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William Boyd's first play; Hilary Mantel; Seven Deadly Sins

Arts news with Mark Lawson. William Boyd's first stage play, Hilary Mantel on finding herself at the centre of a media storm, and music inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins.

With Mark Lawson.

Novelist William Boyd has taken two short stories by Chekhov and turned them into his first stage play, called Longing. Starring Tamsin Greig, Iain Glen and John Sessions, Longing contains many Chekhovian themes, including long-buried emotions and a yearning for Moscow. Peter Kemp reviews.

Hilary Mantel has added the David Cohen Prize for Literature to her recent success in the Man Booker Prize and the Costa Award. The biennial award celebrates an author's entire career rather than one work. The author of Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies considers her success, and gives her unapologetic reaction to the media storm which followed her recent thoughts about the Duchess of Cambridge.

Marianne Faithfull, Soweto Kinch, Paul Heaton and conductor Andr茅 de Ridder reflect on music inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins. Jazz saxophonist Soweto Kinch reveals why he became the voice of temptation on his latest album, The Legend Of Mike Smith, and Paul Heaton explains why he added an eighth sin.

Producer Nicki Paxman.

Available now

30 minutes

Chapters

  • Longing

    A review of Longing

    Duration: 05:02

  • Seven Deadly Sins

    Various interpretations of the Seven Deadly Sins

    Duration: 13:28

  • Hilary Mantel wins the David Cohen Prize for Literature

    Hilary Mantel wins the David Cohen Prize for Literature

    Duration: 09:24

Longing

Tamsin Greig in William Boyd's Longing

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Broadcast

  • Fri 8 Mar 2013 19:15

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