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The Amen Corner and The White Queen

A review of the week's cultural highlights, including The Amen Corner starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing and TV drama The White Queen.

The Amen Corner starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste has been lifting the roof off the National Theatre according to early audiences, thanks partly to the participation of the London Community Gospel Choir. An early James Baldwin play, Rufus Norris' production looks at the lives of men and women trapped in poverty and lack of opportunity, and extracts powerful drama from it.

Joss Whedon had a week off at the end of shooting The Avengers - rather than have a break, he made another film with a group of friends. The result is Much Ado About Nothing - does its sparky charm capture the flavour of classic romantic comedies, as the director hopes?

Neil Gaiman has a huge international following and is well known to the Radio 4 audience thanks to the recent dramatisation of Neverwhere. Now he has a new adult novel out, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which he says is a story of childhood, memory, magic and the power of stories.

The Hayward Gallery in London is offering an Alternative Guide to the Universe - an art exhibition featuring work envisaging other worlds and extraordinary takes on this one - much of it created by untrained artists.

And the colourful history of the Plantagenets comes to television as Philippa Gregory's The White Queen begins on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ1. Starring Rebecca Ferguson and Max Irons, will the screen version capture the drama of the real life events?

The writers Gillian Slovo, Dreda Say Mitchell and Kamila Shamsie join Tom Sutcliffe.

Producer Sarah Johnson.

Available now

45 minutes

The Amen Corner

continues at the National Theatre, London, until 14Β August 2013.

Before Midnight

Before Midnight is in cinemasΒ in key citiesΒ fromΒ 21 June 2013, certificate 15.

The White Queen

begins on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One on Sunday 16 June 2013 at 21:00hrs.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman is published by Headline.

Alternative Guide to the Universe

The exhibition continues at the Hayward Gallery until 26Β August 2013.

Broadcast

  • Sat 15 Jun 2013 19:15

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