Synopsis
Actor Ian McKellen presents his personal choice of poetry and prose. These include 'Instructions to an Actor' by Edwin Morgan, ‘Sonnet 20’ by William Shakespeare, 'The Story of My Life' by Ellen Terry, ‘Psalm 46’, 'Adlestrop' by Edward Thomas, 'Not Adlestrop' by Dannie Abse, 'The Watchman's Blues' by Oswald Mtshali and a comic extract from 'Henry V' by William Shakespeare.
Poetry Please | 20/06/2010
Roger McGough introduces some of the 154 sonnets of Shakespeare, plus a selection from some other 17th-century masters: John Donne, Andrew Marvell and Henry Vaughan.
Desert Island Discs | Sir Leon Brittan
Britain's EC Trade Commissioner and former Conservative Home Secretary talks to Sue Lawley about his life and career, and chooses his favourite music. His choices include Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, the commentary on England winning the Ashes in 1953, `When I was a Lad' from HMS Pinafore, his wife reading Shakespeare's Sonnet No 16, 'Eternal Father Strong To Save', Don Carlos by Verdi, Dvorak's Cello Concerto, and Mozart's 'Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail'.