into the elusive Ian Fairweather's love of Chinese art and language.
Juliet Stevenson is drawn to danger
August 24, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBLive on stage at last year's Adelaide Festival, we're joined by the Olivier Award-winning English star of the stage and screen, Juliet Stevenson. Juliet was performing in the play The Doctor, following its sell-out season at London's Almeida Theatre. Also, with much of the country back in lockdown, we turn to musical comedian Jude Perl to lift our spirits at the piano and we enjoy a masterclass with actor, director and acting coach Larry Moss, whose ...
Crazy times with Kevin Kwan
August 23, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBKevin Kwan is the man who introduced readers to the world of Singapore's ultra rich in his hit trilogy Crazy Rich Asians. Claire Nichols speaks to him about growing up wealthy in Singapore, his move to the US as a teen and the inspiration for his latest book Sex and Vanity.
TikTok news and The White Lotus finale
August 19, 2021 20:00 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBIn the week that Afghanistan fell to the Taliban we’re processing the stories and images being beamed out of the country and how we get our news. In particular, a TikTok explainer made by Guardian Australia Matilda Boseley has gone viral — why are so many people talking about it? All My Friends Are Racist is a new ABC comedy series about zoomers, friendship, politics and cancel culture. BW + BL talk to series co-stars Davey Thompson and Tuuli Narkle ...
The White Lotus' Murray Bartlett, Rebecca Hall, Shahrbanoo Sadat
August 18, 2021 17:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBWe meet Australian actor Murray Bartlett, the star of the show everyone's talking about - The White Lotus. Plus, British actor Rebecca Hall on her role in a new horror about grief, and we revisit a wonderful conversation with Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat.
The White Lotus star Murray Bartlett + Rebecca Hall and Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat
August 18, 2021 17:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBWe meet Australian actor Murray Bartlett, the star of the show everyone's talking about - The White Lotus. Plus, British actor Rebecca Hall on her role in a new horror about grief, and we revisit a wonderful conversation with Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat.
Anne Wallace, a mystery tomb fresco and art from Western Arnhem Land
August 18, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBAnne Wallace paints film-like scenes of intimacy and psychological tension that speak to iso life and the female gaze. Plus, the ancient tomb art in Southern Italy that told an unexpected story of burial in the Classical world. And a new generation of artists from Western Arnhem Land in a new exhibition of exquisite art created on stone country.
Theatre dorks Zoë Coombs Marr and Anne-Louise Sarks get serious
August 17, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBIncoming Melbourne Theatre Company artistic director Anne-Louise Sarks has a reputation for bringing the best out of people. She speaks about her process with her friend and collaborator, Zoë Coombs Marr — who delights in bringing Anne-Louise down a peg or two. Also, not content to highlight the work of just one Legend of Australian Theatre, Zoë attempts to double the series' output with a quickfire round and we hear a scene from Finegan Kruckemeyer'...
'I just wanted to rescue them' — Kate Grenville unravels her family history
August 16, 2021 00:05 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MBKate Grenville's interest in women hemmed in by history comes to the fore in her new audiobook about her grandmother, Always Greener. Also, Lisa Emanuel's debut novel The Covered Wife is about a Sydney woman drawn into a religious cult, and Tony Birch gives poet and editor Evelyn Araluen some writing advice.
Cooking with Paris and Jock Zonfrillo
August 13, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.2 MBThe new ABC limited series The Newsreader is a late 20th century period drama about sexual politics, egos and the stories that shaped our consciousness in the mid 1980s. Co-creator and writer Michael Lucas and series writer Kim Ho take us behind the scenes. We talk about that Good Weekend profile of celebrity chef and MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo, which casts doubts on some of the recollections in Zonfrillo’s new memoir, Last Shot. Zonfrillo and p...
Free Guy director Shawn Levy, a MIFF update + fraud in Romania
August 12, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBDirector Shawn Levy on his new film Free Guy, where Ryan Reynolds plays a computer generated character in a video game with goofy charm. Plus, an update on MIFF and we revisit a conversation on Academy Award nominated doco Collective.
Hilda Rix Nicholas, the art of the book cover and the NATSIAAs
August 11, 2021 00:05 - 53 minutes - 73.3 MBA new biography of the post-Impressionist artist Hilda Rix Nicholas looks at the unusual life and sometimes overlooked career of a great Australian painter. Artist and designer W.H. Chong on the secret behind the perfect book cover. And this year’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards (NATSIAAs).
Why Hugo Weaving and Paula Arundell act
August 10, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.2 MBWhen Hugo Weaving and Paula Arundell share the stage, magic happens — not just in performance, but behind the scenes, too. The pair have forged a strong friendship around their insatiable curiosity and shared sense of fun. Also, Virginia Gay explains why her Cyrano at the Melbourne Theatre Company, based on the French classic, needed a happy ending, and Paula speaks with theatre-maker James Brennan about his work with people with lived experience of ...
