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The Audience, Heritage, Side Effects, The Digital Revolution

Matthew Sweet presents a review of Peter Morgan's new play The Audience, starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, the rise of the heritage movement, and the film Side Effects.

With Matthew Sweet.

A first night review, by Susannah Clapp, of Peter Morgan's new play, The Audience, starring Helen Mirren as the Queen. The drama imagines the weekly private meetings the monarch has had with her twelve Prime Ministers over the years of her reign.

To mark the centenary of the Ancient Monuments and Amendments Act, Night Waves looks at the rise of the heritage movement in the UK. From its foundation by radical figures like John Ruskin and William Morris to its current manifestation in organisations like English Heritage, the idea of heritage has changed over the decades as it came to represent something of a British national identity. Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, the architect Richard Griffiths and architecture critic Hugh Pearman discuss what place heritage has in a modern and increasingly urbanised Britain.

Steven Soderbergh's latest - and perhaps last - film imagines horrifying consequences experienced by a young woman, Emily, after she's prescribed antidepressants by her psychiatrist. Adrian Wootton reviews.

And Jaron Lanier, one of the most important philosophers of the digital age who coined the term 'Virtual Reality', explains how the digital revolution is unlike previous world-changing revolutions: it's driving down wealth and taking away the freedoms of the people.

Available now

45 minutes

Chapters

  • Heritage

    Simon Thurley, Richard Griffiths and Hugh Pearman discuss heritage in a modern Britain

    Duration: 17:41

  • The Audience

    Susannah Clapp reviews The Audience starring Helen Mirren as the Queen

    Duration: 06:51

  • Jaron Lanier

    Jaron Lanier discusses his new book; Who Owns The Future

    Duration: 12:54

  • Side Effects

    Adrian Wootton reviews Steven Soderbegh's latest; Side Effects

    Duration: 06:40

The Audience

is on now at the Gielgud Theatre, LondonΒ until Saturday 15 June 2013.

Jaron Lanier

Jaron Lanier
Who Owns The Future? written by is published by Allen Lane on Thursday 7 March 2013.

Side Effects

Side Effects
is released in UK cinemas on Friday 8 March 2013, certificate 15.

Heritage

Heritage

English Heritage celebrates 100 years of protecting the past throughout 2013 -Β find out more .Β And watch Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Four's series which starts on Thursday 7 March at 21:00.

Broadcast

  • Tue 5 Mar 2013 22:00

Free Thinking

Free Thinking

Radio 3’s new home for arts and ideas.