Free Thinking - Russia and the Arts: Julian Barnes, Roxana Silbert and Suhayla El-Bushra

Anne McElvoy and Julian Barnes discuss images of Russian cultural figures on display at the National Portrait Gallery. Director Roxana Silbert and playwright Suhayla El-Bushra discuss putting Russian satirical dramas on stage in Britain. And Soumaya Keynes from teh Institute of Fiscal Studies, journalist Ann Treneman and journalist and director of the Institute for Government Peter Riddell discuss the theatre of the budget.

Russia and the Arts: The Age of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky runs at the National Portrait Gallery from 21 April - 24 July
Meanwhile Moscow's State Tretyakov Gallery hosts Elizabeth to Victoria: British Portraits from the Collection of the National Portrait Gallery.

Julian Barnes' most recent novel The Noise of Time is inspired by the life of Dmitri Shostakovich.

Roxana Silbert is directing a version of Gogol's The Government Inspector written by David Harrower which is on stage at Birmingham Rep in association with Ramps on the Moon. It runs from March 19th to 26th. It then tours to
New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich 6-16 April
West Yorkshire Playhouse 20-30 April
Nottingham Playhouse 4-14 May
Theatre Royal Stratford East 18-28 May
The Everyman, Liverpool 1-11 June
Crucible Theatre, Sheffield 17-25 June

Suhayla El-Bushra has written an adaptation of Nikolai Erdman's The Suicide which is being directed by Nadia Fall at the National Theatre in London. It runs in rep from April 6th.

Producer: Eliane Glaser.