Identity, belonging, home and immigration are themes in Hafsa Zayyan's life and fiction
August 09, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThe Asian expulsion from Uganda with Idi Amin's rise to power in 1972 is the focus of London based author Hafsa Zayyan's debut novel We Are All Birds of Uganda which deals with many themes the author has lived with all her life. Also, John Byron's crime fiction debut, The Tribute, inspired by the Fabrica, a famous medieval anatomy text, and The Airways, a queer ghost story by Jennifer Mills.
The Tokyo Olympics are helping us survive lockdown
August 06, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBWeek two of the Tokyo Olympics is a healing balm on our lockdown-chapped souls. Peter Bol’s heroic run in the 800m final unified Australia; Simone Biles made a comeback in gymnastics to snatch bronze on the balance beam; New Zealander Ruby Tui’s post-match BBC interview served energy and light. Who are the 'strangest’ women in music, and what makes them strange? Melbourne writer Lesley Chow puts words around the ephemeral pleasure of pop music in her...
Pod Extra: James Vaughan
August 05, 2021 02:30 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MBThis Podcast Extra edition features the second half of Jason's interview with Australian writer, director and editor James Vaughan, who is behind the exciting debut feature Friends and Strangers, one of only two Australian films selected for the prestigious Rotterdam Film Festival (hear the first part of the discussion in our episode from Thursday August 5th, titled: Friends and Strangers + Vacant Possession.)
Friends and Strangers + Vacant Possession
August 05, 2021 00:05 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MBThis week, two Australian films and their directors, both deal with themes of race, colonisation and land in Sydney. The first, Friends and Strangers, is one of two Australian films selected for Rotterdam this year, a must-see debut feature from James Vaughan. The second is a restored classic from the 90s, Vacant Possession, written and directed by Margot Nash.
Mapping a lost Beirut and the return of stolen 'living gods'
August 04, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.2 MBTwo artists reflect on what has happened to Beirut since the devastating port explosion one year ago. And an antiquities sleuth and an art academic on the National Gallery of Australia's decision to return looted artworks to India.
Kate Champion and Paula Arundell — finding family and fantasy on stage
August 03, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBStraight out of drama school, Paula Arundell became a mainstay for directors like John Bell, Jim Sharman and Benedict Andrews. Now she treads the boards as one of the most famous characters in literature: Hermione Granger in Harry Potter. She joins Kate Champion. Also, director Rachael Maza and the cast of Ilbijerri Theatre Company's production of Heart Is a Wasteland perform a song in the studio for us ahead of their national tour and we discover a ...
Rahul Raina's satire about fame, fraud and Indian TV
August 02, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MB'Your self worth as an Indian child is totally connected with how well you do in these all encompassing exams'. Rahul Raina's satire about fame, fraud and the All India exam system in How to Kidnap the Rich. Also Mark Brandi on his love of dogs, family and why he wears earmuffs to write and Katherine Brabon's exploration of the Japanese phenomenon of hikikomori in The Shut Ins.
Subtle Asian Traits goes Hollywood
July 30, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBSubtle Asian Traits, the massively popular Facebook group founded in 2018 by a friendship group of Melbourne teens, is being developed into a TV series. How does a community based on Asian cultural memes translate onto screen, and what do its founders think of the trajectory from messenger group, to online influence and nascent television fame? A conversation with two SAT cofounders, Tony Xie and Kerry Kang. The pandemic Olympics are here. BW and BL ...
Joshua Jackson is Dr Death + filmmakers shining light on family
July 29, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBJoshua Jackson, star of Dr Death joins us to talk about his role in the ghoulish new TV series, and a panel discussion with three filmmakers who have made documentaries about family, screening here as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Joshua Jackson on Dr Death + filmmakers shining a light on family
July 29, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBJoshua Jackson, star of Dr Death joins us to talk about his role in the ghoulish new TV series, and a panel discussion with three filmmakers who have made documentaries about family, screening here as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Neil Armfield and Kate Champion — dancing into a perfect partnership
July 27, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.3 MBThe best theatre is always the result of a great collaboration and Neil Armfield found the ideal collaborator in Kate Champion — choreographer, director and founder of the dance theatre company Force Majeure. The pair's work includes Cloudstreet and The Ring Cycle. Also, we consider what complete silence might finally allow us to hear in Will O'Mahony's play Minneapolis and we question how far reinterpreting the classics can take us in Caesar at La B...
'My mother kept this secret for so long' — Esther Freud imagines a different path for her mother
July 26, 2021 00:05 - 54 minutes - 74.2 MBEsther Freud's mother had babies at a time when many unwed mothers in the UK and Ireland had their children taken away. Freud says, 'When I thought about the situation of my mother, it struck me how alone and dangerous her situation was'. In I Couldn't Love You More, she imagines if her mother had been forced into one or Ireland's notorious mother and baby homes. Also David Allan-Petale on writing his first book, Locust Summer, on the road, and Jamie...