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Ivan Klima, the East-West divide in Europe, Science Fiction in Theatre

Ivan Klima looks back over his writing life with Philip Dodd, who also heads a discussion on central Europe. Plus, the Deutsche Borse Photography Prize.

Czech writer Ivan Klima has published a memoir My Crazy Century. It begins with his family's imprisonment in the Nazi camp at Terezin in 1941 when he was aged 10 and covers events up to the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Now in his 80's, he looks back at life and writing.

Philip Dodd also asks whether divisions between East and West continue to affect European unity. He is joined by Agata Pyzik, a polish writer and blogger and author of 'Poor But Sexy: Culture Clashes between East and West', Oxford University's Gwendolyn Sasse, a German expert on the Comparative Politics of Central and Eastern Europe and author of the prize-winning book The Crimea Question: Identity, Transition, and Conflict (2007) and Hungarian-Romanian businessman and writer, Zoltan Boszormenyi, whose latest cold-war novel is called The Club at Eddy's Bar discuss the West's apparent need to find a generic label for their part of the world and whether it helps or hinders the region's sense of self and global development.

And current New Generation Thinker and Cambridge academic Dr Sarah Dillon and critic Susannah Clapp reflect on science fiction on stage and screen as Free Thinking continues its focus on catching up with previous New Generation Thinkers.
1984 is on stage at the Playhouse Theatre in London's West End.
Sarah Dillon | Researcher, Writer, Teacher, Broadcaster http://drsarahdillon.com/

Producer: Jacqueline Smith.
Photo credit: Jan Rasch

Available now

45 minutes

Chapters

  • The East-West divide in Europe

    Writer Zoltan Boszormenyi, Polish journalist Agat Pyzik and historian Gwendolyne Sasse

    Duration: 24:40

  • Ivan Klima Interview

    Chech writer talks about his memoir My Crazy Century

    Duration: 08:05

  • Science Fiction Theatre

    Sarah Dillon, New Generation Thinker and Susannah Clapp discuss staging science fiction

    Duration: 10:10

Ivan Klima

Ivan Klima's  memoir is available in paperback and e-book


Image above: Ivan Klima. Photo credit Jan Rasch. 

Zoltan Boszormenyi

Zoltan Boszormenyi
Zoltan Boszormenyi, author of

Agata Pyzik

Agata Pyzik
Journalist and author of

Gwendolyn Sasse

Gwendolyn Sasse
is a German expert on the Comparative Politics of Central and Eastern Europe and author of the prize-winning book

Science Fiction Theatre

Science Fiction Theatre

As a stage adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 transfers to London’s , and a opens in Los Angeles, Philip Dodd talks to Observer theatre critic Susannah Clapp and New Generation Thinker, Cambridge University’s Sarah Dillon, about the challenges of bringing Science Fiction to the stage. Can space flight, and alien worlds, be meaningfully recreated on stage?

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Philip Dodd
Interviewed Guest Ivan Klima
Actor Agata Pyzik
Interviewed Guest Gwendolyn Sasse
Interviewed Guest Zoltan Boszormenyi
Interviewed Guest Dr Sarah Dillon
Interviewed Guest Susannah Clapp
Producer Jacqueline Smith

Broadcast

  • Wed 14 May 2014 22:00

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